I suspect that my readers are familiar with the Supreme Court case brought by football coach Joseph Kennedy of Bremerton, WA.
He was suspended from his job in 2015 for refusing to abide by the school’s request that he stop kneeling in prayer on the football field during games.
After all, he insists, it is his right under America’s religious liberty provisions to pray in public whenever he wishes.
But quite apart from whether or not Mr. Kennedy has a legal right to behave this way, what does Jesus say about such public displays of prayer?
Especially as Kennedy’s actions become another salvo in this country’s culture wars?
Well, Jesus has already told us. His opinion about such public displays is clear:
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:5-8)
