During these
High Holy Days of Judaism, there is a specific practice, called Tashlikh.
Celebrants will gather by a body of flowing water and cast off their sins into
the sea. The best water will have fish in it, which, as one friend told me, can
symbolize the open eyes of the Holy One, observing our actions. Last Sunday, at
the Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church in Hayward, CA, we recited a
litany prayer, with one line spoken by the worship leader and the response in
italics by the congregation:
We have turned
to pride over humility, arrogance over humbleness.
May we wash away our flaws in the cool
waters of forgiveness.
We have loved
ourselves over others.
May we wash away our flaws in the cool
waters of forgiveness.
We have remained
silent in the face of injustice.
May we wash away our flaws in the cool
waters of forgiveness.
We have hunkered
down in fear rather than breathing out compassion.
May we wash away our flaws in the cool
waters of forgiveness.
We have clung to
the familiar instead of opening up to the new.
May we wash away our flaws in the cool
waters of forgiveness.
We have tread on
the fragile earth rather than preserving the greenness of life.
May we wash away our flaws in the cool
waters of forgiveness.
We have been
quick to anger rather than wise in slow hesitation.
May we wash away our flaws in the cool
waters of forgiveness.
We have been
fractious in our demands rather than unified in spirit.
May we wash away our flaws in the cool
waters of forgiveness.
Let us love and
forgive and mirror the Divine waters
Which erode away
error and smooth over harshness
That we may,
with intention and love, renew our commitment to justice, compassion, unity and
discovery for another year.
Amen and Blessed
Be
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