This is a Call to Worship and Gathering Prayer based on the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25 that comes up in the lectionary for Pentecost 10A (July 10, 2005),
David Ourisman
 

Call to Worship

One: We are children of God and brothers and sisters to one another.
All:    We are a family of faith.
One: But like the people of faith we find in the Bible,
          we find family life to be a complex thing:
          personality conflicts, disagreements, and even jealousy affect our human relationships.
All:    So we come to worship acknowledging all of our baggage,
          yet grateful that God chooses us and works through us.

 

 
Gathering Prayer
Thought for meditation:
think of the conflict between Jacob and Esau,
a conflict that began at birth and grew stronger as the brothers grew older.
Think of the conflicts we face in our daily lives...

 
(pause for silent prayer)

 

Compassionate God, we marvel at how open you are to us. You know us as we are. You understand all the ways we bring pain into our own lives. You see all the ways we bring pain into the lives of others. Yet you listen to us without judgment. You love us unconditionally. You accept us as beloved children.

Help us to be generous with ourselves. Help us to accept our own reality. Help us to love ourselves as you love us. And, then, may that love we learn from you, and extend to others, transform the relationships we have with our brothers and sisters. Amen.