Is the Lord With Us? Finding trust

"Is the Lord With Us?"

Finding Trust in the Face of Doubt

Rev. Alison Longstaff, May 18, 2014

Original version preached October 30^th 2011 in Ontario

Bath Church of the New Jerusalem

Joshua 3:7-17; Matthew 23:1-12; TCR portions 283, 284

Today we are looking at the story of the Children of Israel at the brink of the Jordan River.  They are at the very edge of all that they have dreamed of and worked so hard for.  The Promised Land is within reach!  It is steps away!  However, they are a rag-tag bunch and have arrived fairly ill-equipped to take the last few steps.  They are ill equipped except for one little detail---the Lord is with them and has been with them every step of the way.

Now let me set the scene.  The Jordan River is not such a big river.  If you visited the site of the crossing today, you might wonder what all the fuss was about, as it is little more than a stream.  It runs today at about one tenth of the size it ran at the time of this story, due to all sorts of redirection of water into field irrigation and housing developments.   But back then, it would have been about the width of the Saco River as it passes through Fryeburg. Picture the Saco River as it passes Fryeburg, and you would have an approximate picture of the Jordan River at the time of our story.  The Children of Israel simply have to cross this river and they will have achieved their dream.

Except... the children of Israel arrived at the Jordan during the time of the spring flooding.

So, picture the Saco River at its most frighteningly rough—overflowing its banks and thundering by with an overabundance of snow-melt or rain water, and this is more like what the Children of Israel were facing.  Put yourself in their sandals.  Remember that you grew up wandering in the desert, and while you are skilled at surviving all sorts of difficult desert conditions, navigating an overabundance of water is not your strong suit.  In fact, you have no idea how to swim.

Furthermore, at the point at which they crossed, the shoreline is not a nice sandy, flat stretch of land.  No, the banks here are steep and covered in thick thorn-bushes.  The ground is treacherous and difficult. You really can’t see your footing, and one slip could tumble you into the maelstrom.

Do you have the picture?  Here you are, on a steep slope, grasping a thorn bush, staring down into a roaring cataract, and you can’t swim---not at all.  All you have to do is cross this thing.  That’s all.  Simple.  So, how are you feeling?  You are just meters from your lifetime dream-come-true! Aren't you excited?  You must be raring to go! 

Hmmm.  Given the evidence in your face, how confident do you feel?  God has assured you that he is with you and that you will enter the Promised Land.  You have grown up with the story of how God miraculously parted the Red Sea for your parents, but as you stand in the thorns and look at the leaping, gushing flood, maybe you are having a few misgivings?

Now remember that the stories in the Bible are always speaking to the reader in real time, through metaphor, poetry, and symbolism.  They are not just about some strange people, long ago, but about you and me right here, now, today.  So I ask you, as we sit here together in our modern, vinyl-clad building; with bucket-loads of money, standing room only, no trouble paying our bills, no threat of having to “grow or close” in a few years, and no big expenses looming (like an entire building repaint or a complete kitchen renovation): I ask you to try, just maybe, to feel like these people in the story did—ill-equipped for the daunting challenge ahead of them, thinking their dreams are idiotic, that their plans and vision make no sense, and that going forward now will certainly result in, well, death.  Maybe that is too big a stretch. But please try. (Tongue firmly in cheek.)

So.  Back to our story.  You are standing right at the edge of something great that God had promised you, but you have this huge, terrifying, apparently impassable obstacle between you and the finish line. Everything you know and everything your senses tell you is that you are facing certain death. 

This is a classic crisis of faith.  God has set this situation up as both a test and as ongoing proof of God’s covenant with his people.  Covenant means PROMISE, and when God makes a promise, you can bet (S)He will keep it.  The question is not whether God is with us, the question is: how ready are we in these circumstances to trust in God?  God has promised that He blesses us and blesses our efforts.  God has promised that s/he is with us again and again and proved he/r guiding presence time after time, but the people in the story are a lot like us.  Each new challenge just seems to bring a fresh wave of insecurity and doubt. Each new challenge calls us out of our comfort zone and into a deeper walk with God—a deeper trust in providence.  How ready are we to place our trust in Providence this time around?

