Prayer of Confession, P+26B

Call to Confession

All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Let us confess our waywardness before the Lord, and seek the Lord's mercy:

Prayer of Confession

Oh, God, forgive us!
We have gone god-shopping,
and the god we have found
is branded by greed
and abuse of power
and slander. 
The commercials for this god
heralded these characteristics as strength
and we bought in.
Lord, in your mercy, forgive us!
You have shown us what is good:
to love kindness,
to do justice,
and to walk humbly with you.
But we have chosen the opposite, 
following leaders who defy the very thing
we claim to uphold.
Once again, we have gone astray,
and we do so claiming to act
in your name. 
Hold the mirror up for us, we pray,
so that we can see ourselves
for who and what we are.
You have called us to be better than this,
and we deserve the wrath that comes
from worshiping idols.
If there is anyone among us, Lord --
and we know there are,
for at the very least there are children
whose souls are as yet unmarred 
by the ugliness of our egos --
save us from ourselves, we pray,
and remind us who we are
and whose we are.

Assurance of God's Grace

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7). Hear the Good News: In 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.