God of compassion,
through your Son Jesus Christ you have reconciled your people to
yourself.
As we follow his example of prayer and fasting, may we obey you
with willing hearts and serve one another in holy love; through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
In these words we remind ourselves of two important things about
Christian belief. Firstly that the life, death and resurrection of
Christ are essential for bringing us close to God and secondly
that to stay close to God we must follow the example of Jesus.