Gracious and Holy One, today marks a beginning. I wonder if it will be felt by your gathered people as they worship this morning. Before they see the purple cloth and the tenebrae candles that will be slowly extinguished week by Lenten week, will the sanctuary (or cathedral, or home church, or school gymnasium...) feel any different? Will the air be rich with the Lenten spirit of reflection and the power of your presence?
God, I wish I knew. My deepest hope is that all of your children will experience this season in a nurturing, growing way. Lent can be so enriching if we truly invest our hearts in it. Lent is more than a lack of hallelujahs; it is more than any particular set of liturgies.....it is a season to know ourselves, and more importantly to know you. We have the opportunity to walk with Jesus through these coming weeks. Help us God to take these first tentative steps as we worship today.
We can barely see the cross in the distance at this point in the journey. God, bear us up as we come closer to the pain and horror of it all. Bear us up when we are tempted to bypass Jerusalem, and bear us up when we want to skip the hard parts and get right to the trumpets and lilies of Easter.
God of all our Journeys, I ask your blessing upon our congregation and upon all those who set out on this Lenten path. Take our hands. Press your palm into ours and lead the way. Amen.
Amen
ReplyDeleteAmen indeed. That's wonderful...wish I had logged on before going up to celebrate the 8.00...praying with you now for my 10.00 congregation.
ReplyDeleteBear us up when we are tempted to bypass Jerusalem, and bear us up when we want to skip the hard parts and get right to the trumpets and lilies of Easter.
ReplyDeleteAmen. Thank you, Sue.
That's wonderful. A little bit o' church right here.
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