Precious Lord, we come to you with heads bowed as we contemplate the confusion of our human condition. Do not pass by your servants who seek to be instruments of peace in the world.

Lord, we long to be presented mature in Christ.

Precious Lord, we consider Martha and Mary, and the many distractions by which we are pulled away from your purpose. Help us, humble members of your church, to choose the better part.

Lord, we long to be presented mature in Christ.

Precious Lord, you remind us that in order to dwell in your temple, we should not have guile on our tongues, or do evil to our friends, or heap contempt upon our neighbors. Lead our great nation, the United States of America, to be true and good to these words.

Lord, we long to be presented mature in Christ.

Precious Lord, through your miracles and your words, you teach that our hearts should be set for the the weak, the infirm, the orphan, the widow, and the stranger among us. Help us to become the eyes and ears and loving arms of the compassionate Christ.

Lord, we long to be presented mature in Christ.

Precious Lord, you have given us a most wondrous home on the great, green earth, floating in seas and skies of heart-clapping blue. Help us to cherish the earth as the great gift it is, protecting it from the harm that we, ourselves, create.

Lord, we long to be presented mature in Christ.

Precious Lord, fountain of all wisdom, we humbly beseech you to be with those who suffer sickness, injury, sadness, fear, and anxiety. To be with those who suffer hunger, homelessness, and underemployment. To be with those who are passing or have passed, and their families who love and grieve them. We ask you to be with those we now name, silently or aloud (long pause), especially those on our parish prayer list:

Lord, we long to be presented mature in Christ.

Presider: Thank you, Lord, for your mercy in giving us those things for which we are unworthy, and for which, in our blindness, we cannot ask. Amen.