EPIPHANY 5B 2009

Text: Is. 40:29-31 & Mark 1:35

What do we do when life seems overwhelming? What do we do when the pressures of life, whether it be financial pressures, or problems in our personal relationships, or simply the stress of day to day life, getting up and doing whatever it is that we have to do, threatens to drive us to despair?

In our gospel story we see how Jesus dealt with the pressure that existed in his life. In the way that Mark wrote his gospel, Jesus is portrayed as a man of action. He seems to go from one event to another, driven by his desire to live out his mission in life. In our story today, he has had a very busy day. He began the day by teaching in the synagogue, and there confronting unclean spirits. After church, or synagogue, he goes to Simon Peter’s house, and he heals her of her fever. As the day draws to a close, Mark says that the whole city comes to Simon’s house, bringing those who needed healing. Jesus then has to work and pray for their healing and recovery.

This was a pretty intense day, and we can imagine that Jesus was tired, physically, but more emotionally. It is draining to give of yourself all day to other people, caring for their needs. So after sleeping a while, Mark writes:

Mark 1:35 ( NRSV ) 35In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

Three times Mark records Jesus going out by himself to pray. In Mark 6:45, after Jesus had spent the day with thousands of people, ending the day by feeding them with bread and fish, Mark tells us this:

Mark 6:45 -46 ( NRSV ) 45Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

The final time we see Jesus praying in Mark is just before he is betrayed in the garden of Gethsemane.

Mark 14:32-42 ( NRSV ) 32They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” 35And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36He said, “Abba,£ Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” 37He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 38Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;£ the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. 41He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

Though we know that Jesus prayed more than these three times, I believe Mark recorded these specific times to help his readers. In these passages we see the way to deal with the pressures and stresses of life.

We see this same truth in our Old Testament lesson from Isaiah. Listen again to these verses:

Isaiah 40:29-31 ( NRSV ) 29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;31 but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

In my early Christian days we sang a portion of this passage in the King James:

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not be faint.

What Jesus teaches up by his example, and the prophet tells us in poetry, is that there is a strength and a power that is available to us through pray and waiting upon God.

The Apostle Paul expresses this truth in a couple of places in his second letter to the Corinthians. After struggling with what he calls a thorn in his flesh.. what it was we don’t really know – but it was something that really bothered him about his health or his soul – and after praying for deliverance from it, he says that the answer he received from God was this:

My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.. Paul then writes:

2 Corinthians 12:10 ( NRSV ) 10Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

It seems to be a spiritual truth that many of us do not experience the power of God working in our lives until we find ourselves weak, sick, or struggling emotionally, or simply stressed out by life. This of course is the principle behind Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups. We cannot experience the power of God working in our lives until we face and accept our weakness. But once we do, we open ourselves up to that power which is greater than ourselves, and in this process we find healing and strength.

I have always loved the phrase: “wait upon the Lord.”. What does this mean? I think it includes prayer, but it suggests much more. When I feed my dog, he goes and sits right outside the kitchen and sits there, looking and patiently waiting for me to give him the command to go outside and eat. He knows where he is going to get his food. His attitude is a picture of waiting!

Often when we hear from the priest or pastor that we need to pray we feel inadequate and while we think it is a good idea, we don’t really know what to do. So we might say a few quick words to God and then go about our business. I remember when I was growing up, the only real time I prayed was just before church.. I said a quick prayer and then went the rest of the week without praying at all.

But I think the word wait helps us. To me it implies an attitude of presence, simply placing myself in the presence of God. As Jesus taught us, both time and place are important. If we are going to wait, or pray, we need to get alone. No phones, radio, TV. Etc. And I have found that I need to pick a time when I am most alive, or receptive to a time of waiting and prayer. For me it is the morning, but for you it could be evening, or afternoon. Then set a time limit – 5 minutes, then 10 and then more if possible, and protect that time and do not leave until that time is up. In many ways, doing all of this is the hardest part.

So you are now alone with God.. Now what? I have done many different things over the years, but my general pattern is to read a portion of the Bible or some other spiritual reading, and then to sit and pray and think, using different methods. Sometimes I just sit quietly and my mind wanders all over the place, but as I can, I place my mind and body in God’s presence. I am not the best intercessor, by that I mean I am not the best prayer for other people. I don’t have a list and go over it as some do. I often feel guilty about this, but it does not seem to be a gift that I have. But I do pray for those who are in the most need that are on my heart. Sometimes I sing. Sometimes I get on my knees. Most of the time now I sit. Many times my mind wanders. Recently I have been having trouble sitting quietly because all I sense are my weaknesses and my failings.. so I have been reading my prayers. I have been doing this on an off in Spanish. Over the years I have found, as I said at the beginning of this message, that my prayers are most fervent when I am weak or in need, or someone close to me is in trouble. I can remember very well praying for my mother who died of cancer when she was 63. I can remember times of great stress and weakness and insecurity when my prayers were more focused and fervent. Like many of you, and like Paul and Isaiah, I am learning that true inner strength does not come from me, but from the Spirit of God.

An interesting experience that I am having as I grow older is that I feel more vulnerable and weaker. I don’t really know how to describe it but I am less cocky and sure of myself, and I am much more aware of the struggles and pain of life all around me. It is funny because I felt this way when I was in college also, and it was after a long time of feeling totally helpless and weak that I finally called out to Jesus to help me. As I have shared, my life was totally renewed, just like Isaiah promised. In my weakness, I found a new strength. Now again, after many years, I am learning this lesson again. Any strength that I have is found in the Lord. Isaiah said that God “gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.” The Apostle Paul wrote that while our outer nature, that is our body, is wasting away, our inner nature, or our soul, is being renewed.” (2 Cor. 4:16)

Central to our vision here at Faith Church is that we would be a community of people who take our faith seriously. One of the marks, or ways that we can evaluate whether we are doing that is whether we are taking any time in the course of our lives to wait on the Lord. If we could take the time and each one of us could share what our prayer, or waiting life looked like, we would be all over the map. Some of you are new at this Christian life, and you are just learning. Others have been church goers for a while but have not made, for one reason or another, being in God’s presence a part of your life. Some of you were serious at one time, but now are in slump. Others may be feeling weak and desperate and are now getting serious about your faith.

But wherever you are in your journey, both as a veteran, and still a beginner, I want to encourage you to create time and place so that you can wait upon the Lord, so that your strength can be renewed, and your soul can rise up and see what really matters in life, and not be overwhelmed by life’s trials and burdens. None of this is easy, but the rewards are great. Over and over again in the scripture, the Lord promises to draw near to those who are humble and broken in heart.

Let me close with another great verse from the Prophet Isaiah:

 For thus says the high and lofty one

    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

    I dwell in the high and holy place,

    and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit,

    to revive the spirit of the humble,

    and to revive the heart of the contrite. Is. 57:15 Amen!