Privilege and Justice

For the Closing Words in this morning's service, Rev. Ed chose reading #496 from our hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition. This prayer, by the late Rev. Harry Chamberlain Meserve, are among Rev. Ed's favorites, and I concur:

    From arrogance, pompousness, and from thinking ourselves more important than we are, may some saving sense of humor liberate us. For allowing ourselves to ridicule the faith of others, may we be forgiven.
    From making war and calling it peace, special privilege and calling it justice, indifference and calling it tolerance, pollution and calling it progress, may we be cured.
    For telling ourselves and others that evil is inevitable while good is impossible, may we stand corrected.
    God of our mixed up, tragic, aspiring, doubting, and insurgent lives, help us to be as good as in our hearts we have always wanted to be. Amen.