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Prayer for the Day presented by Reverend Dr Rosa Hunt, minister of Tabernacl chapel in the city centre of Cardiff.

Hello!

On this day in 1215 something momentous happened in a meadow at Runnymede, on the bank of the Thames between Windsor and Staines. King John, an unpopular and untrustworthy king signed a great charter with a group of rebel barons. It’s known by its Latin name – the Magna Carta.
The document they produced had sixty-odd clauses dealing with very specific medieval grievances such as fish-traps in the Thames. But the radical idea underneath was that the king himself was not above the law.

Some years ago I bought a copy of the Magna Carta from Hereford Cathedral, which houses a magnificent copy of the 1217 version. It’s a reminder to me that even the highest powers of the land sit under a higher power still. And I love the fact that the document has survived in a cathedral, not a courtroom. Here is the Church doing what the church should do – acting as a prophetic memory.

God of justice, in your son Jesus Christ you showed us a different model of kingship. In him we see the king who washes his disciples’ feet like a servant, and gives up his life out of love for his enemies. We see a king who freely chose to make himself subject to the law of love.
On the anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, we thank you for the courage of those who held a medieval king to account. We pray for today’s leaders, that they too may keep themselves accountable to those they lead, and that they may see their role as one of service. We pray also for those modern day prophets who hold leaders to account. May we all act with wisdom, insight, compassion and integrity.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Amen.