INTERCESSION

One of the most difficult questions to answer concerns the way prayer for the well-being of another often appears unanswered. A spouse might pray that their partner doesn’t die or a parent that their child be healed – after all, didn’t Jesus say: ‘I will do anything you ask in my name.’ (John 14.13). But the fact is that many do not find that Jesus does what they ask in prayers they offer. This is something people have grappled with for a long time and in The Mystery of Faith I gave some attention to that question in a number of places, including writing this in Chapter 11 (p.90):

‘Asking for something on behalf of another might be a natural response to a deeply felt need – ‘Oh God, let Mary get better!’ But if we’re going to ask someone for something, it’s best to be in a relationship with them. And when we bring our desires (supplications) to God, we need to trust that God will respond to them in the right way. Our heart might be overflowing with concerns, but we need to let go of them to God otherwise they can become overwhelming:

‘Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.’

Intercession isn’t about getting God to do what we want (no matter how good our intentions); it’s learning to open our hearts to God’s compassionate love, offering our concerns to Christ (because it’s he who prays for us) and then trusting him.’

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Many Christians have been led to believe that prayer concerns this matter of asking for things but were never taught of the importance of the context in which intercession is offered – without a context, intercession would seem little more than a ‘penny-in-the-slot’ affair: you offer the prayer and get what you ask for. But, if they thought about it, I imagine few would accept that understanding. If every prayer ‘in Jesus’ name’ were answered exactly as offered there’d be chaos! John might pray for a rainy day and Jill for a dry one; Pedro for Barcelona to win and Johannes for Berlin; Yuri might even pray for success in robbing a bank! But what about that prayer which is offered for the healing of a loved one? Surely, if there is a loving God such a request would be granted? Again, to quote from The Mystery (Chapter 6, p.51):

‘What to make of suffering
But if God is good why should there be suffering? Couldn’t God have created a world where people didn’t hurt each other, where Nature was kindly? The scriptures, especially the psalms, reveal ways in which people have grappled with suffering, even blaming, but always in dialogue with, God (e.g. 22). The Book of Job grapples with this: there you’ll find lament, complaint, accusation – but trust that God will not, in the end, abandon Job utterly. We touched on that in Ch.2, recognising that suffering is part of the mystery of life and can reveal depths of compassion we might not otherwise experience. …

Our forebears, wanting to help us connect our suffering with his, and to show just how much Christ suffered, often showed his wounds in graphic detail. You may have seen the famous 16th century Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald which the monks, who cared for victims of plague, placed in their hospital. I remember being deeply moved on kneeling before an ancient statue of the dead Christ and noticing how his body showed the signs of beating, blood pouring from wounds in his head, hands and feet, and knew that all pain and suffering was to be found here. …

What did God experience as Jesus hung there? God-in-Christ must have known immense suffering in order to fully share in this world-changing moment. Apart from the physical, emotional and spiritual suffering he saw the love of friends and the anguish of his mother – such deep anguish that only a mother can have for her child. He saw the absence of insight in some, the superficiality of others and lack of interest in the onlookers. He saw it all, and more – he saw the depth of his own Heart. Fear was there yet, beneath that and stronger than that, he saw love, love now darkly crowned. And, for one brief moment, he cried in the words of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27.46) … ‘

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Of course, some will say – ‘but if God is good, why didn’t he make a world without suffering?’ Others, as I wrote: ‘seeing so much injustice, pain and suffering, (will) decide that if God does exist then ‘he’ must be very evil to have created such monstrous things. But recognising such complexity Christianity knows that ‘evil’ must co-exist with ‘good’; what appear to be random, sometimes chaotic processes are indispensable if we’re to have the universe we know (and we can’t know any other). If things had been even slightly different, life probably couldn’t have emerged from primordial chaos.’ (Chapter 2, p.15)

It’s a sad fact that, without suffering we would never know the depths of compassion of which the heart is capable, never know what love is able to express – Christianity alone holds this paradox of life and suffering being intrinsically entwined, which is why the Crucified is central to our faith. The question, ‘why doesn’t God heal the one I love’ has no other answer apart from the image of the Crucified; again, to quote from The Mystery of Faith: ‘Here is our God-made-Man hanging on the Cross. Not an all-mighty, ever-powerful Lord but someone naked and vulnerable. That is the uniqueness of our faith – the God in whom we believe, the maker of heaven and earth, who was prepared to know what it is to be human, to be weak, frightened and lonely, just as you and I can be. That’s why people have been drawn to and by this moment. It’s what’s inspired great artists, writers, musicians and poets who identify with Jesus hanging, dying, on the cross’ (Ch. 6, p.58).

