Prayer for the third Sunday of Lent – Luke 13: 1 -9
Luke 13:1-9
13 At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish just as they did.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the man working the vineyard, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”
God of infinite goodness,
throughout the ages you have persevered
in claiming and reclaiming your people as they have strayed away.
Sometimes it is easier to complain
than to face that which we are complaining about.
Sometimes it is easier to give up and
walk away instead of addressing the problem.
Sometimes we just don’t have the energy or the direction to
give to all the hurt and anxiety and chaos around us.
Sometimes it is easier to step or walk away because
we don’t always know the right way to turn or to act.
Renew for us your call to repentance,
surround us with witnesses to aid and guide us in this chaotic journey,
and grant us the time to be nurtured, to be refresh and to be strengthened.
We want to make a difference in our communities and in the world,
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
