4/4/17

a palm / passion sunday prayer of intercession

I offered this Prayer of Intercession for Palm/Passion Sunday when I served as Worship Elder during Holy Week at University Congregation. It followed the singing of the hymn "Ride on! Ride on in Majesty!"

Ride on! Ride on in majesty!
         You who shape the stars and sky.
         You who hold the sun and sea.
         You who shape today and tomorrow.
         You who hold neighbour and stranger.
                    Your steadfast love, your tender mercies, your startling grace
                             suffers all, bears all, hopes all
                                     and we are in awe, speechless in gratitude.

Ride on! Ride on in majesty!
         Holy Sufferer,
                     Your love breaks all boundaries.
                              You dawn each day in wonder.
                              You gift each life with breath.                            
                              You ache with every misery.
                              You mourn every grief.
                   
                    So now we dare to join You in holding all things in prayer ...
                         
                              We pray for the salvation of the earth and its creatures.

                              We pray for the redemption of the church
                                        and for the faithful witness of the baptised.

                              We pray for the healing of the nations
                                        and the reconciliation of all peoples with You
                                                   and with one another.

                              We pray for the sick and the suffering ...
                                        for those who face surgery and treatment,
                                        for those who are hungry and homeless,
                                        for those who cannot cope,
                                        for those who are anxious,
                                        for those who are depressed,
                                        for those who struggle with addiction,
                                        for those who long to be reconciled,
                                        for those who have been wronged,
                                        for those who have done wrong,
                                        for those who face death,
                                        for those we name aloud and in silence ...

Holy Sufferer,
          in Jesus Christ your passion for the world is revealed,
          in Jesus Christ your steadfast love is made known,
          in Jesus Christ we discover that your power to make new knows no boundaries,
          in Jesus Christ we find that you are not finished with your creation or with us.

So we are now your daring hopers,
                waiting expectantly for You,
                waiting in eager longing when death itself has triumphed,
                waiting for You even when Your absence is all we know.

Come, Lord Jesus,
Come to forgive, to heal and to redeem.
Come in mercy and in power.
Come, Lord Jesus.

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