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5 Epiphany

5 February, 2006

The Rev. Robert C. Granfeldt

Prayer!

That’s where I was, last week, when I was so rudely interrupted by the need to talk to
you about the growing crisis in our Diocese.

Talking about prayer. About learning to listen to that “still, small voice” that speaks
inside of every one of us, waiting to be heard; waiting for us to quiet our lives, our
minds, and listen. Just listen.

And prayer continues to hold center stage, this morning, in two of our three lessons.

In the Gospel, we see how very important is the prayer we talked about last week
when we see Jesus doing the same kind of thing Elijah did in his frantic race to
escape the wrath of Ahab and Jezebel, though he didn’t know he was doing it at the
time. Here in Mark’s Gospel, at the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus has just
called the first of his disciples, Simon and Andrew, James and John. Now, in the
village of Capernaum, he and his friends have just left the Synagogue where – in last
week’s Gospel – he cast out an unclean spirit from a possessed man. Arriving at
Simon-Peter’s house, and finding his mother-in-law sick in bed, he takes her hand
and heals her – a Elisha heals the child of the Shunammite woman, though in much
less dramatic fashion.

At Sundown, after they have kept the Sabbath – his fame having already begun to
spread – the people of the village begin bringing people to him who were in need of
healing – the sick, the diseased, the possessed! “And he cured many who were sick
with various diseases, and cast out many Demons;….,” Mark tells us, until, at the end
of the day, finally, he turned in, along with his followers. It had been a long day with
Jesus, an observant Jew, worshipping and teaching in the synagogue, and casting an
unclean spirit out of a man possessed; going to the home of his friend, to find his
hostess ill, and in need of ministry; and toward the end of the day, as the sun went
down, ending the Sabbath, finding people lining up outside the door to beg him – to
beg this strange, young man – to speak to them, to touch them, to heal them! A long
day and a successful day. And finally, he tired. Understandably. So he goes in to sleep.

But, apparently, there was something that Jesus needed more than he needed sleep
because, “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a
deserted place, and there… he prayed.”

There he did what Elisha had done before him; and what the boy, Samuel had done.
He drew apart by himself, to solitude, to quiet, to prayer!

He drew apart for this first time, in his ministry, in Mark’s Gospel, as he would draw
apart many times, in each of the Gospels, as his pattern became one of teaching and
healing followed by withdrawal and prayer. Expending his energy followed by
recharging his batteries! Regularly and often.

When a child is going to be presented for Baptism in our Church, the rules require
that the parents and Godparents of the child be instructed in the nature of the
sacrament and in the responsibilities they are about to take on in the upbringing and
training of the child. In the course of the Baptism, the Godparents are asked to make
two promises. The Celebrant asks, “Will you be responsible for seeing that the child
you present is brought up in the Christian faith and life?” And the Godparent answers
“I will, with God’s help.”

And then the Celebrant asks, will you by your prayers and witness help this child to
grow into the full stature of Christ?

And in the instruction I always emphasize this promise: to pray for the child, and to be
an example of Christian life to the Child – which includes, especially, letting the child
know he or she is praying for it. I always emphasize this promise of prayer because, I
tell them, it’s difficult, even impossible to imagine a “good Christian” who doesn’t
pray!

Christians pray. They pray because they’ve been taught to pray by those who have
raised them in the faith; and they pray because they, themselves, have a prime
example of a “pray-er” in their lives – Jesus Christ.

Jesus demonstrates for us a life of prayer. A life spent, to be sure, in service, a life of
teaching and praying for people, of healing people – and a life, too, of drawing apart
to recoup, to recover, to restore himself.

Christians pray. They pray because they’ve been taught to pray. They pray because
they have our Lord’s example to teach them.

And they pray because they’ve learned the importance of prayer. But sometimes we
need a reminder.

Between last week’s short sermon on prayer, and today, I had an interesting
experience – the kind of experience we all need to have, periodically, because we all
have short memories; the kind of experience we all need because it’s so easy to
forget what’s really important; too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of
modern life.

On Thursday, our Cathedral sponsored a day of vigil to pray for the Diocese in this
current crisis – to pray for our Bishop, for the Standing Committee, and for the
people and parishes of the Diocese. It began with Morning Prayer at 10:00, continued
at noon, with the Holy Eucharist, and concluded at 5:00 with Evensong. The clergy
were invited to participate as much as possible, and to spend as much of the day as
possible in worship and – in between – in prayer.

I had Mass at Riddle Village at 11:00, but I got to the Cathedral in time for the Prayers
of the People in the noon Mass. And afterward, I stayed. I took a break at mid
afternoon and had some lunch and did some writing – but mostly I prayed. I sat, I
walked, I “circumambulated” the Cathedral, looking at and contemplating and
meditating on the stained glass windows – twice – and I sat some more, and I prayed
some more.

And I remembered how important those times of quiet are – those times of prayer.
Those times of recharging one’s batteries.

And I thank the cathedral staff – and I thank God for the opportunity to remind myself
of what’s truly needful, and for poking and prodding me to do it.

And I remembered, anew, myself, of what I started reminding you of last week: how
very, very important prayer really is. Of how very, very important it is to stop, to
pause, to listen – to give God HIS chance to get a word in, to get some healing in, to
do some restoring!

We have the example of no less than Jesus Christ, himself. We need to follow that
example. We need to pay attention to it. We need to remember it. We need to work at
it.

We need to stop! We need to pray.

In Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
Calvary Episcopal Church,
Rockdale