1 Timothy 2:1-2
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings 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.
I just read in the newspaper this morning of Ernest C. Withers, a photojournalist who was in the inner circle of civil rights leaders in the 1960s. He was in Martin Luther King's room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on the night King was killed. Turns out, Withers was a FBI informant, paid to keep tabs on the movement and report to the government. He died a few years ago, but his photos are famous.
The civil rights movement in the 60s was probably the most visible and successful act of civil disobedience in America in our lifetimes. In large part, it came out of the churches, so it was immersed in prayer for leaders, as the writer of 1 Timothy urges. And it was, for the most part, peaceable, thanks to Martin Luther King Jr., the other civil rights leaders and their spirituality. Yet it was by no means quiet. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, she may not have said a word, but her actions were loud and they threatened southern whites.
It may be that when 1 Timothy was written, probably in the early part of the 2nd century CE, the Roman rulers were allowing strange sects, like Christianity at the time, to exist as long as they didn't stir up trouble. Maybe the church leaders appreciated this freedom from direct persecution and wanted to maintain it. The best way to do that would be to pray for the emperor and try not to get caught up in any kind of resistance to the government. Laying low and staying out of sight might have been their best strategy for surviving.
What do you think these words from 1 Timothy mean for us today?
The author may be living in a time of oppression, where the 'powers that be' (the kings and ones in high positions) suggests that to have the freedom to worship in their own way, they need to be invisible to the public and not 'make waves'. That sounds more like a threat. The author instructs his community to pray for people who do injustices against them, like the 'powers that be' So that his community can have the freedom to worship in peace. Is this kind of peace worth the 'price'?
ReplyDeleteToday we have the Tea Partyers who harbor such anger at whoever does not agree with their values and ideas. Their anger is so great that their only goal is to seize the power that will change the nation in their image. The news stories have highlighted their ultra conservative views and targeting the moderate politicians to be replaced with people of their own. Are these the people the author instructs us to pray for, to not make waves and have peace in our lives? Is this kind of peace worth the 'price'?