In this Epiphany series we are looking at the disciplines of
the Episcopal Church’s Way of Love, as part of the Jesus Movement. This is “an intentional commitment to a set of practices. It's a commitment to
follow Jesus: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest.” In Advent, we
followed the Advent curriculum, modified into weekly planner pages. Since
January 6, we’ve looked at the practices of ‘Go’, ‘Learn’, ‘Bless’. Last week
we considered how Jesus joined in the Worship of his community when he
returned to Nazareth.
Today, we continue in that same chapter (Luke 4:21-30), as
Jesus elaborates on his announcement that Isaiah 61 had ‘been fulfilled in your
hearing’. At first, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his
mouth.” Then, he acknowledges that it is difficult to be accepted by those
who think they know you. He says, “’Doubtless
you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say,
'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at
Capernaum.'" And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.’”
Then he goes on to remind the people of Nazareth of
prophetic responses to two Gentiles who Pray and are blessed by God. He
states, “there were many widows in
Israel in the time of Elijah…yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a
widow at Zarephath in Sidon.” (1
Kings 17:8-24) Jesus notes that the leper cleansed by Elisha was ‘Naaman the Syrian.’ (2 Kings 5:1-19)
Is it that this young man that they all know as ‘Joseph’s
son’ is claiming to be like Elijah and Elisha, revered prophets from Israel’s
past? Or is it that he says that God cares for Gentiles just as much as the chosen
Hebrew ‘children of God’? For whatever reason, “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and
led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they
might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went
on his way.”
Nazareth is built up the side of a hill, as seen in this Byzantine mosaic from the Chora Church in Constantinople. The attempt to
‘hurl him off the cliff’ is not an empty threat. However, he ‘he passed through the midst of them and went
on his way’. In the hubbub of the mob scene, Jesus simply walks away. No
fighting back, or engaging in further arguments, Jesus simply leaves.
Perhaps it was that he was grounding in prayer that enabled Jesus
to face such conflict without the need to become part of it. Perhaps it was
that he had just faced down Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13) through the
power of prayer.
When we Pray, we too can respond differently
to the challenges in our lives. We don’t feel the need to control the outcome or make it come out 'our way'. When we ‘take it
to the Lord in prayer’, as the song Whata Friend we Have in Jesus advises, we can face the 'trials and temptations...trouble anywhere." The song proclaims, "We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer."
We don't have to pretend to be 'perfect'. As Lisa Leonard notes on Ann Voskamp’s blog from earlier this week, “Perfection
is a lie. It demands more and more, never offering a moment’s rest. Perfect is
never satisfied." She admits, "I kept reaching further and further, thinking I was almost
there, but perfection was always just out of reach. No matter how hard I tried, I could not be perfect. I can’t always
be happy. I am not perfect; I am just me.
I’m learning I have to let go of perfection to have joy. I am learning I have
to show up and speak up and be honest—no matter how messy.”
I have a friend whose favorite saying when things get crazy is, "Show up, pay attention, tell the truth, and don't get attached to the results." That's what happens when we Pray and turn problems over to God. We can be honest, and not think we have to control the end result.
When we Pray God sees the real person. God
knows we are not perfect. We don’t have to, and can’t, pretend with God. We
can, as Leonard, and my friend both encourage: show up, be truthful and honest—'no matter how
messy’, and let God take care of the result.
When we are connected to God in prayer, we know we are loved no
matter what happens, or what we do. In fact, we don’t even have to ‘do’ anything except ‘take it
to the Lord in prayer’. The song reminds us “O what peace we often
forfeit,/ O what needless pain we bear, All
because we do not carry/ Everything to God in prayer.”
Jesus was connected to God in prayer. It gave him
strength and peace and confidence. When we Pray and connect to God, we
discover, ‘Jesus knows our every weakness…In
His arms He’ll take and shield thee,/ Thou wilt find a solace there.’
Jesus told the people of Nazareth that God responds to all prayer
requests no matter who they come from. That made him very unpopular, but it
tells us that God does hear our prayers! Later in the same Gospel (Luke 18:1),
Jesus “told his disciples a parable [about the insistent widow and reluctant
judge] to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” We can find courage in that story and in Jesus’ own life of prayer.
Are there things you need to Pray about, or let God take care of?
Can you let go of perfection and control in order to ‘take
it to the Lord in prayer’?
How can you be more honest with God in your prayer life?
