Military Chaplains
Review
Winter 1987
PRAYERS THAT
HURT: Public Prayer in Interfaith
Settings
by LCDR
In the Mekong Delta, it was
a Protestant chaplain - Les Westling - who helped me grow as a Jew, and who
helped me decide to become a rabbi. With his help, I discovered the love within
Judaism; because of his help, I discovered love within Christianity.
After the terrorist truck
bomb attack in
The Talmud tells the story
of a Jew who bought a camel from an Arab, only to discover a precious gem hidden
in the saddle, of which neither the seller nor the buyer had been aware. When
the Jew returned it, the Arab's reaction was one of respect and appreciation for
the Jewish faith, for it must be praiseworthy, he said, to teach a man such
honest ways.
Colleagues like Les and
Pooch helped me to understand the lesson of this Talmudic story; it does not
take words to witness for one's faith. It takes love.
KNOWING WHAT
HURTS
Another story from
rabbinical tradition tells of two long-time friends. "Do you love me?" one
friend asks the other. "Of course." "Do you know what hurts me?" "No, what
hurts?" "How can you say you love me if you don't know what hurts
me?"
When my father died two
years ago, a fellow chaplain wrote to me with the prayer that I would accept the
resurrection of Jesus. Without that acceptance, he wrote, it must seem truly
hopeless to bear the death of a loved one. Many other notes from chaplains
brought me comfort during that time of grief; this letter brought me
pain.
At the 1980 Navy Chaplain
Corps Worship, a chaplain began by stressing the need for us to work together as
a team during the decade which was about to begin. Inviting us to join together
for a moment of prayer, he ended the prayer in the name of the Trinity. I could
not add my Amen. Hadn't I been invited to pray with the group? I felt out of
place. I wanted to be a part of this prayer, as we faced the future together-and
it hurt me that I could not.
Few chaplains would write
to me to tell me that there can be no basis for comfort within Judaism, but
there are many who let me know that there can be no basis for prayer. We may
work together, but we cannot face God together, as servants or as children, not
even for a moment. There are times, of course, when the slight is unintentional,
and the chaplain simply does not realize that inviting me to join in prayer and
then using words which I cannot say is the same as inviting me for dinner and
serving food I cannot eat. But there are other chaplains who understand that
there are words and expressions which exclude non-Christians, but they see the
question of public prayer on an academic plane.
For me, it is not an
intellectual question, nor even one of "interfaith relations," a phrase which
brings to mind meeting of religious bodies, rather than actions between human
beings. When I raise the issue, as I do in this article, it is an attempt to
share feelings among friends. It is an effort to let others know what
hurts.
PUBLIC PRAYER
A fundamental question for
some chaplains has to do with whether it is appropriate for chaplains to
participate in "civil ceremonies" at all. For some chaplains prayers made
appropriate to civil occasions "water down" the true faith and open up the
dangers of "civil religion."
My feeling is that such a
danger is overshadowed by the far greater danger of the secular world, that it
will be a place of no religion at all. A word of prayer at a civil or secular
occasion can be a reminder that faith is not relegated to the synagogue or
church. My concern is not simply that our people do not pray in the best way
possible; it is that they do not pray at all - they have no relationship to
prayer.
Our participation in public
events can be a beginning. The danger of encroaching civil religion - and the
fear of "watered-down" concern is not that most people do not pray in the best
way possible; it is that they do not pray at all. If we fear the specter of
"civil religion," we should fear the nearer danger of secularism even more; a
world where religion is relegated to the confines of the church or synagogue,
kept entirely away from the "real world." Our participation in public events can
be a reminder of God's presence, a reminder of something holy - even a reminder
of the idea of the holy - for those who have forgotten how to pray or how to
dream.
Within our own faith groups
we emphasize our particular beliefs and approaches to God. Before men and women
of all faiths, we stress the ties that bind through a moment of awareness of the
Presence of something larger than ourselves.
