Try Again

a liturgy for making language flubs

O, One, who spoke the universe into being;
to the One who healed with a word;
whose speech stirred hearts
to wonder anew;
who celebrates in song:
We come. 

We come bringing
our past language learning;
we come bringing our fears of messing up;
we come bringing our hesitation
and our nerves;
we come bringing our focus on ourselves:
We receive.

We receive Your grace for our mistakes;
we receive Your humor when we have none;
we receive Your focus on the other;
we receive Your gift of trying again:
We give. 

We give up our pride
for the humility of a learner;
we give the gift of shouldering
the burden of understanding;
we give our words and ideas,
our thoughts and ideals;
we give grace to all, including ourselves:
We learn. 

We learn that all is not lost
when misunderstandings come;
we learn that we can laugh, with others too;
we learn that the flubs create
some of the best opportunities
for learning to root deep;
we learn that broken speech
doesn’t sum up a person’s worth:
We rejoice.

Rejoice in the learning;
rejoice in the giving;
rejoice in the growth;
rejoice in the journey.

O, One, who spoke the universe into being:
speak knowledge and understanding
into being for us.

To the One who healed with a word:
heal our wounds, our pride,
our embarrassment.

To the One whose speech stirred hearts
to wonder anew:
stir our hearts to wonder too.

To the One who celebrates in song:
may we join the nations
to sing along with You.

We will try again. 

Amen

Further exploration

You can find a printable version of this liturgy here: Try Again.

Post Author

Clarissa J. has lived and worked in Asia for 10 years.

Series Editor

Erika McIntyre

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Image designed by Elaine Liu.