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
