About kings - and the King

Jesus said to them, “So give to Caesar what is Caesars’s, and to God what is God’s”. Matthew 22:21

I urge, then… 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

I was once given quite a telling off by somebody at the end of a service I had led. He said, quite angrily: “I really don’t know how you can bring yourself to pray for that man…!”

I can’t remember all the details now, but I think I must have included a prayer for the then prime minister – who obviously wasn’t a favourite of his! But equally, he obviously didn’t know his Bible too well. He clearly hadn’t grasped that when we pray we shouldn’t only pray for people we like or approve of.

It surely is obvious when you stop and think about it. The person who we view with suspicion, or fear, or plain dislike, probably needs our prayers more than the person we like and trust. This is why Paul tells his protégé Timothy to pray for “all people” – and that includes “kings and all those in authority”: politicians, prime ministers, local authorities, presidents, not to mention “authorities” on a far humbler level, in workplaces, schools and colleges.

It might sound as if Paul is telling his readers just to be doormats, passive and spineless (you might also pick up the same impression from Romans 13:1-7). But that would be a mistake; he knew well that there were times when evil had to be confronted and opposed, and he wasn’t afraid to do just that, as the later chapters of Acts make very clear.

No. In 1 Timothy 2 and Romans 13 he is spelling out a God-given principle for us as Christians to recognise and observe – God has ordained that human societies should have those who govern them, however imperfectly: “there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). That is by no means the whole truth - he can’t say everything that needs to be said in the space of a few verses. But his aim in writing to the Christians in Rome is to prevent them from becoming hot-headed zealots who end up inviting destruction by their lawlessness.

(The Book of Revelation fills out the picture by portraying secular authorities very differently - as, often, grotesque and gruesome beasts - for example, Revelation 13).

Where is this taking us?

Well, here in the United Kingdom we are a few days away from the coronation of King Charles lll. The service will take place in a massive and magnificent church building. It will be conducted by the head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Bible will be read; prayers will be offered; Christian “sacred music” will be played and sung; a range of religious traditions and beliefs will be reflected; the new King will be anointed with “holy oil” (which has been obtained, would you believe, “especially from Jerusalem”!)

And it’s up to all of us to decide how we respond to this historic occasion – a load of pathetic religious mumbo-jumbo? or a truly holy event? or somewhere in between? Is there a proper Christian response?

I might as well come clean and say that I instinctively gravitate to the “mumbo-jumbo” faction. I am planning to watch the ceremony on television, but largely as a historic event, not as a particularly spiritual occasion.

But… I do try to keep in mind Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2, which surely lay on me an obligation to pray for the new king and, by extension, for our nation as a whole.

I can’t say I particularly warm to Charles lll, and there are things he has done and views he has expressed which I really don’t like at all. But – so what? He is only a man, and the product of a strange and difficult background which, after all, he never asked for.

So surely it can only be right to wish him well in his new and heavy responsibility, to pray that he will discharge his duties humbly and diligently, if only for the good of all of us who live here – “that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”. (Amen, surely, to that!)

In a nutshell: we are under an obligation to pray, and to be good citizens. But nothing more; that’s the limit of our obligations.

So the thought of going to the extent of “swearing an oath of allegiance” leaves me, I must confess, pretty cold. It would probably come across a bit self-righteous to add “After all, ultimately the only King to whom I swear allegiance is King Jesus”. But wouldn’t that in fact be the truth?

Somebody might reply “Yes, of course, Jesus is ultimately our only King; but mightn’t we also have lesser allegiances…?” Well, perhaps so. If you feel comfortable with that, fair enough, I certainly wouldn’t judge you for swearing that oath.

But for me, I’m afraid it’s case of “Sorry, but please include me out…”

When all is said and done, all we really need is that clear command of King Jesus: Give to Cesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

Father, your word tells us to pray for, and to submit to, those appointed by you to rule over us. Please help me to cheerfully do that, as a loyal and law-abiding citizen. But help me also to pray with sincerity: Father, bless and equip King Charles lll with all he needs to lead this nation, and may he too always bow the knee to Jesus, King of kings. Amen.