Prayer for our Enemies

I was rector of a small church in Somerset, Pennsylvania when 9/11 took place. It is one of the last places in the United States where one would think a terrorist attack might take place. It is mostly a rural community of small farms and rolling hills, and yet it was on one of those rolling hills only a few miles from town that flight 93 was driven into the ground with terrorists in control of the throttles. We knew that a service had to be organized for the families of the loved ones who had heroically tried to take back control of the flight. What we had thought would be a service on the courthouse steps for several hundred quickly swelled to several thousand. I sat on the committee of local pastors who were planning and organizing the service. We knew that prayer would be a large part of the ceremony. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and I felt convicted that we should also say a prayer for our enemies. At first, there was pretty strong opposition, but in the end, I reminded the pastors of Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, “You have heard it said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” In the end, I was given permission to include the prayer in the service. When we had finished praying, there was silence, but I also felt that some of our anger had left and that the peace of the Holy Spirit was replacing it.

I have seen this happen over and over again. When a crazy angry man broke into an Amish school and killed several innocent children, the parents of those children sought out the wife of that man and went to her filled with prayer and forgiveness. The loss was beyond comprehension, but love and forgiveness were overcoming evil. —Romans 12:21

On June 17, 2015, a young white supremacist named Dylann Roof attended a Bible Study at Mother Emmanuel Church in Charlestown. At the end of the study, he opened fire on the African Americans that were in attendance. He killed nine of them. Throughout the nation, people fell on their knees and prayed for those whose lives had been taken from them and for their families. The family members themselves told Roof that they had forgiven him during his bond hearing. I believe that a great deal of progress was made in Civil Rights because of their forgiveness and witness. Given the events of this past week, it is clear that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. We must find ways to uphold the dignity of every human being.

Revenge is something that comes so easily to us. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth makes us feel better for a minute, but it begins a cycle of violence that has no end. Jesus called us to another way. He lived what he taught and cried from the unjust wood of the cross, “Father forgive them…” Our Lord calls us to something that almost seems impossible, and yet he showed us it could be done. We are to be people of forgiveness and to pray for our enemies. Give us the strength to overcome evil with good.

Yours in Christ,

†Bp. Mark