A Prayer for Action

“Pray, people! God is the only one who can truly make a difference in all of our country’s issues.”

I saw this recently come through my Facebook feed and believe it might be something that resonates with more than just this one person. It came on the heels of a post by Donald Trump about National Prayer Day. 

Maybe what this person says about God is true. 

I don’t know.

But I can imagine God shaking his head about now, looking at the mess we’ve made of things. Wondering how his efforts at protecting all of the wondrous creations across the globe – from people to planet – have gone so astray. 

It’s like the often-told joke about the fellow stuck on his rooftop in a flood who prays to God for help. 

America finds itself at the mercy of Trump and the GOP, who have continually dismissed, dismantled, and distanced us from that which would put us on higher ground.

Like when someone comes by in a rowboat and shouts to the man on the roof, “Jump in, I can save you,” Trump and his administration disbanded the White House Pandemic office two years ago, despite the fact it was created specifically because an earlier epidemic showed we needed “an informed capacity to accelerate the response, empower experts, anticipate failures and act quickly and transparently to solve problems.”   

According to the story, the stranded fellow shouts back, “No, it’s OK, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.”

So the rowboat goes on.

Then a motorboat comes by. The fellow in the motorboat shouts, “Jump in, I can save you.”

On Friday the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill 363-40 just after midnight which the President tweeted he would sign, only to find that Mitch McConnell had dismissed the Senate  for the weekend. So, at a time when hours and days count, McConnell left town to attend a political event  for Judge Kavanaugh.

 “No thanks,” says the stranded man, “I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”

So the motorboat moves on.

Then a helicopter comes by and the pilot shouts down, “Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety.”

“No,” says the man, “Google has a new app that will save us.” 

“Not true,” says Google. 

To this, the stranded man again replies, “No thanks, then, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”

So the helicopter reluctantly flies away.

Soon the water rises above the rooftop, and the man drowns. He goes to Heaven. He finally gets his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaims, “I had faith in you, but you didn’t save me. You let me drown. I don’t understand why!”

To this God replies, “I sent you a rowboat, and a motorboat, and a helicopter. What more did you expect?”

So my prayer, this Sunday, is that we move beyond prayer and take action.

Actions which include free and accessible testing for everyone who needs it and ensuring those on the front line have the masks, ventilators and PPEs they need to care for others. 

I believe God is doing his part. I wonder if he is waiting for us to do ours.