Praying in the Name of Jesus

I often end my prayers "in the name of all that is holy." What I mean by that is that the expression of my prayer is in service to and hopefully in alignment to the most sacred that we know. Prayer itself, I believe, is human expression, whether silent or spoken, of our deepest most authentic longings, gratitudes, fears and joys.

Of course many Christians end their prayers, "in Jesus name, Amen." Which is just fine for a Christian setting. But what about when a Christian minister is praying in public, for a diverse crowd of humanists, atheistics, agnostics, Muslems, and Jews and Christians and others too numerous to mention? I don't know what those ministers are thinking when they speak in their own language solely. Do they know that what they are saying leaves many out? If the purpose of public prayer is to express as much as possible what the whole group is longing for, and what they are feeling deeply about; if the purpose is to have a moment when all are together spiritually in the hopes and aspirations, then why use language which leaves some people, many people, feeling left out? Why use language that is exclusive and at best requires translation?

If prayer is a deeply and commonly human experience of expression of our longings and feelings, hopes and aspirations, then it does not require dogmatic language to be so. So when inaugural prayers are strickly Christian I don't think it serves us well. As a Unitarian Universalist I am called to go deep enough to the bedrock of common humanity. I would hope that those chosen to do public prayers could learn how to do that too, or else say "no thank you." In a sense it is what is required of all hospital chaplains...they must be able to pray with everyone, without their particular dogma, but rather first exploring what religious heritage comforts the patient. Unitarian Universalist chaplains in hospitals pray in Jesus name for Christian patients, in the name of all that is holy for spiritual humanists. Offering prayers for others, you see, is not about us, but about those for whom we are leading prayer.

Enough said.

Bishop Gene Robinson's Inaugaral Prayer

There were problems in the sound system during Bishop Gene Robinson's prayer at the Lincoln Memorial Concert yesterday; I've heard of microphone or speaker troubles. And it was not included in the original HBO coverage. Some wonder if that was intentional, given that the Bishop is gay. I don't know. But when unfortunate things happen, I think we ought to make good out of it, so let's plaster this most moving, brave and couragous prayer all over the place...here it is! Blessings all, Peg

+Gene Robinson's Prayer for President-elect Barack Obama
A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama
By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire
Opening Inaugural EventLincoln Memorial, Washington, DCJanuary 18, 2009
Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.
O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…
Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.
Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.
Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.
Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.
And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.
Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.
Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.
Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.
Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.
Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.
And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.
AMEN.