Signs and belief

Over the next two weeks, the weekday Eucharist Gospel readings are taken from St John's account of events leading to the passion and death of Jesus. As a  unique eyewitness to these events his testimony is important. The Gospels show how very close to Jesus John was. The story he tells gives original insight into the meaning of all that happened.

Today's passage from John 4:43-54, tells of an official whose son is mortally ill. Friends ask Jesus on his behalf to cure the boy. He probes their motives for asking when he says to them; "You will not believe unless you see signs and wonders!" His healing ministry is not intended to be a display of power to convince people to believe. Faith is an act of trust in what is ultimately unknown to us at the outset.

When the official urges him to act before it is too late, Jesus sends him away with the promise that his son will live. The man trusts him and returns home to discover that his son began to recover at the time Jesus spoke to him. His willingness to believe the promise of Jesus is as significant as the healing itself, which takes place at a distance. John speaks of it as a 'Sign' given by Jesus, something which points beyond itself to another thing or reality. 

As Jesus states to another desperate parent who comes to him in search of healing for a child in Mark 9:23, "Everything is possible for one who believes." Jesus believes that the Father will respond to his prayer, and to the faith expressed by those in deep need. This is not magic, however. The journey to healing may be long and tortuous, with setbacks, and may fail our expectations. So often in our neediness we fail to see with perspective, and it is impossible to see things as God sees them, unless God reveals them to us what is truly possible and how this may be achieved.

'"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" says the Lord.'
(Isaiah 55:8)

Prayer requires us to shed our illusions about God and ourselves. Although we are free to be creative and imaginative, expressing ourselves in prayer and worship, the less we rely on this and the more we empty ourselves and presume nothing, the more open to the reality of our Maker we can be. Reliance on the power of God's love and mercy to guide us in this 'agnostic' endeavour is all that matters.

'For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.' (Psalm 62:5)

Refreshment

The fourth Sunday of Lent is halfway in the journey to Easter, sometimes called Refreshment Sunday as well as Mothering Sunday, as it offers a respite from the more exacting demands of the season. Social custom in former times made this weekend an occasion for family re-unions for those whose work scattered them far from the homes in which they  grew up. The story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 is fitting for the Eucharist Gospel of today. 

Eight days ago, this story featured in the weekday readings and awakening to repentance was the theme reflected upon. Today, the father's compassion and his unconditional acceptance of a wayward son provide us with a human image of the merciful love of God reaching out to those who are lost. The conclusion of the story offers a searching insight into obstacles to reconciliation and re-union. 

In Luke 15:28-32, the elder son protests at what he perceives to be indulgent treatment his father gives to his wayward brother. He refuses to join in the homecoming celebration, and complains his father has never been as generous to him as to his younger brother, even though he was always hard working and conscientious. For whatever reason, he'd never made any demands on his father, like his brother. 

The elder is so angry and full of resentment, he disowns the younger brother calling him 'this son of yours'. The father reassures the elder that his place in the family and his inheritance is guaranteed. He needs to celebrate the prodigal's return. He wants to share the joy of restored family life, whatever that might mean for future relationships. The elder son cannot shake off the illusion of being wronged, resentment estranges and isolates him from the family. It serves as a warning against the power of resentment to deprive us of the joy of re-union, of belonging. 

This reminds us to search our hearts for emotional obstacles to intimacy, not only in relationships with one another, but with God. Secretly, we may be angry with God due to experiences we feel we don't deserve, which leave us hurt if not damaged. Or, we may feel we've made few demands on God and would some reward, but never ask for blessing of any kind, perhaps feeling we don't deserve different, but wishing for something anyway. The complex dynamics of expectation are patterned in our early life and becoming aware of these character flaws can be a slow and difficult process. We need to keep reminding ourselves that God sees through us.

'Lord you search me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.' 

(Psalm 139:1-4)

There is no hiding from his scrutiny.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea .... If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:7-12)

Will we allow the light of his love to enter our dark inner places and allow us to see ourselves as we really are so that we can acknowledge and dispose of those inner obstacles which stop us from growing closer?

  

   

Honesty

When Jesus calls upon us to love our neighbours as ourselves in Mark 12:31, he quotes Leviticus 19:18

'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself.'

He also further elaborates on the Mosaic commandment in a challenging way.

'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. (Luke 6:27b-3o)

His concise summary offers the 'golden rule' for all ethical behaviour. It makes concrete the meaning of 'love your neighbour as yourself'.

