By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

I have ceased praying generic, anonymous prayers in public gatherings outside the church. I used to do it. I never felt quite right about it, but I did it anyway because that's what I was told I should do.

When I first became a law enforcement chaplain almost thirteen years ago, I attended a meeting where, in a workshop, the novice chaplains were instructed to be sensitive to the fact that there might be present, in a public meeting, people of faiths other than Christian. So, to be politically correct and multiculturally sensitive, we should pray a generic prayer.

For a Christian, that meant one should NOT end the prayer with, "In the Name of Jesus," or, "in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." After all, Jews do not accept Jesus as the promised Messiah (except for Messianic Jews, which is a whole other subject) and, although Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet, they do not see Him as Son of God and Savior of mankind (or humankind, if one must be politically correct and multiculturally sensitive). And, of course, there was a whole fruit basket of other religious expressions that might also be present.

So, dutifully, I toned down my prayers at police academy graduations, promotions, and other meetings where people of other faiths, or no faith, might be in attendance. Over the years, however, I began to notice a problem.

If a rabbi was asked to pray, he prayed a distinctively Jewish prayer. He might even recite the Shema or speak a phrase in Hebrew. "That's not very politically correct," I thought at the time. If a Muslim cleric was the designated prayer, he never shied away from the term "Allah." If a police cadet received a special award, more often than not, especially if he was African-American, his thank-you speech would invariably include the phrase, "I just want to give thanks to God and to His Son Jesus Christ for giving me strength." It seemed that the only people expected to alter their prayers were the Christian chaplains.

It's not like people didn't know I was a Christian, after all. I wear a clerical collar to these gatherings, so I am instantly identifiable as a Christian priest. But, in the name of diversity, tolerance, and the need to go along to get along, Christians were expected to pray like, well, like they weren't Christians.

However, about two years ago, thanks to the influence of The Rev. John Guest, who taught a course in the Doctor of Ministry program at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Penn., it dawned on me that "freedom of religion" means that everyone is free to express his or her own religion. It doesn't mean that we all have to conform to some mysterious common denominator.

I would never expect a rabbi to pray a prayer that didn't have Jewish overtones and I would be surprised if a Muslim prayer didn't mention Allah. I am neither a Jew nor a Muslim but I certainly don't expect Jews and Muslims to alter their prayers just because I might be present in the gathering or might disagree with something they might pray. I expect Jews to be Jews and Muslims to be Muslims and, doggone it, I expect Christians to sound like Christians. In a multicultural society, all even the Christians are free to express the nuances of their own culture or their own faith.

If I happen to be in a gathering where someone other than a Christian is asked to pray, I don't get all bent out of shape and leave in a huff. I sit quietly (or pray my own silent prayer) until the speaker is finished. Down South, it's called "being polite."

In fact (and I know this drives some people crazy), I simply may quietly pray that the person praying a non-Christian prayer would come to an understanding of who Jesus is, accept Him as Lord and Savior, and become a part of that great "kingdom of kings and priests" spoken about in Scripture. I don't, for one minute, apologize for that.

I do believe that Jesus spoke truthfully of Himself when he said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6 NASB). That's who I am and what I believe and, in diverse, multicultural America, I am perfectly free to believe and to express as I will.

The interesting thing is that the only people who have given me grief are a few other Christian clergy. Jews and Muslims expect me to act and pray like a Christian. Some Christian clergy would be perfectly satisfied if I pray a generic, anonymous prayer to "whom it may concern."

But no more. For, as the Apostle Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Rom 1:16). And, for a Christian, the gospel, the Good News, is all about Jesus.

[David Epps is Rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church in Peachtree City. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.]

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