Christ and Lady Liberty: their words, a song, and a prayer for the Fourth of July

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Between the barbecues and fireworks on this national holiday, let's take some time to recall Emma Lazarus' poem inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, offering a haven, a refuge, for the burdened and battered.  In the video below (scroll to the bottom of the post), Irving Berlin provides a musical setting for these beautiful words from Lazarus' poem:

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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Do these words remind you, as they do me, of a more ancient text?

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.  (Matthew 11:28-30)

 At least at this one point, Christ and Lady Liberty share a common, open heart.

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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Let's pause and pray...

Lord, open wide my heart
   to welcome any and all
who've been turned out,
   turned aside and turned away:
in my family, in my neighborhood
   where I work and 'round the world...

May the light of my words and deeds
   lift high a lamp of welcome
and my heart provide a home
   for the weary, heavy burdened...

Let my heart open wide for others, Lord,
   as your heart opens wide for me...

Amen.

 
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