By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, (Christmas 2)

John’s opening proclamation, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. 14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1: 1-3, 14) and Paul in his opening proclamation: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1: 3) would like us to begin to understand that Christmas, the birth of the Word made flesh,(as told by John) is not about the salvation of individual souls from hell. It is about the reclamation of all creation in the Cosmic Love of God through Christ. It’s about the here and now.

Peterson’s The Message gives us Paul’s words this way: How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.  It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.(Ephesians 1 :3-4, 11-12 MSG)

What if we could even begin to grasp that even now through Christ God takes us to the high places of blessings. Or more traditionally, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing that exists in heavenly places. 

This is what Jesus meant when he proclaims that the kingdom of God is here in our midst. It is what is meant when we are told that the Holy Spirit, the exact same Spirit that was in Jesus, lives in us. This is why John tells us that the Word, the sacred voice of God has become flesh. And it is in that Word, in Christ, that we find out who we are and what we are living for. John writes: 

He came to his own people,

    but they didn’t want him.

But whoever did want him,

    who believed he was who he claimed

    and would do what he said,

He made to be their true selves,

    their child-of-God selves.

Children of God with access to every spiritual blessing. Can you see it?

Historically, the church (the world) has taken this to mean power. And in a way, the church is right. But it is our concept of power that is wrong. We are too quick to take off and claim the world for God in our own ways.

Jesus, fully equipped with the Holy Spirit, goes into the wilderness to spend time getting to know the God that is Christ and God’s ways. Jesus spends time in the hills praying and opening up his humanity to God’s way. We have so much to learn.

Claiming the heavenly blessings requires spending time to become open to them. Working out God’s purpose takes spiritual strength. We can have all the finances we will ever need and never take part in the calling of God for the reclamation of creation. While God’s blessings may provide the finances, the finances can never provide God’s blessings.

Each new year I try to find a word or a motto, or a battle cry if you will, for the year’s journey. I “stumbled” across it early this year, and am compelled to share it with you. I don’t know if or how it might be a motto for you and your church, or if this is simply for me to hold near. Either way, I give it to you for your consideration.

In my centering prayer contemplation these words came up from Isaiah 30:15. “In returning and rest you shall be saved;  in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”  According to Strong’s dictionary, the word “returning” can also mean retirement or withdrawal. Perhaps as in Matthew 6:6 where Jesus tells us “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Isaiah goes on to say: But you refused and said,

‘No! We will flee upon horses’—

    therefore you shall flee!

and, ‘We will ride upon swift steeds’—

We will go out and claim the world with that which we understand as power. And it isn’t through quietness and trust. We’ll do it our way.

Jesus was born to show us the way of God’s kingdom, here and now. Through that birth, God’s voice of ultimate wisdom in the flesh named Jesus, all spiritual blessings have been made fully accessible to us. And throughout scripture, (don’t take my word for it, check it out) God calls us to know and access God’s blessings and strength and salvation through quiet trust, through withdrawal. This seems to be God’s way.

What is it you and your church body are seeking? What are you called to? Who has God created you to be? 

We can ride off on our high horses of human knowledge and certainty or we can quietly wait upon the Lord to show us where we fit into his great reclamation of creation begun over 2000 years ago. Or in fact, before the world began.

We are blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing. That is Christmas! Let’s receive all God gives.

Isaiah 30: 15 as translated in my centering praying contemplation:

By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies.

If you are at all interested in centering prayer, I would love to talk.

Speaking Truth Matthew 3: 1-12 (Advent 2)

Throughout history there have been men and women who found it necessary to speak the truth that God placed in their hearts. The prophet Jeremiah said it well:

If I say, “I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
    shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
    and I cannot. (Jer 20:9)

Jeremiah goes on to say that those around him, his friends, denounce him and hope to see him fall. And tradition has it that he was eventually stoned to death–amongst other things done to him throughout his.

Today in our gospel, John speaks out. He speaks truth to all people. The poor and the rich, the weak and powerful. Scripture tells us that God is indeed no respecter of persons. There is truth to be told and the prophet must not be silent. We know that John was beheaded.

Jesus also spoke truth to all people. Throughout his life he did not hold back. And of course we know how that story goes.

And the legion of truth tellers goes on and on throughout history. Stephen, Paul, Peter, and plenty more.

