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Trinity VI – Lord teach us how to pray

If I were to ask you if you could recite a text off by heart you might regale me with a poem, a passage from a book, or a speech from Shakespeare learned at school. If I then asked whether you knew any prayers off by heart you would probably say ‘The Lord’s Prayer’, ‘Y Gweddi’r Arglwydd’. Even if they do not know all the words, most people have heard the Lord’s Prayer. It is an important part of our Christian heritage.

Our readings this week focus on prayer. Christians know that God answers prayer. However, God may say, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ or even ‘Not yet’. We may not like the answer, but one will be forthcoming. Prayer is both simple and mysterious. Simple, insofar as it is our conversation with the divine. Mysterious, in the fact that prayer changes us, and not the Almighty. So prayer is something of a paradox, being at the same time quite straightforward and also an enigma. We pray to God, but prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us. Pagans in Greece and Rome would bargain with their gods: if you do this for me, I will give you that. Jews and Christians, however, are profoundly different. We do not bargain with God, and we do not need to, because we are in a covenant relationship with our Heavenly Father who loves us.

It would be all too easy to see this morning’s first reading, where Abraham tries to save Sodom and Gomorrah, as being concerned with bargaining with God. However, prayer does not work in that way. What the reading from Genesis shows us is that we are in a covenant, a relationship with God, and that God is generous and loving. He wants the best for us.

The American Bishop Fulton J. Sheen summed it up as follows:

‘Prayer is helplessness casting itself on Power, infirmity leaning on Strength, misery reaching to Mercy, and a prisoner clamouring for Relief.’ Life Is Worth Living, Second Series (New York, 1954), p. 213.

In today’s Gospel the disciples ask Jesus:

“Arglwydd, dysg i ni weddïo, fel y dysgodd Ioan yntau i’w ddisgyblion ef.”

‘Lord teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples’ (Lk 11:1).

Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins. They both preached about the need for both repentance and belief in the Good News. Also, they both taught their disciples how to pray. Virtually all Christian prayer can be described by one or more of four phrases: ‘please’, ‘thank you’, ‘I’m sorry’, and ‘I love you’. God does not need our prayers, we do. This is because praying allows us to open our hearts and lives to God, allowing Him to change us. Jesus answers His disciple’s request to teach them how to pray as follows:

Ac meddai wrthynt, “Pan weddïwch, dywedwch: ‘Dad, sancteiddier dy enw; deled dy deyrnas; dyro inni o ddydd i ddydd ein bara beunyddiol; a maddau inni ein pechodau, oherwydd yr ydym ninnau yn maddau i bob un sy’n troseddu yn ein herbyn; a phaid â’n dwyn i brawf.’” 

He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray: ‘“Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.”’  (Lk 11:2-4)

The version of Jesus’ words we are most familiar with is that found in Matthew’s Gospel, which is slightly longer than Luke’s prayer. But both contain the same elements. The prayer begins by calling God, ‘Abba’ ‘Father’ ‘Tâd’. Such a term expresses our close relationship with our Creator. The idea that God’s name should be kept holy goes hand in hand with the desire that God’s Kingdom may come. Christianity is all about the establishment of the Kingdom of God: that God may rule over our hearts and our lives.

Next, we ask God to feed us, to forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us, and to free us from temptation. It is important to note that every celebration of the Eucharist begins with us all acknowledging our own shortcomings and asking God’s forgiveness. Saying sorry to God is important, because it keeps us humble, and helps to maintain our relationship with God, and with each other. We all make mistakes, you do, I certainly do. Recognizing this is the start of a process which allows us to grow in virtue and holiness, through God’s love. The high point of the Eucharist is when God feeds us with His Body and Blood, providing us with spiritual food to nourish our souls. All our food is a gift from God, and being thankful for it, just like being humble, helps to keep us close to God. If you don’t already do so, try to get into the habit of saying a few words of thanks to God before you eat a meal.

There are good reasons why Christians regularly pray this prayer, which we call The Lord’s Prayer, Y Gweddi’r Arglwydd. Jesus has told us how to pray and gave us these words. Similarly, we celebrate the Eucharist because Jesus told us to ‘do this in memory of Him’ and so we do. We use the Lord’s Prayer when we pray, because it honours God, and it forms us as Christians. We will soon pray it together before Communion, asking that God will continue the process of transforming us day by day into His image and likeness. 

