Jesus by Mame June
Revelation 1:5-6 To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, we come before you today as your beloved people.
We thank you that you have called us by name, and that because of your calling we have become part of your great family, joining those from every tribe and language and nation as your holy people.
In a world of violence and bloodshed, we recognize our own complicity in the sins of the world.
We acknowledge that, directly or indirectly, we are party to the systems of oppression and domination which feed and perpetuate the global cycles of hatred and poverty.
We confess our implicit complicity in corruption, and with horror we see the blood stains on our own hands.
The blood of our sisters and brothers cries out from the earth for justice.
And so we turn to the cross as the end of violence, and there we encounter you, Lord Jesus Christ, our lord and our saviour.
In your shed blood we see the blood of the innocent, the blood of the martyrs, the blood of the oppressed, the blood of the enslaved. In the horror of the cross we meet the worst excesses of humanity, and find the end result of our own sinfulness.
And yet, at the point of condemnation, at the moment of judgment, we encounter mercy and forgiveness. At your cross our guilt is atoned. By your blood we are freed from our sins. The stench of death becomes the promise of new life.
So, resurrected Lord, breathe new life into us today. Make us and remake us to be the people of your kingdom. May we be those who, through naming you as Lord, find freedom and forgiveness. May we, as the redeemed people of God, be those who draw others into your kingdom of grace and forgiveness.
To you be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
By Simon Woodman