Forgive Us, Accept Us, Feed Us

God of life, who takes up death for the sake of life, hear our prayers.
We are torn apart by our own guilt and we are tormented and tortured by our shame. 
Be for us now, in our guilt and shame, our companion and our defender. Take our guilt and accept us in our shame. As absurd as it is for us to even make such a request, we trust in your promise that you have already done this. 
But we are also hungry. Forgiveness and companionship... can these fill empty stomachs? Can these dry the tears of mothers who ache to feed their children? Can "salvation" save us from suffering? 
Will you be food for us? Will you be bread and drink? Not some spiritual bread or symbolic beverage, but actual bread, actual sustainance? 
Are you the bread we steal from the poor? Are you the bread that goes uneaten at the bakery while those who hunger and thirst for righteousness go away empty? 
Lord, forgive us for believing that our guilt was only ours. Make the reconciliation that comes through forgiveness heal the greed and blindness of we who cannot see you in the bread. Make the love that comes through companionship put the bread in the stomachs of your hungry people. You are the bread, you are the cup, and we long with anticipation for the day when guilt is forgiven, shame is met with grace, and hunger is greeted with the generosity and sharing of forgiven and reconciled people. We long for the world we image when we take Communion. Fill the us and heal us through your forgiveness and acceptance. 
In the name of the God of ordinary things and crucified kings. Amen. 

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