Spirit and Story Archive
Welcome to Spirit and Story, where you can find the latest thoughts and reflections by CLAL faculty and associates on the contours of our contemporary spiritual journeys.
To access the CLAL Spirit and Story Archive, click here.
(Dr. Richard Lipton recently participated in a seminar entitled "What Is Religion For?" convened by the Jewish Public Forum at CLAL on November 19, 2001. He offers this poem in the spirit of that gathering. For more information about the JPF seminar click here.)
Prayer for the New Millennium
By Richard Lipton
Praise to you, Our
Lord our God,
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
God of Buddha, God of Jesus, God of Mohammad,
God of Agnostics and Atheists.
You are the
abundantly kind Creator of all,
Remember the piety of all of our ancestors,
The acts of kindness made by the Human Spirit,
Whether or not in Your Name.
For the Human
Spirit is Your Spirit,
And Your Truth has many forms,
Help us to embrace all that binds us together,
And all that separates us.
For our beliefs are
but shadows of Your Truth,
Cast in many directions,
By the ever-present,
Divine Light.
We are divided,
By our images of the Divine Face,
Which none can see.
Divided by our
myths and metaphors,
By our limited angles of vision,
By our search for permanence.
As Your partners in
creation,
Grant us the wisdom to recognize,
The breadth of Your Vision,
That all of humanity,
Is made in Your Image.
Grant us the
courage,
To use our tradition,
As a foundation for meaning,
As a tree of life,
Supported and enriched,
By a forest which grows,
In your Divine Light.
