A Prayer in the Minnesota Senate

Once or twice a year, I've been invited to share an opening prayer at the Minnesota Senate. As a liberal Democrat, it can be challenging to know what prayer would work for people all along the political spectrum, across geographic and ethnic and religious lines. It is not just for people who think like I do, nor is it a chance to preach. It is an opening for the Beyond. The Senate has clear guidelines for a non-sectarian, non-partisan, respectful way to begin the day. Each time, I hear from senators and staff about their gratitude for this pause before the business. I know all about the critiques of civil religion and watered-down faith. I wonder about and worry about ways of being faithful amid all the challenges. I struggle with things that bug me and are on my heart. And I know that each person there has there own set of concerns. So I try to listen for God's Spirit for one particular day and time. Here's what the prayer at the Senate sounded like this morning:

Loving God, we come into the brilliance of your presence,

Longing for the warmth of your sun to power our ability 

To lead, to persuade, to see, to govern well. 

But God, we come into the brilliance of your presence as we really are. 

A lot like the month of March, we come here like muddy fields sticking to boots,

Like sixty degrees and sunny followed by six inches of snow, 

we are all over the place. 

God, we come with hopes of daffodils and red-winged blackbirds

but we know we can’t put the shovels away just yet.

Like the month of March, there is so much going on inside the borders of our being, 

and you know us through and through, of course - the courage we show, 

the brave parts that maybe nobody else notices 

as we deal with griefs and anxieties but keep on working -  you know us.

You know the other parts, too, the parts we don’t like to acknowledge publicly,  

the petty self-righteousness, the hyper-active anger that eats us, 

the inability to love others as you love us - you know who we are.

So God, we come into your presence like this month of March,

and you remind us how the people need us.

Give us what we need for today to care for others, 

these people struggling to hold on to their homes, 

striving to be safe, yearning for justice, 

especially neighbors who are Asian American and Pacific Islander, 

longing to be welcomed as human beings like all of us this March,

sunny and snowy and marvelous and muddy,

and loved beyond divine measure.

Loving God, we come into your presence now,

Give us spirit, give us grace, give us wisdom 

to be the people Minnesota needs 

just for today. Amen.