Praying as an Act of Faith
Yesterday was a fantastic day in the life of our parish. It was so nice to gather together as community and to offer something back to the community. It is nice to see everyone who does their part separately and yet all together-truly amazing and how just having everyone doing their part made it such a nice event. We were blessed with beautiful weather and a big thank you to everyone who made it a success!
There was a little sadness — some who were with us last year were not here this year. George and Libby were on many of our minds; and Howard and others. It is hard to believe that it was just a year ago and they were here with us, walking around, selling baked goods, discussing parking. The Fall Festival has changed a bit with each year, and that is to be expected, life changes — but it can be hard to process sometimes and we grieve the loss of what was, but it doesn’t diminish what is happening now.
Interesting fact - In North America, the railroad gauge — the distance between rails — is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. A strange number. Why was that gauge used? Because that’s how railroads were built in England, and English expatriates designed the American railroads.
But why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and they were using the tools and jigs that had been used to build carts and covered wagons.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, that was the space between the ruts in the English roads, ingrained through centuries of use.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match to avoid destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for imperial Rome, their wheel spacing was standardized.
So, the standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an imperial Roman war chariot, and they were made just wide enough to accommodate the backsides of two war horses.
Progress is made through building on the accomplishments and insights of others. When NASA wheels its latest rocket boosters onto the launch pad rails, who knew that they are the width of two horses backsides?
We cannot do anything without reference to what has gone before. You don’t get where you are without something having gone before.
Sir Isaac Newton, father of modern physics, once said, “If I have seen further, it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants”
Today’s gospel reading, the story of the persistent widow and the pestered judge, is, at first sight, confusing.
Jesus begins by telling his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
Why were they in danger of losing heart? Just before this (Luke 17) they had been discussing the Kingdom of God. The disciples were somewhat discouraged because they were ready for the Kingdom of God to be established — and now! They were still grappling with all that Jesus was teaching and what it meant.
At first glance many have interpreted this parable about a parable of prayer and how we are to be persistent in prayer. Which may be a part of it, but I think the teaching here is about not losing faith by PRAYING, not just about being persistent in prayer. Not losing faith that the Kingdom of God had not arrived, not losing faith that God was not going to keep His Word, NOT LOSING FAITH, even when things don’t seem to be going as quickly as you had hoped or life doesn’t turn out as you had planned.
Just because it hasn’t happened yet, just because you don’t see it now — don’t lose faith. And how can you not lose faith or heart, when it seems that things are delayed? Or not happening. How do you not lose heart when justice is delayed, (like it was being done for the widow), when things happen in our world that seem nothing like the Kingdom of God that Jesus has described?
Many over the past few years have lost some heart. They are discouraged. Things are different.
When people lose heart they tend to isolate and they can stop attending to spiritual practices. Jesus told us one spiritual practice to attend to always-prayer.
What is prayer exactly? Prayer in its simplest sense is communion with God. Prayer in its simplest sense is communion with God. It is your spirit crying out to God, sometimes with words, sometimes not. We have been given prayers and examples of prayers like the Lord’s Prayer where we were taught how to pray. We can pray this prayer when we don’t know how to pray - I tend to think of it as a roadmap to prayer — it outlines for us how to pray and what things to pray for. The beginning of the Lord’s prayer encourages us to pray, “Thy kingdom come," which is exactly what the disciples and Jesus had been discussing. In Luke 17, Jesus had been asked by the religious leaders when the kingdom of God was to come. They were tired and discouraged and looking forward to the Kingdom. (And they were the Pharisees-they were somewhat skeptical anyway.)
Understanding prayer in this context, (as communion with God), prayer is seen as a way to draw nearer to God’s omnipresence and nature; understanding that God is with them (and us). The Kingdom of God is something that is to come, and it is something that is here now. Prayer is a way of drawing closer to it.
Christian mysticism looks at prayer in this way -- as a way of finding union or communion with God . Prayer does not lead necessarily “to a new vision of God but a different relationship to the world-one that perhaps has borrowed the eyes of God” says theologian Dorothee Soelle. Borrowing the eyes of God allows us to pray with our eyes wide open as opposed to closed, seeing things around us we may not normally see.
