Epiphany 4 "Misplaced Pride"

Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, 1 Corinthians 13:l-13, Luke 4:21-30
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church on January 30, 2022

When you have been away from your hometown and you go back again, it can be an awkward experience. Sometimes you have changed, and it seems that everything else is still the same as it ever was. The longer I have lived here in the United States the more unfamiliar my hometown and my homelands in Great Britain have become when I’ve made a visit.

I’ve noticed some people have reacted to me a little cautiously, in a few cases even critically. My accent… believe it or not… has changed.  Some of my views and tastes have altered. When it comes to British culture, I no longer know what is ‘in’ or ‘out’, what the latest thing is or the current fashion… so it can be more difficult to find common ground for conversation.

And sometimes, although people don’t come out and say it, you can tell that some folk, (thankfully the exception rather than being the rule), are thinking in a negative way about you. “Well, who do you think you are? Going off to America like that… don’t think you can come back here and tell us anything we need to know!”

Having been in that situation it has helped me gain a fresh insight into what happened when Jesus went to His hometown and started to preach the Good News. There was a familiarity about Him that caused the local folk to feel that they knew who He was and what He was capable of. By suggesting to them that He was more than they realized, it caused not rejoicing but offence. “Oh... for goodness’ sake, it’s only Joseph’s Son!”

A couple of times in Luke chapter 4 the Greek Word ‘dektos’, meaning “Acceptable” but sometimes translated as “Welcomed’, is used. In Luke 4:19 Jesus states His purpose as being “to proclaim the acceptable (dektos) year of the Lord.". In Luke 4:24 we read “He said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable (dektos) in his own country.”

Notice that the first instance is a positive one. ‘Today is an accepted time to participate in the work of the Lord, a day to welcome God, a day of God’s favor.’ The second is a negative. ‘This is not the time. You are not that person. You should not welcome this, because we certainly don’t!’

What I want to take out of this passage this morning has to do with spiritual growth. You can call spiritual growth by whatever term you wish. “Growth in Grace’; Discipleship’; ‘Transformation’; ‘Your personal walk with Jesus’ ‘Growing into your baptism’; whatever term works best for you. No matter how you describe it, the fact is that two principles will be at work: a positive force and a negative force.

The positive principle is that we are capable of spiritual growth. Indeed, if we are not growing spiritually, we are either in a state of spiritual stagnation or we are spiritually dead. Spiritual growth is highly acceptable and to be truly welcomed.

The negative principle is that there are all sorts of forces in and around our life that are telling us that spiritual growth is not an option and that if we think we can become a better follower of Jesus Christ then we’ve got another thing coming.

Let’s look at both these principles.

Firstly, The Positive

Jesus comes to the folk of His hometown with an absolutely awesome proclamation. That the time for people like them, people who thought of themselves as people that God wasn’t very concerned about, to wake up and see that God had a huge desire to bless them right there and right then. That they were central to what God wanted to do in the world.

Behind His proclamation lies the custom (which I mentioned last week) of the year of Jubilee. During a Jubilee Year, servants were released from their obligations and were set free. Those who had debts that couldn’t be paid were released. Those who had been put into a situation where they had to mortgage their land had their land returned to them.

Jubilee was an amazing time for those who felt themselves unable to help themselves. A time of great grace and new beginning. Here is Jesus standing before His people and telling them “It’s Jubilee! You are free to be all that God wants you to be!”

We need to know that it is STILL Jubilee time. That today is the day of the Lord’s favor. That today is a day to welcome the presence of God into whatever we are doing. That today is the time to seek to grow in our faith and to believe that God can do amazing things in us and through us!

Why is it Jubilee time? Because Christ has died, Christ is Risen, and Christ will come again. In Jesus Christ everything necessary for our spiritual growth has been accomplished. What it needs is the application.

Christ died for our sins. We can stop agonizing over them and using them as an excuse to step back from following. It’s Jubilee time. The debts are paid, we are slaves no more, what we had lost has been returned. 

Christ is Risen. Holy Spirit power is available here and now. The power to change. The power to bring about Kingdom change in our world . 

