We Americans, Lord,
we live, debate and legislate
according to the old saw:
there are two kinds of people in the world:
Democrat / Republican,
liberal / conservative,
left / right,
blue / red,
Trump forever / never Trumpers
pragmatist / originalist,
CNN and FOX...
And all this bifurcation leads to
prejudice and bias,
selfish independence,
opinionated ignorance,
the hijacking of justice
close-minded isolation,
indifference to the truth,
unenlightened dogmatism,
abhorrence of one's neighbor
and betrayal of your faithful love,
my Way, my Truth, my Life...
How easily I forget
that in the heart of one whose politics I hate
there breathes a soul,
created, as was mine,
in the image and the likeness
of the God in whom I place my trust,
my faith, my hope, my life...
How blind I can become
to the hurt and pain and wounds and scars
that mark the hearts of those who,
just like me,
have searched for truth and justice
and believing they have found it,
judge all others to be wrong...
I know, I'm sure, there is a truth:
it's rooted in your word, Lord
it's spoken by your Spirit
and it glistens with your wisdom
but I'm not its sole possessor
- I don't fully understand it -
and it's oh-so-very-possible
that others understand your truth
in ways that have escaped me,
in ways I've not discovered,
in ways that I've rejected
in ways I need to know
if I'm to live your truth in full...
Help me know the times then, Lord,
where I'm just as stubborn as "they" are,
just as deaf to what's loud and clear,
just as likely to ignore the facts,
just as blind to what I don't want to see,
just as obstinate in changing my mind,
just as slow to acknowledge that I'm wrong,
just as convinced that I own the truth,
just as quick to judge and condemn,
just as prone to name-calling insults,
just as guilty of hating my neighbor
in whom you live and breathe, Lord,
in whom you make your home,
in whom I meet you daily...
May your kingdom come, then,
in our nation as in heaven.
Give us this day and every day,
your bread of word and wisdom...
Forgive the ways we judge our neighbors
and pardon those who judge our efforts
to seek and find your truth
that we might live e pluribus unum...
Protect us, Lord, while we're awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Although you know I pray as a Christian, I looked this evening for a song that would be as inclusive as possible of all who seek the truth out of love for our country and concern for its welfare and future...
One Nation by Teresa Jennings
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