Lord, may we be marked by joy. May this not be the kind of joy that flits across the surface of our life, blown along by mere circumstance, but that which is born of a repentant heart. Lord open our eyes to our sins, and may we mourn them, despise them and turn from them by your grace. May our sorrow turn to hope as we turn our eyes to Christ, who truly bore that same sin up to Calvary. May we gasp, seeing it crushed to nothing, cast to the depths of the sea, put away as far as the east is from the west in the death of Jesus. Then stir up in us a fountain of praise at your forgiveness and mercy, worshipping you in purity and holiness. Lord, make our joy to be rooted in repentance. May it mark the students at JCU, and overflow to all around them.
Amen.