“Becoming the One God Created Me to Be”

Mark 2:1-12                 James 5:13-20   2015

I was visiting with a church member at Hospice, and as he recognized

and accepted the reality that he was going to die fairly soon,

he struggled and felt a deep sense of urgency to resolve

his unfortunate, painful and less than stellar past.

It was difficult for both of us as he explained with frank candor

how he had repeatedly and shamelessly cheated on his wife,

which led to a destructively ugly and very bitter divorce

that absolutely ground up his little girl in the process.

When that wife died, his daughter blamed him, and after the funeral

she said that she hated him, never wanted to see him again,

and for decades they had been estranged with no contact.

It was one of the saddest, most pitiful stories I have ever heard,

but thanks be to God,  he wasn’t that same selfish man anymore.

From his room at Hospice,

somehow he managed to get hold of this long-estranged daughter

who still had no interest or desire to see him ever again,

but reluctantly agreed to come by for a short visit…

… and I happened to be in the room talking with him when she arrived.

Her face and body language announced her bitter

hatred, distain and deep unresolved resentment.

After some tense and uncomfortable conversation,

he asked if we could pray and then share Communion.

So I prayed a short prayer, said I would be back in a little while,

and went to the church to get some wafers and juice.

I certainly wasn’t going to deny his request for the sacrament,

but I was also very uneasy about celebrating Communion

with their relationship so broken, bitter and estranged.

I prayed desperately for wisdom, guidance and resolution.

When I got back to the room, they were both weeping uncontrollably,

she was sitting on his lap and calling him “Daddy”…

… and I realized I was watching a miracle in process,

                                                   for only God could have brought about

                                                            such an amazing healing of reconciliation.

He told me shortly before he died   that he was way more grateful

to God for healing that broken relationship with his daughter

than he would have been had God chosen to heal his cancer.

Note to self:

God always knows and does what is best for us,

and always provides the appropriate healing that we need.

But as I’ve thought more about that experience,

it’s raised some questions about my understanding of prayer.

About the prayer that day,  was it   in response to human request

that God agreed to soften human hearts by making them

capable of receiving the blessing of reconciliation?,

or was that reconciliation God’s plan and intention all along,

and that the prayer was mostly about

getting us on track with God’s intention and purpose?

            Is prayer primarily about God changing the situation,

                        or is it about God changing the heart of those who pray?

How do we understand the process of prayer?

Is it about change, as in getting God to do something we desire,

or is it about change,   as in

getting us on track with something that God desires?

With its a very pragmatic guide to living out the Christian life,

the book of James is mostly focused on what

the behavior of a life as defined by grace   looks like,

and doesn’t deal so much with receiving that grace or on

the fact that God never gives up on any of us or ever lets go.

So after several chapters of instructions about doing good works,

the author of James concludes with

a fervent call for Christians to be faithful in prayer.

13-16

Are any among you suffering? They should pray.

Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.

Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.

The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.

The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

If you are struggling or dealing with troubles or difficulties,

            bring it to the Lord in prayer, put on the armor of grace,

and let the Spirit’s embrace guide and comfort you.

If things are going incredibly well and wonderful,

                        bring it to the Lord in prayer, put on the armor of grace,

and thank your God with praise and gratitude.

Whatever is going on in life, through prayer we commune with God,

which helps us interpret life in terms of God’s presence,

and in prayer we ask, what is God showing us, teaching us

so that our faith can develop, mature and grow deeper.

The Lord is always up to something, pouring grace into our lives

            and in prayer God guides us to see it and recognize it.

In prayer we focus, speak with  and listen for the Spirit to reveal,

placing our emotions, desires, needs and burdens before God,

expecting that the Lord will do something about it,

and help us live more fully & faithfully as God intends.

Prayer is traveling along a path where we can be transformed by God,

and if there is a change in circumstances or situation,

it is only by the sovereign grace and kindness of God,

and not that our prayer has coerced or forced God’s hand.

But prayer is about far more than just our individual spirituality.

It is also the

critical work and mission of the whole community of faith.

Prayer is an integral part of the life we share as a faith community

            as we are involved and supporting one another in prayer.

Praying for others, we recognize that all are important & connected

   as we become conduits of God’s gracious love, mercy and healing.

For example, a friend told me this story

about a man crushed with grief when his beloved wife died.

He said to his friends that he couldn’t pray like he used to

because he was too angry, upset and disappointed with God,

and in fact wasn’t sure he even believed in God anymore.

His friends were quiet for a moment, then one of them said,

“then we will believe for you and we will pray for you.”

