PRAYER FOR SERMON Sept 6, 2009 "Is it a Gift to be Simple"

Glorious God, we are assured always of your steadfast love and loyalty and gratefully acknowledge your unflagging zeal for your creation. Perhaps we have never envisioned it, but let us understand that you are always at work, laboring for the good of all humanity. May we truly comprehend that we are your Labor of love. We confess how often we have thought of you as a distant observer, rather than a full participant in our daily lives. We beg your pardon for our short-sightedness. Indeed, dearest Lord, you are not a bystander, rather you are attentive to our every breath, our ever step, our every decision, our every effort in this life. Groom us, now, to be the best stewards of your garden, that we may gently tend to the brand new seedlings, nurture the young plants as they blossom and grow and prune the mature plants. Make us sowers of your love, cultivators of kinship, planters of justice and instruments of your peace. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.