Pray For All In Authority
Sermon
A week last Wednesday, the day when we all awoke to discover that the events of the day before weren't some ghastly nightmare but were real, the lectionary reading set for the day was this:
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48)
It was really difficult to read that, under the circumstances, and somebody who was listening burst out, "But I can't! Not today!" The reading suddenly brought home the reality of the Christian faith, and the fact that Christianity is actually quite difficult. It's easy enough to talk about loving your enemies in theory, when you don't have any enemies. But when thousands of people have just been killed or maimed by the most horrendous terrorist activity the world has ever seen, the words "love your enemy" tend to stick in your throat a bit.
Nonetheless, reading was so incredibly pertinent on that particular day, that for me at least, it felt like a very clear message from God. It seemed like God was deep in the situation in America, but was calling us right away to remember the basic principles of Christianity in our natural reaction of shock and horror and outrage.
Today's epistle reading is equally appropriate. The writer of the letter to Timothy says this, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." Again, how pertinent that reading is today. If ever there was a time to pray for our leaders, this is it. Now more than any other time, they need the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job and the compassion of Jesus. But they're only human. How can they have those characteristics unless we pray for them, and pray for them regularly and faithfully?
It may be that recent events have made people doubt the power of prayer. The problem of suffering is one of the most fundamental difficulties that Christians face, and has proved a stumbling block for many potential Christians. How can there be a God, the argument goes, when such appalling tragedies happen in the world? Why didn't God protect those people in the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, and why didn't he protect the passengers on those planes? And what about those three hundred firefighters who went in to rescue people but then lost their own lives? It's all so unfair, so unjust. And if Muslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews, then why didn't God speak to those suicide terrorists and prevent them carrying out their mission?
Clearly, part of the answer to the recent events is human evil. Fanatics of whatever persuasion have never learned humility. They are so arrogant in their particular beliefs, that for them, there's no question of right or wrong. They know they're right, and if the whole world is opposed to their ideas, then the whole world is wrong. It's easy for evil to flourish under such circumstances, especially when the perpetrators are so twisted that they consider their particular evil to be good.
Another part of the answer is free will. God created us humans in his own likeness, then allowed us to do exactly as we wished. If God is to maintain the principle of free will for all human beings, then he can't afford to reach down and pluck terrorists out of the sky so that they can't damage other people. Anyway, if he plucked out every human being who ever damaged anyone else, the world would soon be empty. So we're left to work it out ourselves as best we can. We're left to sort out the problem of terrorists ourselves, and because we're basically lazy and don't want to face our problems if we can avoid it, sadly the world is only galvanised into action when evil occurs on such a monstrous scale.
So if God has tied his own hands and isn't going to solve our problems for us, what's the point of prayer? Why should we pray to a God who apparently doesn't do anything?
One reason to pray is because prayer is like a cloak for the person who prays. No matter who or what you pray for, one result of that prayer will be to cloak you in a protective layer which will keep your soul safe. The telephone calls which were made to loved ones by people in the twin towers before they collapsed, were incredibly moving. The one thing almost everyone said was, "I love you." There wasn't time for anything more, and when the chips were really down, all that mattered was to reassure those at home that whatever happened, they were loved. There was certainly fear, but it seemed to be overridden by love. All those people knew they were about to die, but somehow or other their souls came to the fore, and what was most important to them was to express something about their souls. They spoke about love, that which continues after death. Prayer may not always protect your body, but it always protects your soul.
So prayer supports and protects and nourishes the one who prays. But does it actually work? Does it affect in any way those for whom we pray? I believe that God's love is always around us all the time, so that we are always bathed in God's love. But when we pray for other people we open a specific channel between God and that person, so that God's love can be focussed on them in a very special way. It seems as though God actually needs us in partnership, as though our prayers are necessary to somehow empower God to act.
And Jesus taught that we should keep on praying and never give up. He told the story of the widow and the unjust judge to illustrate the need to keep in constant touch with God, especially when nothing seems to be happening. "Keep on praying," said Jesus, "for God will hear your prayers, and will respond."
Most of the time it's difficult to pray for those in authority, because we don't know them personally and they often seem quite remote, but it's desperately important that we do so. We must pray for kings and all those in authority not just now, when the world is in crisis, but constantly so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
And that, surely, is what we all wish for our world.