In the Gospel reading Jesus continues to teach His disciples using parables. In this narrative, there is a late-night hospitality emergency. A friend is on a journey (just like Jesus and His disciples), and arrives at your home (just like Jesus visited Mary and Martha last week). Naturally you want to be hospitable as a sign of your friendship. So, you pop round to a next door and ask to borrow some food. However, the initial response you receive from your neighbour is not very positive:

‘Paid â’m blino; y mae’r drws erbyn hyn wedi ei folltio, a’m plant gyda mi yn y gwely; ni allaf godi i roi dim iti’, rwy’n dweud wrthych, hyd yn oed os gwrthyd ef godi a rhoi rhywbeth iddo o achos eu cyfeillgarwch, eto oherwydd ei daerni digywilydd fe fydd yn codi ac yn rhoi iddo gymaint ag sydd arno ei eisiau.’

“Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up to give it you.” I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants. (Lk 11:7-8)

Jesus shows that, despite the neighbour not wanting to get up and be bothered with the request for food, because the person is persistent and stays there, disregarding the initial reluctance, his request is granted. Perseverance is rewarded. The point Our Lord is making is that God hears our prayers and answers our requests. We might need to ask more than once, and commit time to prayer, but we will not be ignored.

‘Ac yr wyf fi’n dweud wrthych: gofynnwch, ac fe roddir i chwi; ceisiwch, ac fe gewch; curwch, ac fe agorir i chwi. Oherwydd y mae pawb sy’n gofyn yn derbyn, a’r sawl sy’n ceisio yn cael, ac i’r un sy’n curo agorir y drws.’

‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.’ (Lk 11:9-10)

The phrase ‘knock, and the door will be opened to you’ ‘curwch, ac fe agorir i chwi’ reinforces the teaching in the parable. The neighbour opens the door and gives the requested provisions. Jesus then develops His teaching, by drawing a comparison between the lesser and the greater. This is a common rabbinic practice:

‘Os bydd mab un ohonoch yn gofyn i’w dad am bysgodyn, a rydd ef iddo sarff yn lle pysgodyn? Neu os bydd yn gofyn am wy, a rydd ef iddo ysgorpion? Am hynny, os ydych chwi, sy’n ddrwg, yn medru rhoi rhoddion da i’ch plant, gymaint mwy y rhydd y Tad nefol yr Ysbryd Glân i’r rhai sy’n gofyn ganddo.’

‘What father among you would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg? If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’ (Lk 11:11-13)

The Good News of the Kingdom is that God answers prayer. Not only that, but He gives us more than we ask Him for. God also grants us the Holy Spirit. This is an important concept in the wider narrative of Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, where the Church is filled with God’s Spirit. God answers prayer because He is our Creator, and we are in a special relationship with Him. In today’s Old Testament reading God listens to Abraham’s pleas for mercy and then grants them. 

Turning to St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, the apostle can proclaim baptism as the way to salvation, because this enables us to share in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and the forgiveness of our sins:

‘Y mae wedi ei bwrw hi o’r neilltu; fe’i hoeliodd ar y groes.’ 

‘he has done away with it by nailing it to the cross’ (Col 2:14)

God cancels our debt by paying it Himself, overcoming evil and sin through an outpouring of healing love. This is the demonstration that God loves us and hears our prayers, and so we continue to remember the Passion through our celebration of the Eucharist. God forgives our sins, and gave His life for us, nailing our sins to the Cross. He suffered in His flesh so that we who have died with Christ in our baptism may also share His risen life. That is why Jesus can assure us that God listens to our prayers and answers them, giving us the good things we need.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, through practising both prayer and action, may we be agents of God’s love and grace in the world. May we transform our homes, our communities, and the whole world. Filled with God’s generous love, compassion and forgiveness, let us give glory to God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot – The Lord’s Prayer [Brooklyn Museum]
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Trinity V – Mary & Martha

Life is all about decisions. The choices that we make can have a massive effect upon our lives. We often think of decisions as ‘either/or’ alternatives. However, we may be making a false distinction. Living the Christian life is often much more a case of ‘both/and’ rather than ‘either/or’. Nowhere is this shown with greater clarity than through the question of faith and action. These two concepts are not in opposition: they are two sides of the same coin. To make the Kingdom of God a reality we need both contemplation and practical application. If work and prayer are kept in balance, then our duties towards God and our neighbour can be fulfilled, and we can grow in faith and love. As Christians we need to demonstrate our faith by being hospitable and welcoming, as well as prayerful. 

