A Concord Pastor Comments: Monday Morning Offering

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

It’s almost time for us all
to give each other gifts
on Jesus’ birthday -
and I hope you’ll forgive us
for getting that mixed up again this year!

So, there's lots of wrapping going on:
paper and foil, gift bags and boxes,
tags and tape, ribbons and bows…

Everyone’s wrapped up in wrapping...

So what I offer you this morning, Lord,
are all the things I’m wrapped up in
that need unwrapping...

• I get wrapped up so easily in little things
while the big things that matter go undone…

Unwrap me, Lord, and make me faithful
to things deserving my priority…

• I get wrapped up in things that waste my time
and time is one of my most precious possessions…

Unwrap me, Lord, and make a good steward
of my days and nights, my work, my play and my rest…

• I get wrapped up in day dreams
and leave my most important hopes untended…

Unwrap me, Lord, and sharpen my vision
of what’s real and what helps me truly grow…

• I get wrapped up in desires
for what I should not or cannot have…

Unwrap me, Lord, and give me a hunger
for what truly nourishes and satisfies…

• I get wrapped up in hurt and anger
that sap my energy for reaching out generously…

Unwrap me, Lord, and free my heart
to be with others and to do for others…

• And I wrap myself up in my self, too:
in my fears, my worries, my disappointments…

Unwrap me, Lord, and let me see the blessings I have,
and the gifts of your presence, your comfort
and your strength...

Unwrap me, Lord,
so that others can know and enjoy my gifts…

Unwrap me, Lord,
so that nothing hides me from you and your love
and the love of those around me…

It's your birthday, Lord,

and so I want to offer you my unwrapped heart
my opened faith, my unsealed trust…

Unwrap me, Lord,
I need your help with this

because I cannot unwrap myself…

In this week before your birthday, Lord,
help me not get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle
but rather free me for the peace
promised in your coming,
the gift of peace unwrapped in your birth...

Amen.

(Click here for an archive of Monday Morning Offerings)