A liturgy for fleeting irritations
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This morning’s gospel reading continues with Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain”. After the 4 blessings and 4 woes of last week we come to the central ethic of the gospel, namely, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This ‘golden rule’ finds expression in many of the world religions in some form. It makes sense, and it find a great deal of support from most of humanity through most of human history.
But Jesus doesn’t stop with the simple. He takes a perfectly reasonable ethical command and goes radically further.
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
They’re wonderful words, until its our turn to put them into practice. Then they become the hardest thing in the world to live out.
There are some big, sinister evils done against us that will take a lifetime or longer to forgive. But I’m aware that there are also a number of smaller frustrations and irritations that assault us on a daily basis. For those smaller outbursts of anger, can I commend the following liturgy to you:
A Liturgy for Fleeting Irritation
I bring to you Lord, my momentary irritation,
that you might reveal the buried seed of it – not
in the words or actions of another person, but
in the withered and hypocritical expectations
of my own small heart. Uproot from this
impoverished soil all arrogance and insecurity that
would prompt me to dismiss or distain others,
judging them with a less generous measure than
I reckon when judging myself.
Prune away the tangled growth
of my own unjustified irritations, Jesus,
and graft to my heart instead your humility,
your compassion,
your patience,
your kindness,
that I might bear good fruit in keeping
with your grace.
Amen.
Douglas Kaine McKelvey “Every Moment Holy Vol. 1”
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