Fr Peter Helman

Dear friend,

We gathered for worship yesterday on Independence Day, and praying together as we do every Sunday for our president and governor, the courts and legislature, and all those in positions of authority, and a passage from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to his younger missionary partner Saint Timothy came to mind:

“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

This is a stirring passage when we consider that the wider society of imperial Rome in which Paul and Timothy  lived was increasingly hostile to the early church. Paul and Timothy traveled from place to place preaching the Gospel and always with a threat of violence and imprisonment.

It is no small thing that Paul reminds Timothy very pointedly to hold the king and those in high positions of authority in prayer. The unspoken question I hear from Timothy in reply to Paul's words is "Well, how shall we pray for those who wield power and authority and who do so without conscience and consideration of the Royal Law of love (James 2:8)?"

Perhaps there were several impulses at work that constrained Timothy’s prayers. Timothy may have neglected prayers for those in authority because he considered a Christian’s citizenship to be in heaven, without respect to secular allegiances. You'll remember that elsewhere Paul wrote that "our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). Or, given persecutions, Timothy may have had only ill will for the rulers who inflicted violence upon the church and the faithful. He may not have spared any breath to pray for their well being, for why would he ask God’s blessing to abide with those who don't deserve it? Besides all this, he may have felt powerless before immovable social circumstances and so instead devoted his attention in prayer to the immediate needs of his siblings in Christ.

Whatever it was, though, Paul urged Timothy all the same to pray for those in authority, “so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” Paul desired the people of God and indeed everyone to live in peace. And God’s peace could not in turn take hold by force and coercion, for God is not a despot. Which is to say, I don’t believe Paul prayed for the utter destruction and demise of unjust rulers. He prayed instead for their salvation. He prayed for justice, and he prayed for mercy. He prayed for the coming reign of God and for structures and institutions of violence to be undone and for love to reign supreme. Paul prayed for the grace of God to transform the face of the earth and to make of it the habitation of God's glory, where God alone reigns.

I was reminded in church yesterday that while we may each hold widely differing political affiliations and may bring to the table a variety of perspectives on one issue or another, the love of God constrains us to pray for each other's well being and for the love of God "to rule the hearts of those who bear the authority of government in this and every land, that they may be led to wise decisions and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world" (BCP pg. 329). It is true that our citizenship is in heaven, as Paul says, but that is not an escapism into some other-worldly faith that frees us from striving in this world with every strength for justice and mercy for all. We exercise the freedoms we have as citizens of this land to ensure the freedom and peace and security of all.


In Christ,
Fr. Peter

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"O Lord our Governor, whose glory is in all the world: We commend this nation to thy merciful care, that, being guided by thy Providence, we may dwell secure in thy peace. Grant to the President of the United States, the Governor of this State, and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in thy fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen." (Collect for the President of the United States and All in Civil Authority, BCP pg. 820)