Christ will come again. The victory is assured. What is of Christ is eternal, what is of this world won’t last. It’s Jubilee time!

The door to spiritual growth, as individuals, together as a church community is wide open. God invites us, “Ask and you will receive, Seek and you shall find”. It’s Jubilee time!” But no… hold on a minute… look around you… it’s just us… and it’s just me and you… it’s just the same old same old.

Already we’ve moved to the negative. Already, even as Jubilee is proclaimed we’re seating ourselves in the synagogue and saying, “Now hold on a minute, that’s just Joseph’s son, isn’t it?”

And Jesus knows exactly what’s going through our minds. Here it is in Luke 4:23: “And He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." “

You hear what they are saying? “Listen, if you are all that then show us some fancy stuff, like we’ve heard you did elsewhere, then we’ll believe.” Now why was Jesus able to work miracles elsewhere? It was because the people in those other places believed it was Jubilee time, but the people in His hometown couldn’t get beyond their limited narrow ‘nothing can ever happen here’ mindset. The most limiting factor for those folk in Nazareth was their Nazareth mind-set.

Secondly, the Negative

This was no ‘glass half empty’ pessimism, it was a deeply rooted misplaced pride that cut faith down before it could even flex its wings. To illustrate Jesus uses two stories that were well known to the listeners, one involving Elijah and a widow of Sidon, the other about Elisha and Naaman.

The first story is set in the middle of a drought and Elijah needs something to eat and drink. He goes to Zarephath in Sidon and encounters a widow about to make a final meal for herself and her son. He asks her to make him a meal as well and tells her that   'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'" (1 Kings 17:14). Everything happens just as Elijah has said.

In the second story, Naaman, a great general in the command of the King of Aram.seeks to be healed from a leprous disease. He comes to Elisha, who instructs him to dip into the waters of the Jordan seven times, and eventually he receives his healing. (2 Kings 5)

In both accounts there is an initial reluctance to respond. Both the widow and the General are outsiders. Yet, in both cases, once they humble themselves before the prophet’s words, and act upon what they hear, miracles take place in their lives. They rise above their fears and overcome their misplaced pride.

Misplaced pride prevents God from working in our lives. Such pride grows out of our insecurity and fears. It expresses itself as a control issue. Those worshipers in Jesus’ hometown had a lot to be rightfully proud of. That was Joseph’s son up there preaching a blazing sermon. He was somebody that their town and their synagogues had nurtured and given a great start to. They had been gracious enough to give Him a platform from which to express His views.

But the offense came when He suggested that there was more to the Kingdom then they realized. That the message of God wasn’t all about them and their town, or even just their nation, but was something that wrapped its arms around strangers and outsiders and people whom they still considered beyond the boundaries of God’s Grace. In fact, it was something so close to them, that they just couldn’t see it!

To recast this story into a contemporary mold.  These were people familiar with the gospel story, but strangers to the gospels power. They were proud of their heritage, proud enough to defend it against anything they perceived as a threat, but that same pride prevented them from experiencing the love of God as something that could work miracles in their midst, something that could change and renew their lives and enable them to experience the Kingdom of God in a way they never had before.

As a Presbyterian Church we have a tremendous heritage. We have some great stories to tell and as a denomination have been instrumental in helping shape the history of nations. But that was then, and this is now. Let us not fall prey to the familiarity of the hometown crowd. 

Let us rise to the challenges of the present, confident that the Lord Jesus Christ, who stands amid His church, the same yesterday, today and forever, continues to lead us and guide us in unfamiliar ways and with fresh insights.

Let it not be said of us that we are people who knew the story of the gospel but not its power. 

Let us be proud of where we have been but have the humility to recognize that we haven’t yet arrived. That the fields are still ready for harvest and that we are called to ‘keep on keeping on’ building the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the Glory of God!

Let us beware of misplaced pride that cuts down faith before it can truly flex its wings. Rather let us allow ourselves to be embraced by the love of God, so that spiritual growth can be a happening, both in our personal lives and in the life of our churches, and we can rise on eagles’ wings.

