So it is only two days till Barrack Obama takes the oath of office on the steps of the capitol building in Washington DC and we turn a historic page in our nation’s history. I found myself wondering in church this morning what it was like in January of 1961 when John F. Kennedy was about to take the oath.
Of course at that time we were relatively prosperous. A popular Republican administration was leaving office and the country was strong. What a stark contrast to these times when there are few people who can wait for the current administration to slink out of Washington DC into oblivion, or at least we hope oblivion.
And so we have hope.
We have hope that after our country has paid the price for our selfishness and greed, that we can strike a balance of government and private that will bring this country back to a time of genuine national pride. Pride in ourselves as a people; pride in our nation as an open, loving society; pride in our equal treatment of EVERYONE under the law.
We have much work ahead of us. I pray that we remember that it took 8 years to get into the trouble we are in and we cannot hope to be out of it by summer.
There is undoubtedly more pain ahead.
But through it all we will have hope. Hope that once again tomorrow will bring a better day; that tomorrow will be happier than today; and hope that we can all live in peace.
So this week will be one of pomp, circumstance and history. I think of my 13 year old daughter, who I don’t think can begin to grasp the gravity of the situation mostly because I am not sure that I can grasp it. I know that I will look back from the end of my life to this time and remember what a feeling of hope I had/have in my heart right now.
I pray for the success of this administration as I have for the success of every administration because they are always my presidents, no matter how much or how little I like them. My father taught me that. Thanks Jim.
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