I don’t know about you, but for me somehow it doesn't matter how many challenges God has brought me through in the past. Each new challenge requires a re-commitment on my part to trusting God’s providence.  Remembering that God has indeed gotten me through until now helps, but I want a guarantee that s/he will get me through again.  I don’t want a risk.  I don’t want to jump without a safety net.  No matter how many times God worked miracles in the wilderness for the Children of Israel, they still doubted again and again.  That sounds like me. No matter how many times things have worked out for the best in my life, there is still such a large gap between my little desire to trust and the major leap of faith often required of me.  Tiny me.  Huge leap of faith.

Does this sound familiar?

When you and I are needing to make a leap of faith, what can we possibly do to find the trust we are lacking?  Let’s take another look at today’s Scripture.  We read, “the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan…. ¹²¹³When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”

The first thing to note is that the ark went before.  The ark “of the covenant,” the very symbol of the promise, takes the lead before the people.  Not only was the ark the symbol of the Covenant, it was their concrete reminder that God was leading them.  In that golden box, guarded by golden angels, was the story of how God had been with them and would continue to be with them.  When the feet of the priests carrying that box touched the water, or rather, when they skidded down the steep bank into the rushing flood, the flood waters stood up in a wall and let the entire company cross the river on dry ground.  When the priests, holding up the promise, took the plunge, the obstacles withdrew. 

And so the river divides after we take the plunge.  God requires us to get our feet wet first.  The priests leading the way with the ark remind us that when we put God first, we will have success.  We have to commit to the path. We have to make the leap, skid down the bank and into the river where we can’t swim, before God can divide the water.  But because we stepped out holding fast to God’s promise and God’s ability to work miracles, the waters part.

It is interesting to note that the name of Joshua is actually the same name that the angel Gabriel tells Mary to give to the holy baby in her womb.  Joshua in Hebrew becomes Yeshua in Aramaic, which becomes Iesus (Yay-soose) in Greek, which becomes Jesus in English. So the switch of leadership from Moses to Joshua at this point in the story has deep significance.  It is describing the same sort of spiritual energetic shift that is represented by a shift from a written law (the Hebrew Testament) to a living God walking among us, (Jesus). 

Moses, throughout the Scriptures, represents the law to us.  Moses represents the time in our spiritual development when we are still learning all the various rules and teachings about how to be a good person from whatever tradition we come. To develop as a truly living spiritual being, we must start as students.  We must first learn what others have decided is true and right.  Our teachings say that God provides such spiritual and moral teaching to every person in every context, sufficient for them to make the spiritual journey.  So no matter what our background and beginnings; no matter what tradition shaped and informed our learning, at some point we must begin to distill and sift among all the things we have learned and begin to live according to our own conscience.  We begin to reject and discard all that cannot live in our lives, and we put into practice all that resonates with our new spiritual identity. And that is a shift from law and learning, to life and living.  It is the shift from Moses to Joshua, and from learning about the rules of how to be good, to actually wanting and working to be good.

The switch from Moses to Joshua is this precise shift from rules and law to an active, living, vibrant spiritual life.  There is nothing wrong with being at a stage that we are still following Moses in our spiritual walk.  It is a necessary and vital part of our spiritual development.  But, we will not enter the Promised Land until we are ready to be lead by Joshua.  We must be people of spiritual courage.

 Joshua cannot lead a dutiful, rules-in-my-head version of spirituality into the Promised Land.  The only ones ready to survive the crossing are those with a committed intention to put all that they have learned into practice.  That shift can be daunting, and we can feel like we are stepping onto far less secure spiritual footing.  It a shift from head to heart, and it is a definite move forward in faith. It involves a lot more risk-taking, and takes a lot of trust and courage, but the rewards of stepping up and following Joshua will be those of settling into a green and vibrant spiritual landscape, not the sparse fruits of wandering in a wilderness. 

Stepping up to follow Joshua and the ark into the Promised Land also requires us to shift our consciousness from that of scarcity to that of abundance.  While in the wilderness, we survive by carefully rationing what we have.  We can’t do otherwise.  We are still pretty much in the illusion that it is our own efforts that are getting us through even though all along it has been God.

