The Tyranny of Vengeance
Here we are again, God
With all that makes us who we are,
all that fills our lives;
Carrying into this place of joy and freedom
the burdens we just can’t seem to lay down,
The weight of all the scores we long to have settled,
the justice we want to demand
for the wrongs we have suffered.
Yet we also know what would happen if you were to deal with us justly;
with our greeds and violences, our betrayals and lusts.
If justice was served in our lives we could not stand.
So forgive us our wrongs, God,
forgive us as we do not deserve;
forgive us against the demands of justice;
And forgive our obsession that justice be done
to those who have wronged us.
May our worship lead us to the place
where our hunger for grace and mercy may be filled,
And where we may be freed from the tyranny of vengeance.
Amen.
—written by John van de Laar. Copyright © 2008 Sacredise.com. Visit that site for many other great worship resources.
For more worship resources related to the texts for September 11, 2011 (the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 19A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
