All Saints Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island, SC
March 1, 2006
From all inordinate and sinful desires;
from all false doctrine; from all oppression; from the deceits of the world, the
flesh and the devil; from all blindness of heart; from pride, vainglory, and
hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice; and from all want
of charity; our offenses, our sins of omission and commission; from all evil and
wickedness; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; and from
everlasting damnation; from conspiracy and rebellion; from violence, battle and
murder and dying suddenly and unprepared; in all time of our tribulation; in all
time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, we
sinners do beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God; and that it may please thee to
rule and govern thy holy Church Universal in the right way; remember not our
offenses, nor the offenses of our forefathers; neither reward us according to
our sins; spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with
thy most precious blood, and by thy mercy preserve us, for ever from all false
doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word
and commandment; from lightening and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood;
from plague, pestilence, and famine, in time of war and peace, heartache and
mystery, only known to you in evil and unwanted thoughts and actions from the w
orld that cares
not for peace or human dignity; for life seeming not rewarded; for those
abandoned and discarded; for those on the periphery of our vision; for those in
hunger, and bread is not enough; for victims in the world whose lives seem
hidden, obscured, or invisible to us; for pride and the earthly rewards of power
and authority; for the sin within and Christ we cannot see in others; for our
assaults on creation without regard for our children or grandchildren; for our
willingness to look away rather than being involved; that it may please thee to
give to all people increase of grace to hear and receive thy Word, and to bring
forth the fruits of the Spirit; that it may please thee to bring into the way of
truth all such as have erred, and are deceived; for those blinded by their
passion; for our ability to kill with words and be swift with judgment; for help
in the midst of confusion, anger, torment, jealousy, envy; our desire to be God
and to act as if we are God; for those who have never heard the word of
salvation; for those who have lost their faith; for those hardened by sin or
indifference; for the contemptuous and the scornful; for those who are enemies
of the Cross and persecutors of his disciples; for those in the name of Christ
who have persecuted others; for those in loneliness, fear and anguish; for those
who face temptation, doubt, and despair; for the sorrowful and bereaved; for
prisoners and captives, and those in mortal danger.
End Note: Perplexed or puzzled? On one level, the highlighted
"Jesus Christ" superimposed over a litany of things that separate us from God,
was deliberate -- in the hope that such an "article" would cause a stir within
the reader, as parables caused listeners of Jesus to think and reflect on a
personal answer. In Lent, the name and person of Jesus Christ stands out
in a world of hypocrisy and man's desire to dominate and subdue not only
creation but mankind as well. Jesus Christ stands in opposition to a world
moving to the beat of their own drums.
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