We need not begin with the
founders of
From any newspaper we can
see religion abused so as to tear people apart. Through a moment of prayer we
can remind a cynical world that faith can and must be used to bring them
together. When entire faith groups are excluded from our prayers, then a chance
to face God together is lost. An opportunity to touch men and women of all
faiths has become an occasion to relate to our faith group alone. Without prayer
which includes all, an opportunity to teach that despite differences we must
work together for common good remains a reminder of how separate we
stand.
Each of us wears the cross
or tablets which identify us as Christian or Jew. In public prayer we have the
opportunity to say that our religion, Christianity and Judaism, teaches us to
care for others, regardless of their origin. Whatever a public prayer should be,
it should not be cruel or uncaring.
One of the most "general"
prayers in the Bible is Psalm 117, the Bible's shortest book:
O praise the Lord, all you
nations;
Praise Him all you
peoples;
For His love for us is
great;
And the truth of the Lord
endures forever. Hallelujah.
Would such a prayer water
down our faith?
RIGHTS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
Does not each of us have
the right to pray as he or she pleases? We can never be denied the right, or the
ability, to pray. As has been written regarding the question of prayer in public
schools, there will always be students praying so long as there are teachers
handing out tests. In
It is the gray area of
public prayer before interfaith groups, a modern phenomenon, that the question
of the right of the speaker as over against the right of the listeners comes to
the fore. For me it is helpful to remember a basic difference between the "law
of the land", at least in the West, and the "law of the Bible." The former
considers a situation from the point of view of rights, while the latter is more
concerned with responsibilities.
When we accept the
invitation or the assignment to participate in a public ceremony by offering a
word of prayer, we understand that we are making a contract of sorts.
Analogously we do not agree to participate in a wedding and then use the
ceremony as the occasion to speak against the union. It seems to me, if there is
a right involved, it is not the right to word the prayers as we please, but a
right to be exercised much before the occasion: the right to decline to
participate. It is the right of the chaplain who cannot offer a "general" prayer
to decline, in the same way that we may choose not to participate in baptisms,
weddings, or funerals.
If we accept the
invitation, however, we have a responsibility to understand that we have been
asked to add a reminder of the holy and challenged to touch and inspire those
present through a moment of shared prayer. We have not been asked to preach nor
to confess our faith. We have a responsibility to our conscience and our faith,
but we also have a responsibility to those before whom we stand. Neither can be
ignored.
PRACTICAL
CONSIDERATION
At the most practical
level, it is well for us to remember that participation in a civil ceremony may
be only a small part of our ministry, but it often lays the groundwork for much
of what follows.
There is a story of a young
sailor who hesitated to speak to the chaplain when he saw that the chaplain's
faith was different from his own. "Chaplain" he stammered, "I hope you won't try
to change my faith." Don't worry, friend," the chaplain answered, "but together
perhaps we can understand how our faith can change us."
Parents still send their
children off to the military with the reminder that if problems arise they are
to go "see the chaplain." What a wonderful basis for ministry. Because we are
"religious," our people believe we must care about others. Often our civilian
counterparts do not enjoy such good publicity. In Religion, we learn from the
prophets, includes a demand for justice-and so it is appropriate that chaplains
are sought out when the military system seems unfair. We are men and women of
faith, and so we are approached when others feel loneliness or pain or seek
reason for hope.
When we offer public
prayer, we are often being "sized up" by men and women who may one day need us.
When our prayers disappoint the listeners, they may give us another chance - or
even come to us for advice! But when our prayers hurt those who hear us, we may
simply never hear from them. In my line-officer days I know that I would never
approach a chaplain whose prayer denied my existence. When I try to teach Jewish
sailors that they should approach "their" ship's chaplain for help, I often know
they will not. "He doesn't care about me," they tell me. "You should hear his
evening prayer..."
On the other hand, we
should not underestimate the impact of inclusive prayers. We ;might think it is
a neutral act to offer a general prayer, but it is not. It is understood, at
least by many, as a positive action: a careful and inclusive word of prayer is
an act of love.
