Prayers for Worship
Easter 6
by Ron Gordon

John 15: 9-17

Collect:
 

Lord Jesus you share with us the Father’s love for you, for us and for the world. 
You call us and make us your friends that we might know your joy. May such grace 
awaken us to be joyful children of the Father always bearing the fruit of love, 
in your name.   Amen.

Prayer:
 

Holy is your name, O God; holy is your Word by whom all things came into being 
and is known to us as Jesus the Christ; Holy is your Spirit brooding over dark waters in creation, 
and within ourselves. Holy and blessed is God in all glory: Father, Son 
and Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen

Jesus, our God and our Brother: by the costliness of your cross we know the great gift of grace: 
free, unmerited, eternal. You have loved God in true obedience, fulfilling the divine will. 
You have loved us and called us into friendship, sharing your knowledge, and bringing us 
into a loving relationship with the Father. You have shown the love of God for the world,  
your arms spread widely on the cross to gather us all.

When we have denied the costliness of grace and have cheapened ourselves, 
who were bought with a price. We have devalued others who also share the same value. 
Lord, have mercy.

When we have lived without true obedience to your desire for brothers and sisters 
who are free and joyful, and have turned sour faces to the celebrations of life 
and denied the fullness of humanity we see in you: Christ, have mercy.

When we have failed to produce the fruit of the True Vine by our lack of love, 
repudiating the demands love makes for our neighbours, and have pretended 
not to see or know: Lord, have mercy.

Spirit of Truth, you face us with our failure and point the way to forgiveness 
and newness of life freely offered in the grace of our Lord Jesus.  
Thanks be to God for sins forgiven, new life offered, and for love which will never die 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© 2009 Ron Gordon (used with permission)

steamed up
by Jenn Gordon
 
John 15:9-17

love one another;
it’s a simple enough command but I get stuck every time
I want to find some kind of loophole because
there are people that I don’t want to love
like the ones who don’t love me back
and don’t even look or smell like me
and there are even some who scare me with their darkness
because it reminds me that there’s a shadow on my inner wall also,
if I dare to look and I don’t want to,
won’t love them and won’t even look in that direction
I’ll just choose to invest love only where I can’t lose
that can be my way of doing what you say,

then you sneak into my bathroom
when the shower’s steam has misted the mirror
and you laugh with foggy breath at how fickle friends can be
and you say it plain;
I chose you and I love you, so here it is again
this love we have is not a burden, not a secret,
not a contract, not a task,
it’s simply to be shared, without constraint
that’s all I ask.

and I can’t help wishing you wouldn’t interrupt my life
especially in the morning when I’m trying to get ready
for the day.

(Comments to Jenn at jennieg@labyrinth.net.au.)