We Come to Lent with Mixed Feelings

Holy One, we come to you with mixed feelings this morning, carrying joys and burdens, confusion and clarity. Wherever we find ourselves, we pray to feel your presence in our lives.

Are you paying attention, God?
We call on you.

This Lent, Holy One, we feel the burden of our loneliness, of depression, of anxiety and anger. Some of us are wondering how to make it through the week. We need your mercy more than ever.

Are you paying attention, God?
We call on you.

Others of us have so much joy in us; we have new beginnings and changes in our lives that we want to celebrate! Help us shout our joy out into the world and celebrate with us the good things we’ve received.

Are you paying attention, God?
We call on you.

But these joys and concerns are for ourselves, and there are family, friends, and neighbours who are also in our hearts this morning. We offer you the names and faces of these beloveds,
those who are unwell in body and spirit,
those who are stuck and struggling,
those who are looking for clarity,
those who are looking for connection.

We whisper each of their names in the quiet of our hearts.
(silence)

Are you paying attention, God?
We call on you.

Stretching our prayers out wider, we think of our towns, of the nearby communities.
We pray for our city centres, our care homes and jails, during times of distress. We offer up our civic leaders, health care workers, and all essential workers in prayer. Give them your wisdom and strength as they work to keep us safe.

Are you paying attention, God?
We call on you.

We look to you, God, with all these concerns we’ve named and all those left unsaid.
Loving God, we know that you are paying attention, and so
we call on you.

Amen.

Tori Mullin, Hampton U.C., Hampton, N.B.