Dividing by our Sins (Confession)
Invitation to Confession
In the course of history, there have been many renewal movements in the Church, which is always in need of deeper conversation to her head, Jesus Christ. Sometimes these movements have led to unintended divisions. this fact contradicts what Jesus asks the Father in John 17:23: "that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." Let us confess our sins and pray for forgiveness and healing for the wounds which have resulted from our divisions. As we name these sins we will see hor they become a wall which divides us.
Silence
Let us pray: God and Father in heaven, we come to you in Jesus' name. We experience renewal through your Holy Spirit, and yet we still construct walls that divide us, walls which hinder community and unity. we bring before you now the stones with which we erect our walls and pray for your forgiveness and healing.
Amen.
One stone in our wall is "lack of love."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for whenever we have failed to love. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
One stone in our wall is "hate and contempt."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for our hate nd contempt for one another. we humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
One stone in our wall is "false accusation."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for denouncing and falsely accusing one another. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
One stone in our wall is "discrimination."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for all forms of prejudice and discrimination against one another. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sis, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Reflection
One stone in our wall is "persecution."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for persecution and torturing one another. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
One stone in our wall is "broken communion."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for perpetuating broken communion among our churches. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
One stone in our wall is "intolerance."
- Gracious god, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for banishing our brothers and sisters from our common homeland in the past and for acts of religious intolerance today. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
One stone in our wall is "religious wars."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for all wars that we have waged against one another in your name. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Reflection
One stone in our wall is "division."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for living our Christian lives divided from one another and astray from our common calling for the healing of all creation. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
One stone in our wall is "abuse of power."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for our abuse of power. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
One stone in our wall is "isolation."
- Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for the times when we have isolated ourselves from our Christian sisters and brothers and from the communities in which we live. We humbly pray:
- Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Reflection
Let us pray: Lord, our God, look upon this wall that we have built, which separates us from you and from one another. Forgive us our sins. heal us. Help us to overcome all walls of division and make us one in you.