Sunday, September 11, 2011

Reconciliation

I was attending a conference in Boston when the towers were hit.

That those two flights originated at Logan airport in Boston, where I had just flown in, added a particular horror to an already incomprehensible horror. I knew no one who was hurt or killed, but as with millions of other strangers, felt as though it were happening to people I knew.

Today our church, as part of the morning services, will be praying the Litany of Reconciliation.

No matter what religion or absence of religion we may be, it seems most appropriate that we ask forgiveness, of whatever deity we put our faith in and of all our fellow human beings. All of us have fallen short. There is no corner on that market.

(excerpts from) The Litany of Reconciliation, Coventry Cathedral

The People and Leader pray responsively

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class,
Father Forgive.

The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own,
Father Forgive.

The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth,
Father Forgive.

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,
Father Forgive.

Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,
Father Forgive.

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God,
Father Forgive. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Amen.

Edited to correct the source.

2 comments:

Thank you!