Fifth Sunday of Lent

John 12:20-33
March 29, 2009

Jesus,
I cling to what I think is certainty.
I really do not like change.
I realize nothing lasts forever.
Change forces me to hold tight to what I know.
Fear takes hold of me because I live too comfortably.

You promise me if I let go you will not abandon me.
You tell me I am similar to the grain of wheat.
It thinks it is enough to stay as it is.
But it must fall to the earth.
It must die.
It must become something more.

Fashion me in the pattern of wheat.
Pry open my life from living my self-sufficient ways.
Encourage me to abandon my cares in your love for me.
Help me die the deaths that stifle my growth.
Live in me so I can become something more.

Jesus,
These Lenten days show me my stubbornness.
They teach me how I am emotionally bottled up.
The Scriptures teach me to trust in your dying and rising.

Release me from my pre-occupation.
Show me what you have planned for me.
Help me see my own growth from the bud of letting go.

Then I will be free to serve.
As I fall to the ground like wheat to the earth.
I will grow for others.

Open my heart and teach me to serve people.
Help me grow toward the light of love.

Amen