OPENING PRAYER
Most of us have made wishes. We have thought it would be nice if we could have such-and-such a thing or that some event would take place which would make living a paradise.
Few, if any such wishes “come true” and we ought to be especially grateful they fail because most of them are without merit.
To have some chance of success with changes we see in our lifestyle which would be an improvement can be acquired only by our working toward such objectives. Wishing, in spite of the popular song we sing to the contrary, will not not “make it so.”
Take this recurrent problem of world peace, for instance. So much of what we say about the need for a peaceful world is wishful thinking , at best. Too often, in even our prayers, we elicit the help of God and ask Him to bring it about a world in which all of mankind, in his many variations might dwell, someday soon , in a perfect situation without animosities toward any others.
There is one place and time when this occurs ritually without any hope of success. I cringe quite often, and I'll wager you feel a little edgy as well, when you hear some of the elongated prayers being said at government gatherings such as party conclaves. Either a paid Chaplain or a Guest Minister is assigned the task and the Janus-ed petitions are complex and twisted as they flow forth.
When restrictions are to be set in place to prevent the placement or posting of religious texts in public places; when school children are denied the use of prayer - even during exam time - or when statues, placards, banners, badges, and monuments to religious leaders - when all of that any more is to be forbidden
An opening prayer such as those we hear spoken at such meetings as are called to order is often misplaced/ I have never known a minister who has refused to provide such a religious opening even though he find himself opposed to the decisions the group will make. It is an honor just to be asked; a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a young minister or a token of appreciation for an older man of the cloth.
I have often wondered, as I see ministers praying over the Senate, how many of those ministers keep their fingers crossed under the manuscript page from which they are so carefully reading.
A.L.M. January 24, 2004 [c419wds]