With God’s love as our incentive, with hearts and lives prepared to make positive investment in the things of God’s Kingdom, I believe that wonderful things can still happen! 

To God’s name be the glory!

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Epiphany 3 "What's it all about?"

Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-10, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church on January 23, 2022

I am pretty sure that I'm not the only person here who likes to browse around bookshops. It is hard to say what attracts you to a particular book. It can be the cover. It can be because you have read other books by the same author. It can be that you have heard the title is on the best-seller list and you’re interested to see whether it’s all the critics make it out to be.

I always take the time to read the back cover, where there is usually a summary of the books content. You know the kind of thing; "Detective Sam Heart takes on a new challenge in 'The case of the Conspicuous Christian' the second of this thrilling series of mind-boggling adventures". If that is what I'm looking for, then I might go ahead and buy it.

"What's it all about?" That is what you want to know when you’re going to be investing your precious time in reading something. "What's it all about?" is also a question that confronts us when we think about our faith. Luke, right near the start of his gospel, gives us an account of Jesus going to the synagogue, at the beginning of his public ministry, and outlining what the gospel He will preach is going to be all about.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are downtrodden,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord"
(Luke 4:18-19)

This quotation from the prophet Isaiah is sometimes described as the 'Nazareth Manifesto'. Through these words Jesus outlines where He's coming from and what He intends to do. If we want to know what the gospel is all about, this passage offers a great starting point. Join me in looking at these words a bit deeper.

Firstly, notice that Jesus describes His mission as the work of God's Holy Spirit who has anointed Him for the task. The work of the church is a Holy Spirit anointed work. Christian life is a work of grace, not an undertaking of mere human effort. If we attempt to live the Christian life without maintaining a prayerful attitude and without seeking to apply God's Word to our life, we will dry up.  

Right through the gospels you see Jesus consistently working within the framework provided by the Old Testament and consistently taking time out to pray and keep His relationship with God fresh. That's the pattern He calls us to adopt if we wish to be disciples. Life in the Spirit, guided by the Word! That's where Jesus was coming from. But what did He intend to do?

The first task He speaks of is Preaching the gospel to the poor.

Poverty takes different forms. One is economic poverty. Jesus was born into a family whom at the time of purification could only afford to make the 'poor persons' offering of two young pigeons or doves (See Luke 2:24). Many times, in His parables He spoke of God's Kingdom as being a place where a reversal of fortunes would take place.

Parables like that of the rich man and Lazarus, His encounter with a rich nobleman whom He informed needed to sell everything he had and give to the poor if he was to be saved, His comment that it was easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom, all show a definite bias towards those who were economically disadvantaged.

Through New Testament injunctions to care for the widows and orphans, to the many charitable options that the different denominations today pursue, this is a bias the Church has continued to pursue. But poverty is not just an economical crisis. There also exists spiritual poverty. His message is good news to those who are lacking direction or purpose for the Gospel offers riches of grace that cannot be found elsewhere. The gospel is good news to be preached to the poor, be they poor economically or spiritually.

Next Jesus speaks of Proclaiming release to the Captives. Elsewhere the word used for 'release' is a Greek Word, 'aphesis', that particularly relates to the forgiveness of sins. Sin is described by Paul as the crippling disease, which holds all creation captive. (See Romans 8:22).

The Good News of Jesus offers a remedy for the condition of sin that holds us back from living the way God intended. He went to the Cross and prayed for us, "Forgive them Father, for they don't know what they are doing". One of the tremendous affirmations of the Apostles Creed is that we believe in 'the forgiveness of sins', made possible through Jesus Christ who was 'crucified, dead and buried' and 'rose again from the dead'.

The New Way Christ comes to offer is one where the past, where guilt and shame, where failures and regrets no longer haunt us, but have become opportunities for Grace. We are to learn from our failings, not dwell upon them or be held back by them. Though time and time again we may fall, God's love never declares us to be failures or hopeless cases. Because He died and rose again the door to forgiveness and New Life is always open. He came to proclaim release to the captives, which means to all of us, for we are all held captive by sin.

