Life, Death and Prayer

This will not become my habit for a number of reasons - chief among them, that I reserve the right to change my mind and contradict my sermon the very next day, but I don't want others to be able to prove my lack of consistency.  HOWEVER, there were a lot of requests for this sermon - some to argue points, others to ponder, perhaps...
What follows is pretty close to what I preached - not exactly - but darn close.
The texts referred to are: 1 Kings 17:8-24; Luke 7:11-17 and, albeit briefly, Galations 1:11-24  (for those following along at home.

Two stories about bringing people back to life…

Elijah is sent by God to be fed and sheltered by a widow… judging from the story, it doesn’t seem like God told her about the assignment… but maybe.  Regardless, she’s not too happy about having to feed this prophet… a prophet from another country, of another God… she gets him water in  a time of drought and then he asks her to make him a biscuit… she replies “I don’t have any more than this little bit of flour… I was going to get a couple of sticks to make fire, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die”

Now, that’s passive aggressive!!

But she relents and Elijah promises her that her supplies will not run out… meager, but free groceries  (!) are guaranteed.  Then her son gets sick… to the point of death.  So sick that he’s not breathing… which is pretty sick.  Elijah seems stunned by this- but prays to God and the boy is restored to life…. And the woman now knows that Elijah is a man of God.

Luke, wanting to remind us of Elijah… no, trust me… when Justin Beiber moon walks and buys a monkey, he wants you to think that he’s the next Michael Jackson…    Jesus encounters a widow with a son who has died, and although he doesn’t pray out loud, he touches the bier and tells the young man to rise… and the boy is restored is restored to life.

So… Jesus is as cool as Elijah. 

Even more, because he kinda did it himself. 

Powerful message for those raised as Jews:  It’s okay to believe in Jesus, because he’s just like the great prophet… this isn't a new religion, this is more of the same faith. 

That’s what this story gets us… that and a lot of very uncomfortable questions about why some children are restored to life and others aren't;  questions about the power of prayer… questions that are asked deep in the hearts of those who fear for their children, those who grieve…  and those that we just don’t really want to be around.  

Because we don’t want to engage in those questions.

Do you remember last week?

Last week when I suggested to you that the Word of God isn't found in the text of the Bible as much as it is revealed when we engage in the stories… that the importance is not blindly following an example or edict, but engaging in the question with faith… experience… and imagination??

Well… preacher… heal thyself!

Allow me to engage the story… and our collective imagination a bit.

(and maybe avoid the tough questions)

Picture it:  Jesus and his followers are on the road.  They’re singing songs and being holy… Peter likes the old ones while Simon the Zealot only wants to sing the new songs and thinks that Peter sings too loud… but they sing.  They laugh… they listen to Jesus… and his words make them wonder and hope…  Judas is doing card tricks and James and John are planning a great fundraiser for the group…  Every now and then people come and ask to join, and as long as they can keep up, they are welcome to become members of the God Squad… singing happy songs, sharing smiles and stories and basically being holy.

As they are approaching a new town...excitement mounts as they start thinking about getting off the road for a day: Sleep inside some city walls… maybe grab a double/double at a walk through, or a sandwich at a YahWay…  As the anticipation is building, they see a crowd coming toward them… walking away from the town gates.  The only reason such a crowd walks out of the town is to remove the dead… so they pretty much know before they meet this group that it’s a funeral procession.  The jokers in the group stop telling jokes… the singers stop singing songs… everybody puts on a serious face, looks down to the ground… avoids eye contact and looks forward to getting past these folks and into town.

Come on… you  know that it’s true.

Because we’ve all done it.

Maybe not all the time; maybe no often... but at least once or twice... it's the reason that Caller ID was invented!

Someone we know… someone we love, even… has a tragedy… loss of a job, accident, someone gets convicted of a crime, bankruptcy, a death in the family, perhaps… and we don’t know what to say.  We don’t want to make it worse – somehow believing that our poorly chosen words would actually make the worse thing that’s ever happened to these people worse - so, we say nothing.  We avoid them when we can… and when we can’t avoid them… we do our best to avoid talking about whoever they are mourning, or whatever it is that has happened to them.

So we don’t engage. 

We have nothing to offer… we’re not doctors or experts… we don’t know why or how… we don’t know… 

So, you understand Jesus’ group of followers avoiding the funeral and especially the widow who is burying her son.

But… Jesus!

I mean… Jesus.

He has to talk to her.

He has to engage.

He has to look her in the eyes…. Have compassion for her and say to her “Do Not Weep”

Never mind what happens next… I think the real message has already been shared.

Jesus, by his example, is showing his followers…

Luke, by his telling of the story is telling us…  It’s not enough for us to laugh and smile together, to sing songs and plan fundraisers… it’s not enough for us to be a community for ourselves and others who can keep up… when we see pain in the world… when we see hurt…  we are called to have compassion and engage.

