As you are all well aware we are on the eve of history. Tomorrow the first African-American president will take his oath of office. How fitting that this historic event happens the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Could Dr. King ever have imagine that a short 45 years after his "I have a dream" speech that the leader of the free world would be black. No matter where you stand on the political issues, I think we can all be thankful and rejoice in the fact that a nation built on slavery has made such a major step towards equality.
This is the beginning of a new era, hopefully it will be a time when America will take seriously the words of the Declaration of Independence and strive to fulfill them. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
In my parish we have spent a lot of time discussing MLK and Obama, and what all of this means for us. We've renewed our Baptismal covenant vowing to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. We've heard sermons on how we are all one and need to work together to tear down the walls that divide us: race, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, religion, and so many other things.
Last night The Rt. Rev'd V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire (the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church) offered the invocation at the inauguration ceremony. In it he asked God to bless us with anger: "Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people."
May we all stand with our President-Elect (soon to be President) are work of equality for all. May we strive for the dignity and respect of every human being. May we stand up and be angry at discrimination. May we do this as one because "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female."
We can't give up, we must stand strong because your rights are not safe until my rights are safe and my rights are not safe until your rights are safe.
May this day be a reminder for us all of all the people who have come before us - those people on whose shoulders we stand continuing to fight for justice, peace, and equality. May tomorrow be a day of hope, a new page in the history of our country, and a step closer to fulfilling the dream of our founders and MLK.
Posted here below is the complete invocation offered by Bishop Robinson:
"A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama"
By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire
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.