But once we move to settle in the land, we can prepare for an abundance that we have only previously imagined.  We have to believe it to see it.  We have to be ready to trust, and to step out in trust for the way to open.  Until we do, we stay in the thorns and the desert.  We really can and often do choose struggle and effort and barely making it over relaxing and allowing abundance to flow in.  It is just our natures.  It can feel safer.

After all, relaxing and allowing abundance to flow in sounds like hocus-pocus to us when we are used to spiritual desert-living.  I can only say that I have seen too many examples of this shift into welcoming abundance truly working to be able to discount it any longer.  Welcoming abundance, and seeing it begin to flow can bring up all sorts of uncomfortable feelings for us: feelings of guilt, unworthiness, and the fear of the responsibility it would entail. After all, should we really have a flood of abundance, we would have to step up in our response to it.  If this church should thrive and succeed and become the booming center for spiritual life that we envision, we will all be called into a greater level of love, activity and service than ever before.  Does that frighten you a little?  We must be strong and of good courage to welcome this new future.

We are indeed approaching this venture ill-equipped to go forward.  But it never was and never has been about us being good enough or ready enough to serve God’s purpose in the world.  God takes our few loaves and fishes and makes a banquet for thousands.  God does. We just have to show up and bring our whole selves, no matter how small and inadequate we may feel.  The Lord is with us now and has been with us every step of the way.  We just have to trust and commit.

When we refuse to listen to the fear and doubt, trust in God can flow in.  When we cultivate an attitude of gratitude for all that we have and a deep faith that God is already providing, then the Lord can hold back any flood waters of fear and doubt that might be threatening, so that we can walk through on dry ground---the dry ground of peace and trust.  This journey truly needn't look like a flounder through the rushing waters of struggle.  Peace is waiting the moment our feet touch the water. But we must commit to living in the Promise. God doesn't ask for a partial commitment.  God can’t work with a “well, I’ll wait and see what others do and then decide.”  God asks for all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.

So surrender your fears and inadequacies, your “yes-but”s and your “what-if”s.  We are enough, have enough, and will be enough because God promised it. God’s intention is for each one of us to be blessed and to be a blessing.  God’s intention is for the church to be blessed and to be a blessing. The only thing standing in the way is our fear.  We can see this promise fulfilled. We can become the living, thriving center for spiritual life that we envision if we can just push aside the fear and get our feet wet.

I would like to end by quoting Marianne Williamson.  This is a passage made famous by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural speech:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves ‑ who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

There is nothing to fear.  Go up and take this land.  Amen

The Readings: 

Joshua 3:7-17

⁷The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. ⁸You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” ⁹Joshua then said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰Joshua said, “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: ¹¹the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. ¹²So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”

¹⁴When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant were in front of the people. ¹⁵Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, ¹⁶the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

Matthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ²“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; ³therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. ⁴They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. ⁵They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. ⁶They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. ⁸But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. ⁹And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Portions of True Christianity 283, 284
The Ten Commandments are a condensation or short summary of the life necessary for a human soul to find conjunction with God, and God to find conjunction with the human soul. For this reason the stone tablets containing them within the Ark were holy above all else.

Miracles happened in the Presence of the Ark of the Covenant because the Law or Ten Commandments nested within it, and the Presence of Jehovah hovered around and within it. The Lord's power that was present in the Law that was inside the Ark split the waters of the Jordan river; and as long as the ark was resting in the middle of the riverbed, the people crossed on dry land.

Joshua 1: 2-9 portions “Arise!  Go across this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to you. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you everywhere you go." 

What Does Love Require? - Guest talk

What Does Love Require?

 June 1, 2014

Bath Church of the New Jerusalem 

Rob Lawson, guest speaker

Luke 10: 38-42; John 12: 1-3;  Heaven and Hell, Para. 564

           

On the surface, the New Testament story of Martha and Mary might be summed up as an example in life of the practical vs. the impractical—of Martha busily getting the house in order for her guests and Mary sitting at her Teacher’s feet, apparently oblivious of the chores required. Put yourself in Martha’s shoes (or sandals) for a minute. When Jesus came knocking, He brought 12 disciples with Him. Imagine opening your home to 13 hungry and thirsty men who had been traveling on foot all day. If you didn't make dinner preparations, set the table, offer them an opportunity to wash up, who would? Martha represents the pragmatic, boots-on-the-ground individual. When there’s a crisis, thank God for the Marthas of this world who step up, give directions, and provide solutions. Mary, on the other hand, is the dreamer, the impractical one. Her priority is to focus on one guest—Jesus. She sits still to listen to His teaching, and then before the meal, she washes His feet with expensive oil, using her hair. There is no doubt about Martha’s frustration with her sister’s behavior; she complains directly to Jesus. And when Jesus takes Mary’s side? I can just hear a din of complaints from the sidelines—foul! No way! Get out of here!!

