+ AMDG. Proper Advent 2B - December 7, 2014

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1 + AMDG Proper Advent 2B - December 7, 2014 Preparation is the theme of this week s readings, but it could just as well be patience. We re asked to prepare ourselves for the coming of God s Kingdom, and at the same time to be patient for its arrival. In Peter s letter we re reminded that God s way of telling time is not our way of telling time and be patient; God won t leave us hanging. Last week s readings, which we did not use, because it was St. Andrew s Day, were about Hope - Hope for God s coming to right the wrongs of the world. And this week, in Isaiah and the Psalm, we re comforted with beautiful images about what the coming Kingdom will be like - Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low and the rough places a plain. The glory of the God will be revealed, and all people shall see it together. God will lead us like a shepherd leads his flock. Our sins will be blotted out and our fortunes restored. Glory will dwell in the land and righteousness and peace will kiss each other. These are beautiful words of comfort - originally spoken to the Jewish people toward the end of their Babylonian captivity. But, it could just as well be written today. We need comfort, we need reassurance, we long to know that God will make everything right. The prophets give us God s reassurance, but at the same time we re asked to prepare for God s redemption of the world by doing some of the work ourselves - make a straight pathway, repent and confess our sins, strive to be at peace, without spot or blemish. God is coming to mend our broken world, but we re expected to begin the mending ourselves and be patient, because God s time is not our time. Prepare for God s heavenly Kingdom and be patient. But this inbetween place that God asks us to live in it s hard. It s hard to see God s world broken and torn; it s hard to work for peace and justice, and still see so much hatred and selfishness in the world. It s hard to see our own imperfections peak out, when we ve tried so hard to hide them. This week it s been heartbreaking to see that there is still so much work to be done to heal the enmity among people of different

2 races in our country. I would have hoped we had come much farther than it seems we have. And, God s beautiful creation continues to suffer from our careless exploitation; and people suffer poverty and disease while so many of us live in relative abundance. It all makes me want to throw up my hands and plead, How much longer, God? How much longer? When our kids were small we loved going on trip -car camping, trips to visit relatives. And Tim and Katy each had their own traveling personalities. Katy always wanted to know how much longer we had. She didn t like being cooped up in a car. How much longer? How many minutes? Tim, however, was content to look out the window, listening to music. Katy s requests for updates became so frequent that we had to institute a rule each of them would get a certain number of asks per trip, and once they used up their asks they couldn t ask again. Tim would always save up his asks; and of course Katy usually used hers up in the first hour or so. Unbeknownst to us, Tim became quite the entrepreneur about this, and would sell his asks to Katy. For an extra turn in the back of the mini-van, or for some of Katy s snack, he would ask for Katy How much longer? I m happy to say Katy has became quite good at delayed gratification, but it came hard for her. Our relationship to God and God s Kingdom has much to do with delayed gratification; knowing that something good will come, but not knowing when, and thus living in constant preparation and patience. And like my daughter was, I m pretty lousy at the patience part. But, I ve gotten better over the years. Both in my daily life, and in my spiritual life. Some of this may just be due to age; things don t seem as urgent in my mid-fifties as they did in my mid-thirties. But, I know some of it is because I ve changed, or rather God has changed me. I still have a lot of work to do, but I ve found that the gift of patience comes through prayer. Not, prayer of supplication or intercession, though these are certainly necessary forms of prayer, but the kind of prayer who s only purpose is to know God - contemplative prayer. Now, you may be asking yourself, Is he crazy, talking about contemplative prayer at this busy time of year?! But, please hear me out. One of my favorite books about Prayer is called Prayer: the Integration of Faith and Life by Bernard Haring. And, I was reading this description

3 the other day - Prayer is loving knowledge of God, a constant longing to know him in order to love him, and to know his design for us in order to serve him better. (It is) is attention to God s coming into our life, a recognition of the grace of the present hour, and unfailing vigilance for the Lord s calling. What powerful words - loving knowledge of God longing to know God design for us, in order to serve him better; it s about paying attention to God entering our lives and recognizing God in God s beautiful creation, and it s about listening for God s call. Earlier this year, the Tuesday evening Adult Spiritual Formation Group read, An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor, in which she shared her life experiences with recognizing God s presence in the world. She described various prayerful practices that helped cultivate this awareness. I believe contemplative prayer is the way to live in the difficult space of preparation and patience. Because when you are engaged in the kind of prayer that Haring suggests - prayer that seeks out God and is vigilant for God s call - it s hard to be discouraged. It s hard to be impatient. When you engage in prayer that seeks out God, what starts to develop, over time, is a deep sense of gratitude and acceptance. Knowing God in prayer does not erase the brokenness that we each experience in our everyday lives - whether our own personal shortcomings or the heartbreaking brokenness of our world. Rather, knowing God through prayer, inspires hope. Contemplative prayer helps lift the cloud that can obscure God s beauty. It awakens awareness that God is in all and all is in God. The world s imperfections do not seem daunting or overwhelming, but more as opportunities for God to come into the world and redeem our brokenness. In fact it opens you to how God is already working to redeem the world. I ve also found that it is through prayer that I ve been given clarity to face my own faults without shame and the strength to allow the Holy Spirit remove them. Through contemplative prayer, the power of the Spirit is kindled so we may engage in God s work, as we are called. Contemplative prayer, in focusing all our minds and hearts on God, allows us to see God already with us - Emmanuel. This style of prayer isn t easy. It requires a certain amount of patience at the onset. Just sitting, and allowing yourself to be God's unique beloved

4 can be a little awkward and even uncomfortable. But as with everything, it takes practice to become better. Gradually, you get used to sitting in silence and listening for that still small voice. Over time you come to crave it. There are many ways to do contemplative prayer, but they all have a few things in common. First, you have to make space in your life - a quiet place to be, and time to pray - a few minutes at first, and much more as you improve. Then, you need to quiet yourself. This is the hard part. If you re anything like me, you have a million thoughts going through your mind all vying for a little attention. But, in contemplative prayer we try ever so gently to quiet the mind, allowing those thoughts to fade. When they return we gently push them away as if moving aside a piece of fluff with a feather. Some use a repeated word or phrase to help quiet the mind - our Eastern Orthodox brothers have used the Jesus prayer in this way for over 1800 years - Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me. Some use an image to focus attention - either an image in one s mind, or a physical icon. But the most important thing to do when practicing contemplative prayer is to keep at it. You may only be able to do just a few minutes, at the start, but consistently return to prayer and gradually up your time. You ll be surprised at the results before too long. The Holy Spirit longs to speak to you. She s just waiting for a little time and space in your life in which to do it. While I do love to pray, and feel the lack of it when I go too long without, I won t say I m particularly good at it. What I can say is that I ve become an expert at trying to pray. And that seems to work fine for me, so far. Advent is the season in our church year when we are reminded of our need for God. It s a time to become more aware of God s everpresent love and God s promise to redeem our broken world. It is a season of Hope and Preparation and Patience. Engaging in contemplative prayer keeps the hope alive, gives strength to do the preparatory work, and gives a gift of patience in God s timetable. Almighty and Eternal God, in this Advent season we are called to prepare for your Christ, our Hope and our Promise. Help us in prayer to quiet our minds so we may know you and be alert to your call. Help us

5 put our trust in Christ, so that all our imperfections, even the most insignificant or the most unpleasant, become signs of grace and hope, a school of vigilance for the coming of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Spirit, to the ages of ages. Amen.