Reverend Ref +

SERMON -- LENT V - A

We spent most of yesterday driving back home from Washington, and the rest of the day unpacking. So, for the one or two of you who actually read these things, sorry I'm late posting. I actually didn't preach it -- I wrote it and one of my lay people read it. I did this once before, when CC had their annual meeting and I wasn't at St. Paul's. It was kind of weird, then, having someone else read your sermon. This time, though, I was more comfortable with it. Maybe that's because I'm getting more comfortable with the whole priest-thing in general. Anyway, enough blabbering -- here's the sermon for Lent V:
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I received an e-mail from a classmate of mine that went something like this: "We've come to the gospel that I've been dreading. I've posted some questions over on my blog and would appreciate your thoughts." For those who don't know, a "blog" is an on-line journal where people write about whatever they want. Priest-types tend to write about theology, their sermons, and other issues pertaining to the church; and usually, people can comment on those postings, giving rise to some good discussions.

What is it about this gospel that she dreads? It would seem that this should be easy -- Lazarus dies and is raised from the dead. What could be better than that? How could this story of grief-turned-to-celebration cause trouble for my friend? Well, as they say, "It's in the details."

The problem for her, as I understand it, and probably for many other people as well, lies in two sentences: 1) Martha said to Jesus, "But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him," and 2) Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" These sentences bring up a myriad of questions about our relationship with God and prayer.

The big question is this: What if we don't get what we pray for? Other questions fall from that. Such as: If we don't get what we pray for, are we praying wrong? Does it mean that we don't have enough faith? Does it mean that our God is not all powerful? Does it mean that God is impotent? Does it mean that God is uncaring? And it even calls into question God's very existence.

We were faced with this very issue just about two weeks ago when Dan was severely injured in a car accident. We've all heard the details of that, so I won't repeat them here. But know this: in the minutes, hours and days immediately following that accident, there was a whole lot of praying going on. And those prayers were as many and as varied as the people of this Valley.

By now you all should have received your copy of "The Good News." In putting that issue together, I would not let George include a note that said, "Pray for Dan's full and speedy recovery" for precisely the reasons I just mentioned. What if we had prayed for that and, instead of the recovery we have witnessed, he had been paralyzed? The short answer to that is that I would have been a very busy man. My point here is that we need to pay attention to our prayers.

Prayer is not a quick-fix hotline to the Almighty Oz. Prayer is how we communicate with God. Prayer is what our relationship with God is built on. And just like any other relationship, it's not always easy. God promises to be with us always, but God does not promise to run the world based on our schedules or our desires.

Is it wrong to pray for what we want? No. But we need to understand that getting what we want may not be in our best interests. We also need to understand that prayer isn't a way to get our spiritual needs instantly gratified. If all we got was dessert, we'd be weak.

Instead of praying for what we want, maybe we should be praying for courage to face what comes our way, strength to get through difficult times, and wisdom to discern God's will. You can see this in the Lord's Prayer. Look carefully at that prayer and you will see that what we want isn't part of the equation. That prayer focuses on God's will, our needs, forgiveness and guidance.

So, how does all of this relate back to the gospel? First, God promises to be with us always. In Mary and Martha's despair over the death of their brother, Jesus was right there with them. When they cried, he cried. When they were distressed, he was distressed. This isn't a God who makes everything "all right" with a flick of his finger. Rather, this is a God who understands our life and is with us when we can't be left alone.

Second, it has to do with vision. This Lent, I have been talking about letting God lead you through the wilderness. You may not know where that will take you, and you may not see the point; but if you let God lead, you will begin to broaden your vision and begin to see as God sees.

"Jesus said to her, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?'" Seeing the glory of God doesn't always mean seeing someone raised from the dead, or seeing a man with a broken neck walk. It can, but it also means being able to expand your vision so that you can see the hand of God in every aspect of your life. Whether good or bad, joyous or sorrowful, God is with you always.

And that is the lesson of Lazarus -- that God is with you always. In life and death and life again, God is with us. When we move our prayers from "me first" to "Your will be done," when we allow God to lead us through deserts, and when we acknowledge that God is with us always, then we will begin to see as God sees. And then, like Jesus told Martha, we will see the glory of God.

Amen.