Sunday, November 17, 2024
The Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Persistent Prayer
The Rev. Mark D. Wilkinson, Rector
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Katy, TX 77450
This week I found my thoughts turning to our passage about Hannah and the Canticle that is the Song of Hannah. This is a critical moment in the history of the Jewish people. The time of the Judges has ended and this is the point where the monarchy begins. It is a moment of transition and we too are facing a time of transition in many respects.
Samuel will play the important role of anointing both Saul as the first king of Israel and David the second and more important king. Israel is not yet a nation but a loose confederation of 12 tribes. Unification only comes when David takes the throne and unites the people through several battles and ultimately establishes Jerusalem as the new capital..
Hannah as was the norm in those days and for much of the bible, was the one of two (or more) wives. The problem was that she was barren. The other wife has numerous children and this is a source of great distress for her since it is obvious that the fault is hers. Being childless was considered a disgrace at the time and meant the woman had somehow sinned or was not favored by God. She was considered less than whole in that world.
Our passage finds her deeply in prayer and offering sacrifices hoping that God will open her womb. The important point is that she is persistent in her prayer. She does bargain with God, which is certainly not unusual since many of us do this, but she keeps at it year after year until Eli notices and according to the story so does God
As we approach Advent this should bring to mind two other miraculous births. Elizabeth in her old age will bear John the Baptist and Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. We also will hear of Zachariah who has been waiting and praying for the birth of the Messiah and others. This is a pattern that has occurred several times in the Hebrew Scriptures
One thing that is common in all of these is that they all stayed in relationship with God. They were all persistent in prayer. They also listened and responded in the affirmative when God spoke or acted. In short they cultivated an active and ongoing relationship with God through prayer.
Now there are two parts to that sentence of equal importance. We stay in relationship by being persistent in prayer. There are a lot of people today who are carrying heavy burdens and the one thing I suggest is to talk to God about the burden. I have found that at challenging times like this some will give up on God or think that God doesn’t seem to care. However I suggest that you tell God all those fears or concerns, especially the ones that keep you up at night. Give God those concerns, let God help carry the load. Even if you haven’t been in the habit of praying, now would be a very good time to start. One way to give a problem to God is to use our Labyrinth. I have found it very effective to take the care into the labyrinth in prayer and then when you reach the center give it to God. You might even carry something, some symbol into the labyrinth and lay it down in the center. Then pray your way back out saying thank you to God for hearing your prayer and taking your burden.
The issue is probably found in the word relationship. Really that relationship is what Hannah shows us this morning. That relationship with God is what Samuel will learn and understand and will undergird his entire life and ministry. A relationship with God and Christ is why we are here. If you are not interested in that, then folks we are in a lot of trouble because we have no real reason to be here. For the people who walk through our doors, the people who will be our future are looking for God whether they know it or not. They know that this world is not enough, that there is more to our existence than just breathing in oxygen. God put us on this earth to make his kingdom a reality for all God’s children regardless of who they are. And our world needs the kingdom now more than ever.
Wendy was at Camp Allen this week filling in as chaplain for another priest that could not make it. I went out Friday night and Saturday. There was a huge AA conference there and I had breakfast with one of the speakers. He said that one of the expectations is that each speaker would talk about how they came to their relationship with a higher power. That this is the only way to conquer an addiction. Yet people new to the program often hesitate because they have given up on God or think that God has given up on them.
Fr. James Martin a book entitled “Jesus a Pilgrimage,” In that book[1] he gave four reasons why he believes we are hesitant, and I have found these to be very true.
Reason 1. Unworthiness. So many people feel unworthy, in part because of the bashing into our heads that we are all sinners. Ok, so we are sinners, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us. What I realized one year on a retreat was that many people confuse being unworthy in the religious sense with being worthless. They are not the same. None of us is worthy when compared to God, but through grace God does make us worthy. Nobody is worthless in God’s eyes. So please start with that understanding.
Reason 2: Fear of God: By this I’m not talking about awe and reverence but real fear as in afraid on God. So many people worry about God sitting up there with his finger on the smite button. We hear that a lot in today’s world. This fear is based on the belief that God is a God first of punishment and retribution rather than God of love.
Reason 3. Fear of change; This is the fear of what happens if you say yes to where God seems to be leading. I had a friend that I worked with for 16 years who when learning that I was going to seminary said, “I’m not sure I want to know God like you do. I’m honestly afraid of what he would ask me to do.” I wise counselor once told me “Change is the exchange of the known no matter how painful for the unknown.” Many of us would rather stay in the pain we know than let God lead us into something life-giving.
Reason 4: Fear of intimacy: Many fear what an intimate relationship with God would look like if we really believed what the Collect for Purity I say at the beginning of the service implies. Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid:” This simply means that God knows everything anyway so as one spiritual director told me, “Get over yourself.”
You see God already is in relationship with us whether we acknowledge it or not. The invitation is to respond to that relationship and of course to remember sin is the breaking of that relationship.
This seeking of relationship has been a theme in the Bible from the very beginning, starting with Adam and Eve and continuing with Abraham and Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary; all of those people who responded to God’s invitation.
God is seeking to deepen his relationship with each of us and with St. Paul’s as a community in this time of trial. Now is the time to be even more intentional about listening for God. Advent is time when we are told to stay awake God is speaking and acting.
I hope you pray about this as we move into Advent. Watch for God, for Christ at work in the world and in your life. Get curious. Ask God to show you what he is inviting you to consider as we move into Advent. What does God want from you during these turbulent times. What support help and comfort does God offer. Most important keep up the conversation, both the praying and most importantly the listening.
[1] Martin, James, Jesus a Pilgrimage (Harper Collins, New York NY. 2014) pgs. 159-162