A sermon on following and leaning into God - Sunday 28th July 2019

This was the first time I preached since I was Ordained Deacon on June 30th and also since February. Perhaps I lost my nerve about how candid I was going to be because when the word stress appears, there had been something much more specific there, perhaps another time...

 

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

We always pray in church when we worship, and we talk about prayer quite a lot, but, there is always more which can be said, especially when prayer helps us to deepen our relationships with God and alongside the Bible, prayer is key, it helps us lean in to God.

As this is the first time I’ve preached since the ordination, I’d like to reflect on that a little, because prayer has been crucial on this road and I’ve prayed the Lord’s Prayer more than any other, it’s been a constant companion throughout this rollercoaster of a faith journey; the Lord’s Prayer has always been there.

I’m not sure God answers prayer in the ways we expect but I have a story about answered prayer which took place at the ordination retreat, a month ago. The deacons and priests were all together, along with Bishop Robert, of Tewkesbury, and Ann, the director of Ordinand’s.

They were very keen to make sure we were comfortable and happy, we were praying and being prayed for, and while the centre we were staying in was very nice. 

For two nights I could hear something like a constantly running overflow tap which kept me awake, I mentioned this to Ann and that night, was quite shocked to find myself sleeping in the bishop’s bed…

I probably need to explain, Ann answered my prayers and earlier she had said, Bishop Robert’s going home tonight, so you could have his room, which I did, although I did wait until he had gone.

Through the whole ordination weekend, what blew me away, was how closely we were all being held in prayer, I received more cards than I have since I had my tenth birthday, people from college, from St George and St Cyr, both bishops, lots of clergy, and even people I know only through social media were among hundreds of people praying.

This was immensely humbling, another big test of my self-esteem and worthiness, but the retreat was calming, we all prayed together several times a day. Then, on the ordination day itself, we were enveloped with prayer again and it was amazing.

As I stood at the dais, in front of me, there were friendly smiles from the archdeacon and bishop, and I could see Liz Irvine singing in the choir. On my left were the Readers, including Ken, and on my right were priests, including Fiona, Jennifer, Sophia, Frances and Sheila. Then, at my back, I was fully conscious of a cathedral full of lots of wonderful people praying for and supporting us. The emotions were indescribable,

This was a big milestone in a long journey. I left church at 18, coming back when we moved to Cam in 2006, I remember hearing Jacob Knee preaching on taking up your cross to follow Jesus when I got emotional and knew I had no choice but to follow.

Lots of stuff happened along the way, including three redundancies, one car crash, labyrinthitis, and more recently, stress from being overwhelmed with work, assignments and lots of stuff from the past, about self-esteem and about trying to be perfect, which is impossible.

All that time, the Lord’s Prayer was a constant especially when I didn’t feel like I had any other words to pray.

I spent a long-time exploring vocation, being discerned, rejected, judged, affirmed, trained, tested, tried and assessed. It has been hugely fulfilling but also very tiring, all the while, I and others were praying for God’s will be done, to accept God’s timing, for forgiveness, for grace and for strength.

All of this is life experience I can draw on to help others, I want to be there for people who struggle with unemployment, ill health and mental health problems.

And while prayer has been really important at difficult times, so has the acceptance that prayers are answered, but not in ways we expect or understand, for example through the help of a doctor and counsellor, through my work helping to manage my workload, learning about my boundaries and that it’s okay to say no sometimes, that none of this stuff is a punishment or a reward from God, but is simply part of life, sometimes its spiritual attack, but prayer helps us lean in to God, it shields us and restores our confidence in God’s love for us.

Before I look at the Lord’s Prayer in more detail, I’d like to mention two things which aren’t in the Lord’s prayer, the first, is that it doesn’t mention the love of God, and yet, when I was asked recently what have I learnt about God that I didn’t know before, it is that I now fully accept that God loves me, and all of us, unconditionally, absolutely and just as we are without exception.

