San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Lawmaker offers a prayer that shines on all
Easter has always been a time of celebration in my family — Mass, Easter egg hunts, barbecue and, yes, cascarones. As I get older, I try to reflect less on the festivities and more on the mystery of faith and what it means in my life.
I was baptized and raised Catholic, and I am a member of a Christian church. I am not religious; some days I pray more than others, and I should read the Bible more. But I am faithful.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, I stopped going to church in person and started watching it online. I have friends, relatives and associates of different faiths and no faith. I understand that for most of us, faith is a complex, evolving personal journey.
But state Rep. James Talarico’s powerful invocation March 24 in the Texas House, which sounded in the chamber and echoed through the Twitterverse and beyond, took me to church.
Like many, I first watched the video because it was the catalyst of a heated Twitter controversy after former state Rep. Jonathan Stickland lashed out, calling his prayer blasphemous.
It’s Stickland’s fundamentalist take on faith that pushes people
away from church; a new Gallup poll published Monday found religious membership in the U.S. has fallen to just 47 percent among those surveyed — less than half of the adult population for the first time since Gallup began asking more than 80 years ago.
Talarico’s prayer — what he describes as “a radical love for the oppressed, the hungry, the homeless, and the sick” — is what my God and faith are all about.
In this Easter season, after the dark year we’ve experienced, I hope people of all faiths or no faith find renewal, comfort and
light in his words of inclusivity, love and hope.
“Holy Mystery, you have so many names,” Talarico’s prayer begins. “The Torah calls you creator, the Quran calls you peace. The Gita calls you destroyer, the Dharma calls you truth, and the first epistle of John calls you perhaps the most beautiful name of all: love.”
In his prayer, Talarico speaks of a barefoot rabbi who embodied a perfect love, a crucified carpenter who “gave only two commandments: love God and love thy neighbor, because there
is no love of God without love of neighbor.”
Grandson of a Baptist preacher, Talarico’s upbringing and life experiences shaped his faith. He grew up dreaming of becoming a preacher and memorizing Scripture for fun. He grew up in Round Rock, going to nearby St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, where he is still active. He taught sixth graders at Rhodes Middle School on the West Side of San Antonio.
Beyond poetic words, his prayer encourages action and inspires commitment.
“The Word of God is love. Let us not be hearers of your word, but doers of your word— in our families, in our communities and in this chamber,” he prayed. “Not just with prayers, but with policies. Not just personal love, but political love. Because democracy is not just a constitution; democracy is a covenant.”
He calls on us to love: “Help us love, not just in word, but in action, help us honor, not just the name of Jesus, but the way of Jesus, help us free the oppressed, feed the hungry, house the homeless, heal the sick, release the prisoner, welcome the stranger, forgive the enemy and, above all, protect your creation. The Word of God is love”
At 31 and Texas’ youngest legislator, he unapologetically focuses on the most vulnerable — children, prisoners and LGBTQ+.
“There’s a famous gospel hymn called ‘His eye is on the sparrow,’ that comes from the book of Matthew, based on the idea of keeping His eye on the sparrow, which is the smallest weakest bird,” he said. “That’s my take on policymaking.”
Talarico crafted his prayer trying to speak to the time but also be timeless, keeping in mind that our state, nation and world need hope and light.
People listened. Democrats and Republicans, young, old, religious and nonreligious are still commenting and sharing his prayer. Many reached out to thank him for his prayer, his acceptance and love.