Hospitality is the focus of this morning’s first reading from the Book of Genesis. God appears to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre near the town of Hebron, nineteen miles south of Jerusalem. Abraham is visited by three angels and looks after them, offering them hospitality, and taking care of them. In return the Patriarch is blessed with the promise of a son. From early times, biblical interpreters understand these three angels as symbolising the Trinitarian nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, revealing their nature to Abraham, our father in faith. This view became particularly relevant during the fourth-century debate on the nature of God, which led to the formation of the Creed we will soon recite together. In this passage from Genesis, we see both what God is like and how we should respond to God: with generous hospitality, care and attention.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is still travelling. As there were no hotels or service stations, the only way to eat, drink, and rest was through hospitality. Our Lord is welcomed into her home by a woman named Martha: 

‘Yr oedd ganddi hi chwaer a elwid Mair; eisteddodd hi wrth draed yr Arglwydd a gwrando ar ei air.’

‘And she had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching’ (Lk 10:39)

These sisters, Mary and Mary, may well be the same women who appear in John’s Gospel as the sisters of Lazarus, and who live in Bethany. There they are described as friends of Jesus who regularly provide hospitality for Him and His followers. We are told that Mary is giving Jesus her undivided attention, she sits at His feet, as a student would sit at the feet of their teacher. Her sister does not join her as she is so busy looking after the guests:

‘Ond yr oedd Martha mewn dryswch oherwydd yr holl waith gweini, a daeth ato a dweud, “Arglwydd, a wyt ti heb hidio dim fod fy chwaer wedi fy ngadael i weini ar fy mhen fy hun? Dywed wrthi, felly, am fy nghynorthwyo.”’

‘But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (Lk 10:40)

Like the lawyer in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Martha is attempting to justify herself. In order to do this, she blames others — in fact her own sister — to cover up the fact that she is anxious and troubled with the cares of the world. She allows these worries to take precedence over the Gospel. Martha has shown Jesus a hospitable welcome, but then she tries to involve Him in a domestic squabble, which is centred on justifying her own busyness. Jesus is a teacher, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom. While it is important that He and his disciples are fed and cared for, the immediate concern is to give Our Lord their undivided attention, and listen to what He has to say:

‘Atebodd yr Arglwydd hi, “Martha, Martha, yr wyt yn pryderu ac yn trafferthu am lawer o bethau, ond un peth sy’n angenrheidiol. Y mae Mair wedi dewis y rhan orau, ac nis dygir oddi arni.”’

‘But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”’ (Lk 10:41-42)

Jesus does not tell Martha off, rather He is encouraging, calming her down, and showing her a better way of living. Only one thing is necessary: for a host to pay attention to a guest, as Abraham did at the Oak of Mamre in the first reading this morning .

The point is not simply to prefer the contemplative to the practical, or the spiritual to the physical. Instead we need to balance our physical needs with our spiritual ones. Martha is too wrapped up in her own affairs and has forgotten what is really important. Jesus does not want special treatment, or a lavish banquet with lots of dishes. What He wants are people who pay attention to what He has to say. Martha has not chosen a bad portion, service and hospitality are important. However, attention — staying close to Jesus, listening to what He says, and not being distracted — is how we grow as Christians. This is the good portion that Christ speaks of. 

Jesus of Nazareth frequently breaks down cultural barriers. Last week we saw a Samaritan, a complete outcast held up as a model of neighbourly love and compassion. This week Mary sits at Christ’s feet, breaking a cultural taboo regarding women. She wants to be taught, and therefore displays both love and attention. Jesus tells us that, like Mary, we too should be attentive to God and His message for us in the Gospel. In doing this we emulate Mary, and choose the better part. This is a choice which has a moral dimension. When we truly listen attentively to what God says to us, our actions and our character are formed, helping our growth in holiness. Nourished by Word and Sacrament, we can progress in living out the graces which we received in our baptism, and prepare for our inheritance with the Saints in glory. We do not achieve this through prayer and contemplation alone, but by making our prayer and our work, all that we do, and all that we are, a response to God and to our neighbour. By responding in this way we are truly living out lives of Christian love. Such love is the nature of God and binds together the persons of the Trinity. This is a powerful catalyst which transforms both us and our world.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, through practising both prayer and action, may we be agents of God’s love and grace in the world. May we transform our homes, our communities, and the whole world. Filled with God’s love, and compassion, let us give glory to God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