The story of Martha and Mary depicts an ageless, human situation. What do we do when someone pushes our buttons? How do we respond to strangers, neighbors, even friends and family, who annoy us? We can choose to ignore the crying baby at a restaurant. Perhaps shrug off the heedless driver who passes us too fast. Every day we encounter situations we turn away from and do not confront. But some events, some circumstances should not and cannot be ignored. Such was the case in the very building we are sitting in, months after its consecration in 1844.

In April of that year, the Bath congregation was faced with a dilemma: How to respond to a parishioner whose presence had created tension and discomfort within the society for over a year. The lady in question was Mary Waldron. Her full name was Mary Elizabeth Augusta Chandler Prescott Welch Waldron. Crazily, she preferred to use her first initials M.E.A.C. with her current married name. When she joined our congregation, her name is in our minute book as M.E.A.C. Waldron.

Mary was the older daughter of Dr. Benjamin Prescott, one of the then town’s leading doctors. Prescott, a successful practitioner of homeopathic treatment, moved to Bath with his family in 1825 from Dresden, Maine. He had inoculated the townspeople in 1832 during a feared imminent outbreak of cholera. Nineteenth-century histories typically relate the exploits of men. So the fact that Bath historian Parker McCobb Reed describes Mary as a “popular lady” and another chronicler records that she was “a fascinating woman who married younger husbands,” indicates that Ms. Prescott was no shrinking violet.

At 20, Mary married a wealthy young Bostonian, Captain Benjamin Welch. Welch’s family was in the merchant shipping business. The young couple lived in Charlestown, where their only child, Frank Welch, was born in 1835. Shortly afterwards, they relocated to Bath. Capt. Welch died two years later at the age of 29. After her husband’s demise, Mary met Charles Waldron, a Bowdoin College medical student and the son of a Bath doctor. One of the prerequisites of Bowdoin’s two-year course of medical studies was to be apprenticed to an area doctor. In his final year, Charles studied under Dr. Prescott, and fell under the influence of Prescott’s daughter, the widow Welch. Charles and Mary were married in September 1840, while he was still in medical school. A year later, Mary gave birth to her second child, Charliana Waldron. Charles died the following spring at the age of 24. (Frank Waldron Pictured above)

Weeks after Charles’s demise in 1842, the widow Waldron and another Bath doctor, the young Dr. William E. Payne, came to an “Enquiring” meeting held by the Rev. Samuel Dike, the young minister of the Bath Society. The purpose of these meetings was to answer questions and to invite those interested to join the church. To appear in public, as innocent as it may have been, in the company of one of the town’s most eligible bachelors and just weeks after the death of her husband, would have been viewed in those days as indiscreet. Dr. Payne joined the church that April, followed by M.E.A.C. Waldron.  (Dr William Payne, left)

            By spring 1843, a year after joining the church, Payne and Waldron were a cause célèbre. Dr. Payne had broken off his engagement to a Miss Betsy Ann Hatch and had “transferred” his affections for the twice-wedded Mrs. Waldron. The uproar that erupted within the Bath congregation over how to deal with the indiscretions of widow Mrs. Waldron with Dr. Payne and the shame brought on the jilted fiancée Miss Hatch could not have come at a worse moment for the church. The youthful congregation was inexperienced in handling such matters, and the turmoil coincided with the much-anticipated construction of our current church.

Dr. Payne attempted to defuse the situation, writing to withdraw his membership, as recorded in our church minutes, “from the society in consequence of the reproach brought upon it by his late conduct.”