CHRISTIAN
THEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
For many Christians, the
New Testament gives a scriptural basis for "general" prayers. They point to
Jesus' prayer as an example. When asked how to pray, Jesus began, "Our Father,
who art in heaven... " (Matthew 6:9 and Luke 11:2). For another illustration of
"general" prayers, they point to the words of Stephen recorded in Acts 7:60,
"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." Or "God, be merciful to me, a sinner,"
written in Luke
Many of the New Testament
epistles end with prayers offered in the name of Jesus, but in the Epistle to
the Hebrews there is a simple prayer we might emulate today when ending an
invocation or benediction, "Grace be with you all, Amen." (Hebrews
22:25)
There are verses in the New
Testament, however, which some Christians understand to teach that the Christian
faith requires prayer to be offered in Jesus' name. "Whatsoever you shall ask of
the Father in my name, He will give it to you." (John 16:23-26). This verse is
sometimes translated a different way: "Whatsoever you shall ask of the Father,
in my name He will give it to you." This rendering seems to teach something
quite different, but keeping the first reading, how does this verse apply to the
subject at hand?
For some Christians, the
idea of praying with a phrase as "In His Name," "In Your Name," or In the name
of the Lord," allows them to remain true to the verse and yet open enough to
allow others to accept the prayer as well. Others accept the Trinitarian
understanding that where one person of the trinity is present, all are present.
A prayer to the Father, or to God's Holy Spirit, invokes Jesus as well. And for
still other
Christians, any prayer
rooted in the love and faith of Christianity is in fact a prayer asked "in
Jesus' name," regardless of what words are used. The word, name, in this context
means more than a title, it means being or essence. Praying in His name means
praying as His representative, praying as a person filled with His
Love.
Finally for those who would
interpret the verse most strictly, I offer a "Rabbinical" answer in terms of the
struggle we share - the challenge to remain true to our faiths and yet offer
something which can bring us together in faith, even for a moment. If the verse
means that prayers asking for something must be offered in the name of Jesus, is
it not acceptable to offer prayers which are not petitions in a different
manner?
Can we not touch or inspire
persons of all faiths through a word or prayer of praise? ("Whoever offers
praise glorifies me." Psalms 50:23) Can we not offer a word of thanksgiving?
("This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. "Psalms
118:23) Christians can heed Paul's advice in Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19
to offer psalms and hymns, or drawing from the Roman Catholic Bible, Christians
can follow the example of Ben Sirach and bear witness to God's presence through
the glory of His world: "Behold the rainbow, then bless its maker."
(Ecclesiastics 43:11)
For some Christians sharing
the proclamation that "Jesus is Lord" becomes the proof of faith. "No one can
say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." (I Corinthians 12:3) Speaking
these words becomes a way of invoking the presence of the Holy Spirit and
therefore an important part of Christian prayer. But if we see the opportunity
to offer prayer in a public setting, before men and women of all faiths, as a
challenge or privilege and not a right, then the struggle must be to find other
ways to proclaim our faith and other ways to make the moment holy.
My contention is that there
are other ways for us all. We can search for other verses in the New Testament:
"When we cry Abba! Father!" It is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our
spirit that we are children of God." (Romans 7:15f) But with or without specific
verses we know we witness for our faith when it fills us with love enough to
care about each other.
If it is a choice between
an imperfect prayer or an action which will divide us at the very moment given
to bring us together, then let us opt for the caring word and trust that God
will understand. "The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to
pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs to deep
for words." (Romans 8:26) From the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians, we learn
that love is better than prayer...even better than prophecy.
JEWISH THEOLOGICAL
CONSIDERATIONS
In some ways it may be
easier for a Jewish chaplain who is invited to participate in public prayer to
offer an inclusive or general prayer. There are many verses in the Hebrew
Scriptures which seem to assure us that there is no special formula for prayer.