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Easter VII

In 1959 the first photograph of the Earth was taken from space by an unmanned satellite called Explorer 6. The image was blurry and very basic by today’s standards. Almost a decade later, the crew of Apollo 8 took a famous picture of our planet rising over the lunar landscape. It was named Earthrise. This iconic photograph helped people to understand the world better and take greater interest in environmental issues. As Christians we are called to care for our planet and all the people, plants, and creatures that dwell on it. At the same time, as Christians we are called to be in the world, but not of the world. This world is simply somewhere we will reside for a short while. Our citizenship is in Heaven, our true home, where we long to spend eternity with God. One of the ways in which the Church lives out this other-worldliness is shown in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

After Jesus’ Ascension, the disciples spend time together in prayer and fellowship. One of their first actions is to appoint a replacement for Judas Iscariot, so that the Eleven Apostles may become Twelve again. For Jews the number twelve is very significant. It stands for wholeness and the completion of God’s purpose. There are twelve months in a year, and twelve tribes of Israel. It was therefore important to the Apostles that they were restored to their proper number of twelve. So, out of all the current followers of Jesus, Peter states that they need someone who has been with them from the beginning, to act as a witness to Jesus’ resurrection. Two candidates are put forward: Justus and Matthias. Peter then prays for guidance:

“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 

“Adwaenost ti, Arglwydd, galonnau pawb. Amlyga prun o’r ddau hyn a ddewisaist i gymryd ei le yn y weinidogaeth a’r apostolaeth hon, y cefnodd Jwdas arni i fynd i’w le ei hun.” (Acts 1: 24-25)

The disciples do not decide for themselves, they leave the choice up to God. Through the random process of casting lots, God can show them whom He wants to be an apostle. This feels strange to us nowadays. We want to be in control. We want to choose. Perhaps we would be better served by putting God back in control. 

The Gospel reading continues the exploration of the Farewell Discourses between the Last Supper and Jesus’ Arrest. Today we have arrived at Chapter 17, known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. This is a truly solemn moment of intimate conversation between the Father and the Son. Before His Passion and Death, Christ is entrusting His Church to the Father, that it may be kept safe, and that it may be filled with the glory of God, and also strengthened to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. This is a moment of profound emotion and intimacy, a window into a conversation between two Persons of the Holy Trinity. 

Jesus is committing us, His Church to God, for God to care for us. His prayer sees His followers as being in opposition to a world which rebels against God; a world of sin and corruption; a world of power and politics. Christ prays that His people may be set apart, to be holy, devoted to God, and filled with love. To love is to will the good of the other. God loves us, and it is God’s will that we flourish and enjoy life in all its fulness, united to Him. This is why Jesus taught us to pray,

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

“deled dy deyrnas, gwneler dy ewyllys; megis yn y nef, felly ar y ddaear hefyd.”(Mt 6:10)

Christ is praying that we, His Church, stay close to God. That we be united with God’s will, and filled with God’s love. This is why we look forward to next Sunday, when we celebrate Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is a sign of God’s love for us, the love which unites Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God invites us to be united with the life of the Trinity, and wants us to offer that invitation to others. If we place ourselves in God’s hands He will take the initiative, just as He did in choosing Matthias to replace Judas.

Th name Matthias means ‘gift of God’. The disciples receive this gift after praying together and asking for God’s guidance. As Christians we too need to spend time together, to pray for our needs and those of the world. In prayer we are united with each other and with God. Together we are nourished by sharing the Eucharist and hearing the Word of God. These things are crucial to who and what we are. United together we experience the love of God and the joy of community. The world may be indifferent to what we do, or it may mock us when we fail to live up to the example of Jesus. But, as Christians, we strive to live in the love of God, and forgive each other our trespasses. We aim to live out that same radical love and forgiveness which sees Jesus die upon the Cross and be raised to New Life for love of us, and for all the world.

This message of profound love and forgiveness is one that much of the world cannot or does not want to understand. We may not understand the depths of God’s love, but we know that it can be experienced, through personal encounter with Jesus in prayer, Word, and Sacrament. We are living testimony to love’s power to change lives. It sets us free to live for God and to proclaim his saving truth in our words and actions.

