On the first Good Friday morning, Jesus was on trial before the Roman governor. In his interrogation of Jesus, Pontius Pilate asked, “What is truth?” Sometimes it is very hard to discover the truth about certain factors or issues. Today we will be thinking about that quest in religious questions, but also in matters which increasingly confront us in what we have always thought of as “news” when “news” has taken on a very different meaning in recent months. Let us worship the God who is the essence of truth.
Pastoral Prayer
As we draw ever closer to Holy Week, loving God, we are reminded again of the overwhelming challenges Jesus faced as he went to Jerusalem. We remember the exultant crowd who greeted him when he entered the holy city in triumph. We ponder how very quickly his enemies conspired to get him quickly brought to trial, and quickly sent to his execution. We express deep gratitude for his willingness to go through the humiliation and torture he endured, believing it to be a necessary part of Thine ultimate purpose for his life. Help us to be followers who are truly worthy of his sacrifice. Enable us to become Christians in fact as well as in name.
We pray for Thy forgiveness for the ways in which we have failed to devote ourselves to Thy laws and to Jesus, whom Thou hast sent among us to show us the pathway into Thy kingdom. We have not been sufficiently respectful of one another, we have sometimes acted recklessly or with no forethought, and we have put ourselves ahead of others and ahead of Thy purposes for us. In this Lenten season of introspection and reflection, give us new dedication to repent and to move forward with refreshed commitment.
We pray for people who are facing challenges to their faith: those who recently have received the diagnosis of a terminal illness; those who deal with continuous pain or discomfort, and whose patience wears thin because of their burdens; those who live under a cloud of constant despair; those who are estranged from someone greatly loved who has left them alone and heartbroken. We ask Thee to be with professionals who daily minister to those with such needs, but also with the multitude of ordinary caring people who reach out in compassion to them. Teach us how better to be the conduits of Thy love to those around us, that we may be instruments of Thy peace. These things we pray in the name of him whose love we see most clearly manifested as we approach Easter, Jesus Christ, Thy son. Now, as Jesus taught us, we pray together, saying, Our Father….