Felt repentance versus formal regrets
Worship
LECTIONARY WORSHIP AIDS
Series II
Exegetical note: The context for Joel's prophesies is a plague of locusts, which he interprets as a sign of God's approaching judgment ("the day of the Lord"), and takes as an opportunity to call the people to repent and return to their "gracious and merciful" God. The methods that he commends are public and traditional rituals: fasting, weeping, and mourning. But he insists that these acts reflect a deeply felt repentance (i.e., of "torn hearts") rather than a merely formal expression of regrets (e.g., with "torn garments").
Call to Worship
Leader:
Brothers and sisters, we come before God this Ash Wednesday as sinful people.
People:
BUT WE ALSO COME AS A REPENTANT PEOPLE, TRUSTING IN GOD'S MERCY!
Leader:
For ours is a righteous and a merciful God!
People:
OURS IS A JUST AND GRACIOUS GOD!
Collect
Just and righteous God, you have given us the opportunity to repent of our sins and to receive your mercy. Help us to use this special day to best advantage: that feeling in our hearts the deepest regret for our shortcomings, we may open ourselves completely to your forgiving grace in Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Gracious and merciful God, we are deeply sorry that we are so sinful, and that we fail so miserably and consistently to live godly lives. We know that we deserve your wrath and your punishment. Please forgive us anyway, O God, out of the rich storehouses of your grace and mercy, and instill in us a spirit of true repentance and conversion, so that we may henceforth live holy lives devoted to you, your Christ, and your coming Reign. In the redemptive name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Ash Wednesday
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:2 (3-10)
Theme:
The immediacy of God's grace
Exegetical note: After expressing in a nutshell the essence of both his soteriology and his Christology (5:18-19, 21), Paul urges the Corinthian Christians not to take God's grace lightly, and insists that the salvation promised eschatologically by such prophets as Isaiah (quoted in v. 6:2a) is available in the present moment (the "now" of v. 6:2b).
Call to Worship
Leader:
Behold, now is God's acceptable time!
People:
NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!
Leader:
Let us therefore ready ourselves for God's reconciling grace!
People:
LET US PREPARE OURSELVES TO RECEIVE GOD'S OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS IN CHRIST JESUS!
Collect
Most glorious God, you have declared today as your acceptable time, the very day of our salvation. Impress upon us the extent of our alienation from you: that, aware of the urgency of our need for reconciliation, we may be ready to receive your immediate redemption in Christ Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, it grieves us to recognize just how much we are alienated from you because of our sin, and how afflicted our lives are as a result. We would rather forget our sorry condition, and we postpone dealing with it as long as possible, as though our redemption were a last resort. Forgive us, we pray, and convince us of the urgency of our need and the immediacy of your reconciling, redeeming grace, which brings us the benefits of Christ Jesus, not in some obscure future, but in the here and now. In his name we pray. Amen
Ash Wednesday
Gospel:
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Theme:
Christian penance as closet piety
Exegetical note: Jesus' (or Matthew's!) criticism here is directed, not at the three types of piety specified (almsgiving, prayer, and fasting), but at what must have been (and probably still is) the irresistible tendency to make these public spectacles for popular approval. The sayings recorded here, therefore, commend a kind of "closet penance," built on the conviction that acts of repentance should be private matters between the individual and God, and not exhibitions for public consumption.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 51)
Leader:
May God have mercy upon us!
People:
FOR WE KNOW OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, AND OUR SIN IS EVER BEFORE US!
Leader:
Behold, God desires truth in the inward being!
People:
MAY GOD THEREFORE PURGE US, WASH US, AND FILL US WITHIN!
Collect
Glorious God, you have taught us proper repentance through the words of Jesus. Teach us today the secret of self-examination: that, made deeply aware of the sinful condition of our inner spirits, we may feel the kind of contrition that will prepare us for the grace you offer in the Christ. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, we acknowledge and confess now with public words the sin and iniquity that we feel most profoundly in the privacy of our spirits, and that we feel powerless to overcome. We have made valiant attempts to change our ways, but often simply to appear religious or righteous to those around us. Forgive us, we pray, and enable us to repent in the privacy of our inner selves, with sincerity and singleness of heart. Then restore and reconcile us to you by the power of your Holy Spirit and your grace in the Christ in whose name we pray. Amen
Call to Worship
Leader:
Brothers and sisters, we come before God this Ash Wednesday as sinful people.
