Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity

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TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Sunday, November 17, 2019

Readings:
Lesson: Hosea 11:1-11
Psalm: 128
Epistle: Philippians 1:2-11
Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

ADORATION
Almighty God, blessed are all those who fear You, for respecting You is the beginning of all wisdom and instruction. Happy are all those who walk in Your ways, for You are a faithful guide and ever-present companion. When I aim for Your goodness, I eat the fruit of my own labor, the happiness and prosperity You prepare for me in Your grace. My devotion to You becomes evident in how I care for myself. My good deeds bring others to Your table of love. You bless me, Lord, from within my heart, and You cause my mind to perceive Your prosperity and goodness all the days of my life. You show me the fruits of my good deeds being passed forward by others, and so You bring peace to my soul.

CONFESSION
Loving Father, when Israel was a child, You loved him, and out of Egypt You called Your son. I confess that the more You call me, the more I turn away from You. You teach me to walk in Your ways and hold me in Your healing arms, and yet I act as if I can go my way and heal myself. You lead me with kindness and love, and yet I do not show Your kindness and love to others. And yet You are God and no mortal. Your compassion for me grows warm and tender, even though my misdeeds merit Your anger. Only You can save me from myself. Only You can gather the scattered fragments of myself and return them healed to my heart, so that there I may worship You with my whole being.

THANKSGIVING
Holy Spirit, I thank You for the gift of prayer. Through it, not only do I share in the good news of Jesus Christ, but I also have communion with You and with my neighbor. I can joyfully make requests for others and for myself, fully confident that You hear and answer my prayers. I thank You for beginning Your good work in me, and I trust that You bring it to completion. You hold me in Your heart and allow me to participate in Your grace, even though I do not deserve it. You cause me to grow more and more into Your love, Your knowledge and insight. You teach me the right thing to do, You show me sincerity, purity and integrity, and You fill me with the fruits of Your righteousness.

SUPPLICATION
Lord Jesus Christ, You told the parable of the unforgiving servant in order to teach Your forgiveness. I pray that I may be strong enough to forgive others, to cancel and release them from their debts to me, just as You forgive me my daily, even hourly, seventy-times-seventy shortcomings. May I not throw others into the prison of guilt and pain when You Yourself release me from my own chains. May I never exact payment from others through anger, but rather let me show them Your mercy and patience. May I forgive others from my heart, that I may never be tortured by the memory of a wound. And when I cannot forgive, may I entrust the wrongdoer to Your infinite love and compassion.

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