Prayer of Confession, Advent 2B

Call to Confession

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.  (1 John 1:8-10) Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy.
Prayer of Confession

God-with-us,
We behave as lazy and entitled people.
We want the way prepared for us … easy, please, and smooth.
No bumps.
We are not entirely sure what we do want,
but we know for certain what we do not want:
we do not want hardships like a global pandemic;
we do not want to be inconvenienced;
we do not want to have to rely on God to provide for us;
we do not want to have to confront our prejudices
or the inequality of justice in our land
or our complicity in it;
we do not want to have to do more than our share to make things right
and we may not even want to do that much;
we do not want to listen to someone who disagrees with us …
we don’t even want them to have a voice at the table …
we don’t want any “other” at the table.
We do not want to talk about God
or politics
because, in spite of the fact that we pretend they are not related,
we know very well that God has plenty to say about “politika” – living in community --
and we don’t want to hear it.
Mostly because God’s politics and ours are very different,
and we don’t want to hear Scriptures that tell us our politics are not God’s
because then we would lose the edge we have convinced ourselves we have
as children of God --
chosen heirs …
privileged.
Forgive our unrepentant hearts, we pray,
and cleanse us anew by the power of the Spirit.
Open our ears to your Good News,
and inspire in us a new way of being
according to your perfect will.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.


Assurance of God's Grace

I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:25-27) In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another.
The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to those whom you encounter today.