June 16, 2021
One Morning During the Morning News: A Prayer
O Lord, one morning during the morning news,
it hit me that
it was time I said
thank you,
thank you for those
I (we?)
often don’t thank,
often forget to thank,
often don’t even think about
until we need them:
police officers
running towards a mass shooter,
risking their lives,
preventing him from shooting even more;
fire fighters
going into a burning building,
putting their lives on the line,
rescuing someone trapped inside;
security guards
guarding with their lives
workers in danger;
all of them
probably thinking,
“They don’t pay me enough for this”,
but doing it anyway,
doing their job,
doing their duty,
doing their best.
That’s
what hit me:
it was time
I said
thank you.
And Lord, I realized as well that I needed to say
thank you
for something most people
would never dream of giving thanks for,
so much do they love to hate it,
something that drives me nuts
some days too:
the media,
the press,
the news;
thank you
because
without it,
we go the way of Russia or China;
without it,
anything goes;
without it,
no matter how biased it might be
(not my paper or channel, of course,
only the other guy’s),
truth
becomes the fatality of
lies;
thank you,
because
a free press,
no matter how it angers us,
keeps us free,
free to carp, criticize, complain,
free not to give thanks
no matter how much we should.
And Lord, I realized too that I needed to say
thank you
(I can’t believe I’m saying this)
for politicians,
especially the ones
(talking both sides of the aisle now)
who remember that they are to be
public servants
whose job is to
serve the public,
serve the common good,
serve the well-being of the nation;
yet also for the ones
(Is this really me saying this?)
who have forgotten what they are to be
(talking both sides of the aisle again),
who think that the public should
serve them,
serve their good,
serve their well-being alone,
even the ones who think their
only job
is to get
re-elected
so they get
re-elected
so they get
re-elected
so that some day
they can retire with
a fat pension
(great insurance too),
a fat lobbying contract,
a fat speaking fee,
fawning, fatuous, fatheads one and all
(Sorry, Lord, got a little carried away);
but thank you
because
the good ones
remind me
of what politics should be and what our nation can be, and
inspire me
to stay involved; and
the bad ones
remind me
of all that is wrong with politics and our nation, and
irritate me
to the point where
I am even more committed to
goodness, justice, righteousness.
And speaking of
being irritated,
I might as well say
thank you
for all those whose opinions
irritate me no end,
because
they force me to
reconsider my opinions,
rethink my thoughts, even
revise my thinking;
and they
keep me honest,
keep me on my toes,
keep me from becoming
just another fawning, fatuous, fathead
(well, most of the time).
And health-care workers, O Lord, I realized that I needed to say
thank you
for them
and say it now
before they are forgotten (and they will be);
before their care and compassion and courage are forgotten
(and they will be);
before the carping critics’ complaints are what are remembered
(and they will be).
O Lord, one morning during the morning news,
it hit me
that it was time to say
thank you,
most of all
for you,
because great
is your faithfulness
to our often faithless, foolish nation;
to us, your often faithless, foolish creatures; and
to the ill and hurting and grieving,
the outcast and alone;
never leaving our side,
your love unchanging,
your compassion unfailing,
your grace unending,
new mercies we see morning by morning,
strength for today,
bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings
abundant.
Saying thank you
somehow not enough,
but no other way to say it,
except to say
thank you.
Amen.