{"id":1190,"date":"2009-01-19T12:39:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-19T12:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/episcopal-bishop-gene-robinsons-invocation.html"},"modified":"2009-01-19T12:39:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-19T12:39:00","slug":"episcopal-bishop-gene-robinsons-invocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/episcopal-bishop-gene-robinsons-invocation.html","title":{"rendered":"Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson’s invocation"},"content":{"rendered":"

This got a lot of attention when the news<\/a> broke several days back. I suspect few actually heard the prayer when it was delivered. Reading it, it reminds me of the Dangerous Prayer of Blessing<\/a> that was prayed over Henri Nouwen. <\/p>\n

Here’s the text<\/a>: <\/p>\n

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will\u2026<\/p>\n

Bless us with tears \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

Bless us with anger \u2013 at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.<\/p>\n

Bless us with discomfort \u2013 at the easy, simplistic \u201canswers\u201d we\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

Bless us with patience \u2013 and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be \u201cfixed\u201d anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.<\/p>\n

Bless us with humility \u2013 open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.<\/p>\n

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance \u2013 replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.<\/p>\n

Bless us with compassion and generosity \u2013 remembering that every religion\u2019s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.<\/p>\n

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.<\/p>\n

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln\u2019s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy\u2019s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King\u2019s dream of a nation for ALL the people.<\/p>\n

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019 childhoods.<\/p>\n

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we\u2019re 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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

AMEN.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This got a lot of attention when the news broke several days back. I suspect few actually heard the prayer when it was delivered. Reading it, it reminds me of the Dangerous Prayer of Blessing that was prayed over Henri Nouwen. Here’s the text: O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will\u2026…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nEpiscopal Bishop Gene Robinson's invocation - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/episcopal-bishop-gene-robinsons-invocation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson's invocation - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This got a lot of attention when the news broke several days back. 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