St. Paul S United Methodist Church s1

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church

Matthew 6: 5-15 Marianne Niesen February 21, 2016

Teach Us

There is a lovely little spot on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem called the ‘Church of the Pater Noster’ or, in English, the Church of the Our Father – the Lord’s Prayer. From very early in Christian history, this site was associated with a cave where, tradition suggested, Jesus may have taught his disciples. (Obviously, 2000 years removed, we don’t really know!) It was actually the Emperor Constantine who built a church on this site in the 4th century. Since then, over the years, the site has changed hands several times and has been used for different things – but it has always been associated with something in the life of Jesus. Today, after you enter the non-descript entrance, you find yourself in a courtyard. Cars and busses whiz by outside but the courtyard is a peaceful respite. And on the walls in the courtyard and the cloister, you see mosaics, each one with the Lord’s Prayer in a different language. The object of the nuns who care for the site is to have the Lord’s Prayer in every language on earth. Pilgrim visitors typically look for their language but it is also impressive to simply notice just how many languages there are. Jesus and his disciples could never have imagined such fullness. As of today, there are almost 200 languages represented on the walls. Last month, when we visited, there were – amazingly – no other groups when we were there so we wandered the place for a while by ourselves. It is customary to visit the remnants of the cave and, with some effort, all 70 of us squeezed into the cave. Obviously, it is fairly large and, very likely, in the first century it was a resting and gathering place for those who traveled the area. It really does give a sense of what it may have been like to be an itinerant preacher with disciples, who had to find places like that to rest and share conversation. As we huddled together, grateful for a respite from the cold wind that blew outside, we listened to the scripture about Jesus teaching his disciples and, as pilgrims do, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer.

Maybe, just maybe, those words were first uttered right where we gathered. Again, there is no proof of that – but, none is needed. You see, whether it was there or some similar cave somewhere else, at some point Jesus taught and his followers listened. Being a disciple of Jesus was certainly a process. There were things Jesus must have wanted his friends to know, to learn, to imitate. Every teacher has hopes for those they teach. Jesus would have been no different. And I think we must presume that prayer was at the heart of what Jesus wanted his disciples to do. Praying mattered to Jesus. He was, after all, a faithful Jew and praying was part and parcel of what faithful Jews did. We know from the scriptures that, more than once, he ‘went off to a lonely place to pray.’ His disciples would have seen that and, as faithful Jews themselves, they knew about prayer. Still, in the ‘disciple dance’ that Jesus and his friends did, I suspect at some point they all knew that they were embarking on new territory. Jesus had attracted them because he was different from other teachers, right? His way of being in the world was fresh, new. He sparked a hope that things could be different. I can imagine conversations around the campfire at night – maybe in a cave like that one on the Mount of Olives – conversations about faith and prayer and about how one makes changes in the world. It is important to remember that Jesus did not advocate rejection of his Jewish heritage. But he was clearly out for its renewal. He called for a re-membering. Rooted firmly in the heart of his faith, he wanted the poor to be empowered, the sick to be healed, the outcasts to be included, orphans to be loved, sinners to be forgiven.

And, on the political scene, he advocated economic justice – a world where all have enough. And peace. But, unlike many people of his time, Jesus did not advocate violent resistance to Rome. He called his vision the ‘Kingdom of God’ and he said it was already beginning. He lived a radical inclusivity that was startling. And it attracted people. We call them disciples. And, by the way, that is still what people who follow Jesus are called. Disciples. You and I are disciples. We are learners of the way. And, if we are honest, we are still a bit startled by radical nature of the Jesus path. In those days, at some point, those called disciples asked the question that every disciple asks . . . how do we do the things you do? You asked us to follow you . . . and we’re trying . . . but what’s your secret? How do we follow you? And I believe that was when Jesus began at the beginning . . . you pray. You start with prayer. You turn your hearts, your heads, your hands to God who empowers us all. As my disciples, you can’t do anything unless you pray.

Now, again, they knew about prayer. Just like we know about prayer. But, I’ll bet most of them - given the political and religious upheaval of their world, given the radical inequality between rich and poor, given the very real social problems of the day – most of them weren’t really sure how well prayer worked. Prayer is fine, they may have said, but how does that help us with Rome? Prayer is fine but how does that heal the sick, feed the hungry? How does that help us walk on water? Teach us! they said . . . and he did. He taught them his prayer but, even more than that, I believe what Jesus taught them and wants us to know is, quite simply, that prayer works. It matters.

I love the story I heard of “a congregation of tee-totaling Methodists who prayed for years that the Lord would do something about the disreputable bar across the street from the church. One night the bar was hit by lightning and burned to the ground. The bar owner promptly sued the church, saying that the congregation’s prayers were responsible for the fire. The church contested the suit. After hearing the case, the judge said, “I’m not sure how I’ll rule on this case, but one thing is clear. The bar owner believes in prayer, and the church people don’t.” And then, Jim Harnish who tells this story in A Disciple’s Path, muses . . . what are the odds that you or your church might be sued because of the effectiveness of your prayers? [1]

Sounds a bit ludicrous, right? But, is it? I invite you to watch this true story about St. Nikolai Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany. It was produced by the PBS program Religion and Ethics in November, 2009 on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a story I didn’t know until recently and it speaks to the power of prayer to literally change the world.[2]

‘Because the church has to do it.’ Do what? The right thing. Read the Bible and pray. This is what disciples do. We pray . . . not to convince God to see things our way. We pray not to remind God of all the good that needs doing that God will miss if we don’t bring it up. Prayer is fundamentally about opening us to the power of God, the power of good that is real and that will overcome the powers of darkness and fear that surround us. We will of course be called upon to do our part – to pick up our candles and walk, to help in Family Promise, to teach the children, to feed the poor. Prayer opens us to become instruments of peace, workers in the kingdom of God. It gives vision and courage to do what is needed. There are, of course, a myriad of methods for prayer . . . times of silence, reading scripture, using a devotional book, quiet walks, meditation, contemplation, lighting candles. The ‘how’ varies and often changes over time for the pray-er. But the need to pray, to lift our hearts and minds beyond ourselves to that power greater than us whose love is stronger than fear, is essential for a Christian disciple. And, it is powerful indeed.

Rev. Führer died too young, on June 30, 2014, at the age of 72. Just before he died, in an interview with a local newspaper, Pastor Führer responded to critics who had characterized him as a social romantic and an incurable optimist. (In other words, a nice guy but totally out of touch with the way things really work.) “I heard the same thing in the days before Oct. 9, 1989,” he said. “At that time they said, ‘You don’t really think that your candles and prayers can change something?’ But history saw things differently.”[3]

The story of the pastor and people at St. Nikolai is a challenge for us all. Rev. Führer was a disciple who dared believe in the power of candles and prayer to change the world. It didn’t happen all at once but, little by little, person by person, the power of prayer and non-violent faithfulness to the way of Jesus won the day. It still will. That’s what Jesus taught so long ago. It all begins with prayer. It is at the heart of being a Christian disciple and through prayer, Jesus still calls and invites people like you and me to listen, pray, learn and change the world!

[2] watch the interview by pasting this link into your browser: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2009/11/06/november-6-2009-the-church-and-the-fall-of-the-wall/4842/

[3] Article by Melissa Eddy in the New York Times found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/world/europe/rev-christian-fuhrer-east-german-whose-prayers-inspired-protests-dies-at-71.html?_r=0