So what is it that they found so important to tell that they put their lives on the line to speak it? It would seem to me that whatever it is it may be worth considering. We are born with the impulse for self preservation. What is it that usurped that drive in these people?

I won’t hide that they all spoke warnings to those who would not listen. But the call was not one of condemnation as much as warning. Ok, John calls them a “Brood of Vipers” but he still assumes that there is always hope.

And where does that hope lie? In true, honest repentance. What is this repentance of which Jeremiah, John, Jesus and others spoke?

We might guess that it is more than the “I’m sorry, I”ll never do it again” sentiment. It is one that John tells the Pharisees and Sadducees produces fruit. You may have heard this before but at the price of their lives they felt it was worth repeating. And so I will as well.

Repentance means to turn around. It means a change of mind and a change of heart. It means that it is not just the action, the behaviour that changes, but instead the internal workings, thoughts, understandings that change. It is not just about feeding your neighbor, clothing the poor, visiting those in prison, as Jesus talks about in Matthew 25, but rather doing all of those things and more with love. Repentance is a complete change of heart. 

Paul writes to the Corinthians:

If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Cor 13)

This is true repentance. This is what martyrs laid down their lives to preach.

And out of that repentance is formed the dream that Isaiah offers us.

The wolf will romp with the lamb,
    the leopard sleep with the kid.
Calf and lion will eat from the same trough,
    and a little child will tend them.
Cow and bear will graze the same pasture,
    their calves and cubs grow up together,
    and the lion eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will crawl over rattlesnake dens,
    the toddler stick his hand down the hole of a serpent.
Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill
    on my holy mountain.
The whole earth will be brimming with knowing God-Alive,
    a living knowledge of God ocean-deep, ocean-wide.   Isaiah 11 :6-9  (MSG)

Such peace comes in the midst of a repentant world. The one who devours  befriends the prey. The powerful lay down with the meek. Even the most vulnerable are no longer afraid.  This is the kingdom of God.

And John knew that such change can come no other way but through the baptism that Jesus brings. The baptism of that most Holy Spirit of God. The igniting of the image of God within each of us. The fruition of the Kingdom of God described by Isaiah and Jesus tells us is within us. (Luke 17:21).

Repentance ignites that fire. Repentance resurrects the image of God within us. Repentance causes us to love the Lord our God with all our heart and our neighbor as our self.

Luther reminds us that it is only by the Holy Spirit that we can truly turn to God. And the first words in his Thesis are “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.” It is always on going.  Perhaps you have heard it said that the church too must always be reforming. Always repenting, turning around. Too easily we get caught is our own self righteousness.

Say yes to the fire the Holy Spirit brings and be changed. Allow that fire to burn away the chaff within your hearts that keeps you from love. Receive that repentance and turn around to see and receive God’s kingdom right here, with us, within us. 

Many have died speaking this truth so that we might truly live! “Repent, for the Kingdom of God has come near” in the birth of our Lord.

Join me in a moment of silence to feel that fire.

Advent 1 2025 Will we even notice?

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,[h] but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so, too, will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken, and one will be left. 42 Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day[i] your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

What a wonderful way to begin the advent season! 

Layers of white cover empty brown fields.
Joyous red birds fill the branches.
In silence the snow whispers God’s peace
Offering pause for wearied stances.
As we wait for snow plows to free us
And the sun to warm frozen ground,
hoping for Christmas and springtime,
it’s Advent season all around.

 Advent is indeed about hope. The first candle on the advent wreath. “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”  (Hebrews 11:1)

As foreboding as today's gospel may sound, Jesus is talking about hope. Hope for what is yet to come. Hope for the answer to our prayer: “your kingdom come.” And faith in that hope. 

How easy it is to lose sight of that hope. To get so bound up in everyday things that we forget to hope. To get so buried in disappointment and sorrow and fear that hope becomes a dream, no longer the reality of what Jesus brings. Or to get so comfortable, so set in our ways, that we become too sleepy to hope that the “Kingdom will come.” It will be change.

And if it came, would we even open our eyes and see it? This is the warning Jesus gives. If the Kingdom comes, if the Spirit moves, if the Son of Man shows up, will we notice? Will we be open to receiving what that moment brings?

