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Vicar's message from July, 2007
| A Sermon at Saint Patrick's Proper 12 -- Year C -- July 29, 2007 - Luke 11.1-13 Preacher: Tinh Huynh+ --------------------------------- The disciples of Jesus went to Him and asked Him to teach them how to pray. They said that John the Baptist was teaching his disciples how to pray, Why not Jesus? But there must have been another motive behind the request: Jesus prayed, and miracles happened; he must have known the magical words. Jesus graciously said, "When you pray, say, 'Our Father, who art in heaven...'" Many of us learned this prayer when very young. You and I may not have realized how popular the Lord's Prayer is. On Thursday evening I was at Fairfax Mental Health Institute to visit a young Vietnamese man, at the request of his family. I had met this young man several years ago, when he came to see me at Saint Patrick's, and this was the first time I was going to see him again since that time. After signing in and showing my ID, I was admitted through a series of locked doors in the hallway to enter a lounge where I could sit and visit with him. At the conclusion of our visit, I offered to say a prayer. As soon as I said, "Let us pray," the young man began saying the 'Our Father....' I was surprised: he never attended church, and his parents were Buddhists. Where did he learn that prayer? Everyone in my family learned the Lord's Prayer when we were very young. But in my old Protestant Church in Vietnam, the Lord's Prayer was not at the center of worship. The church did not call it "The Lord's Prayer." Instead, the church in Vietnam referred to it as "The Prayer for Saying in Unison." Generally this prayer was used at the conclusion of a prayer meeting or Family Altar. Family Altar was very important in my family. From Monday to Saturday, around 8 PM, everyone in the household was expected to show up for Family Altar. One of my sisters would play the harmonium to accompany us singing a hymn or two. Then we would read a chapter from the Bible, and then a person appointed by my father would pray. When my turn came, I also had a prayer of my own to say. I followed the pattern of words that my older brothers and sisters used to make my own prayer. The prayer was a list of requests to God, which were generally requests for blessing and good health. Out of respect, I always prayed first for my parents and then for my older brothers and sisters, starting with the oldest one. Oftentimes, while praying I entertained the idea of adding the names of our three dogs and our cat and her kittens. But I dared not do so, because my Mom and my sisters would laugh and my father would be irritated. God seemed very serious in those days. A session of our Family Altar in those days took less than 45 minutes, but it seemed much longer to me. Whenever a visiting Pastor spent a night with us, the guest would certainly be invited to pray, and on those occasions the service seemed interminably long. What did I think about The Lord's Prayer in those days? I actually did not think much about it. Every evening I looked forward to it just because it concluded the prayer meeting. No matter how boring, such a tradition and training imbedded in me the need to trust. The Bible verses and the hymnal tunes have been indelible in my mind. As a matter of fact, I often realize now that I was more fortunate than most other children of my age back in those days, because of the steadiness and stability of growing up in a family steeped in such traditional values. The lists of requests in our prayers to God are perfectly all right. As long as we do not expect God to answer our prayers the way we want, we are all right in all our asking. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus never mentioned a single thing concerning requests for health, wealth or success. Instead, Jesus said, "When you pray, say the following..." "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name." Let your Name be glorified. I'm going to get rid of my fear about what the world thinks about me. I'm going to be true to myself and others. I will cease seeking applause from others. I will not be jealous of other people but I will rejoice in celebration of their talents and blessings. "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." I have decided to follow Christ, to accept my vulnerability, and to participate in making such Kingdom happen. I will speak of peace to myself, my loved ones and to those whom I meet. I will proclaim God's love and our belovedness. I will work for justice and give care to the suffering and the poor. In this world of confusion and chaos, I seek having a non-anxious presence like that of my Lord. "Give us this day our daily bread." God, give me just enough so that I can continue to live. I'm not looking for more. For I tend to waste. A bird never makes a nest that is too big for herself and her chicks. Neither does she need two or three nests at the same time. The more possessions I gather, the more distracted I become. "And forgive us our sins, as we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us." Lord, I have decided to forgive the persons who once hurt me. I will practice forgiveness, no matter how difficult it is. I will not seek revenge. But I will just be kind, the way Jesus is. I am willing to embrace the pain, because I believe in resurrection. On my way to heaven, on the day that I die, I don't want to bring along any bit of anger. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Lord, help me to think and do things that are right. But I myself will avoid places of danger. I will resist evil thoughts -- thoughts of hatred, discrimination, arrogance, violence, infidelity and deceit. If I do not resist those thoughts, they will turn into words and action unexpectedly. Lord, give me the gift of self-confrontation, so that I may stop when I need to, off and on, on my life journey. Give me the wisdom to see the spiritual ant hills, so that I will not walk through them nor sit upon them. ------------------ The Lord's Prayer not just a popular thing or something we may choose to say when appropriate. It can stir up our soul and take us to action. The Lord's Prayer contains words that can change us. To Jesus, prayer and action go together. I have a mentor, who is a retired priest, and we have been meeting periodically, about once a month. We have lunch together each time we meet, and we usually meet at the Virginia Seminary. Yesterday we had lunch at a local restaurant, and we had many things to talk about. When food was brought to the table, the priest continued to talk while putting the spoon into his soup and began to eat. I knew something was missing here. We always say grace before we eat. Many of us know of the training we received. It is a passed-on thing in Christian families. My great nephew in California received his first lesson in giving thanks for food before he could talk. When he was just 12 months old and sitting in his highchair ready to eat his pablum or other breakfast food, his mother would fold his arms with one of her hands, while her other hand lightly pushed his head forward to make a bow, saying: "Lord, I thank you for this food," then adding,"Good boy!" Prayer before meal is a wonderful tradition. We are so used to it that sometimes we feel guilty when we forget to say grace. So, yesterday, my dear mentor immediately knew what was missing. He said to me as I was looking at him, "Oh, I was so much in my thoughts and talking, I forgot to give thanks. Would you please do it?" I said, "What about eating without saying grace, and see the difference it makes." He said, "Fine." We ate without praying. Have you ever eaten without grace saying by intention? Isn't it more important to give thanks in the heart than to do so only on the lips? Isn't it essential that such thanksgiving takes us to action? How forgetful am I that food and the many things I use are sacred. The daily bread that I receive involves so many people, with their labor and their toil. The oranges and bananas, and meat and potatoes and rice... Things that come from Detroit, China, Bangladesh and Mexico... There are people who eat without saying grace, but they are mindful of the need of the poor, and they do put into practice what Jesus taught. The purpose of prayer is not to make us look religious and good. If prayer cannot change us, prayer is useless. A Bishop in the Methodist Church says that the Lord's Prayer is not only a gift that Jesus gave us, but is also judgment against us as we measure our own fidelity against the standard of Jesus. C.S. Lewis, English writer, once said that prayer does not change God, but prayer can change us. The Lord's Prayer is special in that it may bring us to transformation. If we keep praying the way Jesus prayed, and doing so accordingly, we will become like him. Does our saying of the Lord's Prayer make any difference in our lives? Amen. |
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