PRAYERS WITHOUT BORDERS

To: bevchoatedowdy@yahoo.com
From: Chris and Lauren
Date: Monday, June 27, 2005

“I just wanted you to know that we went to church with the president yesterday morning.”

My son Chris and his wife Lauren attended worship at St.John’s Episcopal Church Sunday morning. They said they sat about five feet away from the President. They experienced a strong sense of his warmth, charm, humility, and sincerity.

Their sense of this confirms everything I have ever heard of and seen of President George W. Bush. I see him as sincere about his faith and humble in the realization of his place before God. I understand him to be one who comes before God to seek wisdom and strength.

The fact that I challenge his administration’s policies doesn’t fly in the face of that perception.

Thinking of the president at worship reminds me of how sad it is that there is such a climate of animosity in politics today. It’s a bit of irony of to me that at the point when Bible believing Christians have gained a good bit of influence, there is a marked abundance of mean spiritedness.


I am not sure how you analyze it, but it seems to me that the mean spiritedness has not come as a single handed swing from the secular liberals. If I didn’t spend a tremendous amount of time with church going political conservatives, I might be able to blame it on the secular types, but the tone of many among the religious right towards their political opposition often drips with mocking and the assumption of moral and intellectual superiority. I think my Bible believing church going friends and the media, to which they exclusively attend, contribute greatly to the climate of animosity.

Sadly, some folks who regularly pray publicly for President Bush never did so for President Clinton. When President Bush was elected, at one assembly a fellow got up and said, “Thank God we have a Christian president.”

Another fellow in the same assembly turned to his wife and said, “So what is Clinton? Buddhist?”

Whatever you may think about Clinton’s politics and personal life, he privately and publicly acknowledges his reliance on the grace of God.[1] I’m not suggesting you vote him or for his wife. I am suggesting that it’s a little scary to hear condemnations and recriminations of any believer asking for forgiveness.

During the Clinton adminstration, a good friend of mine was undergoing tests for a serious illness. She was told she would probably have to wait four days for the results.I remember remarking "I bet Hilary Clinton wouldn't have to wait for four days."

My friend's minister said, "Well if it was Hilary Clinton, I wouldn't care."

When it comes to political ideology, there are very significant debates to be had, but drawing the borders of the kingdom around views about public policy and politicians may show us to be more the objects of the marketing of political consultants than the disciples of Jesus.

He sees way beyond our ideological, theological, political, ethnic, and national borders and loves the whole world.

This leads me to one of my passionate complaints about church assemblies of late. Since the run up to the invasion of Iraq I have sat in worship assembly after worship assembly made up of fairly conservative folks. Conservative in politics. Conservative in biblical interpretation. One glaring inconsistency to me centers around what seems to be an implicit interpretation of I Timothy.

In these assemblies of worship, the women are excluded from public speaking. This is based on the leaders’ interpretation of the somewhat complicated advice on women in the second chapter of I Timothy. Yet, when I hear prayers led--by the men only--they ignore a direct, simple to interpret, command coming from the first part of the same chapter.

“First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all.”

For years now I have heard prayers for our president and for our troops and for our success in war. I am trying to think of a public prayer I have heard in which we prayed for everyone--for all of those in high positions. I rarely, if never, hear a prayer for peace. I rarely, if ever, hear a prayer for our enemies or for the peoples or soldiers of the other lands embroiled in conflict.

Praying for our troops, our president, and our national security reflects our concerns and our anxieties, but I don’t think that limiting our prayers to these reflects the will of God.

He sees way beyond our ideological, theological, political, ethnic, and national borders and loves the whole world.

We could think of it as living below our privilege. We could be praying for all of the leaders of all nations. We could be praying for all humankind everywhere.

How lonely for our president to go to the table of leaders all covered in prayer meeting folks for whom we have NOT prayed.

What a blessing that we can join together to pray for peace for all nations.

When one looks down on earth from the reaches of space, the multi-colored political maps we usually visualize become the artificial. What’s real is the wide expanse of earth with no political lines.

How precious that Chris and Lauren got to worship with President George W. Bush. How precious for them to gain a sense of his warmth, charm, humility, and sincerity.

We can love and appreciate our president. We can love and appreciate our nation. We can ask for safety and security for our loved ones in uniform. We can debate our ideologies. But we must remember His transcendency. God loves all men everywhere. It's time for us to utter prayers without borders.
[1]
* McDonald, Gordon, ”Body Politics, Amid political tensions, when is a pastor to speak out and when to refrain?” Leadership, Fall 2004 p. 107-108