Recovery of sight to the blind.
A new vision. A vision that perceives new possibilities where before nothing could be seen at all. The gospel can do that for us. Help us see things in a way we had never seen them before. All the time Jesus encourages us to do just that.

To see probable enemies as potential friends. To see problems as opportunities. To see broken lives as things to put back together. To see setbacks as challenges through which we grow stronger. To see others and ourselves as those who are greatly loved by a God we can call 'Our Father'. To see all of life as a wonder to be cherished and even death as a doorway to glories yet to be revealed.

The wisdom of the Book of Proverbs declares that without a vision the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18). Jesus declares that He has come to bring about a restoration of vision.

As well as lifting the poor, offering forgiveness, and giving sight, the vision has to do with setting free the downtrodden. 

During His ministry time and time again, Jesus encountered people trodden down by physical circumstances, by political circumstances, even by demonic forces. And time and time again He spoke the Word and they were set free.

There’s a song based on Martin Luther King Jrs. words that says,
"Free at Last, Free at last
Thank God Almighty that we are free at last,
Gone are the chains of the past,
Thank God almighty we are free at last."

The gospel message has shown itself on countless occasions to be a message that sets people free.

In the final part of the verse Jesus proclaims He has come; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.

In Isaiah Chapter 61 proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor relates to the Jubilee year legislation of Leviticus 25. Following a series of seven sevens, the fiftieth year was to be a year ‘when you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all it’s inhabitants.” (Leviticus 25:10). Slaves were set free to return to their families. Debts were cancelled out. Jubilee was a time of new beginnings when the field was leveled, and all had an equal chance of starting afresh.

Isn’t that what the grace of God can do for us? Christ’s forgiveness offers the chance to start over again. No matter how much debt we have incurred, (be it materially or spiritually), no matter how enslaved to habits or lifestyles we have become, Jesus says to us, “It’s jubilee time! I believe in you. I see your potential. Let’s pick up the pieces and make something beautiful out of this mess! C’mon. It’s jubilee time!!!”

What’s it all about, this gospel we seek to follow?

• It’s about Jesus whose Holy Spirit enriches our lives, forgives our sins, grants to us new vision and sets us free to serve.
• It’s about Jubilee and new beginnings and enjoying the favor of God.
•  It’s about the relationships we have with each other and about how we treat those less fortunate than ourselves.
• It’s spiritual and social and political and a whole lot more.
• It’s about our private lives and our public lives, how we live when everybody is watching us and the things we do when nobodies watching.

What’s it all about?

Above all it is about  GOOD NEWS!

GOOD NEWS – that God isn’t through with us yet.
GOOD NEWS – that God cares about the things we are going through.
GOOD NEWS – that God is on the side of those for whom life is hard.
GOOD NEWS – for those who make a mess of their lives, for God offers forgiveness.
GOOD NEWS – for those who are seeking direction and purpose because God brings us vision.
GOOD NEWS – for those who feel trodden down, because God has the power to lift you up, the Holy Spirit power that turns death into resurrection.
GOOD NEWS – that the day of the Lord’s Jubilee is here and now. Now is the time to set things right.

Our passage closed with Jesus saying these words, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Many years before Moses had told the Israelites, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (See Hebrews 3:15)

Today, allow yourself to be embraced by God’s awesome love.
That’s what the gospel is all about!
The love of God that claims us and changes us.
To God be all glory. Amen!

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Epiphany 2 “DID YOU SEE THAT?”

Readings: Isaiah 62:1-5, Psalm 36:5-10, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 2:1-11
 

Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church on January 16,2022

I was watching a guitarist playing, brilliant guy called Gary Potter, could get sounds out of guitars that you never thought they had in them. I was trying to pick up some tips to improve my own technique. This guy knew his scales, the fingers of his left hand zipped up and down the strings like greased lightning.