           

By July 15, Zina Hyde, one of the founders of the Bath Society, was on the diplomatic offensive. He notes in his journal, “Long talk with Mr. Sewall respecting the care of Mrs. Waldron and Dr. Payne who have now broken off their engagement but not until they have the means of bringing the society into a very disturbed state.” Hyde recognized the dangerous waters the church was navigating. If the society should act as his Old North Congregational Church had acted—excommunicating readers of Swedenborg’s work—the society’s conduct would be no better than the “Old Church” they left. However, there had to be order. The church must stand up to bad or inappropriate behavior.

            Zina especially must have been aware of the scrutiny the Bath Society was under. In 1816, as a young widower and an enthusiastic receiver of the New Church doctrines, he had been the target of gossip. In a penciled note I found last summer while researching this story at the Maine Maritime Musem, he states that after the death of his first wife, a story spread in Bath that he daily set the table for her, lit a candle, and conversed with her ghostly spirit. No doubt the rumors were encouraged by knowledge of Zina’s belief in the immediacy of the spiritual world around us. Confronting his accusers, Zina published a letter to the contrary in the local paper.

Public outcry and gossip surrounding Mrs. Waldron, Miss Hatch, and Dr. Payne threatened to implode the Bath Society. At first, the volatile situation was diffused through Zina’s intercessions and diplomacy. The penitent Dr. Payne corrected his course over the summer, patching things up with his fiancé Betsy Ann. But what were they to do with the irrepressible Mrs. Waldron?

The unrepentant Mrs. Waldron’s continued presence at church and her refusal to admit to any improprieties gnawed at the forbearance of several church members. Even one church member who had come to the defense of the widow and the young Dr. Payne and who believed both had already suffered much, admitted that their conduct, “has been such that the Society cannot regard them as innocent.”

On the evening of April 30, 1844, while Hyde was in Boston for medical treatment, Brother Sewall, another founding member of the Bath Society, presided over a special meeting in the newly constructed church to deal with the troublesome Mrs. Waldron. The stated purpose of the meeting was “to confer upon the difficulties which have agitated (and do now agitate) the Society for this past year.” Sewall’s motion read: “Whereas the members of the Society have regarded the course of conduct pursued by our Sister Mrs. Waldron during the last fourteen months as giving offence to the true and vital principles of Religion which must constitute the church of the Lord, consequently feeling that an internal Separation had already taken place between us. It is hereby requested that Mrs. Waldron withdraw from the Communion table of the Society.”  (William Sewall, above left)

A vote was taken. Now before you hear the outcome, let’s take our own vote. Everyone close your eyes . . . no peeking! Knowing what you know of her conduct, all those in favor of suspending Mary’s right to communion, raise your hands. [Note: Only one individual voted in the affirmative.] OK. Now all those not in favor of suspending Mary’s right to communion, raise your hands. [Note: Everyone but one member of the congregation, voted not to suspend Mrs. Waldron’s right to communion.] Well, that wasn’t even close! Zina Hyde would be proud of this congregation! How much more tolerant we have become.

And what happened 170 years ago? A bomb of dissension was detonated, setting into motion the very event Hyde had skillfully avoided the previous summer in dealing with Dr. Payne. A slim majority of men and women voted to suspend Mrs. Waldron’s right to communion. It was not a unanimous decision. Many members were absent, including more than 12 women. Several present abstained, and Mrs. Farnham, the wife of A. B. Farnham, the builder of the church, voted no. She was joined in the negative vote by two of the Church Committee members, (people in authority we might call in another denomination Deacons).

As a result of the church’s action, the Prescott family sent letters of resignation. This was a large group of Mrs. Waldron’s mother, Mrs. Waldron’s sister and brother-in-law, and others sympathetic to the Prescotts. John B. Swanton Jr., one of the church “pillars,” questioned the authority of the Society to suspend Mrs. Waldron’s or anyone’s right to the sacraments and refused to continue serving as Secretary and as Treasurer. The Rev. Dike was pressed into service as Secretary Pro-tem.