People:
BUT WE ALSO COME AS A REPENTANT PEOPLE, TRUSTING IN GOD'S MERCY!
Leader:
For ours is a righteous and a merciful God!
People:
OURS IS A JUST AND GRACIOUS GOD!
Collect
Just and righteous God, you have given us the opportunity to repent of our sins and to receive your mercy. Help us to use this special day to best advantage: that feeling in our hearts the deepest regret for our shortcomings, we may open ourselves completely to your forgiving grace in Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Gracious and merciful God, we are deeply sorry that we are so sinful, and that we fail so miserably and consistently to live godly lives. We know that we deserve your wrath and your punishment. Please forgive us anyway, O God, out of the rich storehouses of your grace and mercy, and instill in us a spirit of true repentance and conversion, so that we may henceforth live holy lives devoted to you, your Christ, and your coming Reign. In the redemptive name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Ash Wednesday
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:2 (3-10)
Theme:
The immediacy of God's grace
Exegetical note: After expressing in a nutshell the essence of both his soteriology and his Christology (5:18-19, 21), Paul urges the Corinthian Christians not to take God's grace lightly, and insists that the salvation promised eschatologically by such prophets as Isaiah (quoted in v. 6:2a) is available in the present moment (the "now" of v. 6:2b).
Call to Worship
Leader:
Behold, now is God's acceptable time!
People:
NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!
Leader:
Let us therefore ready ourselves for God's reconciling grace!
People:
LET US PREPARE OURSELVES TO RECEIVE GOD'S OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS IN CHRIST JESUS!
Collect
Most glorious God, you have declared today as your acceptable time, the very day of our salvation. Impress upon us the extent of our alienation from you: that, aware of the urgency of our need for reconciliation, we may be ready to receive your immediate redemption in Christ Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, it grieves us to recognize just how much we are alienated from you because of our sin, and how afflicted our lives are as a result. We would rather forget our sorry condition, and we postpone dealing with it as long as possible, as though our redemption were a last resort. Forgive us, we pray, and convince us of the urgency of our need and the immediacy of your reconciling, redeeming grace, which brings us the benefits of Christ Jesus, not in some obscure future, but in the here and now. In his name we pray. Amen
Ash Wednesday
Gospel:
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Theme:
Christian penance as closet piety
Exegetical note: Jesus' (or Matthew's!) criticism here is directed, not at the three types of piety specified (almsgiving, prayer, and fasting), but at what must have been (and probably still is) the irresistible tendency to make these public spectacles for popular approval. The sayings recorded here, therefore, commend a kind of "closet penance," built on the conviction that acts of repentance should be private matters between the individual and God, and not exhibitions for public consumption.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 51)
Leader:
May God have mercy upon us!
People:
FOR WE KNOW OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, AND OUR SIN IS EVER BEFORE US!
Leader:
Behold, God desires truth in the inward being!
People:
MAY GOD THEREFORE PURGE US, WASH US, AND FILL US WITHIN!
Collect
Glorious God, you have taught us proper repentance through the words of Jesus. Teach us today the secret of self-examination: that, made deeply aware of the sinful condition of our inner spirits, we may feel the kind of contrition that will prepare us for the grace you offer in the Christ. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, we acknowledge and confess now with public words the sin and iniquity that we feel most profoundly in the privacy of our spirits, and that we feel powerless to overcome. We have made valiant attempts to change our ways, but often simply to appear religious or righteous to those around us. Forgive us, we pray, and enable us to repent in the privacy of our inner selves, with sincerity and singleness of heart. Then restore and reconcile us to you by the power of your Holy Spirit and your grace in the Christ in whose name we pray. Amen
