Broken Tablets - Invocation For the Colorado House of Representatives at the End of the Session

 

We all know the story: Moses ascends Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments.  He descends and finds, to his horror, that in his absence, the people have built a Golden Calf.  Smashing the tablets in anger and disgust, he once again ascends God’s holy mountain.

Upon returning, Moses gently puts the second set of the Ten Commandments into the Ark of the Covenant. 

Throughout their forty years of wandering, the Israelites see that Ark and those Tablets wherever they travelled.

The rabbis of old asked a question:  What happened to the original, broken set of tablets?  Were they discarded?  Recycled? Abandoned?

One answer is that they were given an honored place inside the Ark next to the second pair that was whole. 

Why? 

So that the people could see them and realize that brokenness is as much a part of life as completeness.

Let us pray:

Dear God – As we prepare to end this year’s legislative session, we delight in our successes and despair over our incompleteness. We know that, despite all of the valiant efforts to mend, heal, repair and replace some of the chaos in our world, there still is brokenness around us: 

·       On the streets of our cities;

·       In the cries of children and parents who cannot care for them;

·       In our parched landscape that thirsts for moisture;

·       In schools where students thirst for knowledge;

·       In the eyes of the innocents;

·       In the lies of guilty

But let us not stop with mere perception – lest we build another Golden Calf of apathy and callousness.  We pray that our seeing and hearing might spur us to action.

May the pristine surroundings of this beautiful chamber not blind us to the incompleteness that awaits us once we end this session and leave these hallowed halls.

On this day of deliberation and as we approach the end of this legislative session, may these legislators be healers – recommitting themselves to repair the brokenness that propelled them to serve in the first place.

May we understand that we share in the pain of others - that we are all  connected by a chain of humanity that both defines our weakness – when we refuse to see, and shows us our strength when we reach out in solidarity.

May this day be a day of hope, of wholeness and of collaboration.  May all that is broken be healed – and may we heal ourselves as we try to heal others.

As we look to the future, may we find the beauty in our attempts to fix the brokenness in our state – and even within ourselves - Then shall we all be a blessing.

Amen

 

Tilling our Gardens in a Time of Spiritual Intensity - Opening Prayer for the CO House of Representatives

Our God and God of Times and Seasons.

At this time of year, people of faith around the world have celebrated or will soon celebrate festivals that reflect new life and redemption.  Easter reminds Christians of the potential to be reborn with faith and hope. Ramadan celebrates revelation, community, and spiritual depth.  Passover teaches my community the vital message of redemption and renewal.

These days and weeks are all about the search for the sacred.

We have come to this chamber this morning to find opportunty, purpose and bring about change.  The dynamic process of debate and discussion that begins with drop of the speaker’s gavel, while sometimes imperfect, represents our human desire to bring our world one step closer to holiness.

Legislation will be carefully crafted.

Words will be chosen with exquisite care – designed both to provoke and to move the hearts and souls of colleagues on opposite sides of the isle.

Alliances will be forged, broken and forged again.

In truth it is a messy process.

This holy time of the spiritual calendar teaches us that there is always an opportunity for new beginnings.  As seasons change and winter turns to spring, we see new growth all around us.

The walls of this chamber sometimes seem to be all consuming, and yet, outside it is almost time for planting.

Those who dream of gardens know that the soil must first be prepared; last autumn’s debris removed and nutrients must be liberally applied.

The seeds that promise both blossom and harvest lie dormant in the palms of our hands – waiting to be nestled in the warm embrace of fertile soil soaked in life-giving water.

Holy Creator - may these men and women who labor on our behalf become gardeners.  Give them the strength to till the fields; to break new ground, to water new shoots and, (dare I say it?), spread the fertilizer necessary to bring to harvest a better vision for our state.

Give them the tools they need.  Help them to remember that the ever-changing climate of Spring will soon give way to the consistent warmth of summer. 

May ours be a balanced garden – filled with both beauty and sustenance.  May the harvest of this holy session overflow with goodness and compassion.

We pray for rain.  We pray for strength. We give thanks for the ability to be your partner in growing a better world.

AMEN