Two shall be in the field working. Living life as they always do. One will be taken, joined to the Spirit, or received the Spirit, and one shall be left untouched. Perhaps one noticed, looked up from their labor, and embraced the transformation the Spirit brings. Perhaps one continued on with life as they knew it, undisturbed, unchanged.

There is one quote that I have used in more sermons than I can count. My prayer is that one day it will take our churches to a new understanding of who we are and what is possible.  In her book, “Teaching a Stone to Talk”, Annie Dillard boldly writes:

Why do people in church seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? … Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us to where we can never return.”  

When the Kingdom comes, when the Son of Man comes, offering a new heaven and new earth, will we notice? Will we be transformed? Or will we be too focused, too sleepy, too content to look up?

Do we believe that where two or more are gathered, Christ is there? If so, are we transformed in some way each time we worship together? Why or why not?

The weather turned cold.
The snow piled up at my door.
And just in that moment
 how my soul did soar.
For I saw God there
In feathers of red and fields of white.
“It is good,” God said.
And my heart took flight.

Will we even notice?

A Stewardship sermon about apple trees.

Luke 21

5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

7 They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 8 And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’[and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.

9 “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

12 “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance, 15 for I will give you words[c] and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Two of my favorite Martin Luther quotes are both quotes that scholars argue he never said. Since I doubt any of us were actually around him all the time I can’t imagine we could know for sure if he said them or not. So based on that reasoning, they will continue to be my favorites.

One of them is: “Be thou comforted, little dog, Thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail.”  The story is that he said this to his own dog when it had fallen ill.

The second quote is: “"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree today."  They say there is no evidence in his writings for this but I can almost hear him saying it. After all he went through with his excommunication and threat of being executed, he continued on to build a life that brought hope and joy to many. No he wasn’t perfect, he was after all very human.

But it is this second quote that came to mind as I wondered how I would talk about stewardship today in light of our gospel reading. While we are giving our pledge cards with monetary pledges written on them, stewardship is not just money. Those of us who do not have much material wealth still can give of their time and talents. These are desperately needed. I wonder if we shouldn’t include space on our cards for these things as well. 

Sometimes we feel a bit despondent about our churches. The numbers have dwindled. Finding pastors is challenging. Our budgets end up in the red at the end of the year because needs increase and incomes don’t. And today we read: “the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree today.”

Why bother?

It is about hope. It is about faith. It is about trusting God. The church will always exist. Over 2000 years of persecution and political control and changes have not done it in. The church is always about the people of God. And God will not be constrained. God has always been and will always be the merciful, gracious, generous victor.  (Amen?)

It is in that declaration that we put our trust. It is for that future that we invest. Our apple tree is not just for today's congregation, but rather for the congregations yet to come. Actually, if you plant an apple tree today it can take up to 12 years before fruit forms. (depending of course on the tree) 

Why invest your time, talents and money? Because we pray that God’s kingdom will come. And it is in that kingdom that our investments will change the world.

I feel I need to insert a personal story here. Perhaps you have heard this kind of story before but I am not sure I ever have heard this said on a stewardship Sunday. And that may explain why I tend to be uncomfortable with stewardship sermons. 

When we were stationed in Virginia, our family started attending a church there. They preached money giving all the time and encouraged people to give more than the tithe, 10% of one’s income. Maybe believing the message or simply out of guilt we gave as the preachers encouraged us. Until one day I found we could not afford boots for our daughter. That was my wake up call. I believe that God does not call us to give what we have not been given. 

There are many talents I do not have. God did not make me a vocalist or an artist for example. And so I do not attempt to give these things. For my sake and for yours. I cannot give what I have not been given.

On the other hand, I do have enough writing talent to be able to give out of that. I have enough talent in the art of compassionate listening to give from that. I trust that I have enough talent in preaching to make my giving a blessing. And it is when I do not give from what I have been given that God is saddened.

So what am I asking? I am asking that we prayerfully give out of what we have been given, no more and no less. I am asking that we invest in the future kingdom of God, whatever it may end up looking like. I am asking we invest in the hope of tomorrow, no matter how shaky it might appear today. I am asking us to plant an apple seed for the sake of generations to come.  God gave us the applre for nourishment with a seed to plant. We can enjoy the apple  and still plant the seed.

