Prayer of Confession, Transfiguration Sunday, Year B

Call to Confession

Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's transforming mercy. 

Prayer of Confession

God of wonder and transformation,
forgive us.
We stand in the presence of your transfigured son,
your beloved,
and we close our eyes like small children,
pretending we can hide our sinfulness
from your light
if we just pretend to be oblivious to it.

God of past, present, and future,
forgive us.
We claim heritage and sibling relation to Christ,
your son,
but we ignore what we have been taught
by the law and the prophets
who came before,
who foretold his coming,
and shaped his ministry.

God of radiant love,
forgive us.
We have heard your call to listen to Jesus,
by observing the life he lived
and practicing his radical love
and justice,
but have chosen instead
to parse out what we like and discard
the rest.

Commissioning God,
forgive us.
We build our ivory castles out of hoarded wealth,
preferring to stay distant from those who wait
for words of healing and comfort
than to do the work of compassion and peacemaking
that awaits us.
Pull us from our complacency, we pray,
and transform our discipleship 
by the renewing of our minds.

Assurance of God's Grace

Come now, let us argue it out,
    says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool. (Isaiah 1:18) By the grace of our Lord 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.