Diana Budge Sermon - - May 13, 2012 Conversations With God Worshipping From the Heart Good morning and happy Mother s Day. You are probably expecting a Mother s Day sermon today because, after all, I am a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother as are many of you who are one or all of the above but while I certainly could talk about the blessings and trials of motherhood ad infinitum, I would like to visit another topic today I am honored to be asked to give the sermon today and I hope that you will bear With me as I am definitely not a biblical scholar but I would like to share some thoughts about worship that have been very meaningful to me. I think that our Congregationalist faith is the result of unintended consequences. When you look back at the Protestant reformation as it relates to our English pilgrim forefathers, you realize that political history played an important role in the way in which we practice our faith today. And it definitely impacted the way in which we pray. Our brand of Protestantism actually derives from the teachings of Svengli who was active in Switzerland at the same time as Martin Luther was challenging the practices of the Catholic Church. While they agreed on most issues of faith, they differed on the role of communion. Luther maintaining that the elements were in and of themselves sacred and Svengli s belief that the Lord s Supper was a recreation of a sacred moment in the the Life of Christ but not holy in the real sense. During the time of Henry the 8 th of many wives fame, England was still a Catholic country. When Henry decided that he needed to put aside his wife, Catherine to marry Ann Boleyn and hopefully beget a male heir, he applied to the Pope for an annulment of his first marriage on the grounds that he had indeed married his dead brother s wife which was forbidden by church law at the time. The Pope denied Henry and thus The Church of England was established as Henry left the Catholic Church and went on to marry a series of extra wives. When this happened, Henry 8 th was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and subsequently so were all of the citizens of England. There was great concern among the people that their immortal souls were in danger and political unrest was feared. Henry decided that a good way to appease the populous was to have the bible printed in English and made available for all to read and thereby hangs the tale. As the years and reigns progressed, more and more people began to interpret the word differently than the Church of England and the expected suppression of religious thought followed. Small groups of dissenters proliferated as religious ritual within these new church groups became more and more simplified, prayer became more and more extemporaneous and the reading of the Bible became more personal. Which brings us to our Plymouth pilgrims. 1
Our pilgrim forefathers left the land of their birth because they were constrained in the practice of their faith by proscribed ritual, formal prayer (mostly in Latin) and strict interpretation of the Word as determined by the Church of England. With the printing of the Bible in English came a reformation of individual religious practice. Our Plimouth Pilgrims risked everything for the privilege of discovering what is known and what is to be made known to us from the words of the Good book. They practiced extemporaneous prayer, truly listening to the word of God and praying from the heart as God spoke to them as individual people of faith. Having been raised in the Catholic tradition of worship, you can imagine how foreign the Congregationalist covenantal form of worship would be to someone like me. The covenantal words known and to be made known are pretty scary to people raised in a faith based on a belief system that determines biblical truth for you. We have to learn to interpret the word for ourselves for the first time. However, I know that there are a number of members of this congregation that share my background and have found this church a most liberating experience. When I was a girl, which was a long time ago, my religious education consisted of memorizing answers to questions about the tenets of my faith, learning, by Heart prayers and bible passages. Some of you here may be familiar with this type of Christian education. We used a catechism which asked such questions as Who is god. Answer: God is the creator of heaven and earth. You get the idea. I don t remember ever reading the bible as a child. In fact, I don t ever remember seeing one in the pews. I do remember feeling very virtuous when I had conquered The Lord s Prayer. Today, in this church, every time I repeat this timeless prayer, I hear something just a little different. It depends on my life circumstance at the time or even just a change in the cadence or emphasis on a particular word. For instance, the very first words of the Lord s Prayer Our Father brings to mind the all inclusiveness of Christianity for Jesus welcomed even the gentiles into the fold. It reminds me to have a care for my personal exclusions that I might follow the example of the Lord. I invite you to repeat that much loved prayer and really listen to the words. You may be surprised at what is new in something that is so old. I continued to recite the prayers of my youth right into my adult years without really hearing them. I had favorite prayers, of course, and one I will share goes like this. It s called Daily Prayer and is written by John T. Baker Daily Prayer Dear Lord, I m proud to say, so far today I ve got along alright I ve not gossiped, whined or bragged, Or had a single fight. 2
I haven t lost my temper once Or criticized my mate I have not lied, I have not cried Or loudly cursed my fate So far today, I ve not one time Been grumpy or morose I ve not been spiteful, cold or vain Self centered or verbose But Lord, I m going to need your help Throughout the hours ahead So give me strength Dear Lord, for now I m getting out of bed Though this clever prayer is simple and not very deep, it still has something to say. Perhaps this prayer may be worth memorizing. When I came to the Church of the Pilgrimage, more than fifteen years ago now, I really began to listen and to hear the words that I had been reciting all of my life. The point is we often pray or listen to the gospel without hearing it. There are many ways to carry on a conversation with God but when we truly approach worship with a sincere and humble heart, the Holy Spirit is present and active in moving us in the direction that God wants us to take. On one of the introductory pages of the old Pilgrim hymnal is a lovely poem/prayer entitled The Little Gate to God by Walter Rauschenbusch A few lines of that piece go like this: In the great quiet of God My troubles are but pebbles on the road My joys are like the everlasting hills So it is, when I step through the gate of prayer From time into eternity. The gateway to prayer is very individual. For some of us, conventional formal prayer is the way to God s ear. For some of us like my good friend Amy, she simply says God it s me Amy and is confident that God is present, listening and speaking. Her conversations are intimate, personal and very real. Whatever works for you as an individual is valid and provides a pathway for the Holy Spirit to move in your life. From the book of Jeremiah Chapter 29 Verse 13 we read When you search for me, you will find me if you seek me with all your heart. 3