And finally I thank you for all the seeds you have already planted. FaithFundations is an amazing investment in the future of not just the church but the world! Sandwiches seem like so little but if you could see the smiles of people who receive them, you would know how much they truly are. Our music ministries bless hearts not just in this sanctuary but over the radio and internet. Quilts, layettes, prayer shawls, etc mean everything to those who receive them. This church is a blessing. For today and tomorrow. Thank you.

The future has always been uncertain. We never know what lies ahead. And I for one am just as happy I don’t. But we can know that God is forever. God’s love is forever. And as Paul writes: nothing can separate us from that love. Thanks be to God.

Sit silently with me for a moment to simply know God’s love.

Your Kingdom Come (LUke 20)

27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”  Luke 20

Let me start with a quick survey. Just one question. How many have had to get up, maybe labor through a thick shag carpet, to change the channel on the television for your parents? Or maybe just for yourself? 

Okay, one more question. How many remember having to set your schedule around a television show so you wouldn’t miss it? I remember coming home from school and rushing to sit in front of the TV so I wouldn’t miss a moment of Dark Shadows! Because if you missed it, well–you missed it. Unless you caught a rerun. And who wants to wait months for that?

Such tedious difficulties have been completely done away with. A remote control allows us to never leave our lazy boy and home fashion preferences have saved us from the shag carpet. And of course, the DVR and streaming options means we set the schedule. Admit it, life is good!

But at the time we worked our lives around the television we thought just having a color TV was the best thing ever! Who knew the future would be so good?

This is what Jesus is trying to help us to see. He is trying to give us a vision of a life that is beyond what we could imagine now. Peterson puts it this way in the Message: “Those who are included in the resurrection of the dead will no longer be concerned with marriage nor, of course, with death. They will have better things to think about, if you can believe it. All ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God.”

This is a vision that blows color tv, remote controls, DVRs and AI right out of the water! How can this be? I haven’t a clue but it will be amazing to find out! 

Take a moment to close your eyes and feel the joy and peace and love that flow through that promise to us. I say feel it because it is the Holy Spirit that will open our hearts to these possibilities. “All ecstasies and intimacies will be with God.”

As amazing as this sounds to us, imagine what such a promise would have sounded like to this poor woman in the story. Admittedly, this was a made up scenario by the Sadducees, meant to trap Jesus into saying something that might get him in trouble, but it is pulled from real life. 

If a married man dies without children, his wife is obligated to become pregnant via the closest relative. (Ladies, think about that for a moment.) She is expected to produce a son to carry on the name of her deceased husband. Truly, she would then have offspring to take care of her when they grew up, but how hard would it have been for the 7 brothers to simply have helped her? Instead she was exploited for the means of carrying on the name of the man.

I wish Jesus had addressed this directly, but instead he hoped to bring their hearts into the vision of a better world so that this and other forms of exploitation would be addressed by those committing them. He is always calling us to repentance. To a change of heart. It is only through repentance things will ever truly change.

Martin Luther King Jr may have helped to change the laws of the land, but the hearts of humanity continue toward prejudice of many forms. Men and women continue to be exploited for the pleasure or prosperity of others. I choose to not mention specific examples, simply because we already know them all too well. Unless of course we choose to be blind.

And this is what the kingdom of God will be like. A place where people are treated equally. A place where we will all be one in the Father. Remember Jesus’ prayer in John 17?

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”

There will be no labels: immigrant, poor, needy, homeless, etc. because we will all be united and if even one is homeless, then we all will be.

Every Sunday, and more often I would hope, we pray together “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.”

This is the picture of God’s will, God’s kingdom. Why do we pray this when we seem bound and determined to not allow it in our own hearts.

Your kingdom come, but not right now Lord. I don’t want to unite with those people in their pain.

Brothers and Sisters, it will be truly wonderful. One day we will be united with God. But God wants that for us now. 

Yes, our bodies die now, but if we are all united in God, then we are always together. Jesus prayed in that Priestly prayer: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

To know in the scriptures is not simply a mind thing. It is intimacy.

United because we allow the Holy Spirit to change our hearts, to bring repentance and become united with God and all of creation. United so that to exploit one is to be exploited ourselves. To reject one is to be rejected. To leave one to be hungry and homeless is to be hungry and homeless.

Some may rejoice in the vision of this future and some may not. Preferential treatment feels good but what Jesus proposes will be even better. 

