In
Proverbs, we are reminded that Wisdom is a thing in which you delight daily. In
the life and teachings of Jesus, we are reminded that loving others is one and the
same as loving you.
As
we, a nation who boldly proclaims across the face of our currency “In God We
Trust,” approach yet another election cycle, we ask that you might inspire in
us a deep seated desire to delight in wisdom rather than focus on party lines.
May
we be moved to a compassion for others as a way of expressing our love for you.
May
our hearts and minds teach our eyes to see the voting booth as a way to express
our undying devotion to a better world – a world less cluttered with the pitfalls
of the powerful – a world less littered with the entrapments of consumeristic
competition – a world less defaced with the warping of the beautiful diversity
your Creation contains.
Prayerfully
we hope to be moved into action. Knock us out of our sometimes overly
complacent perspectives of the importance of an individual vote. Compel us
toward a fully engaged electorate who demands an equal engagement from those
elected.
Plant
in us a seed of biblical justice. Teach us to nurture and grow it. Teach us to
never hide it under a bushel. Inspire us to plant it in our town squares, publicly
proclaiming the value of every individual in our society. And with it grow in
us and in our nation an expectation that our elected officials be active reflections
of that same justice.
Keep
all of this in our hearts as we approach the voting booth this week. May our
choices be predicated on a desire to build a better nation, a true light on a hill,
a nation that holds these words to be self-evident that all people were “created
equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Never
let us forget, that the voting booth and an active electorate are our first line
of defense. In a nation that has created people out of corporations, and “voice”
out of dollar bills, remind us that, for now, our Declaration of Independence
and our Constitution still tip the balance of power to “We The People.”
May
we wield that power with grace and love and biblical justice based in equality,
but... may we wield it boldly, assertively, and on behalf of all people. May we
do so in numbers so massive that our voices be heard and in standing up may we
alter the course of this great nation – re-establishing the pursuit of Life,
Liberty and Happiness for ALL rather than solely for the powerful.
Let
us not leave these words on this page, heard only in our hearts and never put
into action in our lives. Rather let us be the voices in the Wilderness that the
United States as become – let us be the ones proclaiming a higher way where all
flesh may know that it is valued, it is cared for and it is loved.
Amen.