Two Prayers

24Jan
Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; 
do not be jealous of those who do wrong.


For they shall soon wither like the grass, 
and like the green grass fade away.

Put your trust in the Lord and do good; 
dwell in the land and feed on its riches.

Take delight in the Lord, 
and he shall give you your heart's desire. 
- Psalm 37:1-4


We have a new president who was inaugurated this past Monday, Jan. 20th. I was happy to see -after 8 years - a peaceful transfer of power in our country. I am optimistic. The Lord will see us through, and I suspect cares little for trivialities like who is president of any country at any particular moment. This belief helps me. But even if God cares little, I believe God expects us to be engaged in the matters of this world, as we advance God's wishes in our common Christian journey. I try to be (to the best of my limited ability) guided by scripture and in that regard I must lean heavily on those clergy more learned than I in the teaching of Jesus, our friend and brother. 


This week we have two examples of such clergy whom I think are worth examining. At the inauguration of President Trump on Monday, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of Detroit, Michigan, offered a stirring prayer that borrowed heavily from Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. It was MLK Day and the prayer came from a clergy person who said things one might expect on such a day. Then, later that same day in a smiling YouTube advertisement, Pastor Sewell and his agents launched - “to the glory of God” - a new cryptocurrency coin (think baby Bitcoin) called a “Lorenzo”. As most of these new and completely unregulated “meme” coins do, the “Lorenzo” at first skyrocketed in value as regular people bought in to support the “meme” and who then quickly were separated from their money. In a matter of 24 hours, after a huge post-inaugural spike, the Lorenzo coin crashed over 90% in value. Those who bought in immediately after the announcement at the urging of Pastor Lorenzo lost 90 cents for every dollar they “invested”. Those who knew of the coin’s launch ahead of time were able to make a very quick and very large profit.


The day after Pastor Sewell invoked Dr. King at the inauguration, the traditional post-inaugural Service of Prayer for The Nation was held at Washington National Cathedral. The homily was given by another preacher - the sitting Episcopal Bishop of Washington, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde. Hours after President Trump kept campaign promises by publicly signing executive orders, Bishop Budde pleaded for mercy for the marginalized persons those orders pledged to control or bully. I believe that most of the human beings affected by those orders are the very strangers whom Jesus commands us to respect and serve. (Matt 25:35-44) Though some orders may be reasonable, others violate our Constitution. To her credit, the Bishop simply spoke softly and quoted Jesus. She did not appropriate a hero’s words for her own purposes. She most certainly did not launch a new meme coin. I invite you to listen to her homily online and judge for yourself. 


I am comforted that there are indeed leaders in the church who - at significant personal risk - continue to bravely speak truth to power in our time, as Jesus did in his. I am also comforted by the Psalm appointed for today, which gives me something of a roadmap for these times. 


Musical Reflection - Wait for the Lord - Taize


O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


-Prayer for Times of Conflict, BCP 824

CommunityPrayerTeaching

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