Prayer of Confession, P+11C

Call to Confession

 So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:28) Let us confess our hypocrisy before God and seek God's mercy:

Prayer of Confession

Rule-breaking Healer,
heal us of our Pharisaical adherence
to the letter of the law
and our absolute disdain 
for the spirit of it. 
We stand with fingers pointed
in condemnation
of those who are seeking 
to care for your people,
to do the very things you call us to do
with love and with grace,
and we blast them for their gall
at loving outside the lines,
at healing on the Sabbath,
at providing care that may not be perfect
but is better than nothing.
Curiously, we find excuses for the times
when we are rule-breakers ourselves
and for far less noble intentions.
Forgive us, we pray,
and open our hearts to a new way
of being. 
Help us to stand up for what is loving
and compassionate 
and kind
with the same degree of passion
that we stand up for
what serves our own interests.

Assurance of God's Grace

God has promised that when we confess our sin, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin, removing it as far as the east is from the west and remembering it no more. Hear the Good News: 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 all whom you encounter this week.