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48)
It was really difficult to read that, under the circumstances, and somebody who was listening burst out, "But I can't! Not today!" The reading suddenly brought home the reality of the Christian faith, and the fact that Christianity is actually quite difficult. It's easy enough to talk about loving your enemies in theory, when you don't have any enemies. But when thousands of people have just been killed or maimed by the most horrendous terrorist activity the world has ever seen, the words "love your enemy" tend to stick in your throat a bit.
Nonetheless, reading was so incredibly pertinent on that particular day, that for me at least, it felt like a very clear message from God. It seemed like God was deep in the situation in America, but was calling us right away to remember the basic principles of Christianity in our natural reaction of shock and horror and outrage.
Today's epistle reading is equally appropriate. The writer of the letter to Timothy says this, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." Again, how pertinent that reading is today. If ever there was a time to pray for our leaders, this is it. Now more than any other time, they need the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job and the compassion of Jesus. But they're only human. How can they have those characteristics unless we pray for them, and pray for them regularly and faithfully?
It may be that recent events have made people doubt the power of prayer. The problem of suffering is one of the most fundamental difficulties that Christians face, and has proved a stumbling block for many potential Christians. How can there be a God, the argument goes, when such appalling tragedies happen in the world? Why didn't God protect those people in the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, and why didn't he protect the passengers on those planes? And what about those three hundred firefighters who went in to rescue people but then lost their own lives? It's all so unfair, so unjust. And if Muslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews, then why didn't God speak to those suicide terrorists and prevent them carrying out their mission?
Clearly, part of the answer to the recent events is human evil. Fanatics of whatever persuasion have never learned humility. They are so arrogant in their particular beliefs, that for them, there's no question of right or wrong. They know they're right, and if the whole world is opposed to their ideas, then the whole world is wrong. It's easy for evil to flourish under such circumstances, especially when the perpetrators are so twisted that they consider their particular evil to be good.
Another part of the answer is free will. God created us humans in his own likeness, then allowed us to do exactly as we wished. If God is to maintain the principle of free will for all human beings, then he can't afford to reach down and pluck terrorists out of the sky so that they can't damage other people. Anyway, if he plucked out every human being who ever damaged anyone else, the world would soon be empty. So we're left to work it out ourselves as best we can. We're left to sort out the problem of terrorists ourselves, and because we're basically lazy and don't want to face our problems if we can avoid it, sadly the world is only galvanised into action when evil occurs on such a monstrous scale.
So if God has tied his own hands and isn't going to solve our problems for us, what's the point of prayer? Why should we pray to a God who apparently doesn't do anything?
One reason to pray is because prayer is like a cloak for the person who prays. No matter who or what you pray for, one result of that prayer will be to cloak you in a protective layer which will keep your soul safe. The telephone calls which were made to loved ones by people in the twin towers before they collapsed, were incredibly moving. The one thing almost everyone said was, "I love you." There wasn't time for anything more, and when the chips were really down, all that mattered was to reassure those at home that whatever happened, they were loved. There was certainly fear, but it seemed to be overridden by love. All those people knew they were about to die, but somehow or other their souls came to the fore, and what was most important to them was to express something about their souls. They spoke about love, that which continues after death. Prayer may not always protect your body, but it always protects your soul.
So prayer supports and protects and nourishes the one who prays. But does it actually work? Does it affect in any way those for whom we pray? I believe that God's love is always around us all the time, so that we are always bathed in God's love. But when we pray for other people we open a specific channel between God and that person, so that God's love can be focussed on them in a very special way. It seems as though God actually needs us in partnership, as though our prayers are necessary to somehow empower God to act.
And Jesus taught that we should keep on praying and never give up. He told the story of the widow and the unjust judge to illustrate the need to keep in constant touch with God, especially when nothing seems to be happening. "Keep on praying," said Jesus, "for God will hear your prayers, and will respond."
Most of the time it's difficult to pray for those in authority, because we don't know them personally and they often seem quite remote, but it's desperately important that we do so. We must pray for kings and all those in authority not just now, when the world is in crisis, but constantly so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
And that, surely, is what we all wish for our world.