From his sick bed in Boston, Hyde met one-on-one with Swanton and corresponded with Sewall and Swanton trying to find a way to neutralize Sewall’s headstrong action. The three men went back and forth with suggestions. Swanton was championing Dr. Payne and Mrs. Waldron. Sewall was representing the Allens’ and possibly his own and his wife’s hostility toward Mrs. Waldron. Hyde was brokering for compromise. As he pointed out to Sewall, “Your motion I could have agreed to, had it been somewhat modified and made to imply only temporary suspension, whereas now it seems to amount to excommunication.” (Rev. Samuel Dike, right)

Swanton and Hyde encouraged Sewall and others to make amends by speaking with the injured parties. Swanton (his beautiful Greek Revival house still stands and is next to the church) proposed a resolution to quench the gossip: “Resolved: That we regard it the duty of all in the society together with our Brother [Dr. Payne] and Sister [Mrs. Waldron] to seek by a life of charity and mutual good will to blot out all memory of our past difficulties. That it is our duty to avoid all allusion to the subject ourselves and to close our ears against any allusions to the subject by others. And all such in the Society or out of the Society as are disposed to allude to the subject to the prejudice of the parties cannot be regarded otherwise than as enemies of the church.”  (Miriam Dike, left, wife of Samuel)

Hyde’s indefatigable spirit would not give up on reaching a compromise. His resiliency and determination to preserve the struggling congregation, his “Jerusalem” on earth, prevailed. In May 1845 at an afternoon meeting at his home, the congregation voted to modify Sewall’s resolution from the previous spring. Citing “the injunctions of our Lord as given in the 22nd chapter of Matt and adopted as our rule of conduct,” the congregation charitably offered the widow Waldron its love and affection. “Resolved, that said vote be and hereby is not regarded as designing excommunication or unlimited but limited suspension and only until such time as the person shall manifest a desire to return to the confidence and affection of the society by expressing such a desire to the Pastor.” In effect, Mrs. Waldron’s right to take Communion was left to her “freedom and sense of propriety.”  All that was needed was her initiating a discussion with the Rev. Dike.

           

And so our young society weathered the stormy seas of human relations. Brother Payne corrected his errant ways, married Ms. Hatch, and eventually became one of the pillars of the church. The Payne children would be baptized in the church, and in 1847, Dr. Payne became a loyal and steadfast church officer. His rapid handwriting, as secretary, records in our church minutes nearly thirty years of events. In 1846, Widow Waldron found another young husband, James Lemont Brown, and left Bath. They were married in Trinity Church, NYC (left) , and then relocated in Boston where Brown ran a wholesale jewelry business until his untimely death.

            This brings us back to the story of Martha and Mary. How do we choose to work with difficult people in our lives? Do we take the initial response of the majority and confront the situation with strong language and actions to punish the offender? Or do we take that famous passage from Matthew to heart, as Zina Hyde did, to love our Lord above all others and to love our neighbor as ourselves?

           

At a deeper level, we all have within us the practicality side of Martha and the impracticality tendency of Mary. Finding the right balance between these two inclinations is an everyday reality. Think of accommodating Zina’s more loving approach when reigning in that impractical but endearing urge to take the untrodden path. Down deep inside we know we’ll get there faster the tried-and-true way, but the allure of the unknown cannot always be denied. For me, the answer to the opening question: What Does Love Require? is clear. It is charity to our neighbor. And we can begin close at home by being kinder, gentler with ourselves.

Heaven and Hell (Dole), Para. 564

There are two ways of being in power. One comes from love for our neighbor and the other from love for ourselves. In essence, these two kinds of power are exact opposites. People who are empowered by love for their neighbor intend the good of everyone and love nothing more than being useful—that is, serving others (serving others means willing well and helping others, whether that is one's church, country, community, or fellow citizen). This is their love and the delight of their hearts. As such people are raised to high positions they are delighted; but the delight is not because of the honor but because of the constructive things they can now do more abundantly and at a higher level. This is what empowerment is like in the heavens.

“Teach Me to Pray”

Rev. Alison Longstaff, May 18, 2014

Bath Church of the New Jerusalem

Genesis 24: 42-48, 25: 20-21; Mark 10:46-52; HS 2535

Note:  I struggled with the pronouns in this sermon.  Sometimes I use “you” and sometimes “we.”  “We” includes everyone, communicating that we are not alone in these struggles and experiences—that we all deal with them.  But sometimes the situations I am describing are just too specific, and sounded very weird in my ears unless I went to a more singular “you.”  So just know that when I am using “you,” I am not up here pointing a finger down on YOU personally.  “You” simply worked better than “one” or “we.”

