奥巴马总统在白宫复活节祈祷早餐会上的演讲
Good morning, everybody. (Applause.) Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. Please, please have a seat. Thank you so much. Well, good morning, everybody.
Welcome to the White House andwelcome to our annual Easter prayer breakfast. As always, we are blessed to be joined by so many good friends fromaround the country. We've gotdistinguished guests. We've got faithleaders, members of my administration who are here. And I will once again resist the temptationto preach to preachers. (Laughter.) It never works out well. I am reminded of the admonition from the Bookof Romans — “Do not claim to be wiser than you are.” (Laughter.) So this morning, I want to offer some very brief reflections as we startthis Easter season.
But as I was preparing myremarks, something intervened yesterday. And so I want to just devote a few words about yesterday's tragedy inKansas. This morning our prayers are withthe people of Overland Park. And we'restill learning the details, but this much we know. A gunman opened fire at two Jewish facilities– a community center and a retirement home. Innocent people were killed. Their families were devastated. And this violence has struck the heart of the Jewish community in KansasCity.
Two of the victims — agrandfather and his teenage [grand] son — attended the United Methodist Churchof the Resurrection, which is led by our friend Reverend Adam Hamilton. Some of you may know that during myinauguration, Reverend Hamilton delivered the sermon at the prayer service atthe National Cathedral. And I wasgrateful for his presence and his words. He joined us at our breakfast last year. And at the Easter service for Palm Sunday last night, he had to breakthis terrible news to his congregation.
That this occurred now — as Jewswere preparing to celebrate Passover, as Christians were observing Palm Sunday–makes this tragedy all the more painful. And today, as Passover begins, we're seeing a number of synagogues andJewish community centers take added security precautions. Nobody should have to worry about theirsecurity when gathering with their fellow believers. No one should ever have to fear for theirsafety when they go to pray.
And as a government, we're goingto provide whatever assistance is needed to support the investigation. As Americans, we not only need to open ourhearts to the families of the victims, we've got to stand united against thiskind of terrible violence, which has no place in our society. And we have to keep coming together acrossfaiths to combat the ignorance and intolerance, including anti-Semitism thatcan lead to hatred and to violence, because we're all children of God. We're all made in His image, all worthy ofhis love and dignity. And we see whathappens around the world when this kind of religious-based or tinged violencecan rear its ugly head. It's got no placein our society.
So this Easter Week, of course werecognize that there's a lot of pain and a lot of sin and a lot of tragedy inthis world, but we're also overwhelmed by the grace of an awesome God. We're reminded how He loves us, so deeply,that He gave his only begotten Son so that we might live through Him. And in these Holy Days, we recall all thatJesus endured for us — the scorn of the crowds and the pain of thecrucifixion, in our Christian religious tradition we celebrate the glory of theResurrection — all so that we might be forgiven of our sins and granted everlastinglife.
And more than 2,000 years later,it inspires us still. We are drawn toHis timeless teachings, challenged to be worthy of His sacrifice, to emulate asbest we can His eternal example to love one another just as He loves us. And of course, we're always reminded each andevery day that we fall short of that example. And none of us are free from sin, but we look to His life and strive,knowing that “if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love isperfected in us.”
I'll tell you, I felt this spiritwhen I had the great honor of meeting His Holiness, Pope Francis,recently. I think it's fair to say thatthose of us of the Christian faith, regardless of our denomination, have beentouched and moved by Pope Francis. Now,some of it is his words — his message of justice and inclusion, especially forthe poor and the outcast. He implores usto see the inherent dignity in each human being. But it's also his deeds, simple yet profound– hugging the homeless man, and washing the feet of somebody who normallyordinary folks would just pass by on the street. He reminds us that all of us, no matter whatour station, have an obligation to live righteously, and that we all have anobligation to live humbly. Becausethat's, in fact, the example that we profess to follow.
So I had a wonderful conversationwith Pope Francis, mostly about the imperatives of addressing poverty andinequality. And I invited him to come tothe United States, and I sincerely hope he will. When we exchanged gifts he gave me a copy ofhis inspiring writings, “The Joy of the Gospel.” And there is a passage that speaks to ustoday: “Christ's resurrection,” hewrites, “is not an event of the past; it contains a vital power which haspermeated this world.” And he adds,“Jesus did not rise in vain. May wenever remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope!”
So this morning, my main messageis just to say thank you to all of you, because you don't remain on thesidelines. I want to thank you for yourministries, for your good works, for the marching you do for justice anddignity and inclusion, for the ministries that all of you attend to and havehelped organize throughout your communities each and every day to feed thehungry and house the homeless and educate children who so desperately need aneducation. You have made a difference inso many different ways, not only here in the United States but overseas aswell. And that includes a cause close tomy heart, My Brother's Keeper, an initiative that we recently launched to makesure that more boys and young men of color can overcome the odds and achievetheir dreams.
And we're joined by several faithleaders who are doing outstanding work in this area mentoring and helping youngmen in tough neighborhoods. We're alsojoined by some of these young men who are working hard and trying to be goodstudents and good sons and good citizens. And I want to say to each of those young men here, we're proud of you,and we expect a lot of you. And we'regoing to make sure that we're there for you so that you then in turn will bethere for the next generation of young men.
And I mention all this because ofall of our many partners for My Brother's Keeper, it's clergy like you and yourcongregations that can play a special role to be that spiritual and ethicalfoundation, that rock that so many young men need in their lives.
So I want to thank all of you whoare already involved. I invite those whoare not to get more information, see if you can join in this effort as brothersand sisters in Christ who “never tire of doing good.”
In closing, I'll just recall thatold prayer that I think more than one preacher has invoked at the pulpit: “Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff,and nudge me when I've said enough.” (Laughter.) The Almighty isnudging me. I thank you for joining usthis morning of prayer. I wish you all ablessed Holy Week and Easter, and I'd like to invite my friend Joel Hunter todeliver the opening prayer. Come on up,Joel. (Applause.)
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