God of the healthy and God of the afflicted.
God of the Left and God of the Right
God of the Judged and God of the Jurist
God of the Doubter and God of the Driven
God of those who have no God:
It has been over a year since I have been able to stand in front of this august body and offer a prayer.
So much has changed!
Lives have been lost.
Lines have been crossed
Protocols tossed…
And the world has been sheltering in place – longing, like Moses to see Your face – reflected in the hopes and fears of those who have risked their lives to bring an end to this deadly pandemic that has stolen over 552,000 American dreams – and millions more around the world.
When faced with the enormity of the challenges that confront us – as a State, a nation, as fellow travelers on this precarious planet, we seem small and inconsequential. And yet, as fragile as we may feel in response to the challenges that await, we also know that to do nothing is antithetical to the human spirit.
Buried beneath the layers of legislation and protocol that consume every elected official, advisor, clerk, officer and servant of this chamber is a seed of hope – waiting to germinate and blossom into legislation that lifts up the Springtime possibility of promise.
We stand together at a sacred time for the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Communities. The messages of rebirth and renewal that are central to the festivals of Passover, Easter and Ramadan compel us to find hope in times of trauma.
Those who have been charged with leading our State and creating and protecting its laws - and all who labor to support you - are blessed with the potential to make a difference.
May any arguments that arise be for the sake of Heaven.
Bless this house, O God. May enmity provoke aspiration.
May conflict dissolve into communion.
And may we all find Your presence in our lives as we witness the rebirth and renewal of this sacred season.
AMEN
