What Now?

 

Dear Friends/Fellow Citizens

Our Book of Common Prayer and Hymnal have many tried and true prayers and poems that would be helpful to share as we near Inauguration Day. But I found them insufficient in this moment. Instead, I want to share the opening words of a prayer for our country by Avery Brooke, which I think is more compelling for our country right now:

O Christ we love this land. We wish is were always a simple love and it often is, but life has become complicated. Good gets mixed up with evil…

While many of us will be relieved beyond measure after the departure of “Individual 1” so we can finally welcome a man fit for the office, there is still much to be concerned about. “Where Do We Go From Here?” was a recent headline in the Press Enterprise.

Responding to all the comments that what we witnessed on January 6th was “entirely un-American” and “does not reflect the true America”, Theuis Bates, Managing Editor of “The Week”, says, “We will never be able to treat the sickness that led to last week’s insurrection unless we recognize this is part of who we are.”

So, as we go forward praying for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the entire new administration, we must also look in the mirror. Former Senator Bill Bradley wrote a book called, “We Can All Do Better” in which he said, “Democracy, I came to realize, worked only if people assumed their responsibilities as citizens. The challenges we face require all of us to be at our best.”

In closing, let me share another prayer by Avery Brooke for today’s Martin Luther King Day which begins,

“Help us to remember Lord, how strong love can be in the face of hate and intolerance.”

There must be accountability (including for accomplices). There must be continuing vigilance. But may God also help us be good and responsible citizens, driven by wisdom, courage and most importantly, love.

John