An Angel From the Realm

Luke 22:39-53
It may seem like an odd time of year to be reading events from Jesus’ passion, but there is significance in holding the season of Advent, which highlights both the birth and second coming of Jesus, in tension with the events of Holy Week. They are, after all, aspects of the same life. But in reading the gospel passage for today, what really resonates with me is the way that God responded to Jesus’ earnest prayers. “Then (Jesus) withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength” (Luke 22:41-43). Jesus, the word of God incarnate, sought to avoid the death that awaited him and asked God to “remove this cup.” (In faithful obedience, however, Jesus was determined to accept God’s will.) And while God did not choose to change the events to follow, God did send Jesus strength by which to persevere. It came to him in the person of an angel who ministered to him.

There are people hurting in our world today, whether from illness or mishap or from some act of evil, people who may have prayed fervently to have some “cup” removed from their lives. They may be people of tremendous faith in God who live in obedience to God’s will. Yet God may not respond the way that they would like. This does not mean that God deserts them – or us – in our hour of need. We all face challenges and hardships. It is by grace that we discern the presence of God offering us strength to endure. The good news of the gospel is that with mercy God reaches out to those who are hurting, who are lonely, who are neglected, who long for light and peace and joy, who wish to be saved from challenges or tribulations, and in any number of ways God seeks to meet those needs and answer those requests. It may not be what we wanted, but it is always a source of hope.

Prayer: Lord, bless us with the knowledge of your presence in all that we do and give us the strength and the courage we need to face the challenges of our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Making the Right Connection

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

According to our gospel reading for today Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). Jesus was calling on his listeners to do the right things for the right reasons, to give, pray, and fast not to be recognized by others, but in order to give glory to God.

It all comes down to intent. Jesus would rather us pray in private if the only reason we do so is to call attention to ourselves. If we are going to pray in public we must strive to call attention to God. Generosity can be contagious, but if we are giving money simply to earn favor with others we have missed the point. Acts of devotion can inspire others and encourage them in their own faith, but if all we want is a pat on the back we are misguided. God welcomes our prayer, our giving, our devotion but as signs of a right relationship with God, not as publicity stunts.

Years ago, just as mobile calling was becoming more prevalent, there was a TV commercial in which a man made quite a production out of talking on his cell phone. He pretended to talk to a stock broker but in reality he had dialed his home number. On the other end of the line the man’s daughter could be heard yelling, “Mom, Dad’s doing it again!” Of course it was all an act put on for the benefit of those seated nearby. If our prayers, our generosity, our acts of devotion leave us disconnected from God and not attuned to God’s will for our lives then we need to hang up and redial. Otherwise it’s a wasted call.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live to your glory and not to our own. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

It’s Not All Up To Me

Luke 18:9-14

One of my earliest sermons–written for my intro to preaching and worship class in seminary–was based on today’s passage from Luke. It was one of the more wretched sermons I’ve ever preached. At the time, of course, I was actually proud of the effort but I had a great deal to learn and fortunately my preaching has improved over the years.

Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 18:14). Jesus was condemning the self-righteousness of the Pharisee and offering assurance to those who, like the tax collector, come to God with humility. This is a powerful reminder of God’s concern for the least and the lost, but it points as well to the fact that we don’t always know what we are capable of. As a preacher I am often amazed at the response I get from folks following worship. It seems that when I’ve preached what I thought to be a solid–if not profound–sermon there is little comment. But when I’ve preached a sermon that I did not feel particularly good about, one that could have been so much better in my opinion, I’ve gotten sincere thanks from people who found meaning and hope in my words. Go figure.

The truth is that it’s not all up to me. I have a role to play in the life of the church but it is only by the grace of God that my words or actions make a difference. Like all of us I should do my best to God’s glory but beyond that I can only trust God to accomplish the divine purpose. It may be that my “wretched sermons” are the ones that touch lives while the ones that I feel proudest of are far less meaningful for community of faith. If that is true, so be it. The last thing any of us need to do is to exalt ourselves before the Creator. We need to leave our egos out of the equation and pray that the Holy Spirit will work through us. Humility really is far more pleasing to the Lord.

