A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 7/26

More stories this week,
more stories of abuse by clergy
(a cardinal now)
and more stories of cover-ups
and pay-offs and secrecy...

I'm no longer shocked, Lord,
I'm ashamed...

And I've run out of answers
for questions I'm asked...

How do I respond when
words of remorse
and pledges of more reform
are met with:
Sorry: too little, too late...

Out to dinner on Tuesday night
a wise friend reminded me,
"The Church needs redemption, too..."

I knew that, Lord,
but I needed to be reminded...

I needed to be reminded
that just as each of us, your sons and daughters,
stands ever in need of your mercy,
ever in need of your healing
and ever in need being redeemed,
so too does the Church,
in its structures and methods and ways,
stand ever in need of your pardon for sin
ever in need of your healing Spirit,
and ever in need of being redeemed, rebuilt,
restored, refreshed, renewed,
reshaped and remade in your image,
you who redeem us all...

I know my own sins, Lord,
and I know how I try to sweep them under the rug,
how I try to ignore and deny them
and I know all the excuses I can make
and the rationalizing I can do,
trying to cover up and keep secret,
even from you,
my weaknesses, my failings
and all the poor judgments I've made...

So, I know how I try to cover up
my failings, my weaknesses
and all the poor judgments I've made...

Like the whole Church,
like all my sisters and brothers, Lord,
I stand ever in need of your mercy,
ever in need of your healing,
ever in need of being redeemed, rebuilt,
restored, refreshed, renewed,
reshaped and remade in your image,
you who redeem us all...

For 16 years, Lord,
you've heard my parish pray, every Sunday,
for the restoration of trust and confidence in the Church.
Hear our prayer, Lord,
and redeem, rebuild, refresh, restore, renew,
reshape and remake all of us, that once again,
we might put our trust and confidence
in the Church we call our own...

Amen.