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From: JUDY BOLI <JUDY.BOLI@ecunet.org><br>
To: PROPERTALK.topic <PROPERTALK.topic@ecunet.org><br>
Sent: Sat, Jul 24, 2010 9:52 pm<br>
Subject: Draft of Sunday's Sermon and Updated African-American Wisdom Statements</TT></PRE></FONT><PRE style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><TT>Note #33097 from JUDY BOLI to PROPERTALK:
Dear Friends,
Sundays sermon is entitled Why Does It Sometimes Seem our Prayers Are NOT
Answered? (Proper 12C, 7-25-10) and deals with the Gospel (Luke 11: 1-13). I
have preached this sermon (or one like it) every year since 2004, except for
2008, because it answers a question on which we frequently need to meditate.
Here it is:
Deacon Joan just read the episode in Luke from Jesus life when he taught his
disciples to pray the Lords Prayer. When Jesus was finished, he made some
rather startling statements. Jesus said: So I tell you to ask and you will
receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.
Everyone who asks will receive, everyone who searches will find, and the door
will be opened for everyone who knocks (Luke 11:9-10).
My question to you today is- so why arent our prayers answered? Was Jesus
lying to us? Was he just telling us what he thought we wanted to hear? How
come we pray for healing, but our cancer remains; we pray for the deliverance of
a son or daughter or husband or wife from addiction to alcohol or gambling or
abusive relationships and nothing seems to happen; we pray for peace, instead we
get violence; we pray for a job and try and try and try- and nothing comes, and
on and on and on. But its not just us. Paul prayed for deliverance from his
thorn in the flesh, but never got it. Even Jesus prayed that this cup pass
from me but he had to go through with crucifixion. Whats happening?
Sometimes we get what we pray for and sometimes we dont. Why?
Heres a story about a person who seemed NOT to get his prayer answered: A
preacher asked a member of his church how his family was getting along. They're
all fine, the member said, Except my uncle. He's very sick. Your uncle is
not sick," the preacher said. Its impossible for him to still be sick, because
Ive prayed for him. He just THINKS he's sick. Two weeks later, the preacher
ran into the church member on the street again. How is your uncle getting
along? he asked. The member shrugged, He THINKS he's dead.
I dont have any firm answers- but no- Jesus wasnt lying. Gods ways are not
our ways, and he said he would supply our needs, not our wants. However, I do
have some thoughts that Id like to share with you this morning. Obviously,
many times our prayers are answered just as we would choose. An amazing double-
blind (i.e. no one knows who is being prayed for, not doctor, not patient, not
family, no one) Harvard Medical School study with heart patients shows a
measurable positive difference between those prayed for as opposed to those not
prayed for. This study confirmed a smaller study done ten years earlier by a
San Francisco cardiologist and reported in the Southern Medical Journal. So
sometimes our prayers get answered with a wonderful YES! Sometimes, however,
the answer seems to be no. What then? Here are six possibilities for you to
mull this week:
1. If you are praying for a change of behavior in someone else, keep going, be
persistent. However, keep in mind that God wont force himself on anyone, but
God will allow life to present the need for change in that person. Even God, as
the perfect parent, did not force righteousness on his children Adam and Eve.
2. Is your problem a direct consequence of past behavior? God seldom removes
the consequences of sin, but he does walk with us through those consequences,
giving us the power to overcome. In fact, what started out as a negative often
turns out to be a blessing to ourselves or someone else. King Davids adultery
with Bathsheba resulted in the death of their infant, but the gift of Solomon as
king.
3. Maybe you are suffering because of someone elses sin. Dr, Martin Luther
King, Jr. expanded the theology of the power of redemptive suffering- it was the
backbone of the civil rights movement. It works when we love our enemies and
pray for those who misuse us. Furthermore, their evil doesnt infect us with
bitterness and bring us down to their level. Example: what could be more evil
than crucifying the Son of God on a garbage dump, yet that evil redeemed the
whole creation.
4. Perhaps you are doing something to block Gods action or not doing
something that needs to be done. If you pray and nothing happens, check out
your behavior. Are you poisoning your spiritual life with the bitterness of
refusing to forgive an enemy? (We just heard: Forgive us our trespasses AS we
forgive those who trespass against us.- remember Jesus parable of the
unforgiving servant in the Gospel of Matthew.) I heard a fictional story from
one of my internet colleagues about a man we shall call Jim. Jim had a serious
problem- he had lost his job and was broke. In fact, he was about to lose
everything he owned. Being a faithful Christian, he knew just what hed do- he
prayed fervently that he would win the lottery. The next day when the winners
were announced- nothing. He prayed harder- Please God, let me win the
lottery! The next day he listened again- nothing. Once more he prayed, this
time reminding God that he had promised to answer all prayer!
s, but to no avail. Kneeling at his bedside, he pounded his hands in his
pillow, when he heard a mighty clap of thunder and a voice- Jim, Jim, how about
meeting me half way on this. Buy a lottery ticket! In other words, do your
part.
5. This world isnt a vacation spot; its a training ground. Gods intention
isnt to make us happy, but to make us strong. Would you really want your child
to grow up in a world with no pain or discomfort? What kind of human would this
produce? How would your child ever develop compassion, endurance, spiritual
power, prayer power? Helen Kellers wise statement is true: We could never
learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. That has a
real probability of being true.
6. Heres my last possibility. Do you remember reading in Forward Day by
Day a long time ago now of the writer who had heard of a terrible disaster? I
dont remember what it was, but perhaps it was a tragic famine with pictures of
dying children with swollen bellies looking at the TV camera every time you
turned on the news- anyway it was that kind of thing. He asked God why God
allowed such atrocities, and he felt the answer came back loud and clear: I was
wondering the same thing about you! Perhaps our prayer isnt being answered
because someone else isnt being faithful to their ministry, or more to the
point, perhaps someone elses prayer isnt being answered because we arent
being faithful to our ministry. Cancer is a terrible curse on humankind, but
perhaps the person who was intended to lead the team of scientists as they
developed the cure is flipping burgers or bussing tables somewhere because we
didnt put enough time, energy, and money in h!
is or her education. We plead for a cure for AIDS, but maybe the person
designed for that ministry is doing time in prison because the church down the
street didnt reach out and touch
Some Sundays ago, I read you a few childrens prayers from David Heller little
book, Dear God: Childrens Letters to God. Im going to close with a few more:
 Dear God, thank you for my parents, my sister Anita, and for my
grandma and grandpa. They are real warm and special. I forgive you for my
brother Phil. I guess you didn't finish working on him. (Sean- age 12)
 Dear God, my dad thinks he's you. Please straighten him out. (Wayne-
age 11)
 Dear God, my mom is acting weird because she is getting old. Can you
take back a few gray hairs? That would help bring back the house to normal.
Thanks for what you can do. (Mike- age 9)
 Dear God, my mom and my father are divorced. For 3 years. Nobody's
perfect. But why did you pick us? I wish we were all with each other. Maybe
you could have them get along- at least on weekends. Please! (Stephen- age 11)
 Dear God, do you think there's enough love today? I feel there's a
shortage. Love! (Ken- age 9)
The last two prayers- from Stephen about his parents divorce and from Ken about
not enough love, touch our hearts. Whos supposed to be the instrument for
answering these prayers- we are! May God bless us as we try faithfully to bring
his Kingdom to fruition here, now, as we reach out to others in His name. Amen.
For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom
statements are posted on our NEW PARISH WEB SITE. The address is:
<A href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.com/" target=_blank>http://www.stpaulsepisag.com</A> .
Blessed preaching.
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan
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