Epiphany 5, Year B
Donna G. Joy

Isaiah 40:21-31, Mark 1:29-39

As Mary mentioned earlier, her son-in-law Andrew is to be ordained a Priest this afternoon. This past week - as is the case with all people about to become ordained - he attended a pre-ordination retreat during which time he was expected to remove himself from all external distractions and immerse himself in discerning God's presence through Scripture and prayer. I know Andrew well enough to know that he will have engaged in this experience faithfully. But he is also someone with a great sense of humour, and as a friend of his on Facebook, I often have the good fortune to enjoy his humour, and this past week was one such occasion, as he posted a cartoon - clearly - with his retreat in mind.

The picture is of Marge and Homer Simpson, with Homer clearly having a complete meltdown, as he himself is entering into a time of retreat. And the caption reads, "Why, oh why, why did I commit myself to 'unplugging' during my retreat?" And then, in his typical, Homer, devious way, he thinks of a way around it as he says, "Well . . . maybe just a little facebook . . . and maybe a glance at my email account wouldn't hurt!!!!" And written on a big block behind Homer are the words, "No TV. No Beer. Make Homer go crazy."

As is so often the case with the Simpsons, the humour is exposing a deeper cultural truth that is worth pondering; and the point here is that we are so immersed in technology and so many other pleasures of this life, we can rebel with every fibre of our being if we are separated from them.

It was particularly interesting to me to see this facebook post this week, as I was reflecting on our readings - especially our gospel reading - where Jesus separates himself from his work / ministry / distractions, in order to pray. Our readings this morning I think are challenging us to consider the importance of prayer; the importance of creating opportunities to separate ourselves from the greater pleasures of life – from our addictions. Those of you who were here last week will remember that we were reflecting on those things (like technology) with which we are possessed/obsessed - or maybe even addicted - and this week we are given some direction in terms of how to put those things into their proper perspective.

Our readings began with the beautiful poetry from the prophet Isaiah writing towards the end of the exile. The Israelite people had known only too well the perils of self-indulgence; the perils of forgetting that God is the creator and centre of everything; the perils of not making time for God in prayer . . . and eventually their selfish ways led them to complete ruin. This morning’s passage is referring to a time when the self-indulgent ways of the Israelite people had become humbled as they were defeated by the Babylonians and carted off into exile, to be treated as slaves and servants in that foreign land.  These exiles felt that they had been forgotten by their God and out of a deep sense of pain, abandonment, loneliness and fear they cry out to the God who they feel is the source of their pain.  

Here, Isaiah reminds them that God is not the source of their pain. He reminds them that their God is the almighty, Creator God – he reminds them of the profound sense of eternal hope found in God’s constant care and love – selflessly given:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

This passage serves as an important reminder that the God we worship IS the Creator of the universe, the source of all life and all love; the great “I AM”, who WAS from the beginning, who IS in this present moment with us, and who always will be until the end of all time.   This is the God, who still cares for each one of us and “renews our strength” at times when we allow so many other obsessions to consume our attention; at times when these obsessions run dry; and at times when we grow “tired and weary”.  This is the God who wants to have a relationship with us, who calls us into relationship, no matter who we are and how we live our lives.

But the key phrase here is, “those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength”. Again, “…those who wait for the Lord…” – and this, in fact, is prayer. Prayer, in some very real sense is always a kind of waiting on the Lord.

Prayer is fundamentally a turning toward God, an opening of oneself to God, an acknowledgement of God as God and myself as a creature of God, placing my burdens on God, expressing my willingness to let God lead, taking my cue from God both in terms of direction and timing.   Prayer is fundamentally a reaffirmation that God is at the centre – that because God is always present all will be well in the fullness of time - that with God's help, obsessions of this world will be overcome –strength will be renewed – and in God all things will be made new. Even though we may rail against being torn away from the obsessions and pleasures that we increasingly rely on so greatly, prayer is absolutely essential so that we may return, again and again and again, to this truth - that God, in Jesus, is at the very centre of who we are and what we're called to do.

And as I mentioned earlier, this theme is reinforced in the gospel reading this morning, where Jesus finds a quiet place to pray. At this point in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry is beginning to thrive. His popularity is growing as the message of his successful ministry spreads throughout the region. One could imagine that not only would Jesus be exhausted from the demands put on him, but perhaps also on a bit of a high as a result of his growing success.  But early the next morning after an exceedingly 'successful' day, rather than having a bit of a sleep in; rather than staying around to receive or encourage more adoration from the crowds, he slips away quietly, “while it is still dark” and goes to a solitary place...  someplace where he can turn his attention back to God, the centre of all that he is called to be and do; some place where he can be still and listen to God - where he can wait for the Lord who will renew his strength.

