I invite you to take up your palm cross, and as we pray
to look at it
We look at its base, and imagine the cross
of Christ plunged deep into the earth
Father God, we thank you for sending your Son to come and
live among us, for his being one of us, his suffering with us and his death for
us.
We thank you that in the face of lies, injustice and
unspeakable brutality, our Lord Jesus, out of love for us, kept silence and
bore in his own body the weight of our sin
We pray today for all who suffer: for those who suffer
pain and grief, who see no hope or who are lost inside their own mind. But particularly
today we pray for those who suffer because of injustice or the violence of
others. We pray for our Coptic brothers and sisters in Egypt. We pray for
safety for the many acts of witness that will be held throughout the world
today. And we pray for those who would commit acts of terror. We ask that you frustrate
them, and that you would touch their hearts and minds so that they turn to you;
so that those who have declared themselves to be our enemies would become, in
you, our friends for eternity.
We look at the crossbar, on which the arms
of the Son of God are opened wide
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we thank you for your great
love. We thank you for your delight in us, for your desire that we might come
to know you.
Fill us with your Spirit that we might have the same
love.
Give us grace to see others as you see them, and to sacrifice
ourselves for those among whom we live and work.
Help us to proclaim your love with courage and clarity.
We pray for our town and villages, for our churches and
projects. We thank you for the unity you have given us, and we pray that together
we might be a beacon of light pointing people to you. And we ask today that as
we walk through town, in respectful silence, behind the cross, people would be
drawn to you.
We look at the
cross
We see a symbol of utter evil and cruelty and hatred. But
we also see a symbol of the most astonishing love and obedience and sacrifice
Father God, as you take the absolute worst and transform
it into the bridge from heaven to earth and earth to heaven, so we ask you to
transform us and our communities and our nation, so that what is death in us may become life
for others and bring glory to you.
So we pray as our Saviour taught us:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name
Your Kingdom come
Your will be done, on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive us our sin, as we forgive those who sin
against us
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory are yours,
Now
and for ever. Amen.
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