Scripture Readings
Using Hebrew Scriptures from the Revised Common Lectionary paired with readings from Matthew's version of the Sermon on the Mount.
Lent 1 - Communing with Desire
Genesis 2-3 Garden Encounters
Matthew 6:1-18 Prayer Instructions
Lent 2 - Communing with Fear
Genesis 12:1-4 Entry Etiquette
Matthew 5:43-48 Entry Etiquette Plus
Lent 3 - Communing with Need
Exodus 17:1-7 - Rock Water
Matthew 6:19ff - Consider the Lilies
Lent 4 - Communing with Pride
I Samuel 16:1-13 Young and Beautiful
Matthew 7:1-5 Tending to the Board
Lent 5 - Communing with the Holy
Ezekiel 37:1-14 Breathing on the Bones
Matthew 7:7-11 Asking
Inspired by a prayer in the Iona Community Worshipbook and the Hebrew Scriptures, cycle A. Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 2002. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
Because temptation is woven into the fabric of our lives,
and we know the weariness of forty days in the desert,
and the beckoning power of sweet fruit,
and the vain promises of the world,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.
Because we see the broken before the whole,
and the half empty cup, and the unfinished task,
and the thirst in freedom’s quest,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.
Because we trust in what we can see,
and we are blinded by our prejudices,
and we do not know what we do not know,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.
Because our need for correctness exceeds our need for truth,
and our excuses preempt the cry of the wounded,
and our celebration of blessing is mindless of those displaced,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.
Because you came among us,
and breathed into our sinewy souls,
and healed our pain and let us wound you,
and loved us to the end,
and triumphed over all our hatred,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.