Sunday, July 28, 2019
Hosea 1:2-10; Psalm 85; Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19); Luke 11:1-13
Mitford Series of Books by Jan Karon: http://www.mitfordbooks.com/?page_id=61
The
Mitford Series and the Father Tim series of books by Jan Karon are some of my
most favorite books. Nearly every time a
new one comes out, I will start the series over, so that I can be immersed in
the characters and reminded of the stories they lived.
Father
Tim is an Episcopal priest. He is one of
those priests who stayed in a community for a very long time and became
embedded with people all over town, whether they worshiped at the church he
served, Lord’s Chapel, or not. Over
time, his boundaries may have become blurred with some of his favorite
parishioners, and he became a true friend to many of the people in town. He really is At Home in Mitford.
Loved
by some, tolerated by others, Tim is a fixture in Mitford. People come to him with their “stuff” and Tim
tries to help, using scripture, the Book of Common Prayer and a wealth of other
sources he has compiled over the course of his ministry.
They
are novels, and they depict a man of faith who has a very exciting, late in
life, journey. The series starts when he
is in his sixties and nearing retirement, and his comfortable, stable life, is
upended when he is adopted by a very large dog, then adopts a young boy and
then marries the gal next door. Filled
with glimpses of the lives of many of the people in Mitford and beyond, the
books take you on many life-journeys, all impacted by Father Tim.
And,
even more important, how their journeys impact Father Tim.
Their
lives are intricately woven over the course of decades, and when one hurts,
others hurt, when one finds joy, others find joy.
I have
loved this series of books, and because I have read them multiple times, I came
to learn a little bit about Tim’s prayer life, and what he believes about
prayer.
This
morning we heard the disciples ask Jesus how to pray and Jesus began by teaching
some of the words as Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a shorter version than the one found in
Matthew, which is the foundation of what we pray now.
This
story of teaching how to pray is, perhaps, less about what the words of the
prayer are and more about the relationship each one has with God.
It
begins with creating a pattern of how to ask:
‘Father, help us to honor your name.’ We ask God’s guidance to live in ways that
reflect our faith and trust in God.
‘Come and set up your kingdom.’
We invite God to dwell with and within us.
‘Give us each day the food we need.’ We request that we have what we need to
survive. No more, no less.
‘Forgive our sins, as we forgive everyone who has done wrong to
us.’ We recognize that we, and others,
are not God—we are not perfect, we will always fail God or others or others
will fall short of our expectations, and we need to go to God, daily, to
reconcile our longing for God with our inability to remain focused on God.
‘And keep us from being tempted.’” We need God to protect us from
temptation, because we know, every day, that there will be things that keep us
separated from God.
Prayer is a way to ask God to provide all that is needed to live
into a healthy relationship with God.
Father Tim’s prayer life
may not be a focus in the books, but it is certainly a part of them. The author, Jan Karon, weaves the rhythm of
his prayer throughout the story lines.
As a couple, Father Tim and his wife, Cynthia, pray Compline together
each night before they go to bed. And
throughout the stories, we hear the Lord’s Prayer, are reminded of Morning
Prayer, Eucharist, Noontime Prayer, Evening Prayer, as well as the prayers
found in weddings and funerals. Readers
even learn the prayer to accept Jesus as their Savior
But the most repeated comment about prayer is mentioned this way:
“Let’s pray the prayer that never fails.”
It took me a while to figure out what that prayer was. And while
it isn’t explicitly mentioned in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, it is
neatly described in the odd verses that followed in today’s Gospel.
What is the prayer that never fails? “Thy will be done.” Not my will, not any of our will, but God’s
will be done. That, of course, is the
prayer that never fails.
It plays out in the illustrations that follow.
The host goes to his friend to get bread for an unexpected guest,
but the friend is already in bed for the night.
The host is persistent and continues to pound on the door and beg for
abundance and the friend tries to put him off, or maybe is trying to figure out
what is the best way to handle the circumstance, and ultimately provides at
least a portion of what is requested.
How many times have any of us gone to God asking for what we want,
only to receive exactly what we need?
God’s will be done.
Then, we are reminded that all we need to do is ask, seek and
knock and we will be heard by God.
And God will respond accordingly.
God won’t give a snake when a fish is requested or a scorpion when one
of the beloved children asks for an egg.
While that seems like a very strange way to express it, Jesus is telling
us that God will not give us anything that will cause us harm. God cares too much for us to do that, just
like we would not intentionally give anything that would cause harm to someone
we love.
Again, God’s will be done.
Prayer is an intimate way of communicating to God, of building our
relationship with God and of learning to trust God.
They asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, and we received a
lesson in God’s faithfulness to us, that God will provide in ways that we might
not always understand, but that will fulfill our needs. When we put our trust in God, when we, like
Father Tim and Cynthia, pray the prayer that never fails, and we trust that
it won’t, then we have prayerfully placed our lives in God’s hands
Prayer is where we can acknowledge our shortcomings and not only
ask for forgiveness, but to repent, to change our ways because we desire to be
in right relationship with God. We can
promise that we will do our best to be like God and offer forgiveness to
others, hoping that we can be in right relationship with other beloved children
of God.
Praying to God also gives us the opportunity to recognize that we
will be tempted by the world, so we need God to keep us mindful and attentive
so that we can live in ways that express our understanding that it is God’s
will that will be done.
One of the things that Jesus did not include in this teaching, and
that I believe is so important when it comes to prayer, is to say thank you to
God, acknowledging that all that we are and all that we have and all that we
will become are gifts from God.
With such appreciation, let us pray.
Holy God, help us to honor your name with thanksgiving. Come and
set up your kingdom in our lives. Give us each day the food and necessities we
need to survive and help us recognize when we have more than we truly need.
Forgive our sins, our mistakes, our missteps and our foibles, as we forgive
everyone who has done these things to us. And keep us from being tempted in
ways that prevent us from trusting your will in our lives. We pray that your
will be done, that we know when it is your will and we find ways to be forever thankful. Amen.