For so long, Lord, for much too long,
we've nursed grudges and resentments,
we've carried backpacks of anger
weighing heavy on our shoulders,
keeping us apart from family and neighbors,
colleagues and classmates
and even old friends...
Now we find ourselves
just hours away from a new year
and we say we want a fresh start,
a second chance, a clean slate
- but do we?
Do we really want a new beginning?
Are we willing, are we resolved
to do what we must to begin afresh?
Or will we be content, once again,
to carry last year's burdens
right through New Year's Eve
and into 2022?
Will we cling and hold fast
to past grudges and resentments
as we sing our Auld Lang Syne?
Will we inaugurate yet another year
in the shadows of mistrust
with chips on our shoulders,
our hearts hardened and burdened
with the weight of our selfish pride?
If we haven't the time to mend all this
before the clock strikes 12 on Friday night
then help us resolve in 2022
to be the first to take the steps
toward making peace
where peace has long been wanting...
Help each of us move forward
to forgive those who've hurt us
and to seek the forgiveness
of those we've offended...
Give each of us the honesty,
the guts to acknowledge
where we've been wrong,
hasty in judgment,
quick to lash out,
unkind and hostile,
cold and unfriendly,
conceited and proud,
too busy to notice, to care,
to reach out and to heal,
to mend, to repair and restore
what we've broken and treated poorly...
Help us, in the new year ahead,
to listen for your voice,
to hear your word,
to follow where you lead,
to do what is good,
to love what is just
and to walk humbly by your side...
We need your help with this, Lord,
because up until now, sadly,
we've not managed to do this on our own...
Help us, Lord, we pray:
make all things new
within us, among us, around us
and through our words and deeds
in the new year just ahead...
Amen.
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