Benediction
Offered by Rabbi Jack Moline

Soveriegn of all Creation, Source of Life, Spirit of Inspiration, Author of Liberty

You of many names Whom we all imagine with yearning hearts

Today we have gathered in this sanctuary that is dedicated to You in a very particular way. Yet, in spite of the name on the door, the hymnals in the pews, the symbols on the walls, there is room for our common purpose:

Fr. Clete Kiley, Rabbi Jack Moline and Rep. John Boehner at the interfaith opening prayer service for the 111th Congress (Photo credit: Byron Buck)

To ask, each of us in our own way, for Your help in the task ahead -- to guide this great nation, to meet the challenges ahead, to secure the blessings of liberty to us and our posterity.

May the spirit that draws us to this place at this moment fill our hearts and our heads to set aside the particularity of our practices and politics and seek the common ground, the commond good, the common goal. Give us courage, the courage to do the right and the good. Give us confidence in our country and in its citizens to be bold in preserving our traditions, legacy of yesterday, and ensuring our dreams, promise of tomorrow. Give us compassion for all who suffer and for each other, we who bear the responsibility for so many.

And give us discernment to know the difference between cleverness and wisdom, between power and leadership, between what we do because we can and what we do because we should.

But most of all, make us grateful for the opportunity to serve the government of the people, by the people and for the people. May that sense of gratitude pervade all we undertake so that our every act is infused with the trust we have been given, the trust we have accepted to preserve the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

To accomplish this task, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

And we praise You, oh Holy One, who has given divine potential to mere flesh and blood.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once admonished “That our ultimate measure is not where we stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where we stand at times of challenge and controversy.”  

Keeping in mind the earlier scripture readings, I invite your reflections upon a powerful lesson found in the Book of Luke.  A group of adherents are sitting with the Master recounting their experiences and celebrating recent successes when one among them—a young lawyer—smugly asked The Master, “What do I need to do to achieve life everlasting?”

Rep. Jim Clyburn at the interfaith opening prayer service for the 111th Congress (Photo credit: Byron Buck)

The Master responded by asking him how his readings addressed that question. The young lawyer replied that according to his understanding, “One must love the Lord your God with all one’s heart, soul, strength, and mind; and one's neighbor as oneself.”  The Master replied, “That is correct, go live it.”

But, the young lawyer was not satisfied with that answer and pressed for further clarification by asking, “Who is my neighbor?”

The Master replied with a story which most of us are familiar.  You’ll remember that a certain man fell victim to thieves who robbed him and left him for dead.

First to come upon him was the head of the church, who upon seeing the victim crossed to the other side of the road. Next to come along was a church leader who paused to take a look but continued on his way.

Finally a Samaritan, a good person but of different ethnicity, came upon the wounded traveler.  He stopped, got down off of his donkey, treated the victim’s wounds and nursed him overnight before continuing his journey the next day.

The Master concluded this lesson by asking the young lawyer who he thought was the unfortunate traveler’s neighbor.  The young lawyer replied, “The one who showed compassion.”  And the Master responded, “go and do likewise.”

I draw three morals from this story.  First, being a good neighbor is not defined by one’s faith or church membership.   Second, it is not defined by one’s ethnicity. Third, being a good neighbor sometimes requires that we get down off of our high horse and minister to needs where we find them.

As we enter this new session of Congress, I would hope that we will reflect upon this lesson, set aside our religious, ethnic, and political differences, show real compassion for the hardships of our neighbors, and remember our moral obligations, “to the least of these.”