In our Scripture readings today we see three examples of prayer, not just of prayer, but of prayer answered completely and miraculously.  Prayer answered completely and miraculously.  Wouldn't that be nice?  How many of you, when you pray, expect your prayers to be answered that way?

In the first story, the servant of Abraham (we aren't told his name) asks for a very specific sign to indicate God’s choice of a wife for Isaac—and he gets it, loud and clear, with all sorts of amazing side details he never imagined.  In the second story, a blind man—Bartimaeus—beseeches Jesus to heal him, despite admonitions from the crowd to be quiet.  The more they shushed him, the louder he cried, until Jesus called him to come over.  Jesus grants Bartimaeus his prayer and heals his blindness.  Just like that.

So, today I want to talk about our prayer lives—yours and mine.  I want to explore why we do and do not pray, what we expect when we pray, who we pray to, and how we deal with disappointment when our prayers seem to go unanswered.

Swedenborg tells us that prayer is speech with God.  It is important then to explore how we actually picture God, not what we say we believe about God, because this directly affects how we talk to God.

What happens if you picture the Lord, (as is the truth) as your best friend?  What if God is right here, right now, next to you, enjoying being with you?  What if God knows everything about you and yet still loves you dearly, just like a best friend?  (As if God would stop loving us if “He” knew our uglier sides.  What part of “omnipresent” says God misses some details of our life?)

When you relax into a heart-friendship with the Lord, you discover that God is exactly that close and that loving.  The Lord is more comfortable and safe than any best friend.  There is no need to fear, because there is nothing to fear. 

So, how would you talk to a best-friend God?  With a best-friend God, prayer really does become conversation.  Have you seen the character Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, talking to God all the time, about everything?  We can be like that too, discussing everything, our car that won’t start, our sick child, that pain in our right shoulder, our son-in-law that needs another job. Nothing is too big or too small to share.  Everything is on the table. 

The Lord wants us to be that open and comfortable with Him.  Jesus came so that He might show us that He is with us right here.  That’s what “Emmanuel” means: “God WITH us;” Right here, right now. Beside you. Surrounding you. Holding your hand, holding you up, laughing with you, crying with you, watching you when you rest, and cheering you on when you try something new.

Why wouldn't we share everything with our best friend?

There are many things that can get in the way of a healthy prayer life.  We may have been taught incorrect things about prayer, making us afraid to pray in case we do it “wrong.”  We may have some incorrect ideas about God.  Perhaps we think God doesn't care, or that prayer doesn't work.  Maybe we don’t even know what prayer is for.

Most of us, at some point, have tried prayer and had it fail. We might have asked for something as mundane as a certain toy for Christmas, or something as heart-wrenching as a dear friend surviving cancer.  When our prayers go unanswered we can feel abandoned and betrayed by God. Depending on the depth of the loss, that sense of betrayal can turn into a lot of anger—a sort of spiritual temper tantrum.  Anger at God and a refusal even to speak to God, especially after an untimely death is very common.  Is that where you are? 

The interesting thing is, we can be completely mad at God and completely desperate for God’s love at the same time.  Like a child in a tantrum, we can rage at and reject God, yet deeply rely on God’s continued love.  It is hard to wrap our brains around.  We can believe in God and not believe in God at the same time.  As one friend said to me during a rough time, “I don’t know if I even believe in God anymore.” She then finished with a wry grin, “But at least I know God will forgive me for doubting.”

Anyway, if you struggle to believe, don’t judge yourself, you are in good company—Mother Teresa did too, did you know that?  She struggled terribly sometimes.  Doubt and feelings of abandonment and anger at God are all signs of spiritual work.  Doubt and anger are also some of the bigger reasons we might stop talking to God.

We have covered who we pray to, and why we might not pray, and a little about what we expect when we pray.  What about how we pray?

There are many ways to pray: silently in our hearts, openly, speaking out loud, in song, with tears—I have even seen how yoga can serve as body prayer.  We can be meek and mild.  Or we can be like Bartimaeus who cried out and shouted for what he wanted.  (I have done that. Er, in the privacy of my home….) Bartimaeus begged for what he wanted. When everyone around him told him to be quiet—there are plenty of naysayers in life, aren’t there?—he just cried louder and louder until Jesus heard him.  Jesus always heard him, but He allowed Bartimaeus to persist in asking—in pleading—for what he wanted so that Bartimaeus would be completely prepared when his dream came true.

