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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Julia Neuberger

Good morning.

On this day in 1833, Joseph Pease finally succeeded in taking his seat in Parliament by affirming his loyalty, as he was not willing, as a Quaker, to swear an oath of allegiance to the king. It may sound unimportant now, but the first Quaker had been elected an MP back in 1698, and had been unable to take up his seat because of that oath.

And it wasn鈥檛 only Quakers. Other non-conformists were affected too, as were Roman Catholics and Jews. The first Jew did not take up his seat in Parliament until 1858, because Jews could not say 鈥渙n the true faith of a Christian.鈥� Since then, huge changes have taken place. Now, you see MPs and Peers swearing or affirming on a Hebrew Bible or a Koran, on a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib or on no religious text at all.

We now accept that we are all equal in the sight of God and humanity, and we can see God, and good, in every person, whatever their beliefs, as long as they aim to do what is right. And we ought to celebrate the diversity of members of Parliament and of people everywhere- it makes us a richer, fairer, more interesting society, and it allows us to see ourselves in those who are like us and in those who, on the surface at least, seem very different.

Dear God, remind us that it matters not whether a person be Jew or non-Jew, rich or poor, man or woman, whatever they may be. It is in accordance with the merits of his or her deeds that the Holy Spirit rests upon a person- and brings us blessings.