Getting Away to Pray
Psalm 139
Gospel Reading: Matthew 14:13, 22-23
These short verses take place during a very busy time in Jesus' ministry. He was in constant demand, with great crowds following him and his disciples always needing direction and answers. These verses tell us a bit about how he dealt with the stresses surrounding him.
13Now when Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been arrested, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard he was there, they followed him on foot from the towns.
We then skip over the story of the feeding of the five thousand.
22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
Prayer is one of the cornerstones of our faith, yet we rarely talk about what it is or how we do it. Many people I have talked to over the years have confessed that they aren't sure they know how to pray, that they worry they aren't doing it “right.”
From what we can see in the Bible and in the history of Christianity and other faith traditions, there is no right or wrong way to pray. Writer Carolyn Bohler defines prayer as, “conscious communication with the Deity.”
I like that definition. It recognizes that God, or however we name God, is in communication with us at all times, but prayer is when we are intentionally communicating with God, when we make it go both ways.
There are no rules about how we pray. We can use our own words, other people's words or no words. We can sit or stand or walk or even kayak. We can be with others or on our own.
Psalm 139 assures us that we are known and loved by God. I love the line, I come to the end, I am still with you. God is always with us and knows us better than we know ourselves.
So prayer doesn't have to be perfect, we don't have to find the right words or even know what exactly it is we are trying to say or ask. God knows what we are trying to say, what we feel, what we need.
In those short verses from Matthew, we see Jesus using a form of prayer that he uses often in all the gospels, what I call “retreat” prayer, prayer where he goes away by himself and simply sits with God. We don't know what he said or how he prayed in those moments, we simply know that he felt the need to withdraw and be alone in order to renew his spirit, to refill his well.
Today we're going to focus on that “retreat” type prayer, when we consciously take time and space away from our regular routine to be with God. This is not the only way to pray! It's one of many ways, but it's an important one because it's so intentional, it allows more time and space for us to be aware of a response from God.
The goal of retreat prayer is to connect with God, to refill our well, to perhaps seek guidance and discernment. Often we can hear God better when we are in a quieter space, when we give ourselves more time and room to listen.
I think this form of prayer is particularly important right now as we go through these Covid times. With so much uncertainty in our lives and our world, we need to ground ourselves in God as our source of love and the ground of our being even more.
So today's sermon is more experiential than usual. We will take you to the beach, on a kayak, to walk a labyrinth and to my home (excuse the mess) as we explore ways to follow Jesus' example and withdraw to a quiet place to pray.
Labyrinth
Another form of active retreat prayer is walking a labyrinth. This is an ancient form of prayer which Christians adopted in the Middle Ages as a way of doing a pilgrimage when wasn't possible to take to the road. This labyrinth is at the Anderton Gardens, here in Comox Valley.
Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has only one path, so there is no confusion, no decision making. You simply follow the path and allow its twists and turns to lead your mind where it needs to go.
People often walk a labyrinth with a particular intention or question in mind, holding it out to God. Sometimes they carry a small stone with them, symbolizing a burden or question they are carrying, and then leave it at the center, giving it to God. Often the journey to the center brings one answer or new awareness and the journey out brings another.
For me the combination of walking and following the path is very powerful. It calms my mind so I can be open to the Spirit in a different way. I no longer try to lead the conversation, I just let it happen as I follow the path.
If you don't have a labyrinth you can walk, you can try going for a walk where instead of letting your mind wander, you focus on your movement, on each step by your feet, on each swing of your arms, on each breath in and out.
Home
I'm filming this last section at home, because sometimes when we want to withdraw to pray as Jesus did, we simply aren't able to go anywhere. There may not be a special place nearby to go to, movement may be difficult for us or we may just not have the time. And so we have to pray at home.
That's when rituals or objects can help us to have a sense of setting aside this time and place for prayer. Candles are wonderful for that. Just the motion of lighting one, the scent of the match, the light of the flame, are enough to tell us that this is holy time, time set aside for prayer.
Rev. Ted uses a prayer rock as a way of centering himself. Just holding the rock, being aware of its solidity and connection to God as our rock can anchor us.
Some people use prayer beads as a way to stay focused, perhaps a bead for each intention, or even just a way to keep us wordlessly focused on God's presence.
A Bible reading or a reflection can help us to focus ourselves. Anything that gives us those cues that we are letting go of our usual routine and thinking and that helps us move to a different way of being, a way that is open to the presence of the Spirit, is a valid tool for prayer.
Prayer for Prayer Sunday
God of all, Source of Love and ground of our being,
We come before you today as individuals in our homes yet all of us connected together as a family in your love. We are grateful that you are such a constant presence in our lives and in our world. Help us to understand deep within us that we can connect with you anywhere and any time, there are no rules, there is no right or wrong way to pray. There is simply opening our hearts to your divine presence.
We give thanks for people and places who help us to be more aware of your presence, who help us to draw closer to you. We are grateful as well for those who are helping to make our journey through this pandemic a little smoother, from leaders like Dr. Bonnie Henry and Premier Horgan to health care workers to retail staff to friends and neighbours reaching out to stay connected.
We pray for all people who are struggling with the pandemic: those who are ill or whose family members are ill, those whose work has been lost or changed, those who are stressed by the various changes Covid has brought to our lives and our world – the list goes on.
We pray for the new awareness of racism in our country and in our world over the pat few months and we pray that this awareness will continue to grow. May we be a part of keeping it going.
We pray for people who are dealing with illness, whether it be physical or mental, those who are accompanying loved ones through times of illness. May they have a sense of your presence with them, giving them comfort and strength. In particular we pray for Sylvia Peebles who had a biopsy this week. We also give thanks that Rhonda and John are feeling stronger.
In this time of worldwide struggle and uncertainty, we pray for leaders in our community, our province, our country and our world.
We pray for Muslims who gather for their most holy pilgrimage, the Haj, in Mecca this week, such a different pilgrimage than usual in these Covid times. May they be safe, may it be a holy time for all who are there.
Silence