Pastoral Prayer for Sunday, September 27, 2026

Here we are Lord, together and yet so often separated from one another. Addicted, and yet still in denial. Keeping secrets, and yet terrified to tell the truth. Lonely in a crowd, but not yet willing to cross the room and say hello. Forgive us for being so honest about others but so dishonest about ourselves.

We are not here to put on a show, or to mollify our relatives, or to earn points in the lottery of life. We are here to be undone. We are here because we want to know the truth that sets us free, and then live it instead of just liking the sound of it. We are a clever lot, but deep down we know that knowledge alone is not redemptive. We are degreed and published and tenured, but even so--pride goeth before the fall.

So, let the miracle of this hour be the blessing of self-forgetfulness. For when we think we know, that is when we do not know. But when we know that we do not know, that is when we know.

This we pray in the name of nonconformity, even Jesus of Nazareth, Amen.