Prayer of the Day, Pentecost 16A

“Gracious God, You gave Your Son into the hands of sinful men who killed Him.”

Gracious God, really? You deliver Your Son into the hands of sinners.  Is that what a gracious God does?  Delivered Your Son into hands that bound, slapped, grasped the whip, wove thorn branches into a crown, pounded nails through his flesh into wooden cross beams, threw dice to win him clothes.  Is that what a gracious God does, to His own Son, his only Son who helped create the creation, gave up his royal rights, was born of a woman, took on flesh, all to carry out a plan set in place beyond the advent of time to save our lives for eternity?

Would you do such thing?  I wouldn’t.  As someone told me one time, “It’s a good thing you’re not God.”

It’s well that we complete the prayer, “Forgive us when we reject Your unfailing love, and grant us the fullness of your salvation; thought Jesus Christ our Lord.”  There it is unfailing love which backs unfailing forgiveness granting salvation, through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.  All that in thirty-six words.