Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him;

Holy Father, in this Lenten season, we desire to know more deeply, more concretely, what it is to live in your Son, Jesus Christ. We feel your presence, we know your indwelling in our souls. Move in us, in power, to live into your Son’s mission for our lives, such that those around us are transformed by encountering Christ’s love in us. Move in us as a church, to live into your Son’s mission, such that Eastman and Dodge County are transformed by encountering Christ’s love within us.

For we know your love. We have experienced your love. We have been shaped and molded by your love. In the depths of our despair, we have known your love in each other. In the heights of joy, we have known your love in our jubilee. Through our tears of happiness and sorrow, we have known your love saying to us, “my beloved child, I am with you.”

In the thick and thin of life, we have known that no other bread satisfies like your Son. No other food can bring us completion like the gift of your presence, a presence we know because of your Son’s sacrifice and the indwelling of your Holy Spirit. Thank you, holy Father, for sending your Son to die for us, to conquer sin and death for us, destroying their power forever. And so, in gratitude, we say thank you, and Amen.