Composed by the Reverend Dr. John
Edward Harris © 2021
See Genesis 1:1-5 and Mark
1:4-11
God of creation,
you began your creating by
separating,
separating light from
darkness,
and separating the water
under the expanse from the water above it,
and calling it good.
But we, your children,
especially your children in the
United States of America,
are now also separated, too
separated, and that separation is not good.
We pledge to be “One Nation
under God,”
but we act like many nations.
We call ourselves “The United
States of America,”
but we label ourselves as
blue, and red, and purple states.
We aspire to be “out of many,
one,”
but we are fractured, and we
are hurting, and some of us are scared.
We have separated ourselves
into fortified political camps we call
Republican, Democrat, and
Independent.
Racism and a history of
slavery and segregation
divides us between black and
white.
Xenophobia splits us into an
America of European heritage verses
Americans of Asian, Hispanic,
and even Native American descent.
The growing inequality
between rich and poor
divides us into the 1% of
obscenely rich and the 99% of the rest of us.
God of the Incarnation,
you came among us as light
and to show us the light,
as truth to show us the way,
the truth, and the life,
and through your Apostle Paul
you called us to break down
barriers,
and to live as one body with
many parts.
Centuries after John the
Baptizer proclaimed a baptism of repentance,
may we hear and answer his
call,
remembering our own Baptism
as just the beginning of a life of repentance.
May your Spirit once again
sweep over the earth,
not to separate,
but to unite,
not to create,
but to re-create,
to lead us to our true
selves,
created in the image of God.
During political uncertainty
and deep soul searching,
we pray for both President
Trump and President-Elect Biden.
We pray for a peaceful
inauguration and transition of power on January 20th.
We pray for Democratic,
Republican, and Independent Members of Congress,
and all federal, state, and
local elected office holders,
that they will uphold their
oaths to defend the constitution.
We give thanks for,
and pray for,
the Judicial branch of our
Government,
and the Judges who defended
not only the Constitution but the truth.
In the middle of a pandemic that
is stretching our healthcare system to the breaking point,
and testing the stamina of
health care workers,
we pray not only that
vaccines can quickly be produced for all who want them,
but also swiftly distributed
to all who want them,
so that we can put Covid-19
behind us and regain some semblance of normalcy sooner than later.
We pray this,
and numerous unspoken but
heartfelt prayers,
in the name of Jesus Christ
or risen Lord.
And let all the people say …
Amen.