From the shortest prayer in the Bible (Numbers
In a beautiful discussion
in the Talmud, the rabbis offer the story of the woodcutter who, lost in the
woods, knows he will not make it to the congregation in time for evening
prayers. "Lord," he prays, "I am not an educated man. I do not know the prayers
by heart. But, I know the alphabet, and I will recite it. Please rearrange the
letters to form the prayers you know exist in my heart.
This is not to say that the
wording of public prayer is not a problem or challenge for the Jewish chaplain.
Many of the prayers I regularly offer within Jewish settings would simply be
inappropriate for interfaith groups. A widespread myth has it that Jewish
chaplains are not asked to change their prayers and so it is "unfair" to expect
such action on the part of Christians. The fact is that Rabbis, like the
Christian clergy with who we serve, must choose words carefully in interfaith
groups. If the prayers offered by Jewish chaplains seem "acceptable" then
perhaps we tread more softly, for we, like other minorities, know the pain of
being ignored.
Although I pray in the
synagogue that we not lose faith in the coming of the Messiah - in all the
millennia of our yearning he has not yet arrived - I would not offer these words
in a non-Jewish setting. If I pray for strength to reject false messiahs - false
in Jewish terms - I would not do so before an interfaith group. Words which
refer to the horrors of the holocaust, or the hopes of Zionism, or the State of
Israel come as naturally to my lips during synagogue prayer as a reference to
the Trinity might come to those of a Christian colleague, but references to the
Holocaust, Zionism, or the State of Israel are seldom appropriate in non-Jewish
settings, at least not without extra words to explain their relevance or to show
sensitivity to the needs and cares of all those present.
Some rabbis believe we
cannot compose our own prayers in public, but that we are restricted to those
handed down to us from the past. When these rabbis are asked to offer public
prayer, they often choose to read lessons instead of prayer.
Today it is also important
for us to recognize that there are other questions of sensitivity which
challenge us to be sensitive to the feelings of those gathered for prayer. An
immediate example is language which does not recognize racial integrity or which
excludes or hurts women.
LANGUAGE THAT
HURTS
The intention of the prayer
is basic and some maintain that the intention is all that is important, not the
impact on the hearers. If the intention is not to hurt then it is not important
that we do for the problem, if there is one is in the minds of the
hearers.
Neither life nor prayer is
that simple. Once we know that an action or a word hurts a neighbor, it is not a
question of right and wrong alone. It is a question of causing pain or trying
not to do so. Because male gender was once used in a neutral sense does not mean
that it is still so used today. If it seems awkward to find words which do not
exclude women, perhaps we are saying that we do not feel their feelings are
worth our effort. When someone explains to me that an offense is the "Christian"
thing to do, it is the same as a white man offending a black and then offering
the weak apology that he had done the "white" thing.
Certainly we sometimes
misuse language innocently. Following the initial advertising of the
manufacturer, I always used the phrase "flesh colored Band-Aids," until a Black
friend pointed out that the Band-Aids were not the color of his flesh. Language
changes. Once we know what hurts, we must change as well.
FINDING
The faith and the
conscience of some chaplains allow them to choose words for public prayers that
easily touch us all. Other chaplains, who are unwilling or unable to change the
exclusivity of their prayers, choose not to participate in an interfaith prayer
setting. For those of us who struggle with this problem, feeling that there is a
tension between the responsibilities of one's faith and the responsibility to
those we serve, the following ideas are offered as suggestions.
In Your
Name. Phrases
such as "For you name's sake." and "For the glory of your name," are found
throughout the Bible Psalm 79 uses both. Another simple, scriptural ending for
prayers can be taken from Psalm 72: "Blessed be His glorious name
forever."
Silent
Ending. Psalm
19 speaks of prayer as "the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart."
God hears both. Could we not offer prayer aloud, and when the petitions are
finished, conclude in silence offering our particular endings as we
choose?
Invitational
Ending. As a
variation of the silent ending, I have sometimes offered a prayer and ended with
the invitation for all persons present to complete the prayer using the words of
their faith and of their tradition.
