Sunday, April 5, 2009
Offered by Joyce Shin, Associate Pastor

Creator God, at the time you made us, you must have known that sooner or later you would have to redeem us. The hearts with which you have endowed us, expansive with love, can also be constricted and hardened. Our minds with which we can imagine the good beyond our own cares are corruptible by self-interest. The consciences that we rely on for our morality can be formed both for good and for ill. In creating us, God, to be creatures with hearts, minds, and consciences, you have taken a great chance on us.

And for this we are grateful. We are grateful that again and again you give us opportunities to love here in our city and beyond our borders. We pray that your love be felt not only in parts of the world where not enough food, not enough health care, not enough justice, and not enough hope is known, but also in the parts of our hearts that we have closed off from you. Let your love seep in and make itself known.

God, we have confidence in the power of your love, for out of love, you created the world. Out of love you forgive our sins. Out of love you gave us Jesus Christ to dwell with us in our humanity.

As we see the humanity of Jesus Christ this Holy Week—the suffering of his flesh and blood—impress upon us, God, the steadfastness with which your Son processed, whether into Jerusalem or to Golgotha, knowing how fleeting and fickle our hosannas would be and that our shouts of praise would, within the course of a week, turn into cries of mockery. Impress upon our hearts, God, the love of Christ so fierce and steadfast. Do not let us get carried away. Instead carry us forward for the cause of your gospel. For we too want to carry the burdens of the world. We too want to be faithful rather than fickle. We too want to set our faces like flint.

In faithfulness to you, we pray as your Son Jesus Christ taught us to pray: Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church