As I mentioned earlier in this sermon, Matthias’ name means ‘gift of God’, and his appointment comes just before God’s wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit. So as we wait with the Apostles for this gift, let us pray that God may be at work in us, building us up, and giving us strength to live the Christian life. Let us then share these gifts with others, so that they may also come to believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Peter Paul Rubens Matthias (Museo del Prado, Madrid)

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Sexagesima

Recently we have begun to talk about the idea of work-life balance, due to an awareness that people in the modern world are spending more time at work, and need to make sure that their patterns of life and work are healthy. Clearly spending too much time at work and not enough at rest will be detrimental to our physical, mental and spiritual health. 

Our Gospel this morning follows on directly from last week. After teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum and healing the possessed man, Jesus and His disciples go back to the family home of Simon and Andrew. After what had been a draining experience, they were no doubt in need of both rest and nourishment. But before this can happen, there is a situation which requires Our Lord’s immediate attention:

‘Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.’ (Mk 1:30-31)

It’s serious, and it’s life-threatening. He takes her by the hand, lifts her up, and she is immediately restored to full health: she gets up and looks after them. Mark’s account is simple and straightforward, and goes along at a tremendous breathless pace. The healing is miraculous and instantaneous. It takes your breath away. It is a powerful demonstration of the reality of God’s love for us: if we let God be at work in our lives then wonderful things are possible, but we have to trust Him. I know that I really struggle with that, and I suspect that I’m not alone in feeling that way. 

Once the Sabbath was over at sundown, the people of Capernaum bring people to Him who are sick, and in need of healing, and he heals them. The Kingdom of God has become a reality in the person and actions of Jesus. And then early the next morning, before dawn Jesus goes away to pray. He finds a deserted place, a place where He can be alone with God to pray. It reminds us of the need for prayer and quiet in our own lives — we need time to be with God, to talk to Him, and to listen to what He has to say to us. We live in a world filled with noise and distraction, where social media and mobile phones vibrate and flash to get our attention to draw us in. Instead, if we want to be close to God and let His power be at work in us, we need to be silent and find a deserted place, if only for a few minutes, to let a healing encounter take place. God meets us when we are alone, when we are silent, when we are vulnerable, when we no longer rely on our own strength but hand ourselves over completely to Him. This is not an easy thing to do, but it is the only way for God to be at work in us: we need to make space for Him. 

And then it is over, Simon and the other disciples find Jesus and call Him back to the people who need Him. But rather than simply staying where He is, He moves them on to the next towns, so that He may preach there, for that is why He came out. As well as healing the sick Jesus has a message to proclaim: repent and believe the Good News (Mk 1:15). He calls people to turn away from sin, to turn back to God, and to know that the Kingdom is near. The disciples can only see people’s needs, they need to understand that there is a wider context too. So Jesus preaches, He explains the Scriptures so that people can understand that prophecies are being fulfilled in Him, and He casts out demons so that people can see the Healing which the kingdom promises is a reality there and then. 

Which of us can say that we don’t need Christ’s healing in our lives? I know that I do, the truth is that we all do. If we are close to Him in prayer, if we listen to Him, if we have the humility which says, ‘I need God’s help’ then we can be open to the transforming power of His Love. Here this morning, in the Eucharist, at the Altar, Christ will give Himself for us, His Body and His Blood, so that we can feed on Him, be fed by Him, and be fed with Him, so that our souls can be healed. What greater medicine could there be for us, than God’s very self? What gift more precious or more wonderful? Our soul’s true food. We eat Christ’s Body and drink His Blood so that we might share His Divine life, that we might be given a foretaste of Heaven here on earth. For two thousand years, on a hundred thousand successive Sundays, the Church has done THIS, to obey Christ’s command, and so that the healing work begun in Galilee might be continued here, now, among us. 

Let us listen to His words. Let us be close to Him in prayer. Let us come to Him, to the One who loves us, who heals us, who gives Himself upon the Cross to die for us. To the One who rises again to give us the promise of eternal life in Him. Let us come to be healed, to the table of the Lord to be fed with Him, so that He might heal us, and restore us, so that we might have life, and life to the full in and through Him.

Let us proclaim to a world, which longs for healing and wholeness, the love of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot – The Healing of Peter’s Mother-in-law (Brooklyn Museum)