There is a balance to Jesus’ life.  A balance of time spent in quiet – in relationship - with God – and time spent in preparing to serve as he is called to do. Because of Jesus’ intimate relationship with God, he was able to be open to the needs of those who cross his path. But his ministry was absolutely rooted in God, informed by God, fed by God - and for this relationship to remain sustained prayer was essential.

We know that any relationship we wish to sustain requires time spent with that person, and our relationship with God is no different. Through his relationship with God Jesus had the knowledge, wisdom, power and authority that so surprised those who heard him speak.   Because of his commitment to finding time for and with God, Jesus was grounded in that relationship and equipped to be effective and authentic in his ministry.

Throughout the Gospel stories Jesus returns again and again to times and places of prayer, and in so doing he is modeling something that challenges the norms of our culture, where productivity is the bottom line. In his book Sleep Thieves, Stanley Coren presents the hypothesis that our attitude toward productivity and sleep began with Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb.[1] With the availability of artificial light, we can work at any time. We no longer need to attend to the body’s natural rhythms of waking and sleeping. But to perpetuate this culture committed to constant productivity –creates spiritual, emotional, physical, psychological fatigue. Coren also suggests that many of the problems in our world today have been caused, or at least perpetuated, by sleep deprived politicians making decisions that have been made through the cloudiness of fatigue.

Which is why regular, quiet, prayer time is essential – that is, those times when we are drawn back into the center and the source. It is then, and only then, that we will be reminded it is not all about productivity – it is about remembering that God is the center and the source, and anything we manage to produce is born from there. Over the past two weeks our gospel readings have talked a lot about Jesus' tremendous productivity: but today we are also reminded that everything he does is grounded in and informed by prayer.

One of the most distinguished words in the Bible is the word kadosh, holy; a word which more than any other is representative of the mystery and majesty of the divine. And what’s really interesting is that in Scripture you first see the word ‘holy’ in the Book of Genesis at the end of the story of creation where God defines ‘time’ as ‘holy’: “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.” Time is sacred. How we choose to spend our time determines how we choose to use this sacred gift. This, I think, may cause us to rethink some of the ways we speak about time; rethink such phrases as, "Time is money." "I'm just killing some time." Taken literally, we are saying with such phrases that it is possible to reduce that which is holy into something that is merely all about money. And, that it is possible to 'kill' that which is holy. A faithful use of this sacred gift - known as time - is a healthy balance between prayer and service and play –never underestimate the value of play time added into the mix. (Remember that Jesus also had a sense of fun.)

Marva Dawn, an important prophetic voice of our time says,

“Christian life consists in what God does for us, not what we do for God; the Christian life consists in what God says to us, not what we say about God. We also, of course, do things and say things, but if we do not return to Square One beginning with God and God’s Word, we will soon be found to be practicing a spirituality that has little or nothing to do with God.”[2]

So, returning to ‘Square One’ is what prayer is all about. When asked the question, “What is your view of the daily discipline of the Christian life – the need for taking time to be alone with God?” – C.S. Lewis responded,

“We have our New Testament regimental orders upon the subject. I would take it for granted that everyone who becomes a Christian would undertake this practice of prayer. It is always just possible that Jesus Christ meant what He said when He told us to seek the secret place and to close the door.”[3]

At St. Peter’s, there are a number of ways in which we may remove ourselves from the busyness of our lives, our work, our ministries, and return to the God – made known in Jesus – and sustained by the Holy Spirit, who is the centre. Regular Sunday worship. Each time we gather here on Sunday mornings, we remove ourselves from our busy lives and seek God’s Presence. In addition to this weekly experience, there are opportunities to retreat from the busyness of our lives to seek God’s Presence in walking the Labyrinth, meditation, weekly bible study, semi-regular Christian education sessions . . . Check our web site for further information that will help you discover ways in which you may retreat from the busyness of your lives to discover God in study and in prayer.

I pray that in the midst of the busyness of our lives – the anxieties – the concerns that surface each and every day –each of us may create time to return to that which is the source and the centre.

 


[1] Stanley Coren, Sleep Thieves, Free Press, 1996

[2] Marva Dawn, ‘The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath Way of Life for Those Who Serve God, The Church, and The World’, Wm.B. Eerdman's Publishing (Feb. 21 2006)page 91

[3] C.S. Lewis, ‘Cross Examination’ God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, page 266