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Dr. Condoleeza Rice's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast,
I am honored by the invitation
to be here this morning. It is the day when official Washington
gathers not as Republicans or Democrats, not as conservatives or liberals,
not as Christians, or Jews, or Muslims, rather we gather as a fellowship
of the faithful, who share a love of God and who embrace God's will and
ways even in moments of pain and loss when those ways seem mysterious to
us. Today our nation's thoughts are particularly with the seven
brave souls taken from us five mornings ago and with their families.
We pray that in losing their mortal lives they have found eternal life in
His care. One Sunday morning when I
should have
been in Church, I was in the Lucky's supermarket instead very near my
house and a man came up to me, a Black man, said he was buying some things
for his church picnic and he asked me "Do you by any chance play the
piano?" A
little startled at the fact that this total stranger knew this fact of my
life, I said "Yes" and he said that his congregation was looking
for someone to play the piano at their church. It was a small
African-American church
in the center of Palo Alto and I started playing there every Sunday and I
thought to myself 'my goodness God has a long reach, right into the spice
isle of a Lucky's supermarket.' We are living through a time
of testing and consequence, and praying that our wisdom and will are equal
to the work before us. And it is times like these that remind us of
a paradox, that it is indeed a privilege to struggle. A privilege to
struggle for what is right and true, a privilege to struggle for freedom
over tyranny, a privilege even to struggle with the most difficult and
profound moral choices. There are two lessons in this
message: First, there is the lesson that only through struggle do we
realize the depths of our resilience and understand that the hardest of
blows can be survived and overcome. Too often when all is well, we
slip into the false joy and satisfaction of the material and the
complacent pride and faith in ourselves, yet it is through struggle that
we find redemption and self knowledge and in this sense it is a privilege
to struggle, because it frees
one from the idea that the human spirit is fragile, like a house of cards,
or that human strength is fleeting. We see this theme illustrated in
sacred text all over the world. You all know the end of the story of Job. Job's sufferings strengthened his faith and we are told he was rewarded with twice as much as he had before and that he lived 140 years and he was old and full of days. We learn in times of personal struggle: the loss of a loved one, illness, or turmoil, that there is a peace that passes understanding, when our intellect is unequal to the task, the spirit takes over, finding peace in the midst of pain is the true fulfillment of one's humanity. Struggle doesn't just strengthen us to survive hard times, it is also the key foundation for true optimism and accomplishment. Indeed personal achievement without struggle is incomplete and hollow. It is true for human kind that nothing of lasting value has ever been achieved without sacrifice. There is a second perhaps more
important lesson to be learned from struggle and from suffering and that
is, we can use the strength that it gives us for the good of others.
Nothing good is born of personal struggle if it is used Perhaps this is why in describing his personal struggles; the Apostle Paul felt it necessary to say to the Philippians "forgetting those things that are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." We find a similar idea in the Talmud, which says 'one should only pray in a house that has windows, in order that we may remember the outside world', and we find Muhammad saying in the Hadith, 'no one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself'. But to direct the energies from our struggles toward the good of others we must find a way to let go of the pain and the bad memories and the sense of unfairness of "why me" that inevitably accompanies turmoil. This lesson applies not only to individuals but to nations. America emerged from the
losses of September 11th as a nation that is not only stronger, but
hopefully better and more generous. Tragedy made us appreciate our
freedom more; it made us more conscious of the fact that God gives all
people everywhere the right to be free. It made us more thankful for
our own prosperity, for life and for health, and more aware that all
people everywhere deserve the opportunity for a better future. It
prompted us to cultivate what the president has called the habit of
service to others Now as our nation once again
deals with great loss, with fears, and with uncertainties, let us recommit
ourselves to those values which define us. Let us renew our quest
for understanding of the natural world and all the heavens which God has
made. Let us renew our commitment to standing for life and liberty
and peace for all people. Let us renew our commitment to working
with all nations to conquer want and hunger and disease in every corner of
the globe and let us accept our responsibility to defend the freedom which
we are so privileged to enjoy.
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So much of Dr. Rice's speech is
inspirational and is exactly what needs to
be said. I wish more of our leaders had greater personal faith and
trust in
the God we serve. I have a deep respect for Dr. Rice and thank God
she is in a position of national leadership. However, I am
troubled by a tendency on the part of many, if not all, of our political
leaders to be polite and all inclusive of the religions of the world. I believe it will lead to disastrous
consequences to adhere to the notion that it does not matter what you
believe so long as you believe something!
History supports that belief. John Gallemore
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