LITURGY FOR LENT
Leader: God all loving and all caring,
We come before you with hesitant steps and uncertain motives
All: Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin
Leader: We want to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated
And uncover the places where we have strayed from your truth
All: Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin
Leader: We ask for courage to open our eyes and unstop our ears
That we may be aware of all that distracts us from a whole hearted commitment to Christ
All: Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin
Leader: We want to see ourselves as you do and live our lives as you intended
Expose in us the empty and barren places where we have not allowed you to enter
All: Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin
Leader: Reveal to us our half-hearted struggles
Where we have been indifferent to the pain and suffering of others
All: Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin
Leader: Create in us a clean heart O God and put a right Spirit within us
Nurture the faint stirrings of new life where your spirit has taken root and begun to grow
All: Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin
Leader: We long for your healing light to transform us, for you alone can make us whole
In your mercy shine upon us O God and make our path clear before us
Ps 103
Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17
Matt 4:1-11
Reflect on the gospel and spend some time thinking about those things that vie for your attention and distract you from a whole-hearted commitment to Christ. Think particularly of ways you discriminate against others who are part of God’s international community
· Because of race, class, gender or colour
· Because of culture, disabilities or body type·
Because of intellect or educational differences
Write down your areas of struggle on a piece of paper. If you have a wooden cross available nail or tape your distractions to the cross. Alternatively you may like to place them in a fireplace or a bowl and set them alight. Discuss how you could use this Lenten season to bring reconciliation and healing in these places
Leader: God you are good and upright and you instruct sinners in your ways
Show us how to break down the barriers separating us from each other,
All: Lead us through the wilderness sin has created to find new life
Leader: Forgive us for the times we have abandoned the poor, the disabled and the homeless,
Teach us to live by the law of love in unity, peace and concord
All: Lead us through the wilderness sin has created to find new life
Leader: Forgive us for the ways we exclude people of different race, culture or gender
Guide us that we may come to mutual understanding and care,
All: Lead us through the wilderness sin has created to find new life
Leader: Draw us into your community to embrace those with whom we need to be reconciled
Grant that all who seek to heal divisions between peoples may have hope
All: Lead us through the wilderness sin has created to find new life
Leader: Show us your ways, O Lord <
Teach us your paths and guide us towards your truth
For you are God our Saviour and our hope is in you
O God of peace and love,
You came in Jesus as our peace,
And broke down the dividing walls
Be with us as we count the cost of our responsibilities
To our neighbours near and far (Akuila Yabaki, Fiji)
Amen