'Do to others as you would have them do to you.'

What do we want most? How do we prefer others to treat us, according to our desires or according to what we feel we deserve? What we want may be unrealistic, and what we expect can equally be unrealistic, for in a fallen world, we may not have been loved as much as we needed nor have been as loving to others as we ought to be. 

Illusions about ourselves are a product of estrangement from God. God loves us, we have imperfect ideas of God and what love means, whether God's love or the love of others. We learn of God's love through the story of Jesus, and in turning to God, start to learn how to see ourselves in the same way as he does. We pray, in order to shed any illusions we may have about God or ourselves. Many ideas we have about God and ourselves fall far short of the reality.

Much of Jesus's ministry to poor, needy and broken people is about restoring their inner peace and self-confidence, by honestly valuing the faith they have, and respecting their gifts. Nothing is gained by self exaggeration or promotion. We are asked to be honest and realistic about ourselves. He responds compassionately to the pleas of a man who honestly struggles to trust, who says to him

'Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief' (Mark 9:24)

Such is an example of genuine humility, not pretending to believe more than we truthfully know we do. Jesus reassures us, however:

'Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted'   (Luke 18:14) 

There is no time at which the tax collector's prayer is not relevant in helping to refine us in honesty, whether we are broken by failure, or exulted by success.

'Lord have mercy upon me a sinner.'

Icons and idolatry

The first two Commandments delivered by Moses to the people of Israel make it clear only one supreme God can be worshipped and obeyed. This confronts the ancient and primitive notion of there being gods and spirits present in the natural order, which have powers of their own that must be placated, or controlled if not revered. The issue is not whether these things exist, but the insistence that their nature is not absolute, not worthy of worship. All of creation has but a single source, so to ascribe reverence and authority to any aspect of the created order denies the absoluteness of its creator.

'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth ..' (Exodus 20:3-4)

Any way God can be imagined can do no more than point somewhere beyond itself - not necessarily in the right direction. Images, like words are products of the creative process. However admirable and praiseworthy they are, they do not merit being worshipped for any reason. God in Hebrew cultic practise is not portrayed in images. The Temple sanctuary, considered the divine throne room, is an empty space. Hence the prohibition of images for use in worship, lest the creature and the creator be confused.

This prohibition still stands, although artistic evocation of aspects of the divine mystery has become permissible in decoration or for didactic purposes, understanding that nothing can be allowed to detract from the absolute demand for worship to be directed with God. The veneration of saints and holy places is not thought to contradict this insistence, being understood as a high level of love and admiration that falls far short of the adoration given to God. 

In our time, exaltation of images of every kind, giving things 'iconic' status with no reference to the original meaning of that word has grown at a time when belief in God in the sense Judaism, Christianity and Islam adhere to it, is becoming less common. Abandonment of God has been equated with lapse into idolatry since the time of Moses. Many down the ages found they were uneasy with use of images in devotion, that veneration distracts from worship. What matters is that our chosen path to prayer reflects what is helpful and builds us up in undistracted loving devotion to God, not pursuing the kind of illusory status seeking that is given to contemporary use of images.

Asked which was the greatest commandment, Jesus responded not by quoting Exodus, but first by quoting Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

This is how children of Israel should respond to the One whose sovereign actions alone delivered them from slavery to freedom. Love is how any human being who becomes aware of the way God's redeeming work in Jesus gives meaning to our lives. The commandment calls upon all people to take heed, to remember the essential priority, and not to confuse the admiration of creation and creatures with worshipping the one who is beyond imagining or understanding, the One whose love is the source of our live. 

Returning that love is what assures us of life in abundance, now and in the unknown, unknowable future.

' What shall I return to the Lord, for his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord ... I will offer to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord.' (Psalm 115:12-13,17)

Attentive listening

'Oh that today you would listen to my voice; harden not your hearts.' (Psalm 95:3)

'Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people.' (Jeremiah 7:23)

God doesn't force obedience on his children, but appeals to them to listen to his voice. Listening is an active effort involving concentration, discernment. The social skills developed for pastoral counselling or befriending are needed also in prayer. 

Prayer involves learning to be attentive, and waiting for God to address us. It may well be that words and ideas take shape through the power of imagination when we are quiet, open hearted, seeking God's presence. For some people natural conversation with God releases needed insight. 

'Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered ... ' (Isaiah 6:8-12)

For others words, come out of deep silence, when they don't know what to say. They come from beyond us, incomprehensibly. They can be words of hope and encouragement, like these words to persecuted first century Christians.

'Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Even so," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them".' (Revelation 14:13)

Images or sounds may also present themselves, or something indefinable that arises from the depths of the self and takes shape in an impulse to action. We may not even know why until we have trusted and responded to the impulse. This leads to creative initiatives that will nurture, encourage, build up, stimulate or challenge in a way that is fruitful for others. No divinely inspired impulse can lead to harming others. It is the work of the Spirit within us.

Even if renewing and creative processes be painful, like the labour pains which St Paul refers to (Romans 8:22) the work of Spirit is not divisive or damaging. The idea that it can be is a deceitful illusion. As Jesus says: "Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls upon house." (Luke 11:17b)

The church acclaims the Spirit as 'Lord and giver of life' in all its rich diversity. There are many ways of praying, but the fruit of the Spirit is discernable in them all.

 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)

We cannot listen attentively to God without also being attentive to check that our own behaviour genuinely expresses the fruit of the Spirit.

'Search me O God and know my heart; test me and know by thoughts.' (Psalm 139:23)
   

Life long learners

As the children of Israel are about to leave the wilderness and settle in God's promised land, Moses exhorts them to vigilance, lest the forget their experience of liberation from captivity, the need to trust God, letting his law guide their path in the new life ahead of them. It will be of no benefit to anyone to take God's favour for granted, as previous experience showed this leads disastrously to rebellion and rejection of God. It is better to see ourselves as life-long learners and teachers when it comes to faith in God. Like every other relationship in life, faith in God requires conscious effort to maintain.

'.. be careful, watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.' (Deut 4:9)

Jesus says; 

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matt 5:17)

Paul in Romans 13:10 sums up what keeping the law strives to achieve 'Love does no wrong to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.'

There is more to what love can achieve in us than simply not doing wrong to others, but this is the foundation of health and peace necessary for development in prayer and the service of others. The scriptures record prayers uttered in the face of threat, instability insecurity and desperation. Some of the Psalms cry out in anger, exhibit vindictiveness in the face of enmity and betrayal. Such honesty to God is part of the struggle to recover composure and stability. By God's grace we can move away from being dysfunctional and alienated and recover inner tranquility and harmony. Learning how to wait without reacting is vital.

'Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.' (Psalm 37:7)

It can take time to get back to where we'd prefer to be, and restore lost peace within. For some, it can take years to learn true patience.

'Lord ... I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.' (Psalm 131:2)

There are times when prayer in the 'secret place' where we habitually go to pray fails to be a place of comfort. Taking refuge in a place where others pray together, or find quiet sanctuary as individuals - a church or other place made sacred by the prayers of previous generations - can make a difference, and give us needed perspective.

'One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.' (Psalm 27:4)

'When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight, until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. ' (Psalm 73:16-17)

The sign of forgiveness

In the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples to pray, the phrase 

'Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us' 

may equally be translated, 

'Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us'. 

If anyone is caused to suffer through the misdeeds of another, something is missing in the relationship between them. We speak of being owed an apology, if we have been wronged. 

Jesus tackles the question of how much we are owed, in the parable about a heavily indebted man, released from his obligation to pay a colossal outstanding sum, who refuses to do the same for someone whose debt to him is minor in comparison. He has got away without being punished yet still seeks to punish someone else. When his master finds this out he is outraged and punishes him even more severely for his unmerciful behaviour. 

Having told this story to his disciples, Jesus issues one of his sternest warnings:

'And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.' (Matthew 18:35)

Heartfelt forgiveness is difficult to practise when the heart itself is wounded by sin. This makes it vital to keep praying to receive healing for being sinned against, as well as pardon for sin committed. We are always sinned against as well as sinners in a world of dysfunction in relation to God, as well as each other. 

It requires courage and determination to keep on facing this truth, and refusing to despair. The appeal we make to God for mercy is a lifeline anchoring us to Christ and his cross, the definitive sign of divine compassion. It is with good reason that the priest's declaration of God's pardon and absolution, and the anointing with oil for healing, are accompanied by the priest making the sign of the cross on the recipient, and made by the recipient themselves. It is usual in eastern Orthodox tradition for repetition of 'Lord have mercy' to be accompanied by crossing oneself. The simple physical action unites the mind and body with the spiritual reality. Another brief prayer associated with the making of the sign of the cross is this

'Fence me about, O Lord, with the power of the honourable and life-giving Cross, and deliver me from every evil.'