Our
God and God of all people:
God of the rich
God of the poor
God of the refugee
God of the soldier
God of the homeless
God of the comfortable
God of those who have no God…
Today would have been my
mother’s 98th Birthday. It
also happens to be the birthday of our nation’s 1st president,
George Washington. Last Monday, our country celebrated President’s Day where we
commemorated the leadership, dignity and Vision inspired by both Presidents
Washington and Lincoln.
Our First President
understood the necessity of coming together in unity against a common
enemy. He led the fight for our
Independence and blazed a trail of Democracy that has continued to be an
inspiration around the world for 248 years.
Lincoln came to power during
a terrible period of national divisiveness.
He stood up to injustice and bigotry and forced our nation to come to a
bloody self-reckoning that almost destroyed our Union. He paid the Ultimate
Price for his steadfast belief in Humanity’s embodiment of Divine
aspiration.
My mother was born in
Leipzig, Germany – just before Hitler came to power. She and her parents narrowly escaped the
horrors of the Holocaust and came to our country as refugees – I stand here
today as a testament to God’s grace and the high ideals for which Washington,
Lincoln and so many others fought and died.
Today, we as a nation are as
divided as we have ever been. The fractured nature of national and regional
discourse should be a cause for great concern. As we prepare to remember our
greatest Presidents, we pray that we also might continue to strive to emulate
them and all that they stood for.
This morning, we pray for
our leaders of the Great State of Colorado that they might work together to
legislate and forge new bonds of connectivity with our highest national values.
Guide them as they work, O
God – not as partisans, but as partners
– transcending pettiness and finding holiness in this august chamber. Let all
debate be for the sake of a greater good.
Bless all who come to this
place: elected officials, advisors,
administrators, those who keep order and those who come simply to observe the
magic and the messiness of creating laws.
We thank you for the
opportunity to make a difference.
We thank you for
extraordinary leadership.
We give thanks for the
privilege to live freely in our nation.
AMEN
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