Living in a culture where we expect pain and suffering to be cured and where pills and treatments can suppressor even eradicate pain, it’s almost inevitable that we feel suffering, especially ‘innocent’ suffering, doesn’t belong in life. Many expect God to act like the ultimate doctor – but, reading the bible, that’s never been the view of people of faith. When people are taught about intercession it needs to be set in the context of trusting in the ultimate purposes of a God who seeks the good of all Creation. ‘Thy kingdom come; thy will be done’ needs to be the context in which our intercessions are offered. So, long before teaching about this matter of praying-for-healing, we need to understand and believe that God, who suffered and died for us, continues to suffer with us and is leading us to at-one-ness with Him. The Sacred Heart of Christ still bleeds for us but would also enfold us in His mercy and compassion. As a recent theologian has said:

‘To ask for something in Jesus’ name does not mean that we invoke him verbally and then desire

whatever our turbulent, divided heart or our appetite, our wretched mania for everything and anything, happens to hanker for. No, asking in Jesus’ name means entering into him, living by him, being one with him in love and faith. If he is in us by faith, in love, in grace, in his Spirit, then our petition arises from the centre of our being, which is himself, and if all our petition and desire is gathered up and fused in him and his Spirit, then the Father hears us. Then our petition becomes simple and straightforward, harmonious, sober, and unpretentious.

'Then what St. Paul says in the letter to the Romans applies to us: we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us, praying the one prayer, “Abba! Father”! He longs for that from which the Spirit and Jesus himself have proceeded: he longs for God, he asks God for God, on our behalf he asks of God. Everything is included and contained in this prayer. … [If we pray in this way] we shall see that God really answers our prayer, in one way or another. Then we shall no longer feel this “one way or the other” is a feeble excuse offered by the pious, and the gospel, for unanswered prayer.

'No. Our prayer is answered, but precisely because it is prayer in Jesus’ name; and what we ultimately pray for is for the Lord to grow in our lives, to fill our existence with himself, to triumph, to gather into one our scattered life, the thousand and one desires of which we are made. … To pray in Jesus’ name is to have one’s prayer answered, to receive God and God’s blessing, and then, even amid tears, even in pain, even in indigence, even when it seems that one has still not been heard, the heart rests in God, and that is—while we are still here on pilgrimage, far from the Lord—perfect joy.' (Fr. Karl Rahner SJ)

THE SOUL'S DESIRE

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Yr. C)

Sermon preached in the Church of All Saints, New Eltham

at Parish Mass on Sunday, 2nd December, 2012

‘Be alert at all times,

praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things

that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’ (Lk.21:36)

X

INTRODUCTION

Once again, we begin a new Christian Year with the season of Advent when we prepare for the coming of the Lord.  The somewhat ominous message of our gospel reading, in particular, is a salutary reminder that such preparation is more than making sure the cards are written and presents bought. 

Yet is the consequence of our praying ‘thy kingdom come’ really going to be like a divine disaster movie?  Is this what we really desire and long for: what my heart must be set on as we prepare for the coming of God?  No wonder it seems better to focus into more cuddly things – babies and mangers, Christmas trees and fairy lights.  As John Betjeman wrote in one of his poems:

And is it true?  For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
The sweet and silly Christmas things,
Bath salts and inexpensive scent
And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,
No caroling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare—
That God was Man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.

What needs to lie at the heart of our preparations for the coming of a God is the realisation that God desires to be at-one with us and expresses this every time He makes Himself present through the Eucharist.  The prayer of the ‘heart’s desire’ is to want to allow God into the depths of our being.  That’s the essence of prayer, something I want to share some thoughts about on two Sundays during Advent.  This morning I’ll focus into some of the more common aspects and next time explore what we mean by meditation and contemplation.

WHAT IS PRAYER?

Now, if you were to ask most people what they understood the word prayer to mean they would, probably, say ‘asking God for things’ or, with any luck they might add ‘and thanking God for things’, or even ‘listening to God’.  And all these things are aspects of prayer, for prayer concerns the ‘inclination of the heart to God’.  At its most simple prayer simply involves giving time and attention to the desire of the heart to be at one with God.  So let’s see how the Eucharist can help us re-imagine our prayer.

COMMON PRAYER – THE EUCHARIST

Common prayer, or the Liturgy – the work – of the Church, helps our relationship with God to develop.  We come to church and sing hymns, listen to readings, offer our intercessions and make our Communion in the Body and Blood of Christ.  Hopefully, through all this, we are moved into a deeper union with God.  The ‘heart’ of who we are (not the physical heart but the centre of our being) is re-fashioned as we open our inner being, our heart, to the desire of God for at-oneness with us. 

