Independence Day

I really do love being an Episcopalian! Don't get me wrong - I'm deeply committed to ecumenism and celebrate the rich diversity of Christian faith and practice. I know I am a Christian first, and that Episcopal is the modifier of that subject.

Still, I really am glad to be an Episcopalian! Some Christians feel that extemporaneous prayer is more "authentic" (more heartfelt?) than written prayers. I suppose that is a matter of opinion, but in my experience good extemporaneous prayer is very rare. It follows its own formulas and at least in my experience has its limitations - not the least of which is that when most of us speak before we think our theology is at best shallow, and at worst, well, pretty awful.

That isn't to say that there isn't a place for such praying. It is simply to say that I am not not to be numbered among those who find written prayers to be "cold" or not "religious" enough. Usually written prayers represent some level of redaction and communal work over time; they can be pondered and when prayed enough times they can be learned "by heart" - which I don't see as a negative! When the disciples asked our Lord himself how to pray, after all, he didn't say "just say the first thing that pops into your head!" He said, pray like this: Our father, who art in heaven...

This blog entry is not really intended as a defense of written prayers. But it is by way of saying that for me The Book of Common Prayer is an incredible gift not only for Episcopalians but for the wider community of believers as well, and too often taken for granted by Episcopalians and unknown by other Christians. As I reflect on the Fourth of July weekend and try to find a way to pray my way through it, I find myself returning not only to the collect appointed for Independence Day (BCP 242) but even more significantly to the prayer found on BCP 838, "For the Nation," which goes like this:

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 men and women 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.