A Confession adapted from the prayer "Perfectly Love" by Walter Bruggemann in ~Prayers for a Privileged People~

We have been commanded from the beginning to love you with
all our hearts and
all our souls and
all our minds and
all our strength.

We have pledged to love, in our preayers and inour vows, with our best relove.

But we confess . . . .

We love you imperfectly;
We love you with a divided hear,
With a thousand other loves that are more compellying,
With reservation and qualification,
And passion withheld and devotion impaired.

We do nor come to pretend before you,
But to confess that we do not,
As we are,
Love you perfectly;
We do not keep your commands;
We do not order our lives by your purpose;
We do not tilt toward you as our deepest affection.

But we would . . . . . .
We would love you more perfectly,
By the taste of bread become your flesh,
By the swallor of wine become your blood,
By the praise of our lips and beyond our usual reasoning,
By the commandments that are not burden but joy to us,
By embraceing your passion for neighbors,
By your ways of justice and peace and mercy,
By honoring the world you have made
And all creatures great and smal,
By self-care that knows you as our creator.

Lead us past our shabby compromises
And our cheap devotion;

Lead us into singleness vision
And purity of heart,

That we may will one thing,
And answer back in love to your great love to us.

Free us from idolatries,
And our habits of recalcitrance,
Tender our hearts,
Gentle our lips,
Open our hands,

That we may turn toward you fully,
Toward your world unguardedly,

Let us bask in your freedom
To be fully yours, and,
So trusting, fully your own.


We pray through the Lord Jesus Christ who loved you

Singularly, perfectly, fully - to the end.