Even when we aren't experts.

Even when we don’t know what to do.

Even when don’t know the person…

Elijah engaged and prayed for a woman who was a foreigner to him… didn't even share his faith! 

And please note that both of these women are widows.

In a time and place where a woman had her identity, security and value bestowed upon her by a husband.  The women in these stories are people out in the margins… they have no security… no identity in the community, no voice…. And with the death of their sons, no real hope for any kind of change in the future.  Things are very bleak for these women indeed.

And those of us who have grieved… deeply grieved the death of a child or partner… know how isolated and alone you can feel.

Surely, this story… if nothing else…is an example… an invitation for us happy followers of Jesus to engage with those who are feeling left out… those who are in need… those who look around themselves and see no hope… only death.  Death of promise… death of hope… death of dreams…  So, engage!

Yeah… but what about prayer?

What’s going on there?

Can we pray for healing?

Can we pray for miracles?

Is there any point?

Are we supposed to believe in some kind of God that reaches down and saves some kids and not others… your loved ones but not mine?

I don’t know.

I really don’t.

But I also realize that this is the question that many people carry with them as the walk away from the town gates, hearts heavy and hurting…   And if I’m going to take this engagement thing seriously, I can’t avoid the question.

If I’m going to take Jesus seriously, I need to at least try…

Prayer means something.

Prayer makes a difference.

I know this….  Many of us do.

But it seems to be one of the many mysteries of our faith.

Why doesn't God save the person that I’m praying for? Is it because my prayers aren't good enough… I’m not doing them right…  we need more prayers…  I started too late…  or, God has answered my prayers, but the answer is “No”?

The God that I have come to know… the God that holds this whole universe and all realities together… is the God that Jesus has revealed to me.  When I want to know something about God, I look to Jesus… if I want to know God’s agenda, I listen to Jesus… if I want to know about the nature of God, I consider the nature of Jesus:   Jesus loves the world… he reveals that love by pouring out his life for us…  whatever your understanding of the cross and/or the resurrection, Jesus nature is to love and give his life for us. So, with some confidence, I say that God loves me… and you… all of us.  God’s life is poured out to us in creation – a creation that continues through all time… it ain't done yet. 

God loves me, presently... creatively... actively...
But love is not controlling…

You don’t love somebody by controlling them.

Contrary to what you may have heard, my wife does not control me…  her love is revealed in so many ways, but control is not one of them.

I love my kids… and as tempting as it is to make them do the right thing (because I always know what is right… it’s kind of my gift)… As tempting as it might be to control their lives… my love for them is revealed in a myriad of other ways.

God’s love for us… for all humanity and creation… will not be revealed in control.  Even when we wish that it would… It doesn't make sense to me or to Jesus… that God would control our lives by saving one person here… and another one there… but not this one over here.

So, why pray, then?
Why pray if God isn't going to do what you ask?

I pray,

Because it connects me God…that compassionate matrix that holds the universe together.

Because it brings me into the lap of the one who can hold me and assure me that there is more… and that grief will not be forever.

Because it connects me to thousands of years of tradition… of a relationship with God that began with Abraham, carries though Moses and Jesus and continues in my kitchen… a relationship of struggle and sharing…

It opens my mind, sparks my imagination and invites me to be at one with the Divine.

It makes me feel better…

And yet, I’m going tell you that I believe that it’s also more.

I think that the world is affect by prayer… even if I can’t tell you how.

But somehow prayer matters…  It makes a difference.

For me, sometimes it is all that I have… a little bit of prayer…. I’m not a doctor, I’m not a miracle worker… sometimes, I’m not even a good friend… and all that I have is this tiny morsel, this little prayer… and I know that it can’t be enough… it just can’t be... It doesn't make sense… it can't make sense in this modern world.

But just as Elijah assured the widow that her morsel was enough… for her, for her family, for the stranger even..… I find that prayer is, too.

For me… for family… friends… strangers even.

And so, I have prayed with parents… with loved ones… I've prayed with my friends and my family…  I have prayed through tears…  and very often, it did not precede a miraculous turn of events.

But it was nearly always a way to healing.

To connection.

To an awareness of something more… something holy… something that I recognize as God… the same God that Jesus reveals.   The same experience that Paul had - a Gospel that can't describe logically, it isn't an ethical deduction - it's a revelation... he can't explain it, he just trusts it.

And so I pray...  because sometimes it is not the only the best that I can do, it is the only thing that I can do as I am traveling along on a mission and run into someone with a need.

How’s that for engagement??

I don't know if it's enough... I hope that it is... because it's all that I've got. 

Thanks be to God.