CELC Third Sunday in Advent

The Third Sunday in Advent – December 11, 2005

I Thessalonians 5:16-24

The Third Sunday in Advent brings the Word of God: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

How clear does the Word of God need to be for us to hear it?

I remember well my first radio. You could tune it to a few AM stations and I would often lie in bed at night and listen to Vin Scully do the play-by-play announcing of a LA Dodgers baseball game. I especially liked to listen on the nights Sandy Koufax pitched, since he was a future Hall of Fame member and you knew history was being made when he was on the mound.

But, my radio could be difficult. It was small and not too expensive. It was AM and that made it susceptible to all kinds of interference. Some nights I really struggled to get the radio tuned in well enough for me to hear the baseball game.

How clear does God’s Word have to be for us to hear it? Clearer than an AM broadcast of a baseball game? Perhaps. Today we have clarity that cannot be ignored: “Pray without ceasing,” says St. Paul. Along with rejoicing and giving thanks, Paul tells us today that it is the will of God that we be people of prayer. It is clear, unmistakable and God’s word for you today. Pray without ceasing.

And it is not an easy task. We are reluctant to pray. Often we do not want to pray when others are listening. Here is a true story: the young seminarian goes to a congregation to interview for the possibility of being called to be their pastor. The first question he is asked in the interview is if he would ask people to pray out loud. Later a little detective work revealed that the previous pastor had the habit of turning to someone before a meeting would begin and say, “John, will you open us with prayer?” John had no warning. It was a quick lesson that people do not like to be surprised, especially about praying.

That seems odd, because God’s word to us is to pray, without ceasing. If prayer is a part of our daily life, then to offer a prayer at a meeting should not be difficult. Yet it is. We struggle with prayer because we think it has to be “just so” or it is no good. We think we have to have the golden voice of some ancient saint who could pray the bark off a tree.

God doesn’t think that way. God’s will is simply that we pray, and pray in all things. We need not be afraid. We need not be perfect. We need only open our hearts and mouths. It is God’s will for us. Pray without ceasing.

Jesus did. He prayed before he fed the 5,000 with what seemed too little feed five, let alone five thousand. Jesus prayed off by himself. Jesus prayed the night before he was crucified. The disciples slept through his prayers, even though he asked them three times not too sleep and to pray with him. Even from the cross Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them…” and more.

Perhaps our prayers need to begin at the cross. Perhaps at the cross we can begin to pray without ceasing because it is there that we know most clearly the mercy and forgiveness of God. Since we often are mute while God asks us to pray constantly, then it may the unconditional love of the cross that gets us started. Perhaps at the cross we can hear that the dying One is giving his life for each of us, forgiving us even when we fail to pray.

It is Advent and as we ponder the coming of the Christ child once again, it may be the ideal time to begin to pray without ceasing. The unconditional love of God in the cross of Jesus makes us transformed, forgiven people, and gives us voice. May our voices speak words of prayer, opening ourselves to God to listen and hear what God is calling us to do as believers, as a congregation.

But, I am ahead of myself. The love of the cross transforms us to people of prayer, so perhaps the simplest of prayers for us can begin “Father forgive them…” as you remember the people who have somehow offended you. It is a start. And once started, you can then move on to the part of prayer where you say, “I forgive them…” and mean it. And then you can pray that important prayer, “Father reveal to us the calling you have for us as Christ Lutheran Church. How do you want us to do your will?”

The possibilities of the future and directions we need to go as a congregation will only be evident as we open our hearts and ears in prayer. Pray without ceasing in this season of expectation and expect that God will answer. Since God asks us to pray you can count on the fact that God will answer our prayers.

There are many things people think we need to be as Christians. Some say you need to forgive everything. Some say you need to be perfect in speech and action. Some say you need to be without sin. Whether any of this is right or wrong, I do not want to debate. Today I do not want to listen to people who offer their opinions. Today I want to listen to God and God is saying to us in the simplest and clearest of words: pray without ceasing. There is no better time than the present to begin. Amen.

Pastor Robert F. Holley