Pausing to observe Holy Week amid war and policy struggles, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday April 19 that the agony of Jesus Christ through death and resurrection puts mere political struggle “in perspective.”
For the second year running, Obama hosted an Easter prayer breakfast at the White House, and the East Room was filled with administration officials and 130 clergy and faith leaders from across the nation.
Obama said “critical national debates” are raging, and “my plate has been full as well. The in-box keeps accumulating. But then comes Holy Week …
“As busy as we are, as many tasks as pile up, during this season, we are reminded that there is something about the resurrection … of Our Savior Jesus Christ that puts everything else in perspective.”
Obama spoke just before heading to a town meeting in Virginia on his deficit plan — the start of a cost-to-coast tour promoting his fiscal blueprint as more balanced than the one advocated by congressional Republicans.
Obama has used previous prayer breakfasts to underscore the depth of his Christian faith in the face of polls indicating some Americans question his religious beliefs. Last August, a Pew Research Center poll found 18 percent wrongly believe that Obama is a Muslim.
On Tuesday, Obama recounted the story of Christ’s march to Calvary, the crucifixion and resurrection, the “unfathomable grace” of taking on the sins of the world.
After citing Isaiah 53:5, Obama said: “This magnificent grace, this expansive grace, this `Amazing Grace’ calls me to reflect. And it calls me to pray. It calls me to ask God for forgiveness for the times that I’ve not shown grace to others, those times that I’ve fallen short. It calls me to praise God for the gift of our son — his Son and our Savior.”
Obama said his daughters help keep things in perspective for him, and so does having a “strong spouse…. But nothing beats Scripture and the reminder of the Eternal.”
The event included an opening prayer by African Methodist Episcopal Bishop Vashti McKenzie of Tennessee. Other well-known clerics included Bishop T.D. Jakes and Archbishop Demetrios, leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.