Prayer of Confession, Pentecost +2, Year A

Call to Confession
(God's) people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold. (Jeremiah 50:6) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession  
(based on Ezekiel 34:3-6)
​
Good Shepherd,
forgive us,
though we are hardly worthy.
We feast on good food.
We clothe ourselves well.
We choose the best of the best,
and then we hoard it for ourselves and our own.
We do not strengthen the weak.
We do not mend the broken.
We do not heal the wounds that long have festered.
We do not actively seek those who have strayed,
nor do we look for the lost to bring them back home.
Instead, we bully and badger those who are alone
and voiceless
and suffering.
Your own people have left our siblings in Christ
exposed and vulnerable.
Hear our cries of repentance.
Hear our pleas for forgiveness.
Stop us in our tracks,
and open our eyes to the extent of our sinfulness.
Help us confront our wicked ways,
and teach us to listen to those whose stories
we have shaped in painful and destructive ways.
Give us humility, compassion, and empathy, we pray,
and make us into the people you have called us to be:
a people born of Love.

Assurance of God's Grace
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)
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 day.