Prayer: O Lord, help us to serve you with humility and to put our faith in you alone. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

NOTE: Beginning on February 25, I will be including blog posts each Saturday written by "guest bloggers" who will offer their insights on the readings for that particular day. I deeply appreciate the willingness of these folks to share their time and talents with us. Be sure to stop by on upcoming Saturdays to see what they have to say.

Prayer Is a Big Deal

Psalm 5

One of the morning psalms for today addresses God this way: “Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch” (Psalm 5:1-3). Like so many others psalms, this one is a prayer, but it is also a description of prayer. The psalmist speaks, sighs, cries, prays, pleads, and watches. Prayer, in this case, is far from passive and certainly not limited to perfunctory blessings at mealtime. It is an activity that subsumes the entire person and requires full attention. To pray like the psalmist in Psalm 5 is to be fully engaged and fully attentive. Nothing else will do but to gives oneself completely to the effort.

I have recently discovered the poetry of Mark Jarman. In his poem “Five Psalms” he writes:

First forgive the silence

That answers prayer,

Then forgive the prayer

That stains the silence.

Excuse the absence

That feels like presence,

Then excuse the feeling

That insists on presence.

Pardon the delay

Of revelation,

Then ask pardon for revealing

Your impatience.

Forgive God

For being only a word,

Then ask God to forgive

The betrayal of language.

(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/241978)

There is a seriousness in the give and take of Jarman’s prayer that requires attention. One does not quickly fire off an appeal to God like a divine text message. Instead, prayer is hard work that involves the full mind and spirit, that recognizes God’s presence in the conversation and the total inadequacy of the one who prays. The relationship may appear equally balanced, but that is only because God lowers the divine self into that position.

If you are like me your prayers are far less serious than they should be. If you are like me there are way too many abbreviated “shopping list” prayers offered and far too few hours devoted to the hard work of meaningful conversation. As people of faith, however, we are charged with the responsibility of conversing with God, on behalf of ourselves and of others. It is, ultimately, worth the effort.

Prayer: Lord, forgive our inadequacy in prayer. Help us to approach you with respect and attentiveness that our words may have true meaning and our hearts be filled with the knowledge of your presence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Prayers, Please

Ephesians 6:10-20

As a preacher and one who is often called upon to minister to those in need I was drawn to a verse in Ephesians today. “Pray also for me,” it says, “so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel…” (Ephesians 6:19). This should be a constant request from all ministers, all chaplains, all preachers, all priests, all those seeking ordination. All of us depend on the gifts of the Spirit to fulfill our calling. All of us require God’s strength and God’s grace. To pray for one who ministers is to ask God to sustain him or her in the work being done. So by all means, please pray for me.

But in truth the words of Ephesians 6:19 should be on the lips of all believers. As members of the body of Christ we have been sent into the world to offer our witness to the grace and love of our God, to point to the good news that has come to us and that all people need to hear. May all of us, clergy and laity alike, be given words to speak concerning the “mystery of the gospel” and may we receive the boldness we need to speak with conviction and with clarity. Perhaps the common greeting shared between Christians should be “pray for me. Pray that God gives me words to speak. Pray that God gives me the courage to speak them. Pray that God leads me in right paths so that I may demonstrate the gospel in all that I do. Pray for me, please.” And having greeted one another in such a way we should then set ourselves to the task.

Prayer: Lord, grant all of your people a message of hope for the world and give them all the confidence they need to share it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Placing Our Confidence In God

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Our Old Testament reading this morning includes a heartfelt prayer of confession, one that resonates with contemporary life. “Both I and my family have sinned,” says Nehemiah. “We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:6b-7). Not only does Nehemiah confess his sins and the sins of his people, but he goes on to remind God of promises made, of assurances given, that if the people should turn and seek God they will be restored. Nehemiah shows contrition and seeks mercy, but does so with confidence in God.

