To Be Easter People
Intercessor:
Our risen Lord Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” Rejoicing in His victory over sin and death, let us pray that His resurrection life may be made known through His Church.
Lord Jesus Christ, Light of the World and Word made flesh, You did not stay distant from our ruin. You took on our dust, walked our streets, touched our sickness, ate at our tables, and laid down Your life for friends and enemies alike. You showed us that the gospel is not an abstract idea, but a life poured out in joyful, sacrificial love.
People:
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Intercessor:
Merciful Lord, we confess that we forget this. We grow tired, distracted, and preoccupied. The salt drifts back into the shaker. The light slips beneath a bowl. We say more than we live and intend more than we do. Yet even now, rekindle in us the joy of lives where faith and tangible love are joined together, and where our words and our actions bear faithful witness to You.
People:
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Intercessor:
Father, as You sent the Son, and as the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit, awaken in us again the desire to be sent. Send us not only to welcome those who reach our doors, but to go with curiosity, courage, and compassionate love into neighborhoods weighed down by poverty, into shelters, juvenile detention centers, courts, clinics, struggling schools, and forgotten places. Lead us to those who are overlooked and to those who are longing for good news they can finally see and receive.
People:
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Intercessor:
Holy Spirit, write a living paper trail of love across our days. Let there be quiet but unmistakable evidence that we are salt preserving what is good and bringing healing to our communities; light shining into places burdened by injustice and despair. Give us a faith that can be seen: generous tables with room for one more, justice faithfully pursued, time freely given, judgment softened by mercy, those with little power defended, and kindness offered where no one is watching but You.
People:
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Intercessor:
Let those who do not yet know You encounter Your loving kindness through us. May they glimpse Your grace, discover Your hope, and come to believe that Your love is true. Form us into a people of whom others may say with gratitude, “They must belong to Jesus—look at how they love.”
People:
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Intercessor:
Refresh us with Your own light, O Lord, and send us out shining. May we give alms with our lives, bearing witness to Your resurrection until the day when all things are made new; through Jesus Christ our risen Lord, who was sent by the Father, and who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever.
People:
Amen.
