Light of Christ
Hello, friends.
It’s been a long while since I opened this space for our monthly Repentance Thursday feature. This is a monthly practice offered the first Thursday of each month that provides an opportunity for us to examine our hearts for the places of violence, unlove, apathy, or anything else that has kept us from God and others in the previous 30 days. (You can find the original post about Repentance Thursday here.)
Although this Repentance Thursday is technically a day behind schedule (I’m writing this in the wee hours of the morning on a Friday), I found my heart craving the opportunity for confession and repentance that this ritual provides. In particular, this prayer of confession from the Book of Common Prayer has been running through my mind tonight, and I thought it would be edifying to share it with you and then provide the opportunity for our Repentance Thursday practice:
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
So, on this Repentance Thursday, we are invited to consider the following questions as we prayerfully review this last month:
- Into what dark mires did our hearts traverse?
- In what ways did we bring harm to our fellow man, either in thought, word, or deed?
- How did we sin against God?
Father God,
I seem to need confession more and more these days. I have become so aware of my heart’s unlove, anger, judgment, and pride.
For the times I have judged my brothers and sisters, forgive me.
For the times I have withheld my love, forgive me.
For the times I have allowed my anger to incite greater pride in my life, forgive me.
For the ways I try to justify myself to you, forgive me.
For the ways I have held you at arm’s length, forgive me.
Thank you for your cleansing absolution of my sins, through Jesus Christ. Amen.