July 9, 2023 St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
First Lesson: Psalm 105:1-6
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. 5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered, 6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
Second Lesson: Romans 8:26-39
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Have you ever had a bad connection on your cell phone? You can hear the other person talking, but they cannot hear you. At first you speak up; then you realize that won’t work. Maybe you call again, and you get a better line. One time I discovered that my hands-free device had my volume turned down, but it took time and patience to figure that out. This week while talking to friends one side of the conversation was lost- one time I was talking but could not be heard and another time it was the other way around. Either way it is frustrating when we want to communicate with someone, but our efforts are one-sided or interrupted. Conversations are so much more engaging when it is an exchange rather than a monologue. Prayer is much the same. But let’s be honest how many of us spend a lot of time listening to God? Or does our prayer time feel more like a one-sided conversation, with God doing most of the listening. Prayer as communication between us and God; is a way of sharing, requesting, honoring, and communing with God. Some have said prayer at its best is like talking with your best friend, sharing your thoughts, dreams, and life with God. Our prayers represent the fullness of life, the times we come before our Creator with praise, petitions, and silence. But so often our prayers are stifled, edited, or just forgotten. But don’t think you are the only one missing the mark on prayer. Paul declares our weakness is that we do not know how to pray as we ought.
Much has been written about prayer, how to pray, types of prayer, wisdom from the centuries of people longing to commune with God. But prayer is really a love poem; a way for us to get closer to our God who loves us more than we can ever imagine. Sometimes when we truly love someone, we do not even need words, only to be in their presence, only to share time with the one we love. But often prayer is completely focused on the words, coming from the mind and not as much from the heart.
So maybe our weakness in prayer is that we are not listening to God. But scripture tells us God has created a solution. The Spirit intercedes on our behalf. The Spirit can quiet the dialogue in our minds; the Spirit stands between us and our distractions. Not only the Spirit but also Christ enters into our moment of need; for to intercede is to place oneself between two persons or things. When God intercedes, it means God is not up in heaven, or beside you, but rather between you and whatever life throws at you. God is closer to you than any struggle you face. In those moments when we feel most vulnerable, God intercedes. When we are in those situations that are hurtful, God steps in, between us and the problem to take us back to our loving home with God. God stands not only with us, but between us and our overwhelming problems.
Paul understands the way life can try to separate us from God- Hardships, distress, persecution, governments, grief, or worry can all wedge their way in between us and God, dividing us from our spiritual source, isolating us from God. But nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing. The question is can we trust that God will work through this hardship? Do we believe that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord?
If we step back from this passage, it is like two gigantic parentheses struggling to hold what is inside. On the one side we have the Spirit interceding on our behalf. The Spirit is helping us with our weakness, bringing us to God and truly being the divine in us praying to the divine above us. For God knows we need help to approach God and be silent with God. I love the line from the Psalm “seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.” When we seek the Lord continually, our weakness is overcome through God’s strength. We are given a means to enter into God’s presence, to experience the Silence of Sabbath. The other parenthesis is the fact that nothing can separate us from God. No matter what life throws at us, God will always be with us. Many things: life, death, angels, rulers, current struggles, or worries might try to pull us away, but we are conquerors through him who loves us.
Yet what is inside the parentheses is the magnificent love of God. Make no mistake this passage has much to say about prayer, about God working for our good, and the reality of difficult circumstances. But what it is truly about is love, God’s abundant, rich and life changing love. A love God wishes to share with us each and every day and one we might have to stop long enough to seek in order to find. In the book, Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert tells of her pilgrimage to India to visit an Ashram, a kind of monastery, to better connect to God. After struggling with an internal dialogue between her mind and her mediative soul, not being able to quiet herself to pray- an issue many can relate to- she has a breakthrough moment. She wrote, “Suddenly it was like a lion roaring from within my chest … A voice bellowing in me like nothing I had ever heard before. (The lion roared)
YOU HA VE NO IDEA HOW STRONG MY LOVE IS!!!!
The chattering, negative thoughts in my mind scattered in the wind of this statement like birds and jackrabbits and antelopes. Silence followed. An intense, vibrating, awed silence. Finally in that regal silence I began to meditate on God” (p. 166). Listening to God means we can truly discover how much God loves us. Being silent in God’s presence means words fall away and the most palpable reality is being present to the lover of our souls.
Let us make a space for God. Let us journey into the silence of the savannah. Let us listen to the one we love. To help us do that we will have a short, guided mediation, followed by a time of silence. If ever on this journey you get lost in your thoughts, or you struggle imagining, look at the meditative verses in the bulletin to help re-center you on God and God’s love.
Find a posture that allows you to be relaxed and alert. It helps to have your neck and spine aligned. This can often be done by sitting up straight with both feet touching the floor. Lay your hands on your lap with your palms open and facing up. Consciously release any muscle tension you become aware of. Close your eyes and breathe deeply several times. Breathe slowly; exhale. As you breathe in again, breathe in peace, then breathe out tension. Breathe in peace, breathe out tension.
Continue your deep breathing, as you visualize a ball of energy about the size of a quarter. The ball is floating in your body, and right now it is in your toes. The ball rises and falls with your breath. The ball draws your tension down and out of your body.
As you breathe in, the ball rises slowly through your body- up to your knees. Then it glides back down as you exhale. With this breath, the ball moves up to your hips, then back down. Each time the ball descends it takes the tension out of your body. Your breath brings the ball up to your chest, your exhale draws the ball with all your tension down and out the floor. Slowly the ball reaches your shoulders- collecting tension and absorbing it, your body is feeling lighter and refreshed. When the.ball gets to your head it draws all the swirling thoughts into it. You can have them back later, but for right now the ball just empties your mind so there is only space for God.
Tum your attention to God’s presence. Let yourself be fully aware of the mystery of divine love that continually surrounds and upholds us. God is breathing life into you at each moment; welcome this gift. “Let God’s presence fill your consciousness, and simply rest in God’s presence- just as you might with someone you love dearly and feel no need to speak, just be with. Let yourself be like a child cradled in the lap of a wonderful parent or grandparent: or perhaps gently supported in an ocean of light. Let yourself be held in God’s tender embrace; rest and soak up the love that holds you” (Soul Feast, M. Thompson, pg 49). Listen and Love in the Silence of God. Gaze toward the One who loves you unshakably-. Be absorbed in loving God with your whole being- as a spontaneous response of the heart. With your thoughts stilled, rest in God, in the Sabbath silence, allowing the Spirit to fill and move you as God wills (Soul Feast M. Thompson pg. 47).
Silent reflection. Close your prayer by thanking God for any gifts received in this time. Knowing you can return to God’s presence whenever you wish. Amen.
