Mr. President and Mrs. Obama, Mr. Vice President and Dr. Biden, and your families, what an inaugural celebration you have hosted! Train ride, opening concert, service to neighbor, dancing till dawn . . .
And yesterday . . . With your inauguration, Mr. President, the flame of America’s promise burns just a little brighter for every child of this land!
There is still a lot of work to do, and today the nation turns its full attention to that work. As we do, it is good that we pause to take a deep spiritual breath. It is good that we center for a moment. What you are entering now, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, will tend to draw you away from your ethical center. But we, the nation that you serve, need you to hold the ground of your deepest values, of our deepest values.
Beyond this moment of high hopes, we need you to stay focused on our shared hopes, so that we can continue to hope, too.
We will follow your lead.
What else could one expect from the pulpit of the National Catharsis?
“What you are entering now, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, will tend to draw you away from your ethical center. But we, the nation that you serve, need you to hold the ground of your deepest values, of our deepest values.”
What ethical center? The one that was taught “God D*** America?” or the one that says pro-life in church and pro-death in public? I don’t need those values held…I need them killed and resurrected in the light of Christ.
“Beyond this moment of high hopes, we need you to stay focused on our shared hopes, so that we can continue to hope, too. We will follow your lead.”
Hope-hope-hope is NOT alliteration. I prefer to follow the lead of my Lord and Savior.
“There is a story attributed to Cherokee wisdom…”
This is a story involving the idea of dualism; ying-yang. Our problem is not that we feed the ‘bad’ wolf; it is that we are the bad wolf, but by the grace of God in Christ!
“Muslim scholars and many others…Mahatma Gandhi…”
Good Christian models all (sarcasm)
“Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘people can be so poor that the only way they see God is in a piece of bread.'”
God is not in the bread (animism) Christ is in the hands that give the bread.
“Someone has to keep watch and be ready to defend, and Mr. President – Tag! You’re it!”
Great! Now all the Homeland Security guys can go home.
“…to be guided by the counsel that Isaiah gave so long ago,”
Oops, God spoke THROUGH Isaiah. She did say this before, I’m sure it just slipped…out.
“America’s true character, the source of our national wisdom and strength, is rooted in a generous and hopeful spirit.
‘Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, . . .Send these, the homeless, tempestâ€tost to me…'”
Finally, America’s gospel! And it fits on a postage stamp! (more sarcasm, sorry).
aarrrrgh
Mark
It must be one of the great efforts any president or any public office holder makes. Having to sit through the drool that passes for sermons one is required to attend. The “prayers”, “Invocations” are things to be banned with the waterboard. Just too ghastly for words.
Everyone is being so unempathic. I’ll bet the attenders felt really good–and blessed–during and after all of the words had been said. (sarcasm off)