10/15/2023 ~ Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost Twenty-eight Sunday in Ordinary Time~ Proper 23 ~ Exodus 32:1-14; Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23; Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14; NOTE: ADDED PSALM 19.

VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE; NOTE: THERE WERE ISSUES WITH THE SOUND FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MINUTES OF THE VIDEO SO MUSIC HAS BEEN INSERTED OVER THE ACTION INSTEAD OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT PORTION OF THE SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/876014361

Prayer

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart / be acceptable to you, / O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” — Psalm 19:14.

I am of the generation known as ‘Baby Boomers.’ The name, of course, comes from the fact that, after World War II, hundreds of thousands of GIs got discharged from the armed forces, got married and suddenly there were all these children— the ‘Baby Boom.’ At one point this generation totaled seventy-seven million souls and even now sixty-five million of us are still hanging out.

My wife Bonnie’s brother is, literally, among the first of the baby boomers. His parents got married on V.J. day in 1945. He was born nine months and six days later.

I, myself, arrived in 1947. But the point is we were and are a very large group who together moved through childhood, into if not maturity certainly adulthood and then through all the following years, simultaneously (if not together).

When I started Elementary School, you could see the‘Baby Boom’ in action. There were over fifty, nearly sixty students in my First Grade class at parochial school, all crammed into one classroom, shepherded by one nun.

By the time I hit the seventh grade my parents, thinking I needed to be in a smaller group, got me transferred from that parochial school in Brooklyn, New York, to one with a much smaller class size in Manhattan, nearly an hour away from where we lived.

My Dad actually worked near the school to which I transferred, so I would travel to school on the Subway with him. But most of the time I made the return trip alone.

In some ways the best education I got was from silent observation on the trip into Manhattan and back. I saw all kinds of people I had never run into before, from sidewalk venders to panhandlers to buskers— street entertainers.

I remember the first time I saw someone standing on a Subway platform holding up a sign with writing scratched on a piece of cardboard. It said they were homeless and needed money. Rumor to the contrary, homelessness is not new. It was common even rampant during the Great Depression. I saw it in the late 1950s when I was in the Seventh Grade.

To me, that person I saw seemed to be looking out at the world with a blank, hopeless stare. I remember being confused and upset at the sight.

I remember wanting to do something about it, maybe even see if I could give them some money. But I went to school with exact lunch money and three tokens, enough to make a round trip on the Subway and one extra token if needed in case of an emergency.

Being confused, upset and, since I could not help feeling a little helpless, I asked my mother if there was anything I could do if I saw someone who needed help. “Well,” she said, “right now you are not really in a position where you can do anything for them. You need to be a little older to do that. But you can always pray for them.”

That is actually a habit I developed and never relinquished. When I see someone in need and there is nothing I can do, I pray. (Slight pause.)

When Psalm 19 was introduced we heard that the first section praises God, the creation God made and its order. The second section suggests in the Torah this ordering affirmed. Still, what is our part in the creation? Who are we? Where do we belong? I actually think being a part of the so called ‘Baby Boomer’ generation has helped me with this. There are so many of us, I think the silent questions of my generation have been: ‘what is our part in the creation?’ ‘Who are we?’ and ‘Where do we belong?’ (Slight pause.)

I firmly believe some of the meditation my heart has experienced during prayer has grappled with these very questions. And so, in reverse order this is what I say about the questions: ‘Where do we belong?’ We can find where we belong by seeking and walking the paths God shows us, striving to help people as we go.

‘Who are we?’ We are children of God. We are loved by God.

‘What is our part of the creation?’ As I said, we are called to walk in the paths God shows to us. But certainly as the final words of the Psalm suggest, aside from everything else, one segment of our part, our place in life, is to engage in prayer and meditation.

We need to pray for all those around us. We need to pray for all those in need. We need to pray that the justice of God may surround all people.

We need to pray that the words we pray and the thoughts, the meditations of our hearts, are acceptable, pleasing in the sight of God. And it follows that sincere prayer and meditation, in and of itself, means we will seek to ways to act on God’s will.

Still, that leaves us with an obvious question: “how do we pray?” “Are there methods?” The short answer is: yes, we can learn to pray and a prime way is to pray is by praying with others. So what I am about to say is an outline taught by a wide range of folks from Catholics to Pentecostals to Main Line Protestants.

Indeed, I was a member of an Episcopal Church— the last time I looked Episcopalians were considered a Mainline Protestant group— I was a member of an Episcopal Church where members of the laity were trained to pray with other parishioners in the course of worship. This is some what I learned.

First, prayer can be seen as a conversation with God. But we need to let God begin the conversation. So we need to listen to a prayer request from a person who is requesting prayer and then wait in silence as we strive to listen for the voice of God before praying— that’s the hard part.

Second, pray with other people. Don’t pray alone or one on one. When two or three are gathered means two or three are praying with someone requesting prayer. There is no question about this: prayer is mostly meant to be a communal act, not simply the act of an individual.

While clerics often voice prayer, prayer is not meant to be the exclusive act of an intermediary, a pastor or priest, praying in the stead of a community. You are the ones who need to pray. Further, prayer is not meant to be an act of self-indulgence but is meant to be communal.

Those who live in cloisters understand when everyone within and outside the cloister walls voice their prayers, it is the cacophony of everyone’s prayer to which God listens. Even hermits understand prayer is not solitary and know others pray with them.

Third, prayers should be as brief and as clear as possible and always pray for the will of God to be done when voicing a specific prayer request. Also, when praying for someone, with someone, pray facing one another, eye to eye.

When appropriate, only when appropriate and with permission, those who pray together might hold hands or rest a hand on a shoulder. Why? Tactile contact can reinforce both a sense of the other and a sense of togetherness in prayer. (Slight pause.)

Last, prayer has four aspects. They can be represented in the acronym A-C-T-S. They are adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, supplication— A-C-T-S.

That idea is pretty universal. Rabbi Marc Gellman says in the synagogue they teach children four basic prayers, except this is the kid’s version: “‘Gimme!’ ‘Thanks!’ ‘Oops!’ and ‘Wow!’”

“‘Wow!’ are prayers of praise and wonder at the creation. ‘Oops!’ asks for forgiveness. ‘Gimme!’ is a request, a petition. ‘Thanks!’ expresses gratitude.” [1] (Slight pause.)

So, what should life in church look like? Church is a community of faith. A community of faith should look like a community immersed in prayer. (Slight pause.) Amen.

10/15/2023
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is a précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “Sometimes it is said religion is private. That is an inaccurate statement, something our society has made up out of whole cloth, a falsehood. You may believe it; that’s a different issue. It is a falsehood. A lot of people believe all kinds of falsehoods— the earth is flat, for instance. Religion is not private. Religion is personal, but personal is not private. That is also true of prayer. Prayer is personal but it is not private. Prayer needs to be shared. If we, the community of faith, do not pray together, do not pray for each other, do not pray with each other, we lose a dimension of who we are and who we are called to be as believers in the One Triune God.”

BENEDICTION: God can open our minds to what is true. God can fill our lives when we participate in the work of God’s realm, participate in seeking justice and peace and love. When we seek what is pleasing to God we are doing God’s will. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, help our hearts and minds be one with Christ, Jesus and be kept within the unity of the Holy Spirit, this day and forever more. Amen.

[1] NY Times ~ 09/20/2009 ~ The Right Way to Pray? ~ by Zev Chafets.