This Great Prayer of Thanksgiving was written with today’s lectionary gospel in mind: John 11:1-45, the story of the raising of Lazarus.
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Thanks and praise indeed, O God.
Thanks and and praise to you,
For you created all things good,
You create all things good,
And you sustain our lives through the goodness of your spirit.
Through the ages, you have been the God of life:
You brought new life through Eve and Adam;
Covenant life through Abraham and Sarah;
Faithful life through the voices of prophets;
The fullness of life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
You are the God of life, O Holy One,
And you are the God of our lives.
When we are swallowed by grief and fear,
You comfort us with new hope.
When we are certain that hope is gone,
You surprise with the depth of love.
When we turn away from your love,
You call us back, again and again,
With words of forgiveness and a spirit of peace.
Therefore we offer our thanks and praise,
Joining our voices with the faithful of the all the ages,
Who forever sing of your glory:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord. God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Hosanna in the highest, O triune God,
For the gift of this holy meal,
The gift of this holy community,
And, most of all, the gift of your holy son.
Through Christ, you came among us,
Lived with us, and suffered for us us,
That we might have life and have it abundantly.
As we celebrate this sacred meal, we remember the meals that Jesus shared,
The words that Jesus said,
The death that Jesus died,
And the resurrection that Jesus embodied.
This faith we proclaim is beyond our understanding,
yet we live in the light of its truth.
Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
We gather at this table as the body of Christ,
Many members united in one faith, one Lord, one baptism.
We pray for your spirit of comfort, strength, and healing upon us and the ones we love:
[Name the prayer concerns of your community]
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, O God of Life,
And upon these gifts of fruit and grain,
That they may be for us the presence of Christ through the power of your Spirit.
Unite us with you and with one another through the sharing of this meal.
Nourish us in faith, encourage us in hope,
And lead us more deeply into the fullness of life in You.
We pray now the words that Jesus taught us, saying, Our father… Amen.
Words of Instutition
Communion of the People
And also with you. 