Prayer changes us. When I pray, I am aware of my humanity. I am aware that I am not God and it grounds me in this time and place.
This passage is difficult because it seems to suggest that this widow, wore the judge out and he granted her request because he was tired of listening to her. Which could lead some to teach and/or believe that if you just are persistent enough in your prayers that God may grant your request. And if God hasn’t granted your request, well maybe you didn’t pray hard enough or frequently enough. Which I don’t think is the teaching.
The comparison of this judge with God, is rather that if this judge -- who is at the other end of the spectrum of what we know God’s character to be — if this judge who had “no fear of God and no respect for anyone” — if this judge provides justice, then how much more can we trust our God to make justice? How much more can we trust this God to be true to God’s word?
Jesus depicts this judge finally doing what he ought because the widow woman, had worn him out. In the English translation we lose the humor of this passage, it is literally, “So that she doesn’t give me a black eye”.
We pray because we are told to pray. When justice seems far off, we pray. When rejection is near at hand, we pray. We persist in praying for what is right. We keep our hearts focused on the coming kingdom and its characteristics, even in the midst of wondering why, even in the midst of wondering where is justice? We do the right thing and pray for God to show himself as the just judge who makes peace and punishment as it should be, even when the whole world seems to be going mad.
When we practice the characteristics of the Kingdom of God on earth, when we forgive, advocate for others, or rejoice in God’s goodness, we become part of the stories Jesus tells about what the kingdom of God is like. We embody the slow, steady work of the love of God—a tradition that is not the flashiest in any generation but one that is always needed. And one that we embodied as a community yesterday.
It is through prayer and hope and living justly we build faith. Will, Jesus asks, “Will he find faith when he comes?”
Yesterday I think for those of you who were looking, we saw a bit of the Kingdom of God on our lawn. There were people from all walks of life, all ages, coming together, families, friends, community — each doing their part to hold an event that was welcoming to the community to raise a little money, to spread and share God’s love with others. It was beautiful to see. It may not have been like other years. And it wasn’t supposed to be. It was this year. It was 2022. Next year it will look different.
Will Jesus find faith when he comes? I don’t know. But if he was at St. James yesterday he would have seen his children, working together, living out their faith — not like yesteryear, but building on the past and moving forward. And I think he would have been well pleased.
Amen.
There was a little sadness — some who were with us last year were not here this year. George and Libby were on many of our minds; and Howard and others. It is hard to believe that it was just a year ago and they were here with us, walking around, selling baked goods, discussing parking. The Fall Festival has changed a bit with each year, and that is to be expected, life changes — but it can be hard to process sometimes and we grieve the loss of what was, but it doesn’t diminish what is happening now.
Interesting fact - In North America, the railroad gauge — the distance between rails — is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. A strange number. Why was that gauge used? Because that’s how railroads were built in England, and English expatriates designed the American railroads.
But why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and they were using the tools and jigs that had been used to build carts and covered wagons.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, that was the space between the ruts in the English roads, ingrained through centuries of use.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match to avoid destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for imperial Rome, their wheel spacing was standardized.
So, the standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an imperial Roman war chariot, and they were made just wide enough to accommodate the backsides of two war horses.
Progress is made through building on the accomplishments and insights of others. When NASA wheels its latest rocket boosters onto the launch pad rails, who knew that they are the width of two horses backsides?
We cannot do anything without reference to what has gone before. You don’t get where you are without something having gone before.
Sir Isaac Newton, father of modern physics, once said, “If I have seen further, it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants”
Today’s gospel reading, the story of the persistent widow and the pestered judge, is, at first sight, confusing.
Jesus begins by telling his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
Why were they in danger of losing heart? Just before this (Luke 17) they had been discussing the Kingdom of God. The disciples were somewhat discouraged because they were ready for the Kingdom of God to be established — and now! They were still grappling with all that Jesus was teaching and what it meant.
At first glance many have interpreted this parable about a parable of prayer and how we are to be persistent in prayer. Which may be a part of it, but I think the teaching here is about not losing faith by PRAYING, not just about being persistent in prayer. Not losing faith that the Kingdom of God had not arrived, not losing faith that God was not going to keep His Word, NOT LOSING FAITH, even when things don’t seem to be going as quickly as you had hoped or life doesn’t turn out as you had planned.