True prayer is a communion with God, not a one way conversation. When we wait on God and listen to what he has to say, He will give us the words to pray so that our prayers will be most effective. God is speaking, are you listening. A recent magazine article entitled The God Box told a wonderful story of a family going through the keepsakes of a lifetime after the loss of a beloved mother finding a box which contained the stories of their lives which had been consigned to the care of God since they were children. Their mother had written notes to God on little scraps of whatever paper was at hand whenever she thought that her various children were in particular need of His help. They were simple petitions relating to life s important and not so important moments. For instance, one little note said: Dear God, Please give Jesse the right school and good companions. Another petitioned for the return to health of a small child when she asked Jesus to please cure Marissa Marie s heart condition. She is just a little baby. Thank you Jesus. There were hundreds of these little scraps of conversation with God from a very pious woman who truly put her faith in the work of the Lord and accepted whatever life brought as his will. She then went about her daily life secure in the knowledge that all were in good hands and God knew best. She truly heard God in her life and she was sure that he listened. Not only must we truly hear the word of God in prayer but we must also listen to one another. We, as Congregationalists, depend upon listening and honestly hearing each other as we make our way through our faith journey. Last summer, as you know, a nine member committee was formed to begin the search for a new settled pastor. As a member of that committee, I can tell you that we have taken that job very seriously. Listening and really hearing what is important to this church family was priority one. As we have gone through the complicated process of interviewing and evaluating, it is always uppermost for all on the committee to consider what is best for us as a whole church. Again, the value of listening and really hearing the desires and concerns of everyone cannot be overstated. We near the end of that process and I hope that we have decided to present to you a candidate that reflects the fact that we have really heard this congregation. I am reminded of a question the search committee has asked the candidates during their interviews that has produced some interesting answers. We have developed a list of questions based largely on the surveys that you all contributed to at the beginning of the search process and we have added several others that we thought would be enlightening. The question that we ask is this How would you help the congregation see the work of the Holy Spirit in their own lives? How would you explain the Holy Spirit to someone who has never experienced it? One of the 4
answers that struck me was. As a believer, you just have to listen. You need to really hear the word of God in prayer. You sometimes need silence to hear the word. A heartfelt one line appeal to God is certainly worth more to the peace of your soul than a recited prayer that has been memorized but not heard. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans Chapter8 verses 26-27 Likewise the spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God who searches the heart knows what is the mind of the spirit for the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Rev. Doug explains the definition of true worship this way, It has been said in the Christian tradition that true worship involves having both the desire in one s heart to really please God and the Holy Spirit living in one s heart. This little story speaks to all of us. I certainly can relate. One day an old woman went to her pastor and told him that while she had recited the prayer of Jesus for many years, she had never really experienced the presence of God. Her pastor said: How can God get a word in edgewise if you never stop talking? Give him a chance. Keep quiet. How can I do that? She asked. He then gave her this advice which he subsequently gave to many others. He advised her to tidy her room each day after breakfast making it as pleasant as possible. Then to sit in a position where she could see the entire room, including the window that looked out on the garden. When you have sat down, rest for a quarter of an hour in the presence of God, but take care not to pray. Be as quiet as you can and as you obviously cannot do nothing, knit before the Lord and tell me what happens. That certainly sounds like me. She returned several days later, happy to report that at long last, she had felt the presence of God. The Lord most often speaks gently; in a still, small voice- therefore it takes a still quiet heart to hear Him. I would ask you to hear again the lovely words of the 23 rd Psalm, a prayer often memorized and universally loved. Rest your mind and quiet your heart and really listen to these beautiful words. You will forgive me if I use the old form; it is more authentic and meaningful for me. The 23 rd Psalm The Lord is my shepherd 5
I shall not want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures He leadeth me beside the still waters He restoreth my soul He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name sake, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil For thou art with me Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies Thou anointeth my head with oil My cup runneth over Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Did you hear anything new? Surely the Holy Spirit was present for all of us as we really heard these words. Let us try to really hear the words of the Lord as we go about our busy lives. Take time to be silent, let the Holy Spirit into your lives because we still have to begin our day by getting out of bed. Amen 6