God.

We are weary and worried and wishful.
We are weary from all the voices and all the choices and all the things that break.
We are worried from all the stories of what might go wrong and who might go wrong.
We are wishful for escape and order and answers.

We’re not sure whether it helps to know that your people have been weary and worried and wishful for thousands of years.

When we know that this is human, it is a little helpful.
When we know that you haven’t fixed it yet, it’s not helpful.
And we want something that is helpful in our weariness, hopeful in our worry.

We confess.
We confess that we are more like Timothy’s audience than we are like Timothy, gathering voices that scratch what our ears are itching to hear.
We confess that we look for people who agree with us more than we look for people who challenge us.
We confess that we want to blame other’s choices for the sour taste in our mouths, forgetting that we ate the bad grapes, acted on the bad advice, followed the destructive but comfortable path.
We confess that we turn away from giving or receiving careful instruction with great patience.

Forgive us, God, as you have been forgiving your people for thousands of years.
Remind us of your gracious calling, your forgiving presence, your life-giving words, expressed in Jesus, the living Word, and carried to us in your written word.

Open our minds and our hearts to your loving law.

Through Christ our Lord we ask,

Amen.

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Jeremiah 31:27-34; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5