Consistency

Let us pray (in silence) [that we may love God in our hearts and in our actions]

pause

Gracious and merciful God,
for our sake your Son became incarnate
and suffered death upon the cross;
purify our hearts and grant us zeal in your service;

through Jesus Christ our Redeemer
who is alive with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen

NZPB p. 582c

We come into the church building through a door. We cross a threshold. This is a line between "outside" and "inside". Each of us has an "outside" and an "inside" - and spirituality seeks a consistency between them. The opposite of this consonance is hypocrisy. This collect prays for purity of heart (inside) and zeal in God's service (outside). We seek a unity between contemplation and action - being contemplative even while active, and active even while contemplative. As we cross the threshold we remind ourselves of this. Service inside the church building. Service outside the church building. And this dynamic applies equally to the Christian community - inside the church building we are the church gathered - outside the church building we continue to be the church, the body of Christ, now scattered. Inside and outside - both are part of the church's mission and service. Breathing in, breathing out.

I have no idea of the source of this collect. I would very much appreciate it if anyone can enlighten me.