Forgive Us, O Lord!
Poems  for forgiveness


I

Prayer for the right spirit when defending the faith

Forgive us Lord,
when in longing to defend what is right,
when in trying to support the truth
we do what is hurtful and mean,
forgetting to take out
whatever logs are in our own eyes
to take the speck out of the eye of our fellows,
forgetting to work all things in love.

Lord, forgive us
when hurt by our fellow man,
we complain, and strike back.

Heal us Lord,
and give us strength to offer you
our hurts and sadnesses,
to offer you the pain of being corrected,
rather rightly or not.

If it is our job to correct,
help us learn to do it in ways that heal,
not hurt,

And whatever we do in your name,
may we always do it for your glory,
without hate, anger,
or the taint of self-righteousness.

May we learn to be quiet
in our longing and respect for you,
rather than speak words
that would drive any away from you,
or harm those who love you.

And when we speak,
may it always be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Amen.



II
A Prayer for Victims, Both Theirs and Mine

Let us pray
For all those victims
of injustice
and anger
and selfishness.

For all those babies never to be born,
for all those killed through violence,
for all those touched by terrorism,
for all those scarred by the anger of a loved one,
for all those marred by war,
for all those who die marked by our indiference,
Lord hear our prayer.

Forgive me, O Lord,
For all those times
I turned my back on someone I knew was in need,
for all those times
I hesitated because of my inconvenience,
for all the times
I did not cry out when I knew there was injustice,
for all those times
I didn't think to share,
For all the times
I said the word I knew would hurt,
for all those times
I didn't write the letter or make the visit,
for all those times
I had to prove I was right even though it hurt someone,
for all those times
I marked someone by my own indifference,
my own selfishness,
my own anger.


O my Jesus,
help me to always see you
in whatever distressing garb you choose to wear,
and let me realize
that by turning my back on them,
I am turning my back on you
and making the world a darker place
instead of a place filled with your light.

III
Eclipse Night, 2003: A Prayer

O my Jesus,
on this dark eclipse night,
when once again
the thunder of hate shakes the night
leaving behind ruin,
and death,
and pain,
and shattered lives
done in the name of God,
dear Lord, forgive us.

Forgive us Lord,
for all the times we shed innocent blood,
lives yet to see the light of day,
lives disabled and inconvenient,
lives harmed by anger in the family,
lives harmed by anger of a stranger,
lives sacrificed for power
lives sacrificed for gain.

Forgive us Lord,
when we see suffering and turn blind eyes,
when we live lives enriched by others misery,
when we do not stop and hear the pain that others feel,
when we forget that doing what is right
is not only right for us and our friends.

Forgive us Lord,
the bloody hands we reach up to you,
in supplication,
in our misery and our fear,
guilty as sin.




All Original Material © 2003, Susan E. Stone

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