Dear colleagues,
At a time when it seems nearly everything can be a matter of political debate, it is perhaps not surprising that the brutal conflicts in which our societies are locked has found a new target: prayer. Last week, President Trump—at, of all things, a prayer breakfast—again criticized Nancy Pelosi for saying that she prayed for him: “Nor do I like people who say, ‘I pray for you,’ when they know that’s not so.” It struck me initially as one more instance of the deeply demoralizing nature of the Trump presidency.
As I thought about it more, however, I was reminded of a mild kerfuffle in the Church of England some years ago. The C of E produced an ad that consisted of different people praying the Lord’s Prayer and sought to have it shown in cinemas across the country. The ad was part of a broader campaign to highlight the importance of prayer. The theatre chain rejected the ad, however, saying that it feared it might “cause offence.”
This left some Christians bewildered. Others, however, embraced the label: of course the Lord’s Prayer is offensive. To pray for Christ’s kingdom to come on earth should offend the kingdoms of this world. To pray for daily bread for all should offend against structures of power that leave some in this world with too much and many with not nearly enough. To pray for the grace to forgive the sins of others challenges prevailing norms that may still be too deeply rooted in an ethic of an eye for an eye.
It’s true about the rest of Jesus’ teaching about prayer as well. Throughout his ministry, Jesus links prayer and the coming of the kingdom: when we pray, the reign of God comes closer. When he teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who abuse us (Luke 6:27-28), we are introduced to a revolutionary model of relationship that moves us beyond enmity and grudge to grace and transformation. In his parables about prayer (Luke 18:1-14), Jesus teaches us about how injustice is overthrown and power relationships in society transformed. You can imagine how the rulers of this earth might find these messages threatening.
It may not always feel like it, but this is the movement we are participating in when we pray, including when we gather daily in our chapel to pray together. The Daily Office liturgies continually point us to Biblical texts that remind us of the way God transforms relations in society, from Mary’s recognition that God has “cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly” to Zechariah’s assertion that the light of Christ will “guide our feet into the way of peace.”
St. Paul called the gospel a “stumbling block” (or scandal, to use the Greek word). In Paul’s time no less than ours, the gospel of Christ will challenge the prevailing norms and values of a society. We shouldn’t be surprised if this scandalous good news “causes offense” and threatens nervous presidents.
Faithfully yours,
Jesse Zink
Principal
This message was written by College Principal Jesse Zink for this week’s Wingèd Ox, a weekly news digest distributed to the college community.