Prayer for forgiveness
Luke 14:15-24
The Parable of the Great Dinner
15 One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 Then Jesus[a] said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. 17 At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ 20 Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ 23 Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you,[b] none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
Lord God,
You have prepared an abundance before us: the rolling hills, the waters of the seas and rivers; sun, moon and stars in their heavens above; for the many times when we have forgotten how great you are, forgive us.
You have prepared an abundance before us: supermarkets with food and fruit of every colour and variety, produced by hard work by many near and far, nurtured by the sun and rain you provide for growth; when we wander round and fill our trolleys we take for granted your goodness to us and when we do, forgive us.
You have prepared an abundance before us: family and friends who share our lives, support and encourage us along life’s narrow way; opportunities to see new things and wonders in medicine and science and technology; when we fail to see you in others and when we forget you are the God of modern day, forgive us.
Loving God, you invite us to your table; you provide us with everything we need; you ask us to follow and share your plans and your abundance with the world and, most importantly, to share your love.
Send us from this place to share with others the great things you have done and to do even greater things in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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