Tom Dinell
INVOCATION
Tom Dinell, former director of Catholic Charities Hawaii, delivered this invocation for the State of Hawaii House of Representatives at the State Capitol, Feb. 7.
(Dinell notes, “Every so often, even at an advanced age, one has a delightful, new, unanticipated experience. My most recent one was being asked to give the invocation at the State House of Representatives. It is, of course, a very mixed group including Christians, Buddhists, Jews, agnostics and atheists; and I am sure I missed a few designations.”)
Please remain seated and place yourself in a reflective mood.
God, I know we keep trying to put you in a box of our own making, but you do not fit in a box.
You are the God of the universe and the trillions of galaxies that we have observed so far including the billions of stars in our own Milky Way of which our sun is one.
You are the God of almost eight billion people on earth and have created each of us and watch over us, each with our 20 to 30 trillion red cells and our intricately balanced phenomenon we call our bodies.
How do you do all of this? The answer is: we do not know.
So how then do we reach the infinite you, who is far, far beyond our ability to capture through our usual human means of knowing?
Your message is really quite clear. Listen to the prophets. Listen to the poor, the oppressed, the forgotten, the lonely. Listen to the cosmos. Listen to the ocean. Listen to the trees and all of nature. And then turn to love.
You said: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Paul has added that: “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians13:8).
We can only reach you through love: love of you, love of one another, love of self, love of beauty, love of those who are hurting, love of the gifts you have given us, especially the gift of our environs, which you have entrusted to our care.
Help us as we listen and deliberate and make decisions. Help us to always be seeking to discern your will and to do so with love.
If we love you, then you will dwell in us and we in you.
Amen.
