Sixth Sunday of Easter April 27, 2008
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 148:7-14
1 Peter 3:8-18
John 15:1-8
Part of my task in these last few months that we are together is to review some basic themes of the faith. My overall goal is to emphasize and enhance maturity of faith, focusing on being disciples of Jesus rather than just admirers. This morning I want to talk about prayer.
If you would turn to the lesson from John’s Gospel, please:
Toward the end of the Gospel lesson, note what Jesus says: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)
There’s a basic rule in reading scripture. If something is mentioned more than once, it’s important. If it is mentioned eight times, it really behooves us to pay attention. Jesus mentions the term “abide” eight times in this passage, so we can assume it is very important. More specifically, he is talking about abiding in Him and His words abiding in you. This is a critical component of mature faith and it is important in our understanding of prayer.
“To abide” is from the Greek “Menos” and it means several things:
To be home (remember an abode is a home)
To be safe which is the basis of the term “to be saved”
To remain
To be in the place from which one is vigilant
To be rested and refreshed
To abide in Christ is to be part of his Body, to be part of the community of faith, to be refreshed and strengthened by the sacraments, to have made a heart level commitment to the Lordship of Jesus. To want to please Him more than anything.
When we pray from our abode in Christ, then this promise about prayer is effective. So let’s look at this more closely.
First, we need to pray and make sure that we are thinking right. I start with a wonderful passage from verse 45 of the 24th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. The crucified and risen Lord Jesus is on the road to Emmaus. He encounters some people and he "opened their minds to understand the scriptures." I believe that in prayer and study, Christ will open our minds to understand scripture. This is really about the way we think and perceive the things of God. Let’s look at some examples:
In Colossians 1:21 Paul tells us that we were once "hostile in mind" to the things of Christ, but now if we abide in Him, we think differently.
For instance, when we are in crisis, or when we are dealing with chronic, terrible afflictions, we'd better control our thoughts or we're going to be in worse trouble. In Romans 12: 2 Paul tells us not to be conformed to this world, but to "be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." In 2 Corinthians 10: 5, Paul tells us that we are to take "every thought captive."
And in Philippians 4: 8 he writes, "whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
This is so hard to do, especially at those times of intense pain or frustration or despair. I like to call this the "four o'clock in the morning syndrome" when you lie in bed and stew about things. I can get neurotic about the future and play the "what if" game. You know, when you go over and over in your mind, "What if this happens, or what if that happens." Jesus is pretty clear in Matthew 6: 33-34, "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness...do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day." The key to right thinking is first to seek God's kingdom here and now in prayer, to affirm that God is love and that for this day, this hour, this minute, I totally, unequivocally, completely abide in Christ. We are to deal with what's before us right now and we are not to go borrowing trouble from the future.
The second thing we need to do to claim this promise of Christ about answering prayer is to change our thinking about time. In Second Peter 3: 8 it states: “do not ignore this one fact beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”
The key to withstanding the onslaught of pain and frustration is patience. God answers prayer, but He operates from His time frame, not ours.
And the key to patience is to have an understanding of time that is God's time and not human time.
The Greeks in their wisdom had a separate word for each understanding. Human time was called "chronos" and God's time was called "kairos." Admittedly this is an over simplification, but you'll soon get my drift.
For Chronos, think of our words chronology, chronometer, chronicle, chronic. They all represent the marking of the passage of time.
The ancient Greeks liked to set their understanding of reality in terms of myths, and the myth for human time was a figure called Chronos. He was the youngest of the Titans and the father of the Greek gods. His primary claim to fame was that he ate each of his babies as soon as they were born. His last child, Zeus, managed to escape and defeat his father. Zeus, as you remember, was the chief of the Greek pantheon of deities.
So why would the Greeks use such a horrible figure like Chronos to represent time? It's because the Greeks understood that once something is done, it's gone, it's over. It's as if the past has been gobbled up: literally. But it's also a statement about the ferocity of time. It's like that old statement, "Time and tide wait for no man." Time is relentless, and sometimes it is overwhelming, particularly during a time of distress.
We all know how Chronos works.
Chronos is the time of hassle and fear, resentment and frustration and pain and grief. Chronos is about loss.
Chronos is waiting for the doctor's report and upon receiving it, the disappointment, perhaps the fear, is overwhelming.
Chronos is running late for a meeting you don't want to go to. It's coming in breathless and the only place to sit is on the front row and you have to stay for the whole thing and can't leave early.
Chronos is looking for a parking place at Costco on Saturday morning and it's raining.
Chronos is when the Huskies are beating the Ducks.
Chronos is being audited by the IRS.
Chronos is when they are checking your Visa Card at the restaurant.
Chronos is waiting for the traffic cop to get off the radio and walk up to you as you are sitting in your car by the side of the road.
Chronos is making eye contact with your boss as he drives by when you are sitting by the side of the road in your car waiting for the traffic cop.
Chronos is when Rob Curtis was standing on the bank of the McKenzie watching his drift boat float by after it broke its tie rope.
Chronos is sitting in the dentist's chair and listening to the high pitched sound of the drill.
Chronos is watching your son lie very still out in the middle of the field during a football game.
These are not of God. These are not experiences of love and grace.
Now to Kairos. Jesus announced in Mark 1:15 "The time (the kairos) is fulfilled; and the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel."
Kairos is repenting, changing our minds, throwing off sin and submitting to Christ and receiving that "peace of God which passes all understanding."
Kairos is being forgiven
Kairos is receiving the Eucharist
Kairos is a four year old girl playing with her dolls.
Kairos is baking cookies with your grandkids
Kairos is beating the Huskies
Kairos is a big, unexpected income tax return.
Kairos is getting what you really wanted for Christmas and you thought that your parents couldn't afford it.
Kairos is true peace in the face of adversity
Kairos is knowing God wins, and therefore, so do you.
Kairos is abiding in Christ and therefore producing the fruit that Jesus calls for in today's Gospel lesson.
This is the third thing we need to know and do as we pray in the face of ongoing disappointment. We are to bear fruit, no matter the circumstance.
Please note what our Lord says about half way down in the Gospel lesson. “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them produce much fruit, because apart from me, you can do nothing."(John 15:5)
The fruit of which Jesus speaks is the fruit of the Spirit. Paul describes this one fruit in Galatians 5:22-23. Please note it is one fruit, not a basket of different fruits. This is one fruit which has all these dimensions: ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control'. Being empowered by the Holy Spirit to bear this fruit is a sign of our ongoing faithfulness, of our truly abiding in Christ, in spite of discouraging news.
Let's take a quick look at these words which describe this one fruit. All of these need to be present if it is truly the "fruit of the Spirit."
Love is unconditional regard for another. It's being "other" focused, not "self" focused.
Joy is the overwhelming sense of gladness and gratitude for God's love and grace, no matter what the situation.
Peace is the quietness of spirit and heart and mind that comes from complete trust and submission to Christ.
Kindness is being warmly disposed in thought and deed toward others.
Goodness is to be without guile.
Faithfulness is firm and unswerving loyalty to Christ and His Church.
Gentleness is strength and courage marked by restraint and tenderness.
Self-control is mastering one's own thoughts, desires and passions as a sign of abiding in Christ.
To be faithful in prayer while we deal with profound disappointment is to make sure that we are thinking as we ought, to make sure we are living in God's time and to make sure we are bearing the fruit of the Spirit. In short, to make sure that we are indeed, abiding in Christ.
It's not easy, but the other choices make things so much worse. Ours is a loving God, and to him be all Honor and Glory.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
