Prayers are Windows

Sermon John 17:1-11 May 28, 2017 7^th Sunday of Easter/Ascension-Memorial Day Weekend

Prayers are Windows

God of power and mercy,
you destroy war and put down earthly pride.
Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears,
that we may all deserve to be called your sons
      and daughters.
Keep in your mercy those men and women
who have died in the cause of freedom
and bring them safely
into your kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this though Jesus Christ our Lord.
R/. Amen

When I was a little girl I loved the Disney animated movie of Cinderella. I dreamed of having a fairy godmother that could take all my troubles away. I dreamed of a fairy godmother that could make all my dreams come true and give me more than I ever could have imagined. Beautiful fancy dresses and dancing, and a prince charming all swirled in my head as the wonders to be had.

So, when my life entered into a life of prayer as a teenager, the image of the Cinderella fairy godmother first came to mind. I wanted God to take all my troubles away and I wanted God to grant me a life where all my dreams would come true.

But, as I grew-from teenager to adult-I learned a lot more about prayer-and a lot more about God.

There are so many things that we learn from our eavesdropping on the prayer of Jesus. We learn about eternal life, we learn about relationship, we learn about unity, and we learn about love.

Jesus offers us a window, an inside look, at how he prays. As we listen to his words we get to see what kind of person he is.

The words we hear from Jesus as he prays in John 17 are windows into who Jesus is, who we are, and how we are all one and called to life of unity.

Prayers are windows to God

John Calvin writes a lot about prayer he says, “Words fail to explain how necessary prayer is, and in how many ways the exercise of prayer is profitable. It is therefore by the benefit of prayer that we reach those riches which are laid up for us with the heavenly Father.”

Prayers according to Calvin bring us into the riches of the Heavenly Father. We experience that as we enter into the words Jesus uses in this prayer for his disciples. Jesus appears to be fully present with God. As he prays, it is as if God is sitting in the chair next to him having a cup of tea while they talk.

Jesus, puts God first in his prayer and seeks for God to accomplish God’s glory not only in him but by him for his disciples. In this prayer, we learn about how God and Jesus are one with each other. We learn that God has given Jesus authority over humanity. We learn that Jesus has given eternal life to those who he claims are his.

As we pray to God what assumptions about God do we bring to the table of our prayer? Is God a fairy godmother who answers our requests and whisks away our troubles?

Or is God perhaps the one in whom we witness glory and wonder?

Perhaps, God is the One who sits at table with us and brings us comfort and confidence as we lift up our words in prayer.

Prayers are windows into knowing God.

The more we enter into words of prayer the more we have the experience of the presence of God.

Prayers are windows to life

St Augustine said: ‘'O Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.'

Jesus is not restless with God as he prays for his disciples. He is openly talking about the relationship he has with God. They are together-one with another. Jesus’ desire is for the disciples to be one with God.

And in this oneness, is eternal life. Perhaps the rest Augustine talks about is this oneness-this unity with God.

He offers this window to eternal life. 

Jesus assumes God is with him in love and unity.

He believes God will, through the power of presence, bring the fullness of life.

Eternal life is not a future context but a here and now experience of the glory of God within us and around us.

And if we believe this about life, then we can believe we are not alone in anything we do. If we believe we have the riches of God with us now, then we have the courage to go about being God’s disciples for the glory of God and for the power of the Kingdom. That means we go out and heal the sick, bind the wounds of the broken hearted, lift up those who have fallen prey to predators, we do all the things we witnessed Jesus doing. We pray like he did and we do what he did and we believe in this eternal life that he speaks of in his prayer.

Prayers are windows to ourselves

When we pray with the confidence that Jesus models for us, we see the window into ourselves. We begin to discover who we are through what we pray and how we pray. We discover the burdens that weigh us down, we can see the worries we carry for others, we notice the love we have for neighbors.

The more me offer ourselves to God in prayer our soul’s window opens more and more. We pay attention to our prayers, and we become transformed by them. The presence of God cannot be denied as we enter more and more into the way of prayer.

We will never give up saying all those complaints to God. Because, as I said, we get to see who we are when we pray.

“Why are we still fighting, and when is the hate going to stop?”

If we listen to ourselves we find out what our priorities are. God comfort the lady at the drugstore who just told me her husband left her. God find me a job so I can pay my electric bill. God fix my sister, she’s driving me crazy. Ok, God get with the program and bring us world peace.  

Prayer changes us.

Our words double back on us and they motivate us into action.

Prayer shows us exactly who we are.

It lifts us up out of our despair and carries us into discovering new ways.

We discover a power within ourselves that we did not know we had. It is the power of confidence, assurance, and courage.

In this continued discipline of prayer, not to air, but to the person of God through Christ, the nature of God’s presence becomes stronger. In prayer, we discover a relationship that builds stronger with each prayer we make.

Prayers are a window into the World.

Jesus prays for his disciples who are to remain there on earth after he has returned to God the Father and Christ is concerned for them. ‘Keep them safe’ he implores, for they have an ongoing task to do – they are to bear witness to his life, to his death, to his resurrection – to the message that God in Christ brings love, forgiveness, healing, peace and hope to all humanity. (Church of Scotland-Sc011353)

And this is when prayer becomes even more real than ever. Because we are swung or slung full force out there to show what we believe without any hesitation or recoil. According to Jesus in his prayer humanity will continue to suffer and the disciples will need every ounce of strength and hope, and full presence of God to bring in the Kingdom of peace.

We have a job to do and it starts with prayer. Amen.

Resources: Working Preacher Karoline Lewis; (Church of Scotland-Sc011353)