Shylock and Jessica by Maurycy Gottlieb via Wikimedia Commons
I stepped aside
While you stood, silent and sorrowful
Like a spurned lover who sees his loved one
carried off by his rival.
I’m so ashamed that I feel like crawling to avoid being seen.
I’m afraid of being looked upon by my friend
I’m afraid of being seen by you, Lord,
for you loved me, and I forgot you.
I forgot you because I was thinking of myself.
And one can’t think of several persons at once.
A person must choose, and I chose.
Sri Lankan confession liturgy
___________________
Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.
What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.
prayer & verse 
