Give Us This Day, Our Daily Senate Scolding
Jeremy W. Peters of The New York Times writes about a recent change in tone in the Senate opening prayer, delivered by Barry C. Black. In “an epic ministerial scolding” during the ongoing government shutdown, Black said, “We acknowledge our transgressions, our shortcomings, our smugness, our selfishness and our pride. Deliver us from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable.” He said about th pointedness of his recent prayers, “It’s like the showdown at the O.K. Corral. Who’s going to blink first? So I can’t help but have some of this spill over into my prayer. Because you’re hoping that something will get through and that cooler heads will prevail.”