Praying

AT THE SENIOR CENTER we pray each day before we eat lunch. This is illegal, because the center is partly funded with government money, but we do it anyway, and so far nobody has been hit with a civil suit or an indictment, or has landed in jail. Brother Harold, a retired minister, used to say the prayer each day and was quite adept at inching his way towards the serving window even while he recited the daily prayer with one eye open and on his next meal. When he moved into an assisted living facility, nobody was appointed to replace him as the daily pray-er, so we began a system of asking for volunteers. Nobody ever volunteers, so the director picks someone out. Some people, among them the most devout, never say the prayer. I am chosen often. They seem to like the way I pray, although if they thought more about it, these devout Christians might not be happy with me. I do not refer to God as "father". My concept of God has nothing to do with gender. Also, I never use expressions like "in the name of Jesus Christ." My prayer is not intended to express adherence to any particular religion, but rather, to express gratitude at the infinitely superior spirit which created the universe and gave us this wonderful if challenging life. If the Christians ever figure this out, my praying days might well be over. The term "infinitely superior spirit" I borrowed from Einstein, who also used the terms "the old eternal genius who built the world", and "the ancient one". The doctrine that a superior person like Joshua Ben Joseph was crucified to atone for my sins I reject; if anyone must die for my sins, let it be me, not a far better man than I who is guilty of nothing except making a few questionable remarks, such as putting people to death who curse the mother and the father (Mathew 15:4), among others. Since there is absolutely no evidence that there is any anthropomorphic deity somewhere beyond the sky who listens to and responds to prayers, to me the exercise is a purely emotional and psychological one; it does no harm, it brings people together, and it harms no one and satisfies everyone. I am just now starting to learn Brother Harold's technique of inching my way towards the front of the serving window with one eye open as I pray and everyone else stands motion less with their heads bowed and their eyes closed. Prayer has perks, especially right around lunch time.