I have a lot of favorite hymns, one that’s on my mind this week, when the President of the United States and several senators encouraged a mob to desecrate our Capitol, causing death and injury, is “God of Grace and God of Glory,” by the minister Harry Emerson Fosdick:
God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy power;
crown thine ancient church’s story;
bring its bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour, for the facing of this hour.
Because at this hour we need wisdom and courage and righteous power, don’t we? Our nation needs people of faith and good will to stand together against those who seek to tear our country apart. There has long been a strain of racist, white-supremacist bigotry in America that wraps itself in the flag. It has just become more obvious in recent years as the President and his allies fanned the flames for their own gain. And now they are reaping what they have sown.
It was astounding, but not surprising, to see the confederate flag being waved in Wednesday’s attempted overthrow of our government. I was heartened that the Congress worked into the early hours of Thursday to do their job of certifying the vote of the electoral college. I truly believe that our “leaders,” who aided and abetted the lying about the election and who fanned the flames of this debacle, should be shamed and shunned, and possible arrested, for their acts of sedition.
And I trust that our nation will come through this ordeal, hopefully stronger than we have been in recent years. As they say in the Black church, “God is still on the throne.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who helped lead South African from apartheid to freedom and reconciliation, said, “We live in a moral universe. Right and wrong do matter.”
I wrote this prayer on Wednesday afternoon:
God of grace, justice, and all that is good,
pour out your power on those who hold the line
in defense of our shared values of decency and democracy.
Embolden those who work to build the common good,
and chasten those who appeal to violence and hatred.
Stir up in this nation a passion for justice and peace,
until all of us are free. Amen.
Here’s a link to a beautiful and powerful singing of “God of Grace and God of Glory.” May we serve with power God’s mission of justice, compassion, and reconciliation, in our living of these days.