Today is the National Day of Prayer. Since 1952, by a joint resolution of
Congress, this day was signed into law by President Truman. In 1988 it was amended by both the House and
Senate, and signed into law by President Reagan that the first Thursday of May
would be designated as a day of national prayer. Every president since 1952 has signed a
National Day of Prayer proclamation.
The theme this year is Unity. The theme verse is from Ephesians 4:3—“Making
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” One of my favorite scriptures comes from John
17, Jesus’ prayer before he was crucified.
Jesus prayed that his disciples, his followers would be one, and Jesus
and the Father are one. I believe that
God, in design created us to work together, to spread the truth of Jesus
Christ.
Having said all this, I was happy to accept an invitation to
serve as the song leader at this years National Day of Prayer for Saginaw
Township, held this year at Hopevale Church, due to the weather. I was excited that congregations and
denominations could come together, unified in prayer for our nation. That we could come together with prayers of
peace, understanding, mission, service, and in the name of Jesus Christ. United, but different—because my understanding
is that we can be united, and still not be the same; united and diverse.
I am going to admit, I was nervous. I walked in and saw all female greeters, and
a circle of men. Come to find out, these
men were the scripture readers, and the prayers. Eventually another woman joined the circle in
addition to me, and she did participate by praying. I didn’t think much of it, but it is always
interesting to me to see this; but I also know maybe the women that were asked
had other commitments.
It started off pretty good, readings from the Psalms and an
introduction by the Township supervisor.
I let the singing of Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. Any time a group of people join in song, I
find it moving.
We moved into a time of prayer. The author of the prayers used national
monuments and the inscriptions on these monuments for introduction and focus;
the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the Washington Monument. I was praying, focusing on the will of God to
unite us in liberty, freedom to pray, the gospel… and then we got to what I
wasn’t expecting: prayers that the issues of multiculturalism, same sex
marriage, lack of adherence to the Bible—and I was reminded why we have so much
trouble being united.
Why was I expecting our prayer to be about peace, about
listening and understanding, about the welcoming of strangers, care for the
poor and neglected, helping those who are weak and heavy laden, reaching out to
those that Jesus would have reached out to, grace, the uniting of all people in
the arms of Christ. There was talk about
the media which doesn’t speak facts but speaks their interpretation (which I
agree with this, but I got the sense that the prayer was only referring to the
liberal media).
I believe I am a conservative Christian, though others might
label us, and me, liberal. I believe
that the moral compass of Christ is love, it is welcoming the stranger in our
midst, it is living with grace and forgiveness.
I believe that we in the church must take a lead in our
country and in our world, as it is the kingdom of God; not yet what it will
be. But the kingdom is not a place of
human judgement. So I want to take a
stab at a prayer as this day ends. By
the way, it might be a longer prayer than “normal” as I also came to understand
we Lutherans pray much shorter prayers than our partners in the gospel!
Let us pray:
Uniting God, creator of all, you created all in your image
and said it is good. You scattered
people in many lands, and over time, migrations occurred and people moved from
land to land. Like your people Israel,
we often became strangers in a strange land.
In time, this nation was formed out of people from many lands, many
languages, and many customs. We welcomed
the gifts these new people brought to our land and to our communities; we
confess we also were unwelcoming and prejudice against some races, including
participating in human atrocities toward others. In spite of these sins, our nation strived
for liberty, to provide freedom for religious worship and prayer, freedom of
speech, the freedom to strive for life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. For this, we give thanks.
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We continued to welcome people from all lands, many through
the gates of Ellis Island, as people read the inscription on the Statue of
Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to
breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” These words are reminders of the words of
Jesus in Matthew 11: “Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and
my burden is light.”
Gracious Lord, empower your Church, and empower this
nation to return to who we were formed to be; knowing that situations change,
but your purpose does not. Remind us
in the words of Scripture that the Lord requires us to do justice, love
kindness and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).
As your Church, we disagree in our polity, in some of our
understandings of Scripture; but we do strive to believe in the one true
God. Empower us to unite in the
mission of service, in the mission of justice, in the mission of love, unite
us in hope. Unite us in the things
that bind us together; better yet, bind us in the who that binds us together;
Jesus Christ, OUR Savior and Lord. Let
these words be so, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
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