Gathering at the table

We come into the wilderness – not alone, not abandoned.
We come to the table of mercy.

In a world of voices and cravings, God speaks life.
Teach us to choose what is good, and to resist what harms.

This is Christ’s table.
Not a reward for the victorious,
but strength for the tempted.
Not a prize for the flawless,
but bread for those who come as they are.

We come with honesty and need.
We come for courage, for wisdom, for grace enough for today.

The Peace

Peace is not escape – it is God’s steadiness in the struggle.
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.

(Share peace in ways that honour boundaries – words, a nod, a wave, a hand on heart.)

The Great Thanksgiving

The Spirit is here.
The Spirit is with us.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the God of love.

Let us give thanks to the Holy One.
It is right to give thanks and praise.

It is right, and a faithful thing,
to give you thanks, God of wilderness and mercy.
You planted a garden and trusted us with its care.
You made creation good, and gave us freedom.
You warned us about what destroys,
and you grieve when harm takes hold.

When we reach for control, you call us back to trust.
When we hide, you call us into truth.
When we feel the weight of brokenness, you offer forgiveness that frees.
You do not leave us trapped in shame – you open a way towards life.

In Jesus, you step into the wilderness.
He refuses shortcuts that serve power.
He resists the voices that twist hunger into control.
He answers temptation with truth,
and he chooses the way of love.

And so, with angels and ancestors,
with all who resist harm and seek life,
with all who are learning to trust again,
we sing the song of heaven:

Holy, holy, holy One,
breath of all that lives, fire of all that loves,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes to heal and to set free.
Hosanna in the highest.

Thanksgiving and story

Blessed are you, Holy One.
You speak truth with tenderness –
not to humiliate,
but to heal.

In the garden, our trust was tested,
and we reached for what was not ours to take.
We tried to cover our vulnerability,
and we learned what it feels like to hide.

Yet you did not abandon your people.
You kept calling us back to you –
into confession that is freedom,
into forgiveness that is a new beginning.

In Jesus, you show us a different way.
In the wilderness he does not grasp at power.
He does not turn stones into certainty.
He does not perform faith to impress.
He does not bow to domination.

He chooses the slow work of love.
He chooses solidarity with the hungry.
He chooses trust in the One who gives life.
And he invites us to follow.

Words of Institution

On the night before he gave himself for us,
Jesus took bread;
he gave thanks, broke it, and said:
“Take, eat. This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”

When the meal was ended,
he took the cup;
he gave thanks, and said:
“Drink from this, all of you.
This is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many,
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me.”

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Prayer of the Spirit

Pour out your Spirit on us gathered here,
and on these gifts of bread and cup.
Make them for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we may be for the world the body of Christ:
honest in truth,
steady in love,
wise in resistance,
gentle in strength.

Where we are tempted to grab, teach trust.
Where we are tempted to perform, teach humility.
Where we are tempted to control, teach compassion.
Where we are tempted to despair, give hope.

Help us to name what harms, and to turn from it.
Help us to choose what gives life, and to keep choosing it.
Help us to walk through the wilderness with courage –
fed by grace,
held by love,
led by your Spirit.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory are yours,
God of promise and presence,
now and always.
Amen.

The Prayer Jesus taught

As Jesus taught us, we pray:
(Use your community’s preferred wording/version.)

Breaking the bread

We break this bread
to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in one bread.

The gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.

Sharing the bread and cup

(Words such as these may be used during the distribution.)

Grace for you.
Strength for the wilderness.

(If people receive a blessing instead of the elements: “May Christ be close to you; may love hold you.”)

Prayer after Communion

God of mercy,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have fed us with grace,
and steadied us for the road ahead.

When the voices are loud, keep us rooted in truth.
When the struggle is long, keep us held in love.

Send us out into the wilderness of this week –
to resist what harms,
to choose what gives life,
to practise honesty,
to seek justice with tenderness.
God of faithfulness,
now and forever. Amen.

Sending

Go in peace – not because the wilderness is easy,
but because grace will be enough.
We will choose life. We will practise truth. We will keep travelling in love.