In my tradition we enter into confession with the same confidence in God. Yes, we have sinned and turned away from God’s will. Yes, we deserve God’s judgment. But we also know with certainty that in Jesus Christ death and sin have been defeated and that we are forgiven. The relationship between God and God’s people remains intact. In turning to God we are relieved of the weight of our sins and encouraged to live for God and one another. Though Nehemiah would find many things about our modern world to be unsettling (to say the least), I believe his trust in God would continue to serve him well. Still, even at this distance in history, Nehemiah’s prayer remains an example of faithfulness.

Prayer: “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name” (Nehemiah 1:11a).

The Hardest Prayer to Pray

Mark 14:27-42

Jesus’ prayer in the garden is, as far as I’m concerned, the most difficult prayer to offer. According to Mark Jesus prayed, “…Yet, not what I want, but what you want” (Mark 14:36b). The depth of obedience, the amount of faith required to utter such words–and to mean them–is staggering. Jesus, grieved almost to death, had already expressed a desire to avoid the passion that awaited him. Then he said, “Yet…,” and with that one word Jesus was able to dismiss his own desires and to embrace God’s will. “Not what I want, but what you want.”

“Yet” is the key to this prayer and the source of the difficulty. It reflects the other path that one would prefer while at the same time resigning oneself to go where God sends. “Yet” is about letting go of who we are and wrapping ourselves in the identity that God holds out to us. “Yet” means turning away from the culture and the society while grasping the cross of discipleship. “Yet” is a word that Peter would not be able to utter that night, for he would ultimately cling to his own view of things. “Yet” should probably be the way we begin all our prayers, but in truth it figures into very few of them.

I wish I was able to pray the word “yet” and to mean it. I wish my faith was that strong and my obedience that total. Meanwhile I take comfort in what Jesus was able to do for, letting go in order to accept the “yet” that God was holding out to him.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be more faithful and more obedient to you that I might accept your will for me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In a Corner…Or Not

Acts 26:24-27:8

In addressing the King Agrippa, Paul uses an interesting turn of phrase to describe the events surrounding his own conversion to Christianity. “Indeed the king knows about these things,” says Paul, “and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). Paul is telling the king about events that were not hidden or obscured, but which were out in the open.

The expression, “not done in a corner” is apt in some ways, but curious in others. There are times when Christians are challenged to be open in profession their faith. Those who believe are to avoid the darkness and to live in the light, are to live with boldness, making the good confession to any who would listen. This was Paul’s own practice, to speak in the synagogues and anywhere else he might find an audience. But there are other elements of the faith that almost seem to require corners. Jesus condemns those who sit in the seats of honor or who pray loudly in the temple or on street corners, who make much of their own practices. Jesus says that it is better to pray in private than to make a show of prayer. Luke’s telling of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple would seem to support a more personal practice of the faith. The one who was justified in that story was quiet and unobtrusive in his prayer.

So which is it? Should Christianity be practiced out in the open as was so often the case with Paul, or should it be a private matter confined to prayer closets, as Jesus seems to suggest on more than one occasion? Of course the answer is yes…yes to both. There are times when our faith will essentially require us to make a public profession of faith, to keep our lamps on the lamp stand so that everyone may see and rejoice. But there are other times when we must remain “in the corner” so as not to call attention to ourselves, leaving our left hand ignorant of what our right hand is doing. As with so much else in the Christian faith it becomes a matter of appropriateness. It is good when we can give glory to God so that the world may see, but there are also times when it is best to stay behind the scenes and to allow the lamplight to fall on others.

As Paul gave his defense before King Agrippa he called attention to the work of God through Jesus Christ. But Paul would also know that at times he himself needed to be alone, to pray, to mediate, to seek God’s guidance in his own life. It is a matter of balance and of spiritual maturity that we learn and develop over time. Sometimes we need to be out of the corner, but other times a corner is the very best place for us to be.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to discern the times when we should act boldly, and the times when we should remain withdrawn, so that in either case we may give you the glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How Awful Is That?