I was happy with color television but how much better do I have it now! How wonderful we will have it if we are open to his kingdom.

amen

I challenge you now to take a moment of silence to hear the Spirit speak.

Prayer Changes Us!

Luke 18: 1-8 18 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’ 4 For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Genesis 32 22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man[a] said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,[b] for you have striven with God and with humans[c] and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[d] saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

There is hardly a subject I love to preach on more than prayer. For me it is the bottom line–most important part of our Christian journey. I know I’ve talked about centering prayer quite often here. Today’s scriptures deal with another aspect of prayer. Persistence.

But first I want to share a story with you. I actually have two stories to share today. They both come from a book by a Jesuit priest, Anthony De Mello, called“The Song of The Bird.”  

One day, the Bishop’s ship stopped at an island. The bishop, walking along the shore, came across three fishermen. In broken English they told the Bishop “ We Christians!” It seems a missionary had visited the island some time ago and they had converted.

The Bishop was thrilled to meet them and asked them if they knew the Lord’s prayer so they could pray together. He was shocked when they told him they had never heard of it. He asked them how they prayed.

“We lift eyes in heaven. We pray ‘We are three, you are three, have mercy on us.”

The Bishop was appalled at the primitive nature of the prayer. He spent the day with the fishermen teaching them the Lord’s Prayer. They learned with some difficulty but by the end of the day, the Bishop felt good about all that he had accomplished. He left certain that they would now be able to pray the Lord’s prayer.

Months later  the Bishop’s boat happened to pass by this same island. As he was walking the deck he noticed a light off in the distance. It seemed to be moving toward the boat. As he watched, he began to make out three figures walking across the water holding a lantern. He ordered the crew to stop the boat.

He immediately recognized the men as the three fishermen he had taught the Lord’s prayer some months ago.

They called out “Bishop! We hear your boat go past island and come hurry hurry to meet you!”

“What is it you want?” asked the stunned Bishop.

“We so sorry. We forget lovely prayer. We say ‘Our Father in heaven, holy be your name, your kingdom come…’then we forget. Please tell us prayer again”

The Bishop was humbled at the sight of the men on the water. He said, “Go back to your homes, my friends, and each time you pray, say, ‘We are three, you are three, have mercy on us!”

One of the things that breaks my heart is to hear people tell me they can’t pray aloud with others because they don’t know the right words. The prayers we pray in the liturgy are often beautifully worded, but unless they come from the heart, unless we actually pray them, they have no power at all. The simplest prayer, prayed from the Spirit, is far more powerful. Jesus told the woman at the well, in the book of John chapter 4, that God looks for those who worship in spirit and in truth. The power of prayer is not in the words but in the heart from which they are prayed. Pray your heart, no matter how simple the words are and don’t give up because you heard someone else use words that sounded more “holy.” 

And still, it seems that even when we cry out from our deepest pain or need, God would have us continue to come back and keep praying over and over again even as Jesus tells us the widow does to the judge. Jesus says,  “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” 

Doesn’t it sometimes feel like we are Jacob wrestling with a man all night long and finally having to hold on to him to receive a blessing. Even, sometimes, needing to be hurt in the process. Why do you think prayer is often like this?

Perhaps prayer is less about getting what we want and more about getting what we need. And sometimes what we need is to be transformed. Persisting in prayer will do that.

Once a great man said:

“I was a revolutionary when I was young, and all my prayer to God was ‘Lord, give me the energy to change the world.’

As I approached middle age and realized that half my life was gone without my changing a single soul, I prayed ‘Lord give me the grace to change all those who come in contact with me. Even if only it is family and friends.’

Now that I am an old man and my days are numbers, my one prayer is ‘Lord give me the grace to change myself.’ If I had prayed for this right from the start I should not have wasted my life.”

The world is often changed by first allowing God to change us. 

I wonder how the widow was changed, how her request might have changed as she persisted. Jacob was changed in the wrestling. So much so he was given a new name, Israel. Which by the way means ‘he who struggles with God.’ 

Our persistence in prayer is less about nagging God to get what we want but rather about learning what we need. And hopefully praying for that and accepting that. Remember Jesus’ prayer in the garden? He begins with “take this cup from me”  and moves to “not my will but your will be done.”