And over the next weeks these friends continued to visit him,

and they would gather for prayer, and each time

they asked God to restore the faith of their dear friend.

After several months, these friends were with him in his home,

and he said with a smile,

“It is no longer necessary for you to pray for me.

Today I would like you to pray with me.”

James concludes his letter, vs. 19-20

My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

This passage isn’t about God taking back the gift of our salvation,

but recognizes that a believer’s faith can fade and stumble

into a dark and sinful place that feels like death,

and that we can be paralyzed by obstacles and burdens

that block us from allowing God’s love to enter.

As a community of believers connected by the faith we share,

if someone wanders or stays from their faith,

we pray and support them amid their wondering & struggling

so that their faith may be strengthened and restored.

The Mark passage that we read earlier is about

how someone can be paralyzed and blocked from access to Christ.

We see how the support of friends can help overcame the obstacles

that were keeping him from the healing and mercy of Jesus.

In the story itself, Jesus was teaching in the house,

perhaps with someone near the open doorway

repeating what was said

to the crowd gathered outside, listening in the street.

Suddenly inside, there was some thumping, and a scratching noise

as dust and bits of straw came tumbling down from the ceiling.

Then hands appeared, tearing open a large hole in the roof

and Jesus stops speaking, and looks up, interrupted …

… as a mat was slowly lowered passing down through the opening.

The mat was lowered by ropes attached to each of the four corners,

until it came to rest in front of where Jesus was sitting…

… and then looking down at the man on the mat, Jesus spoke:

“My son. Your sins are forgiven.”

When these men brought their friend before Jesus to be healed,

I doubt that forgiving his sin was anywhere on their agenda.

But when Jesus said that, the scribes huddled over in the corner,

began to grimace, and their faced hardened with disapproval.

And then looking right at them, Jesus challenged them:

Mark 2:7-12

At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’?

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–he said to the paralytic– “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.”

And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

At this point, early in the gospel of Mark,

the author is telling this story to illustrate who Jesus is,

that he is the Son of God and has authority to forgive sin –

and he proves that power,

by demonstrating his authority to heal the paralyzed man.

Reading this story, a bit deeper as a metaphor that applies to me,

it challenges me to ask, what in my life paralyzes me,

and what holds me back from the healing Christ intends?

Where am I stuck from fully accepting God’s forgiveness & healing?

What am I allowing to frighten me, to stymie my joy & living fully?

When fear or regret, failure, guilt or loss paralyzes our spirits

only God’s grace, love and healing available through prayer

can bring give us courage and strength to take up our mats,

and to live in hope   sustained by God’s truth & promises.

Prayer helps open us to change and grow as we connect with God,

as we can see this world and our circumstances in a new way,

finding peace and hope as God realigns our understanding

with a renewed Christian perspective and perception.

* Prayer moves us toward healing, even if our situation doesn’t change.

There is another lesson this story can teach us about prayer.

These four friends of the paralytic at the four corners of the mat

exemplify what it means & looks like for us to pray for one another.

They had compassion enough to put themselves out on his behalf,

creatively overcoming the obstacle of the pressing crowd—

— by making a hole in the roof to place their friend before Jesus…

                        … and isn’t that a picture prayer being enacted    

                             as they cared for their friend, bringing him to Jesus?…

… and as the Church, are we not to be to each other,

            like those four friends at the corners of the mat,

                             bringing those in need before Jesus,

                                    to be healed, blessed and made whole…

     … humbly before Almighty God, who hears and answers our prayers?

Christian prayer is coming before our Heavenly Father in humility,

so that by sharing our concerns, petitions and requests,

our relationship with God grows deeper as we draw nearer,

so that our lives and our thinking

                        are brought more and more into line with our loving God.

Does God      want us to pray when we want something?

Yes, absolutely, the command to pray is throughout Scripture.

Does God    do miracles, impossible and totally unexpected things?

Certainly that’s true, and there’s no doubt in my mind.

Does prayer cause or make God do something

            that He otherwise would not have done had we not prayed?

I don’t know, how could anyone other than God possibly know,

for prayer and the decisions of God  are definitely not

something to be tested by experiment in a laboratory.

But through our faithful deepening and our consistent prayer life

            we put on the gift and blessing of   the armor of God

                        which strengthens and enables us to stand and to serve;

            for prayer   is what keeps us connected and listening to God,

               for prayer   helps us remove the obstacles between us and God.

Our struggles and problems, our trials and burdens,

are not about flesh and blood, not in defeating other people,

but always it’s to stand with the Lord in faithfulness,

standing strong in the armor of God’s righteousness.

As we read in Ephesians 5,   vs. 10-11, 18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand … pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.