Loading...If there’s anyone who prays harder than a mother prays for her children, it’s Jesus.
There’s power in prayer. Even if the answers to prayer are not always what we want, they seem to be covered in something that is more important. They are covered in love, peppered with protection, and said with sincerity filled with hope and confidence that “Your will, oh God, be done.”
But one of the things about prayer outside of the corporate prayer in church, is that we often do it alone, silently, or aloud, petitioning God, or Jesus, or maybe the Holy Spirit or even Mary the mother of Jesus, to hear our prayer. The people for whom we pray, who may or may not have directly asked us to pray for them, do not hear the words or the silent petitions to God.
The followers of Jesus, who are in this upper room with him, having just had their feet lovingly washed by their teacher, having just been taught the future relevance of sharing the bread and the cup, and who have just heard Jesus call them “friends,” now hear Jesus pray to his Father specifically for them.
Specifically, for them.
They hear him tell God about what they have learned, how they have grown, how he can trust them to continue sharing the love and compassion of God to a hurting and fearful world. They hear him tell God that they need to be protected, for their journeys will be complicated and sometimes dangerous, and that they will find themselves vulnerable without Jesus’ presence with them. He tells God how he trusts them to be the people they were chosen to be.
Jesus uses words like “they are mine,” “protect them,” “joy,” “sanctify them.”
What I find so compelling in this section of the Final Discourse is that the people in the room hear Jesus. We did not read the first couple of lines of this section, which say that right after last week’s Gospel, where Jesus calls them his friends, Jesus looks up to heaven and says these words. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus prayed for these people in their hearing.
What an amazing gift they received.
As I said just a few minutes ago, we rarely pray in the hearing of the ones we are praying for. Often that is simply because we pray alone, with a list on paper, from the leaflet, or from memory. The people on the list may be strangers to us, but we’ve been asked to pray, nonetheless.
For the next four or five minutes, I want to try something with you. I’d like you to pair up. If you know the person well, that’s a plus, but if you don’t, that’s okay too. So, take a minute and get together with someone. It’s okay for you to come up here and choose any of us. Once you are paired up, you can move to a different pew if that gives you more room. +++++++++++
Now that you are together, face one another. If you feel comfortable, take each other’s hands. One of you will go first. Here’s what I want you to do. Pray out loud for the person in front of you. In a couple minutes, I’ll ask you to switch.
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Don’t go back to your seats quite yet. Let me finish my sermon first.
Would any of you be willing to tell us all what it felt to pray for the person in front of you?
How about what it felt like to hear someone praying specifically for you?
Now, imagine what it may have felt like to have Jesus pray the prayer we heard in today’s sermon. [silence]
The power of prayer is a mystery. At least I think so. We often do not know how the prayer may have been answered. Sometimes, there isn’t a need for an answer because we are simply saying thank you.
Earlier this week, a number of you were praying for me. I had been told by one doctor that I had a detached retina. I was afraid. I was frustrated, and the staff and I started making arrangements for the possibility of me being out for weeks to recover after surgery.
And the prayers were going up.
When I was finally able to see the second doctor, we learned that I do not have a detached retina, though I do have other issues with my eyes, and that I do not need to have surgery. I can fly tomorrow to see Ray and Alanna, my parents, some siblings, and some of those friends I told you about last week.
I don’t know if the retina changed in those hours of prayer or if the first diagnosis was inconclusive, but I know you were praying for me. I find so much comfort in that!
I guess what I want you to know is that prayer, no matter if anyone else ever hears your prayers or not, matters. But when you can sit with someone and pray for them, sharing your understanding of their concerns, or your thankfulness for the gifts you have seen in them, or you want to recognize the importance of their presence in your life, the experience changes, and maybe, just maybe, when the two are gathered, praying for one another, you can also feel the presence of the Holy Triune God praying with you.
Let us pray. God of all, I want to thank you for bringing me here to St. James’, to minister with these people. They are people who have found myriad ways to live into their chosen mission of Loving people and serving people, bringing peace, justice, hope, joy, and love all in your Name.
The varied ministries here have led to deep friendships. They see ways to serve the community, whether as a part of this faith community, or on their own. And they serve.
I know that everyone in this worshiping community sometimes has situations in their lives that challenge them or challenge people they love. They count on each other to pray and support them in those times. And they pray.
The people here care about those who are no longer attending or able to attend, making efforts to visit, send cards, or check in. They ensure that no one is lonely or left behind. And they act in your name.
Their hearts are big; sometimes their needs are big, and they know that this is a place where they can share both their hearts and their needs without fear. So they share.
They love St. James’ and desire to be here to worship. And they do.
They love you: Hear their prayers. Protect them. Teach them. Forgive them. Guide them. Love them. For they are yours. Amen.