The story of Bartimaeus illustrates the relationship between our side of prayer and God’s side of prayer.  Sometimes we have to ask very loud and for a long time for what we want.  When this is true, it doesn't mean we are doing something wrong.  When we have to wait for an answer, it is God preparing things behind the scenes.  Think of it rather like a four-year-old praying to fly a jet-plane.  God’s answer may be “yes!” but it will still take a long time of growth and learning and development and training before that four-year-old sees that dream realized. That is nobody’s fault.  No one is wrong.  But to the four-year-old, it will look like there’s no answer to that prayer for a loooong time. 

Our job is to pray, beg, SHOUT for what we want; then do everything we can; and then TRUST. We must “pray to catch the bus”, and then “run as fast as we can”; AND we must trust there will be another bus if we miss the one we wanted.  Pray, pursue, let go. God has the much bigger job—arranging things behind the scenes—and we must trust that He is doing his part.

Do you talk to God regularly?  Just like Tevye?  Why or why not?

Well, here’s my next question for you: What if you really did ask for your heart’s desire?  And what if God said “yes?”

I think sometimes the thought of having our dreams come true is far scarier than simply accepting the spiritual scraps we find under the master’s table. 

I was part of a community once that was praying to grow.  They were doing all the right things, setting their intention, working to welcome new people, applying for grants, running fundraisers and working very hard.  Does that sound familiar?  And their efforts started to pay off!  The money came pouring in—more than they had asked for.  New members were coming and staying.  This little congregation was getting what they prayed for.  It was a beautiful time for them.

Unfortunately, as often happens in these stories, the success must have unnerved too many of them.  And for whatever reason, the leadership couldn’t stop the internal sabotage. The positive excitement became fear and manipulation. Squabbling, gossip, and politics took over. Most of the new people trickled away.  Within two years, lack of support or follow-through on the good initiatives reduced the congregation inevitably back to what they had always been—the same tiny group and not enough money. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it.  We are all capable of this sort of choice.  There is a part in each of us that would rather choose the struggle we know over the scary momentum of success.  While we always have the choice to keep moving forward, sometimes we allow fear to sabotage our efforts.  Success can be really scary.

I can only urge each of us: when God answers a prayer, try to accept the gift and say thank you; rather than running and hiding.

When we, all of us together, set our sights on a dream, and with conviction and determination fight to make it happen, the universe (meaning God) has a crazy way of responding in abundance.  The cup has a tendency to overflow, in fact.  It is one way God works miracles.  It can be kinda scary, but stay with it.  Why miss the ride of your life?

And when your prayer gets answered, stop and pay attention to that.  Notice and remember—put a bookmark in the memory—write it on your heart that God answers prayers.  It is so easy to sink into discouragement and cynicism, especially when things are not going well.  God always answers prayers, but not always with speed. However, every good thing that we ask for we will receive in time, especially when we follow our prayer with committed action.  Miracles can and do happen, despite all the naysayers. 

There is a famous quote by William H. Murray that goes: “The moment one definitively commits oneself, then providence moves too.  All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no one would have dreamt would have come their  way.”

Where would Bartimaeus be if he had listened to the naysayers and given up?  

So next time you sit down for a chat with your Best Friend, fasten your seatbelt and prepare for the ride of your life.

Radically revised from a sermon preached October 25, 2009, in Kitchener, Ontario

 Readings:

Genesis 24: 42-48, 25: 20-21  “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, 43 behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” 44 and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

45 “But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’46 And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. 47 Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.

25: 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Mark 10:46-52

46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”  50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”  The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

Heavenly Secrets #2535 Prayer, regarded in itself, is speech with God.  It involves a concentration on the topic of the prayer.  Then something flows into our perception or thought in answer, such that there is a certain opening of our interiors toward God.  This is different from person to person, according our circumstances, and according to the quality and the reason for our prayer. If we pray in loving-kindness and in trust, and for heavenly and spiritual things, then we receive something like a revelation (which is manifested in our feelings) bringing hope, consolation, and a certain inward joy. - Emanuel Swedenborg