A Prayer: "A public office is a public trust"

Once again last evening, I was able to share the Invocation for the Centerville City Council. This was the prayer:

Heavenly Father, a public office is a public trust. That may get lost in the routine rhythms and challenges of meetings and decision-making. But it’s precisely in the midst of the routine, the seemingly ordinary, that the members of this city council are to fulfill the responsibilities of their offices. Even the most routine of decisions in all of our lives can have an enormous impact on others. So, as this city council meets again tonight, give its members Your wisdom. Grant that they will treat the routine duties they discharge tonight for what they are: opportunities to do Your will, to love You and to love their neighbors in practical ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Sharing this prayer on Facebook tonight, I wrote:

Scripture enjoins us to pray for leaders, whether we agree with them or not. The apostle Paul wrote to the young pastor, Timothy, "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1-2) 

This is a remarkable passage in that Paul is telling Timothy that the people of Christ's Church in the first-century Roman Empire were to pray for those in authority, even despots like the Roman Emperors, for the sake of the people they govern. 

This doesn't mean that we need to support leaders' agendas or obey them when and if they are unjust, cruel, or hateful. In fact, Christians have an obligation to not conform to such "leadership," even as we pray for those who wield authority in evil ways. Paul writes in the New Testament book of Romans, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2)

[I'm the pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

I Want Obama to Be Successful

I just finished taking a course, Classics 401, at the Lancaster branch campus of Ohio University. The topic, daily life in ancient Rome, is one that I knew little about, quite honestly, and because Christ's life, death, and resurrection happened while his Judean homeland was a province of the Roman Empire, will help me in my preaching and teaching.

The final week's readings dealt with the role played by religion and philosophy in Rome, from the monarchy through the empire. As I reviewed for the exam, I ran across a piece written by a Christian who lived in the late-second through early-third century, Tertullian. He wrote in response to official persecution instigated by the Roman emperors:

On behalf of the safety of the emperors, we invoke the eternal God...We Christians are continually praying for all the emperors...We pray for the emperors a long life, a secure reign, strong armies, a faithful Senate, honest subjects, and a world at peace...God has said clearly and explicitly, "Pray for kings and princes and worldly powers so that your lives may be tranquil." For when the Empire is shaken, and all the other members of it are shaken, we, too, of course, although we are considered aliens by the crowds, find ourselves sharing some part of the disaster...[Tertillian, Apology, appearing in As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History]

A few weeks ago, with me hip-deep in parish work and other things going on in my life, I didn't comment when one prominent radio host said that he hoped that Barack Obama would fail as president.

I can understand why a person who disagrees with proposals from a president wanting those proposals to fail.

But from a Christian perspective, to want an entire presidency to fail is not only, as Tertullian wrote in the early third-century AD, contrary to simple self-interest, but also contrary to the will of God.

Governments, the Bible teaches, are instituted for the common good, necessities in an imperfect world. It's in the interest of all people that governments are successful in promoting the common good.

Whether it's ideologically correct or not, it's clear that Christians are called to hope...and pray...for the success of whoever happens to be president.

And so, I hope and pray that President Obama will be successful, just as I've hoped and prayed, since I became a Christian, that every president would be successful, as well as wise, judicious, courageous, and safe.