As part of my personal devotion I borrowed the book "The Illumined Heart: The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation" by Frederica Mathewes-Green. The entire book was a blessing but it was near the end that I found a surprise that I think we all need in this year leading up to the election.
In Chapter 11, "Dealing with others: The Larger Circle" Mathewes-Green addresses the way the early church viewed prayer towards relationships with others. Many would call this intercessory prayer. The part that enlarged the book for me however was a prayer she added at the end of the chapter written by the Orthodox Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich from Serbia. He was outspoken against Nazism until he was taken to Dachau and imprisoned there. His prayer took intercession to a new level of understanding what is meant to pray for others. The prayer is written in response to his imprisonment and is titled, "Bless My Enemies O Lord".
As I read friends' comments on the elections and hear the vitriol spewed over the airwaves, I find myself wanting to avoid all conversations and contact with any media that spews hatred of any sort. In order to be a conscientious voter however, we must inform ourselves, read and pray. The ads and some of the articles written can present the opposing party as an enemy who is out to get you, your family and destroy the world as we know it.
While the word "enemy" can be seen as one who will do harm to you, it is also means those who rouse up antagonistic feelings or who feel like an opponent in what you believe is right and fair. There is competition in our politics, it is mean spirited, and not always fair towards any of the people running (they are people before they are politicians). Many people love a good fight and thrive, even get energy from such sparring. Because of my tendency towards pacifism, this only further feeds my need to retreat and hide until the hullabaloo is over and the anger has died, the ads stopped. This type of advertising also speaks to my paranoia and not to my intelligence. When our fears are fed in such a way and for so often, it may make it seem like there are more enemies out there than there really are.
Ideally, our political system is set up to make sure that all are treated fairly and are given equal freedoms. Many of my family, co-workers and friends vote differently than me and I know that they are all good, caring people doing the best they can to make a wise decision on a leader who will work for the well-being of this country and also work well with other world leaders. Before we begin taking sides and calling the other party "the enemy", we must always remember to look at the faces of our neighbors and remember who and whose they are. That person who believes different from you is that person you love when it's not an election year. That person who votes differently than you is the same person you respect more often than you vote.
We are all in this together. Even if sometimes it may feel like we are enemies, we are not. In those times when your neighbor, relative, friend or co-worker feels like an enemy I encourage you to pray this prayer.
Bless My Enemies, O Lord by Bp. Nikolai Velimirovich
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.
Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.
Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.
They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.
They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.
They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.
Bless my enemies, O Lord, Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.
Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.
Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.
Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.
Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.
Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.
Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me:
so that my fleeing to You may have no return;
so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;
so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;
so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins, arrogance and anger;
so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;
ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.
Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.
One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.
It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.
Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and enemies.
A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands.
For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life.
Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.
From Prayers by the Lake by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, published by the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of New Gracanica, 1999. This article can be found on the Regeneration website.
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