You said, “Come follow me.”
We know that whoever serves you, must follow you.
What does that truly mean?
You said, “Come follow me.”
That means perhaps
being asked to love someone we don’t really like
being asked to help someone we think needs to take responsibility for their own situation
being asked to give our money or our time to support the church and our community.
You said, “Come follow me” and we are drawn to you.
As we are drawn to you, we feel the comfort of your presence.
We celebrate the joy we feel in your presence.
We share with others your teachings and
dedicate ourselves to building that sense of community with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We ask ourselves what you would do, and we stretch ourselves to try and do the same.
You said, “Come follow me.”
Did your original disciples really know what it meant to follow you?
We ask that you open our eyes to your plan.
We ask that you open our ears to the cries of those around us.
We ask that you use our hands and feet to fulfill the needs around us.
More importantly, we ask that you show us our value within the body of Christ.
How are we making a difference in this world?
We are drawn to you. We follow you willingly.
Help us to understand what that really means.
Help us to understand that no matter what beliefs we speak,
we are to act out your teachings in this world.
It is not enough to say love one another as you love yourself,
if we do not act as if we love each other fully and completely.
It is not enough to say we are followers of Christ,
if we do not spend time in prayer.
It is not enough to say we seek to make this place on earth the same as heaven,
if we do not seek justice for each other.
You said, “Come follow me.”
We are here, Lord, here in this sacred place.
We return each week to learn about you,
and to build our community as you have taught us.
We have followed you to this place.
We look around, and we lift up and celebrate those who are with us.
We are the body of Christ.
We are your brothers and sisters.
We learn from each other and we have learned the most from you, Lord.
You said, “Come follow me.”
We are here, Lord, and we use the words you taught us,
“Our Father…”
Uniquely Cherished 