The Prayer I need…
At the Foot of the Cross
God of love,
at the foot of the cross
we confess our violence,
our desire to make others
carry our suffering.
Forgive us.
We confess our fear,
our illusion of our unworthiness,
our anxiety to justify ourselves
rather than to love.
Forgive us.
We confess our self-centeredness:
that other people become
means or obstacles to our ends
instead of people,
sacred and beloved.
We hurt and judge,
we exploit and dehumanize.
We think that we or others
are unworthy.
We betray your love in us
and we crucify.
Forgive us.
At the foot of the cross
we behold this mystery:
that broken as we are,
we are sacred and beloved,
and you cherish us.
In our darkest violence
you forgive us.
In our deepest shame
you give yourself to us.
In our most adamant betrayals
you are one with us.
At the foot of the cross
give us the gift of sorrow,
the wisdom of an unflinching gaze.
Bless us, that we may know our brokenness,
that we may receive your presence,
that we may accept your forgiveness,
that we may be transformed by your love.
We pray for those whom we have hurt,
and bless those who have hurt us.
We ask and receive forgiveness of all.
We seek only to trust, only to love,
only to heal and to be healed.
At the foot of the cross,
may we die to our fear,
our self-centeredness,
our separation from others.
Take our old, mean lives
and give us new ones,
tender as new green shoots,
lives of grace,
lives of love, mercy and tenderness.
At the foot of the cross,
O gentle God,
may we die with Christ,
that you may raise us up in love.
Amen.
______________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
life: acoustic & amplified 
Thank you for sharing this, Amy. That might be the most truthful, searing poem I’ve read in years. I am going to read it over and over and over again because it describes all of us. To complete the analogy, I know that I have not only been at the foot of the cross, uncaring and strident, but I have been a Roman guard as well – probing, denying, mocking. And yet, He still loves me – and all of us. That is the miracle that gives us the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the life that we live.