Shared
Images. When
Abraham prayed with Melchizedek (Genesis 14) this non-Jewish priest offered a
prayer to "the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth." One modern
rabbinical commentary points out that this may be the first example of persons
of different faiths searching for a "shared image" in order to join together in
prayer.
The story may be an
appropriate basis for our prayer, "in the Lord's name," which allow both
Christians and Jews to say amen, even if the words take on different meanings
within the different traditions. The Bible offers many shared images. So we may
pray together to God as savior, redeemer, shepherd, creator, and king. Even the
image of the Holy Spirit has a Jewish meaning. It comes from the Jewish idea of
ruah ha-kodesh.
Is the Lord's Prayer
appropriate for interfaith expression? Although it is based on Jewish prayers,
this prayer has become the Christian prayer par excellence. In the past Jewish
scholars have generally taught that Jews should not recite it. Perhaps today we
Jews should re-examine the situation. If this prayer were offered by someone
attempting to find common ground for prayer, should we Jews not respond by
participation?
Biblical
Parables. Some rabbis offer a teaching, a
d'var Torah, a Word of Torah, rather than a prayer. Could we not offer a parable
or story which shares a biblical image or scriptural hope? When using the holy
books of the Jewish and Christian traditions, my feeling is that we should not
restrict ourselves to those we have in common. Many Christians have led
devotions based on Christian New Testament readings which have included me
completely. "From this story in the New Testament, which is a part of the
Christian Bible, we can all learn an important message..."
Interfaith
Endings.
Although somewhat awkward, it is possible to use an ending which is both
particular and universal. For example, "We who are Christians offer this prayer
in the name of Jesus; but all of us-regardless of our individual religions -
offer it in the name of the Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and
Earth.
Personal
Prayers. While
most of this article deals with public prayer offered aloud - a prayer to which
each listener can add a personal amen - there is one additional alternative. The
possibility exists for a chaplain to see his or her participation as an
opportunity to offer a simple, personal prayer, perhaps asking others to do the
same, in silence. I should think that such a prayer would require an
introduction: "I thank you for the opportunity to offer a personal prayer from
my tradition: It is my hope that something I say may touch you so that you may
pray for a moment as well."
One final alternative,
linked to this idea, comes from my experience with a Christian chaplain who
struggled with the matter for months. He made two small but significant changes
in his way of offering public prayer. When he began, he no longer said, "Let us
pray." When he ended, he did not say, "In Christ's name we pray." Instead he
said, "In Christ's name I pray." Perhaps few noticed the changes, and perhaps
that is a weakness of this approach. But I know that I appreciated the
sensitivity.
PRAYING
TOGETHER
The word, amen, means "it
is true," or "may it be so." According to Jewish tradition, adopted by
Christianity, saying amen is the equivalent of reciting the entire prayer.
(Talmud, Berakhot 53b) Because of this, the Talmud cautions Jews not to say amen
to prayers of non-Jews, unless they have heard the entire prayer. (Berakhot 51b)
Prayer is taken seriously, and we must be able to make it our own before saying
amen.
At the same time, the idea
of joining another human being in prayer was seen as an action filled with power
and hope. Setting aside our differences and praying together "opens the gates of
In 1984 a civilian minister
served as one of the visiting scholars at the annual Navy Chaplain Corps
Professional Development Conference. He led us in prayer as part of his
presentation, but his prayer was worded in such a way as not to include me. One
of my colleagues, a Christian chaplain, approached him after the session, and
told the speaker that he was unable to pray because of the anguish he had felt
for me. His thoughts were on me because he sensed that I was
excluded.
During the next session of
the conference, the speaker related the conversation to the group. he told us he
had learned to think of prayer in a different light and that he was deeply
touched that there could be such love among ministers of different faiths. Not
just words of love, but love.
"The Christian Chaplain
does love me," I thought to myself. "He knows what hurts, and he
cares."
Rabbi Resnicoff is a Rabbi on active duty with the Navy,
currently teaching at the
