Creating and Creative God,
We long for your saving power.
We hear your promises to Abraham and Sarah,
We meet you in the stories of Christ,
And we desire nothing more than for you to fulfill your promises.
Sweep down and rain peace on the earth.
Move through us and take away the pain and the grief.
Rearrange the world and bring about your kingdom in all its fullness and glory.
In this season of Lent,
As we face that which is barren, dark, and arid in our own lives,
We cannot help but be reminded that you are not always the God that we desire.
When we were enslaved in Egypt, you promised freedom and a land of our own,
But we were not prepared for the journey we would have to take to get there.
When you met Elijah on the mountain, we expected to find you in the power of the earthquake, the rushing of the wind, or the heat of the fire,
But you waited until there was sheer silence.
And when you came among us and promised salvation,
We expected you to take the throne, to rule the Romans, to become the king and soldier we yearned for,
But instead, you hung on a cross and refused to condemn those who put you there.
Your ways are not our ways, holy God.
And you have not chosen the easiest path.
But you have already chosen us and so the only choice that remains is whether or not we will choose you.
And when the choice is hard,
When love requires sacrifice,
When peace requires action,
When justice means examining ourselves,
Help us to choose you—
To choose what is right over what is easy.
To choose faith even when we suspect it can’t be true.
To choose hope despite it being a lost cause.
To choose love even when it is messy
and complicated.
Take us as we are, holy God,
But do not allow us to remain unchanged.
Amen.