Just because it hasn’t happened yet, just because you don’t see it now — don’t lose faith. And how can you not lose faith or heart, when it seems that things are delayed? Or not happening. How do you not lose heart when justice is delayed, (like it was being done for the widow), when things happen in our world that seem nothing like the Kingdom of God that Jesus has described?
Many over the past few years have lost some heart. They are discouraged. Things are different.
When people lose heart they tend to isolate and they can stop attending to spiritual practices. Jesus told us one spiritual practice to attend to always-prayer.
What is prayer exactly? Prayer in its simplest sense is communion with God. Prayer in its simplest sense is communion with God. It is your spirit crying out to God, sometimes with words, sometimes not. We have been given prayers and examples of prayers like the Lord’s Prayer where we were taught how to pray. We can pray this prayer when we don’t know how to pray - I tend to think of it as a roadmap to prayer — it outlines for us how to pray and what things to pray for. The beginning of the Lord’s prayer encourages us to pray, “Thy kingdom come," which is exactly what the disciples and Jesus had been discussing. In Luke 17, Jesus had been asked by the religious leaders when the kingdom of God was to come. They were tired and discouraged and looking forward to the Kingdom. (And they were the Pharisees-they were somewhat skeptical anyway.)
Understanding prayer in this context, (as communion with God), prayer is seen as a way to draw nearer to God’s omnipresence and nature; understanding that God is with them (and us). The Kingdom of God is something that is to come, and it is something that is here now. Prayer is a way of drawing closer to it.
Christian mysticism looks at prayer in this way -- as a way of finding union or communion with God . Prayer does not lead necessarily “to a new vision of God but a different relationship to the world-one that perhaps has borrowed the eyes of God” says theologian Dorothee Soelle. Borrowing the eyes of God allows us to pray with our eyes wide open as opposed to closed, seeing things around us we may not normally see.
Prayer changes us. When I pray, I am aware of my humanity. I am aware that I am not God and it grounds me in this time and place.
This passage is difficult because it seems to suggest that this widow, wore the judge out and he granted her request because he was tired of listening to her. Which could lead some to teach and/or believe that if you just are persistent enough in your prayers that God may grant your request. And if God hasn’t granted your request, well maybe you didn’t pray hard enough or frequently enough. Which I don’t think is the teaching.
The comparison of this judge with God, is rather that if this judge -- who is at the other end of the spectrum of what we know God’s character to be — if this judge who had “no fear of God and no respect for anyone” — if this judge provides justice, then how much more can we trust our God to make justice? How much more can we trust this God to be true to God’s word?
Jesus depicts this judge finally doing what he ought because the widow woman, had worn him out. In the English translation we lose the humor of this passage, it is literally, “So that she doesn’t give me a black eye”.
We pray because we are told to pray. When justice seems far off, we pray. When rejection is near at hand, we pray. We persist in praying for what is right. We keep our hearts focused on the coming kingdom and its characteristics, even in the midst of wondering why, even in the midst of wondering where is justice? We do the right thing and pray for God to show himself as the just judge who makes peace and punishment as it should be, even when the whole world seems to be going mad.
When we practice the characteristics of the Kingdom of God on earth, when we forgive, advocate for others, or rejoice in God’s goodness, we become part of the stories Jesus tells about what the kingdom of God is like. We embody the slow, steady work of the love of God—a tradition that is not the flashiest in any generation but one that is always needed. And one that we embodied as a community yesterday.
It is through prayer and hope and living justly we build faith. Will, Jesus asks, “Will he find faith when he comes?”
Yesterday I think for those of you who were looking, we saw a bit of the Kingdom of God on our lawn. There were people from all walks of life, all ages, coming together, families, friends, community — each doing their part to hold an event that was welcoming to the community to raise a little money, to spread and share God’s love with others. It was beautiful to see. It may not have been like other years. And it wasn’t supposed to be. It was this year. It was 2022. Next year it will look different.
Will Jesus find faith when he comes? I don’t know. But if he was at St. James yesterday he would have seen his children, working together, living out their faith — not like yesteryear, but building on the past and moving forward. And I think he would have been well pleased.
Amen.