The other missing link is thanksgiving. Thanking God for our blessings. This is important too, to be able to give thanks for all that is good. And I mention this, because I do want to say a huge thank you, to God, to everyone here, everyone at St George and St Cyr, to friends and family, to Louise and James, for your patience, kindness, support and love.

I am truly blessed and have also learnt that I cannot do this in my own strength, but need God, and everyone around me to accomplish what I feel called to, which among many things, is to bring us all into a closer relationship with our loving God.

Much of this is reflected in our Gospel today. Perhaps the most powerful phrase is, “Lord, teach us to Pray.” At one level, the disciples were poorly educated men from humble trades and lives, but they were also devout Jews. They would worship every Sabbath, lift their hands in prayer and recite prayers and confession, so they knew how to pray, so what were they seeking?

Well, that’s the big question, if you know the words to prayers, but are still wanting to be taught about prayer, then it looks like they believe something is missing.

The disciples will have seen Jesus praying many times away from the temple. He often went somewhere quiet to pray, to a certain place, to a garden or the wilderness. Jesus’ followers would have seen this happening and how it affected Jesus and clearly saw something they wanted to copy.

So they ask, “Lord, Teach us to pray,” and perhaps, this is us, approaching Jesus now, how do I pray like you, how do I come closer to God, how can I commune with God the way you do, with intimacy, belonging, trust and peace?

I think many of us will have thought something like, “Lord, teach me to pray,” even after coming to church for many years.

To Jesus, prayer is a natural part of everyday life, and it can be for us, in fact, as God’s children, prayer is actually second nature, we need only to relax, to lean gently into prayer and we are known in prayer, God already knows our innermost thoughts as Psalm 139 tells us, all we have to do is to be present to God, and that’s actually quite simple.

Sometimes, very few words are needed and at times, when my mind has been in turmoil, I’ve closed my eyes, opened my hands, or closed them together like this and said, “Lord, be with me.” And immediately, I knew God was there and no more words were needed. Calming the turmoil, gently repeating the words, Lord be with me.

Of course, Jesus gave us the Lord’s prayer, shorter here in Luke than Matthew, and after acknowledging God as a holy, hallowed, loving father, the words are quite robust, give us our daily bread; all we need for today, forgive us our sins; because we know we aren’t perfect, do not bring us to a time of trial. There aren’t any pleases or thank yous!

I also want to say that I know that prayer isn’t easy sometimes, especially when times are hard, and that’s okay.

At St George we have a prayer team. On the fourth Sunday, today, two of the team will be in the prayer corner and can pray with you about anything you want to share in confidence, or you can speak to us on any Sunday or contact us and we can help you to pray or pray for you.

At St Cyr, if you ever need someone to pray with you, please ask and we can arrange it.

Back to the reading, when Jesus talks about knocking and being persistent, this doesn’t mean that we have to keep asking before ours prayers are answered, God already knows what we need, we only really need to ask once, and although God doesn’t automatically give us what we ask for, as if he were a celestial vending machine, prayer is answered in many ways.

This is about asking and searching in prayer, and each time we pray, we lean in a little deeper, we get a little closer to God, God knows we are leaning in and our trust and faith grow.

There is one final gift here from Jesus, a promise, because Jesus ends by saying that we only need to ask, and our father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit.

We only need to ask once, to pray simply, and that gift is bestowed. Then, every time we pray again, we lean in to God a little more, the Holy Spirit is re-energised and radiates forth and perhaps this is what the disciples saw in Jesus, the Holy Spirit, shining like a beacon, pure and holy, and they so asked him, Lord, teach us to pray

Let us pray,

Lord, teach us to pray
Be with us today, and always,
We have searched and now we ask for your Holy Spirit to pour into our lives afresh,
Let us lean into you Lord,
Let us know you, and abide in your love,
Through your blessed son, Jesus Christ.

Amen

 

The Gospel according to Luke 11.1-13

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ ²He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.

   Your kingdom come. 

³   Give us each day our daily bread. 

⁴   And forgive us our sins,
     for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
   And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
⁵And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 
⁷And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” ⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
⁹ ‘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 for you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 
¹¹Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? ¹²Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’