Our God who calls us to reflect on who we are and why we are here:
This morning, we
come together in this sacred place as we near the half-way point of our
legislative session. We marvel at the
passage of time while simultaneously feeling the anxiety of the layers of
unfinished business that loom in front of us.
In a world that all too often demands unyielding perfection from its
leaders, there is little, if any, margin for error. Words of condemnation come easy in political
parlance. But as hard as we are on our
colleagues, we are even more merciless on ourselves. Those who have been chosen to serve feel the
burden of answering the clarion call of the people: to make a difference; to change the
unchangeable; to fix the flaws in our laws, fate of our state and the holes in
our souls. And yet, the realities of
time and space force us to acknowledge that we cannot complete every task.
And so we pray:
Dear God, You
created us with imperfections. Watch
over all who serve in this chamber: the
legislators and the lawyers, the captains and clerks; the interns and the
innovators. Give them both the strength
to pursue the task of governance, and the patience to accept that there is
always more to accomplish than is humanly possible. Protect the souls of your servants who are
exposed to the harshness to human expectation.
Help them to support one another –even in the heat of debate and
disagreement. Let any conflict that
arises be for the sake of the greater good and teach us to quickly forgive and
forget the sting of slogans and slights that are thrown about in the messy
process of crafting legislation. As the
end of this session looms ever larger in the forefront of our consciousness,
may every person here become reconciled to the sacred necessity for compromise
and communion.
We thank You for
the ability to make a difference. We see
You in the passion of our colleagues. We
seek Your presence in our daily lives.
AMEN
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