Prayer for a Political Season

This is a political post.  Can’t help it.  We live in a highly politicized and polarized society right now and if faith can’t speak into our public angst, what good is it?  Before you fold the paper and move on to something else, however, let me assure you that while this is political, it won’t be partisan.

My heart is heavy.  Americans are not listening to each other.  Our bullhorns are locked bell-to-bell blaring our Left and Right narratives at each other into a sickening cacophony of political poison.   Public discourse is virtually dead.  And the dysfunction that is on display in media and capitol buildings has spilled over into our local gathering places as well.  I’ve had heated exchanges with good friends and family members that leave me deeply troubled.  As Victor Davis Hanson asked in a recent article in National Review, “Are we on the verge of civil war?”  I certainly hope not.  But the basis for my hope is not found in our broken political process. As I have written before in this column, it is the Kingdom of God, inaugurated by Jesus, that ultimately holds priority in my mind.  Political process, which frequently engages my attention, is always secondary.   

A friend of mine suggested that we are just pawns in the great political chess match that is being played out by power-brokers in the media and in the halls of power.  We didn’t agree on much in our conversation but we agreed on that.  And we both concurred that it is important to stay engaged in the political process and vote but, in the end, the greatest impact that we will have in addressing our societal ills will be in the actions that we take in our homes, our schools, our businesses, and in our neighborhoods.  In that vein,I greatly appreciated Rev. Glen Bocox’s assertion in last week’s religion column that kindness can truly make a difference. 

I’m not Roman Catholic but I frequently observe the discipline of daily prayer services.  One of the prayers that I use during the midday office is well-known to many Protestants and Catholics.  It is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, though it is not found in any of his writings.  It is a prayer that belongs to all Christians in all ages who seek to live in a manner that reflects our Savior’s life.  In this day of such vitriol, verbal violence, and outright hatred, they are words that have the potential to transform the small social circles that we inhabit, beginning with ourselves.  As we move into this intense election season, may the words of this prayer characterize the people of faith in our community:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.