As we celebrate the semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this weekend, we might have some mixed feelings. I, for one, am pleased to have learned the word “semiquincentennial”! But more seriously, many of us are feeling both proud of the high ideals of our country, but also sorrowful about our failings to live up to those ideals. It is an ongoing challenge to be a country that truly acts as if all people are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
As we process these feelings, may we bring them to God in prayer:
Almighty God, giver of all good things: We thank you for the natural majesty and beauty of this land. They restore us, though we often destroy them.
Heal us.We thank you for the great resources of this nation. They make us rich, though we often exploit them.
Forgive us.We thank you for the people who have made this country strong. They are models for us, though we often fall short of them.
Inspire us.We thank you for the torch of liberty which has been lit in this land. It has drawn people from every nation, though we have often hidden from its light.
Enlighten us.We thank you for the faith we have inherited in all its rich variety. It sustains our life, though we have been faithless again and again.
Renew us.Help us, O Lord, to finish the good work here begun. Strengthen our efforts to blot out ignorance and prejudice, and to abolish poverty and crime. And hasten the day when all our people, with many voices in one united chorus, will glorify your holy Name.
Amen!
