Going Forth - Abram, Sarai and the American community in a week like this - November 11, 2016

Eternal God,

Beacon of light, love, truth, and hope,

You set us on our paths from day to day,

From year to year

To live in this world

Giving our highest selves to humanity,

Seeking ways in which to apply our values to

our community and our nation.

As we and our fellow citizens chart a path for our future

Every four years

through our voices and our votes,

We sometimes witness discussions on ideology and policy

Taking a secondary place to visions of power and control.

The language of responsibility may get lost in the heat of the moment

In the rhetoric of disagreement and partisanship.

The aftermath of every national day of decision

may not be a time of coming together as it should.

There may be wounds left unhealed from turbulent conversations, passionate public pronouncements, and disrespectful discourse.

We know, from witnessing the history of such days in the past,

that  a measure of listening and healing

could offer us some recovery of mutual respect. 

So many of us have seen these transitions and changes

From one administration to another that have been accomplished smoothly

Without violence. 

And we can remember flashes of greatness on the part of some leaders,

the successes and the failures, and the times when cooperation across ideological lines actually led us forward as a nation.

So, at this juncture in our national story.

we are like Abram and Sarai at this moment,

who went forth from their home so that they could become a great nation, and a blessing to all the families of the earth.  

As their descendants, may we look to our tradition for the values we are committed to uphold about which we pray in every worship service:  love, freedom, justice, recognizing from whence we have come, compassion, extending our hand to those in need of help, a sense of the holy in life, equality, reverence for creation, gratitude, and creating and preserving peace.  

If this is who we are, may we share that essence of being and action with the world

With conviction and with care for where we will go in the days to come.