Father, Forgive Me...

So many of my friends have joined me over recent weeks in quoting the words of the prophet Micah... 

He has shown you O Man, what is good,

and what does the Lord require of you,

but to act justly,

and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.  

...but I was particularly challenged on Thursday morning to read the prayer written by my friend Jim up in Scotland. It is all too easy sometimes to bang on about what the Old Testament prophet said, and how we expect our politicians to behave - and to ignore our own responsibilities in the matter. With Jim's permission, I'm reproducing his prayer here

God of goodness, justice and mercy,

We shouldn't need to ask what is required of us.

Is injustice so hard to see, so easy to live with?

Has the absence of mercy become tolerable?

Is humility a step too far for our pride?

Forgive us for tolerating the slippage

from your requirement to our convenience;

the slippage from justice to injustice,

from mercy to couldn't care-lessness,

from humility to self-protective pride.

Show us again what is good,

how to act justly, love mercy,

and walk humbly with our God.

Amen