“The Plans God Has For You” – Sermon on March 23, 2014
March 23, 2014
Scriptures:
Psalms 32: 8-11 I will instruct you (says God) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress. Don’t be like a senseless horse or mule that has to have a bit in its mouth to keep it in line! Many sorrows come to the wicked, but abiding love surrounds those who trust in God. So rejoice, all those who belong to God, and shout for joy, all those who try to obey.
Matthew 26: 36-46 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
“The Plans God Has For You” – a sermon for March 23, 2014
Revered Doreen Oughton
We continue in this Lenten series on different types of prayer by focusing today on prayers of discernment. Wikipedia defines discernment as “the activity of determining the value and quality of a certain subject or event, particularly the activity of going past the mere perception of something and making detailed judgments about that thing.” It gives a separate definition of it when it is a specifically Christian activity. When defined in context of a Christian practice, discernment is the “process of determining God‘s desire in a situation or for one’s life.” Wiki goes on, “In large part, it describes the interior search for an answer to the question of one’s vocation, namely, determining whether or not God is calling one to the married life, single life, consecrated life, ordained ministry or any other calling.” I think of it as asking the question, “Oh God, what should I do with my life?” It may be in terms of work or relationships, having children, parenting, relocating, what organizations to support and in what way. I think of it as actively seeking God’s guidance on how to live with intention and purpose.
Bible study has been really different since I started this series. Usually we go over the lectionary texts and seek out their meaning, and try to discern a theme. Lately I have been trying to find texts that speak to a particular theme. So I was looking for Gospel passages in which God or Jesus offers guidance, or in which people ask for guidance. We noted how the angels came to Joseph when he learned Mary was pregnant, and encouraged him to marry her anyway; how angels likewise came to the magi and cautioned them not to return to Herod; and how the angels let Joseph know when it was safe to take his family back to Israel when Herod died. We looked at the story of Peter on the boat, seeing a figure walking on the water towards him, telling Jesus, if it is you, Lord, call me to come to you over the water. Jesus calls him, and he leaves the boat, but, not trusting it, begins to sink. We looked at the story of the man who asks Jesus what he must do to obtain eternal life, but walks away when Jesus tells him to sell all his belongings, give the money to the poor, and follow him.
How many of you have ever prayed for guidance? Have you received a response?…
I sent an e-mail request out this week for help with this sermon, asking people to share their experiences with this practice. One person told of a very difficult situation at work, a person who was causing significant disruption and stress for everyone in the work environment for at least a year. Every day was difficult, and the administration’s efforts to curb the behavior were fruitless. It got so bad this person considered quitting the job, but instead she decided to pray. She prayed not only to get through each day with some serenity, but also to have more tolerance of and understanding for the trouble-maker. She says, “It was a simple prayer that came out of sheer frustration but it made me feel calmer and helped me to focus on work, and not so much on his behavior.” Another person talked to me about having gone through significant marriage difficulties. The hurt and disappointment had been building, the challenge of being alone was overwhelming, and this person didn’t know how to get through it, struggled with the thought of staying and with the thought of leaving. Again it was a prayer of desperation, “What do I do?” The answer that came was not what was asked for. It was not “stay,” nor “go.” The response was, “you are loved. You will be alright. You are never, and never will be alone.” With that, the pressure was off, stay or go, go or stay, all would be well.
Another person responded, “Crossroad is becoming my middle name. Where do I belong in my next journey? Which path? For the first time in over 40 years I am not a caretaker and to be honest I do not know how to care for me.I have lost who I am in the sea of service to others. When some of my friends ask me to do something that used to come so natural to me, I panic and pray to be guided to what needs to be done. I know that the words that are needed just comes out without me thinking about it. I know that is God speaking though me.”
My question, for myself and for you, is how do you know it is God speaking to or through you? Is there a feeling of relief or certainty that comes to you? Did all ambivalence just evaporate? I think of my experience with asking God for help in situation of conflict with a loved one. The first step I took, which I believed to be guided by God, went poorly and seemed to escalate the conflict. I was tempted to try something different. I wondered if I’d been mistaken. I was still very uncertain how to proceed. But I tried again, a similar tactic, and still my anxiety increased. It was only after the third time that I was finally convinced I had been on the right track. If I’d been looking for relief or certainty, I think I would have given up too soon.
The person with the work problem also said, “The serenity prayer comes to mind when I think of any situation where you feel helpless. God grant me the courage? serenity? to accept the things I cannot change……………I can’t quite remember it word for word but that doesn’t matter. It’s not in the actual words you use but just sharing your fears or frustrations with God that can help you sort things out or maybe see things more clearly.”
I believe discernment takes practice and true listening, which generally means not being impulsive. Because I think we can talk ourselves into and out of a lot of things. We act out of our fears or self-interest, and pray afterwards to feel okay about it. Sometimes, when we pray for guidance, we get an answer that puts a knot in our stomachs, perhaps like the man who was asked to sell everything, or Peter stepping out to walk on water.
And of course we have the Gospel reading the bible study group agreed was a wonderful illustration of discernment, Jesus praying in the garden at Gethsemane. Three times he prayed to let this cup pass from him. What response did he receive? Twice he continued to be agitated and distressed, and the third time, what, resigned? Willing? Clear?
A bit of wisdom that I always found helpful in situations that require discernment is that it is through our ambivalence that the Holy Spirit has room to work. When we start out with some conviction of what the “right” thing to do is, and then just sort of tell God what we are going to do, or ask for a rubber stamp, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for divine guidance. But if we are willing to sit with uncertainty, with discomfort, with the knot in our stomach, then we are on holy ground and move forward, however tentatively led by God. But the price we may pay is that we may never feel absolutely certain.
Now all of this supposes that there is a “right” choice and a wrong choice, that there is a certain way God wants us to be, and I’m not really convinced of that. I love the first line of the responsive reading – for surely I know the plans I have for you, says God, plans for your welfare and not for harm, plans for hope. But I think of this as big picture plans, like when we say we want our children to be happy and productive, to do the best they can. We don’t need to dictate a certain career, a certain partner, a particular number of children, but our “plan,” if you want to call it that, is for their welfare. I believe our God is a God of freedom, who wants what we want, who wants us to become the best version of ourselves. Not the best version of someone else, not the embodiment of what society wants us to be or our spouse or children want us to be, but what we want to be. So when I was struggling with that conflict, I was focused on what I wanted to be, the best version of how I thought I should handle conflict, and God helped me reach that. I didn’t need to do it as Jesus would have done it. And I suspect our deepest yearnings for who we want to be call us to do things that are difficult and uncomfortable – like dealing with a stressful work situation day after day after day, or stepping into the fear of facing deep damage in a relationship, or redefining ourselves after our lives are turned upside down.
I especially loved the answer to prayer that one of my respondents received – You will be alright, you are never alone. I am with you always. I suspect that Jesus received a similar answer in the garden. You will be alright, I am with you. Go now to the cross, or save yourself, what do you want to do? Whatever that is, do that. I am with you. I believe God did not tell Jesus that it was God’s will that Jesus die then on the cross. I believe God gave Jesus the choice, and Jesus focused on living out the best version of himself that he could imagine. It was hard and scary, but it was his choice, and I believe he knew that God would be with him, and that he would be alright. I believe he trusted that – even as he was arrested and convicted and sentenced to death, and was beaten, and carried his cross and was nailed to it.
I believe that even in those times when we act in haste, or come to a decision without leaving room for the spirit to work, when we seek only a rubber stamp on what we’d already decided, that still God is with us, that still we will be alright. God’s plan will be fulfilled in the end, and God’s plan is for our welfare, for our hope. May it be so.
