Biden and Speaker Johnson Share a Laugh During Moving Sermon at the National Prayer Breakfast
Chaplain Barry Black, the 62nd chaplain of the U.S. Senate, spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday and gave a moving speech about how faith brings together members of both parties and overcomes the “insanity” of Capitol Hill.
Black spoke to the annual gathering of leaders, including President Joe Biden and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) – who sat next to each other in the front row. Every U.S. president has attended the annual event since Dwight Eisenhower in 1953.
“One of my relatives called me last night. I talked with her a lot, but she asked me a question that she’s never asked me before. She said, Barry, how do you survive the insanity — her words, not mine — on Capitol Hill?” Black said, adding:
No, just imagine this is like Aunt Bee saying to Andy, how do you survive? I mean, this is some serious stuff when this happened, when I’d be saying to Andy and Barney using the words insanity, you in trouble in Mayberry and other places as well?
After a laugh from the crowd, which included Johnson and Biden, Black continued:
How do you do that? And I responded, well, you know, we have some saints in Caesar’s household. What are you talking about? We’re talking Capitol Hill, Barry. I said, what you don’t know is every week at the legislative branch is in session. They meet for a prayer breakfast. Both sides of the aisle and representatives and senators talk about their faith pilgrimage. Whaaaaa? Yeah. What you don’t know is every week I said, I’ve been doing this. It’ll be 21 years in July, every week on Capitol Hill there are saints in Caesar’s household.
I teach a Bible study. And senators from both sides of the aisle come to that Bible study. And I said, there’s one senator who’s missed one Bible study in 19 years. She said, who is that? I said, that’s classified. I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you after I told you. Oh, no, no, I don’t need to know that. All right? I said, what you don’t know is that on February 24th, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, hundreds of people on Capitol Hill began to fast and pray. She said, ‘Whaaaaa?’
I said, what you don’t know, is on October 7th, 2023, when the Palestinian Sunni Islamic group Hamas, I didn’t put it quite like that to her, led a surprise attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air, people on Capitol Hill were continuing to fast and pray. What you don’t know is that in the last two presidential elections, people on Capitol Hill were fasting and praying. I’m talking about representatives, senators, chiefs of staff, waiters, waitresses, janitors were fasting and praying. Hundreds of us have been doing that. I’ve been fasting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Not a week has gone by without fasting, and we learn from this story of Jehoshaphat using spiritual warfare instead of the arm of flesh. How to turn our crisis into conquest.
Singer Andrea Bocelli also attended the event and sang Amazing Grace.
Watch the full clip above via C-SPAN.