When I was learning the Faith I was taught that one should prepare to receive Holy Communion.  I was encouraged to remember my Communion throughout the week and spend time the night before preparing by prayer and fasting.  Then when I first entered a church I should pray – something with the passing of time it’s easy to forget.  Yet if we stopped to pray that would be a reminder we are called, before we attended to our jobs or our friend, to Love God with all our heart, mind and strength’.  And, remember, the essence of prayer is the inclination of the heart to God.  As one of my Franciscan brothers used to say: ‘Get it right with God first, brother!’  Coming to church wasn't to be like visiting Tesco:  this is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven and everything here is designed to move the heart towards God.  If we have the eyes to see. 

There’s a story about the late Orthodox Archbishop Anthony Bloom I’d like to share with you.  One day a young man, new to the church, asked Archbishop Anthony what books he would need when he came to the church.  Instead of giving him a copy of the service Anthony said this: ‘Come and let your eyes see us.  See how we worship.  Then, come and watch our faces.  After that, take a service book and learn the words you need to use by heart, but never bring it with you!’ 

Perhaps, as someone once remarked to me, we ‘westerners’ are too attached to our books…

COMMON PRAYER – THE DIVINE OFFICE

Another means of prayer that many find of great help is what is known as the Prayer of the Church or the Daily (or Divine) Office.  Priests have to pray the Office of Morning and Evening Prayer daily and others find some form of such prayer to be of great value.  Consisting mostly of psalms and readings, the Office is a simple way of praying with scripture.  And immersion in scripture helps form our prayer.  Whilst it may be helpful to do that in church, most do so at home or even on the train to work.  It’s a great way to begin the day as it means we are giving attention to Jesus’ primary command.  But whatever we do, we need to get into the habit of prayer in our daily lives. 

CONFESSION          

Right at the beginning of the Eucharist we are invited to confess our sins by making a General Confession.  Some realise this needs to be personalised and have developed a practice of regular Confession to a priest.  Now the Sacrament of Confession is often neglected in the Church of England, but it is something available to all for all of us sin and need to be reconciled with God and our neighbour. 

The Anglican dictum concerning this Sacrament is, ‘all may, none must; some should’ and many find that making their confession at regular intervals is of great help in developing a right relationship with God.

PRAYER AS INTERCESSION

Only later in the Eucharist do we come to prayer for others, that prayer we call Intercession. Yet for many this is the only prayer they practice.  ‘Please help Johnny!’; ‘Don’t let Mary suffer!’; ‘Help Peter pass his exams.’  These are more rightly called ‘arrow’ prayers – shooting an arrow of desire to God.  

Or we might make ‘ejaculatory’ prayers; prayer that suddenly arises from some moving experience which may be silent or, at times, spoken aloud. Both might be called involuntary prayers which emerge from movements within the heart.  But they are dependent on circumstances outside of ourselves. 

A RULE OF LIFE

And it’s for that reason another way people find help in putting their relationship with God at the centre is by developing what is known as a Rule of Life.  A Rule sets out the norms by which we are called to live.  So, apart from matters like a pattern of prayer and attendance at Mass, it will also act as a reminder of how we give attention to charitable giving, and how we feel called to serve others – not least our families, partners and friends.  And for people who are very busy it’s a good way of making sure we set aside time for ourselves!

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

But all who are seeking to give attention to God recognise they need help and so the tradition of Spiritual Direction has developed since the earliest centuries.  Spiritual Direction is an on-going process whereby an individual, with the aid of a more experienced guide, explores a deeper relationship with themselves, the world around them and with God.  

IMAGES OF GOD AFFECT OUR PRAYER

But our image of God will affect the way in which we respond to our approach to prayer.  If our image of God is rooted in a distant father, or in one who was harsh with us whom we came to fear, or if we lacked love in our earliest years or have a poor sense of our own worth and value, that will affect our approach to God.  Thoughts of the coming of the Son of Man ‘in a cloud with power and great glory’ may then fill us with fear and anxiety.  Yet, if we embrace the image of His coming as the coming of our Divine Lover who seeks to re-make us in His image, then we can ‘stand up and raise ()our heads, because ()our redemption is drawing near.’ 

CONCLUSION

Next time I want to spend time reflecting on the place of meditation and contemplation in our life of prayer and there’s a leaflet inside the December magazine which, I hope, will be of help.  ‘When I prayed I was new’, wrote one great Orthodox guide, ‘and when I stopped praying I was old.’  ‘Prayer’ wrote another, is ‘the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him, … the elevation of the soul to God.’ 

This matter of prayer is of fundamental importance to people of all faiths yet is daunting for many of us.  Yet it is as easy and as basic as breathing.  Rather than something to leave to ‘experts’, prayer is the very atmosphere in which we are called to live.  ‘For me’ wrote S. Therese of Lisieux, ‘prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.’  So may this Advent be a time when we pray and live the Eucharist – seeking reconciliation; centring on the Word of God; holding the world before Him; offering daily our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving as we seek to venerate Christ beneath all outward things.  This is the Prayer of Eucharistic Living as we open our hearts to the One who seeks and desires us.