Please. I mean, please! Really. Enough. Really. The professionally offended continue to practice their profession in earnest.

The new text for the Good Friday prayer for the Jews has been released and the usual suspects are not satisfied. Why, because we are praying for them. Specifically, because we pray that they recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior. They are shocked and dismayed that we would pray for such a thing. Duh! We’re Christians! The new prayer reads:

“We pray for the Jews. That our God and Lord enlighten their hearts so that they recognize Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all mankind. Let us pray. Kneel down. Arise. Eternal God Almighty, you want all people to be saved and to arrive at the knowledge of the Truth, graciously grant that by the entry of the abundance of all peoples into your Church, Israel will be saved. Through Christ our Lord.”

Outrageous! Rabbi David Rosen, chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, said:

“It is a disappointment. While I appreciate that the text avoids any derogatory language towards the Jews, it is regrettable that the prayer explicitly aspires for Jews to accept the Christian Faith, as opposed to the text in the current universal liturgy that prays for the salvation of the Jews in general terms.

Rabbi, please! We are Christians. We pray for all to be saved. We believe that Jesus Christ is our salvation. We want this for you too. We are not impeding your free will or denigrating you in any way. We are praying for you, as Christian believers. It is your prerogative to say “thanks, but no thanks.” Other than that, stifle. There is nothing offensive in this prayer. So do us all a favor, if you are really interested in better relations, for once just zip it.