What is it we are praying for without ceasing? What is it that breaks our hearts so that we call out to God over and over? What is it that God is offering to change in you (in us) through that prayer?

Like the man who learned to pray for the grace to change himself, sometimes it takes us a long time to get there. But that is certainly no reason to give up. God answers those who call out day and night. 

“And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” We must not grow tired in doing good and in calling out to God. The answer will come. In what form I cannot say. Except to say it will be in the best possible form. Even more than you can imagine.

Continue to pray for the world, for the country, for the church and be ready to be changed in the process. God loves you enough to do it if you will just allow!

Join with me in a moment of silence to what God longs to change.

Faith will make us whole.

Holy and glorious is your Name!

Reverence for You, O Holy One, is the

beginning of wisdom;

a good understanding have all

who practice it.

Your Spirit endures for ever!

(Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill)

Our reading of today's Psalm (111) reads “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” 

The idea of fearing God, even being afraid of God, is certainly not how the psalmist would have us approach this God of Love. Rather, the word ‘fear’ means to encourage us to revere, honor, adore, respect God. To bring praise to God in all that life brings our way.

To sing out “Holy and glorious is your Name!”

I usually don’t like to deal with the battle scenes we find in the Hebrew Scriptures, they are rather unsettling, but I would like to talk about one today. We find it in 2 Chronicles chapter 20.

The king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, has been warned “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea.” And so, very concerned, ( it actually says frightened) the King calls the people together to prayer. And they are told that they are to go down to the battle without fear for God has their backs!  And so, scripture reads:

“20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:

“Give thanks to the Lord;

    his faithful love endures forever!”

22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground.” 

Judah’s army were called to go out in faith to face their enemies, face their fears. But it was not their own strength that led the way but rather their praise in what God promised. Even before God had done it!

This is a great lesson for us. How should we face our battles in life? 

So looking at today’s gospel, all ten lepers knew where to begin. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” This is a great prayer. Perhaps you have heard of the Jesus prayer. “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”  Or simply ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy.’ I have been known to pray this almost continuously during some difficult times.

Notice, Jesus does not immediately heal the lepers. Instead, he tells them to go in faith and show their healing to the priests. This was a requirement for being declared clean. As they moved out in faith they were healed.

But only one comes back to give praise and thanks. Only one reveres, respects, honors Jesus. Our translation does not do Jesus’ response justice. If we go back and look at the Greek, Jesus tells the leper, your faith has made you whole. Not just cured him from Leprosy, but made him whole. This is actually the same word we usually translate as saved. Salvation is about being made whole here and now, not just fire protection for the here after. The leper’s worship brings him salvation, wholeness.

It is in praise of God, in giving thanks that we win the victory, that we are made whole.

What are the battles we face today? There are so many. Everything from finances, addictions, depression, disease to others that are best named in your own words or thoughts. 

These battles are not won through violence, physical or verbal. They are only made worse through these means. You will never find your own worth or the worth of another by calling them names and being angry and puffing up your own persona. You will never become a peacemaker through rhetoric.

Rather, battles are won, people are made whole, by stepping out in faith and singing praises for all God will do. It is in singing God’s praises that we find strength to step out and believe. It is in singing God’s praise that our eyes are opened to the beauty, the miracles, and the victory. It is in singing God’s praise that we find the wisdom to be God’s love in the moment. By the way, not praise for what you want God to do, but rather just for who God is. God’s faithful love endures forever! However it may look.

If there is a lesson for us to hear in the midst of all the anger and violence and rancor of our day, it is this one. Kneel at the feet of Christ and give thanks. It is there, in praise and honor of God that you will find the wisdom to guide you. It is there that we will be made whole, not only as an individual, but as the body of Christ. 

If you remember, I quoted Tozer a couple of weeks ago as saying that we are never more united than when we, together, turn our faces in worship of God. We are never more wholly the body of Christ we are called to be than when we revere God for being God. This is what won the victory. 

Today, whatever battle you go out to face, place before you the praises of the Lord your God, just as Jehosaphat did, and God will make you, us, whole. We will find the wisdom we so desperately need for this day.

Holy and glorious is your Name!

Reverence for You, O Holy One, is the

beginning of wisdom;

a good understanding have all

who practice it.

Your Spirit endures for ever!

Amen