Mark 12:35-44

As someone who leads worship on a regular basis I was a bit put off by a verse from Mark’s gospel today. Warning his listeners about the scribes Jesus says, in part, “They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation” (Mark 12:40). Really? Long prayers are morally equivalent to devouring the homes of widows? If this is true then I’m in big trouble. But this is really not the what Jesus is saying. The lengthy prayers that Jesus is talking about are made “for the sake of appearance,” not as a true act of faith. In other words, the scribes often practice a phony religion with prayers intended to attract attention to themselves and not to praise and worship God. And while dubious prayers may still seem mild compared to the eviction of widows, they do point to a greater truth. Our relationship with God says a lot about how we are apt to treat others. If we are praying, or worshiping, or showing up for church just so others will see us and be impressed, then we are really no better than those who mistreat their neighbors and take advantage of the defenseless.

Does that sound familiar? It should. This is just an extension of the gospel reading from yesterday, where Jesus said that love of God and love of neighbor are the two greatest commandments. It is impossible to do one adequately without doing the other as well. Insulting God with meaningless prayers IS the moral equivalent of mistreating one’s neighbors because not loving God is essentially the same as not loving those around us, and vice versa. So, it really isn’t the length of ours prayers that Jesus is warning us about-what a relief!-it is what those prayers say about us, how we feel about God, how we feel about each other.

Prayer: Lord, help us to love you and to love those around us. Amen.

Quiet Time

Acts 21:27-36

When my brother-in-law was pastoring a church in Dallas he would hang a sign on his office door that read, “Please do not disturb. Holy Spirit at work.” It was his way of saying that he needed time to concentrate on sermon preparation. I thought of that sign when I read a portion of our Acts passage this morning. “Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, [the tribune] ordered [Paul] to be brought into the barracks” (Acts 21:34).

If you’ve ever tried to use a cell phone in the midst of a noisy crowd you may know how the tribune felt that day. All he wanted was to “learn the facts” but the yelling and the commotion around him made that impossible. So it is at times with the word of God. To fully comprehend what God is saying we sometimes need to quiet the voices around us, to still the uproar–even in our own minds, so that we can concentrate. Even Jesus knew the importance of quiet time. Often he would go off by himself to pray and listen for God. The pushing and the pulling of the crowds and the constant demands made prayer impossible.

My brother-in-law found a way to create quiet time for himself. I’m not always so good at it. But if we truly want to listen for the voice of God we have got to take time away from the crowds, away from the demands, away from the voices, the phones, the TV. We’ve got to allow God the opportunity to speak to us and allow ourselves the opportunity to listen.

Prayer: God, lead us to times of peace and quiet so that we may hear you more clearly and be lead by you to do your will more effectively. Amen.

Give It Some Thought

Mark 4:1-20

Generally speaking, I prefer for prospective church members to take time in deciding whether to join a church or not over those who come a Sunday or two and then make a quick commitment. Why? Let me use a part of Jesus’ parable about the sower from Mark’s gospel to explain.

“And these,” Jesus said, “are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while…” (Mark 4:16-17a). Let me stress that I am making only a general statement here, not one that I believe to be absolutely true in all cases. The fact is that faith is serious business. It does not work best when based on a quick response time or on knee-jerk reactions. Faith deserves thought and, above all, prayer. What is God doing in my life and how can this particular congregation can help me with it? Is this a community of faith where my skills and talents can best be put to use? Am I making a decision on what I wish were true, or what God is really saying to me? These are the sorts of questions that help one develop roots, to find endurance for the ups and downs that every gathering of God’s people will go through from time to time.

This is why I, as a pastor, do not object to a family or an individual taking time to decide about joining a church. God deserves thought and care. Questions like which congregation to join are important. We should try, to the best of our ability, to be planted in good soil so that we may produce much fruit to the glory of God.

Prayer: Lord, help us to consider our lives of faith carefully and not make hasty decisions based on arbitrary factors. And as communities of faith, may we learn to respect and to nurture the thoughtfulness of others. Amen.