For February 23, 2025 -- Epiphany 7C

PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Source of life and love, you challenge us to love and serve each other.
And we commit ourselves to do that.
Source of life and love, you challenge us to go further, to love and serve those who mistreat us.
That is harder, but we commit ourselves to try our best.
Source of life and love, you challenge us to avoid judging each other.
Help us offer forgiveness, forgiveness that runs over.
Source of life and love, in your grace help us grow in faith hope and love.
Help us learn from our successes and failures, help us treat others as we would be treated, help us love and serve our friends and our enemies as we strive to follow The Way of Jesus.
God, who is our source of life and love, does challenge us to go beyond the simple, to go the extra mile in love. The same God shows us grace and mercy when that extra step feels just too much. In grace God picks us back up and helps us try again, offering forgiveness that runs over whatever measure we might use.
Thanks be to God! Hallelujah! Amen.