What is different about the church this morning? What is missing?

Since Easter Day the Paschal candle has been in the church. It was lit on Easter Eve as a symbol of the resurrection, the presence of the risen Christ in our midst; and has reminded us of how God’s life and love cannot be contained or consumed by the grave.

But Thursday was Ascension Day.

Following Luke’s account of events, forty days after the resurrection, Jesus was taken up into heaven; but before this he instructed his disciples to return to Jerusalem, where we are told ‘they were constantly at prayer together’.

As a way of entering into this story, the candle was carried out of the church, and the flame was blown out; and as the smoke went upwards we recalled how Jesus had to return to the Father before the gift of the Holy Spirit could be poured out on the disciples. 

This is the context we are to hear today’s gospel. Jesus prays to the Father, ‘that they may be one, as we are one’ (17.11). Jesus speaks of being one with the Father, and it is this same unity of being that he prays would be evident in the church, the community of believers.

They are challenging words for us to hear.

One can think of the hatred felt between Christians of different denominations over the centuries. I was reminded of this at a funeral I took on Tuesday. The woman concerned had grown up in Glasgow in the early 1900’s; her father was a uniformed Salvation Army Officer and an Ulsterman, and was responsible for instigating a riot against Roman Catholics. 

‘That they may be one’!

We are fortunate not to have such disharmony in New Zealand, but we still have a way to go. I thought of this as I drove through Naenae yesterday and there were three churches in a row, side by side, a Gospel chapel, a community worship space, and an Anglican church. 

The good news is churches are beginning to work together.

I think of the relationship we share with the other churches in Eastbourne. 

I think of the covenant being signed today between Anglican and Methodists in Auckland. This is a step committing us to a shared journey and to a common vision for our world.

And I think of how today marks a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Jesus prays that our life and witness may reflect the oneness of God. He prays this for our own sake, but he also prays it that the world may believe the truth about him (17.21)

Last week I mentioned the recent Diocesan Visioning Weekend. I said how on the last day we came up with a statement expressing what we seek to be. It was ‘to be a vibrant, Christ-centred community that reaches out and transforms our world.’ 

Now, most of will say ‘yes’ to that. Isn’t that what we want the church to be?

The question is what do we need to do to get there? In our discussions, we narrowed our thoughts down to five points: educating and empowering laity, creating a future for a new generation, working for justice, and having structures supportive of the church’s mission.

But, I think, most important was becoming a community who prays. 

You may remember the story I told of Mother Teresa. A journalist once asked her why she spent so much time in prayer, when she had so much else to do. ‘Oh, you see’, she said, ‘it is very important to spend time with Jesus at the start of the day. Otherwise we might not recognize Him when we see Him in the faces of the dying, on the streets later on.’

It is no different for us. Unless we spend time individually and corporately studying the scriptures and listening to God, we will not be able to see and experience God in those we meet and in the world around us. As Kierkegaard says, ‘Prayer changes us’. 

So how do we pray?

I want to share with you a simple method which has used by the church for many centuries. It is called lectio divina or ‘holy reading’. In fact, the present Pope has said of this method,

‘I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of lectio divina: the diligent reading of sacred scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart. If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church – I am convinced of it – a new spiritual springtime.’ [Pope Benedict XVI (2005)]

The method has four basic steps.

a) Lectio –  ‘taking a bite’. 

[choose a text, get comfortable, focus on breathing, silence, read the text slowly, listening for the still small voice of God, a word or phrase that stands out]

Example: ‘that they may be one’

b) Meditatio – ruminating on the word/phrase. Think of an animal chewing its cud. 

[Take word or phrase into yourself, memorize the word, allow yourself to interact with it, where does this touch my life today, how does it speak into my situation]

Example: the way I think of other Christians, a tendency to judge. 

c) Oratio – savouring the essence of the words. It is about entering into a dialogue with God, allowing the word or phrase to touch and change us.

[Give to God what is in our heart, what is God wanting me to do or be this week?]

Example: I will commit to pray and work with other Christians.

d) Contemplatio – the word, having been digested and made part of our body, we simply be in the presence of God. One may compare this to those moments in a loving relationship when words are unnecessary, it is about practicing silence.

[rest in God’s embrace]

It is a bold statement to make, that if we commit to being a people who pray and inwardly digest the scriptures, the church will find a new ‘spiritual springtime’, and that we will ‘be a vibrant, Christ-centred community that reaches out and transforms our world’. 

But I think it is right. And why? Because it is happened before.

After Jesus had left the disciples, they returned to the city, to Jerusalem; and there in an upper room, they waited for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. 

‘They were constantly at prayer together,’ as Luke reminds us.

And those of us who know what happened next, will recall how on the Day of Pentecost, a sound of a driving wind filled the whole room where the disciples were staying and tongues like flames of fire rested upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

The rest, of course, is history.

So may we get back to basics; may we rediscover what it means to be a people who pray; and may our prayer so change us that others may know and see the hope we proclaim. 

Amen.

 

A sermon preached in St Alban’s Anglican Church, Eastbourne, on Sunday 24th May 2009 by the Ven Damon Plimmer.

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