Lord of Heaven, Most Utterly Other--
before the universe was, You were…
and are--Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Before the foundation of the world,
You chose to disrupt Your perfect Trinity on my account:
The Son would leave his glory and take human form.
The Spirit would empower Christ to face the cross, and
The Father would turn His face away.
And in that one cosmic moment,
Sin would be atoned,
Death would be undone, and
The Father would scandalously open his Banquet Table to redeemed
sinners—of whom I am chief.
And while I cannot pretend to grasp
the greatness of Your grace,
the depth of Your love, or
the cost You paid to ransom my life from judgment—
as I prepare to commemorate Holy Week and celebrate Your resurrection,
I pray that You will truly change me.
Let me gaze into the darkness of my own sin
and be wrecked by the realization that
My rebellion and unrighteousness required Your death.
Let me look into the brightness of Your love
and confess there is absolutely nothing
You haven’t done to redeem and restore my life.
And yet, there are so many things I do—or don’t do—
that keep me from all You rose again to give me.
Even as You shouted “It is finished!” from the cross,
Let me be done with “all the vain things that charm me most.”
Let me live each day on earth as it is in Heaven—
in joyful submission to the Father who has made us His sons and daughters.
Teach me to worship You in spirit and in truth.
Lead me to inspire Your worship
as people see Your grace and mercy in me.
Prepare my heart for Holy Week
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.