But it was a little trick he did with the pick he held in his right hand that I have never seen anybody else do, before or since. Usually, he held the pick between his thumb and forefinger, but occasionally, if he wanted to play a harmonic or a bass note (Or even both at the same time) he would flick the pick to between his middle fingers, play the bass string with his thumb, a chord in the middle and a note on the top string with his little finger. He would do this just for a quick phrase, then go back to normal. Now that may not seem like much to some of you, but if you are some one who tries to play the guitar, then that is very impressive.

First time I noticed him do it, I said to my friend who was with me, “Did you see that?” “See who?” he said, thinking some pretty girl had just walked in. ‘See what he did with his pick!” “Oh” he said and laughed. “No.” You have to watch out or you can miss out!

I was watching a basketball game and one of the opposing side not only knocked one of the other players to the floor but grabbed hold of his foot and tried to trip him when he got up. I said to my friend, “Did you see that?” The referee did not. Despite my ignorance of the technicalities of American sports, I suspect this was not a legal procedure. And the man about two rows down from me on the balcony certainly gave his verbal expression as to what he thought about it. You have to watch out or you can miss out!

A man goes to a party. One of the family friends has just married. It is late in the day and the steward brings round the drinks. He thinks twice about having a glass of wine, because at these functions, as time went on, and peoples taste buds became a little desensitized, they tended to start serving the cheap and nasty stuff.

But he has a sip and then goes over to greet the brides Father. “Sir,” he says, “I want to shake you by the hand. Most people serve the best wine at the beginning of the day, but you have saved the best till last!” The Father smiles in appreciation, but also looks a little confused. He’d just had a message that the wine was all gone, and he was anticipating complaints, not compliments.

He rushed off to find his wife, “Did you hear that?” he said, “We’ve got jars of full of wine, how did that happen?” “I really don’t know” she replies, “I think it’s got something to do with Mary’s Son, y’know the carpenter who’s started going round preaching a bit. It’s amazing!”

It was amazing. It was the first miracle, the first sign that John’s gospel records, where Jesus starts to reveal His glory to the disciples, by turning water into wine. Yet most people at the wedding party saw no miracle. They just thought that the family had saved the best wine till the end, and they knew nothing of great big jars being filled with water that when poured out became the richest, reddest, most sparkling wine, in town. Where Jesus is involved, you have to watch out or you can miss it!

I guess the servants who filled the jars did not miss out. They would be going around for quite a while saying, “Did you see that?” Same with the disciples. They were starting to see that there was more to this Jesus than they thought possible. It was a sign to them of His glory.

His mother, Mary? Well, she had known Jesus was something special ever since the angels had started calling. John suggests that it is Mary who prods Jesus into performing the miracle. Maybe she has been chatting with the bride’s mother, we don’t know how she knew, but she comes to Jesus and tells him, “Son, the wines running out”.

At first Jesus seems reluctant. He seems to say, “Mother, What’s that got to do with me?” He knows that she, of all people knows who He really is, has a faith that recognizes His unique connection to God, but it is as though He says, “This isn’t the time and the place to let everybody else in on the secret.” (What He actually says is, “My hour has not yet come.”)

It is one of those times though that mom knows best. Call it a woman’s intuition if you like. She does not argue with Him or try to persuade Him. Just turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever He tells you.”

There are these huge, enormous water jars there. These are not little wine bottles, but six, whopping, big, stone jars that hold about twenty or thirty gallons of water. They were usually used for ceremonial washings that were a significant part of the ritual life of every Jewish person.

A lot of talk took place between the rabbis and the scribes about when to wash, what to wash, and even what kind of pot could hold the water to be used in the washing. Jesus chooses to use these ‘holy vessels’ for an act completely outside their intended purpose. It is kind of ironic that some of the religious folk at the wedding probably would have taken issue with Jesus for putting wine in their holy stone jars!

We are never told how it happened, but after the servants have filled the jars to the brim, Jesus tells them to draw some of the water off, they take it to the steward; he tastes it and recognizes it as the finest wine he has tasted all day. He has got no idea where it’s come from but is surely pleased that the servants have managed to obtain it. The servants on the other hand, know that a miracle has taken place.

This passage of Scripture is is rich in meaning. For the Jewish people, wine, like bread had a particular significance as being a symbol of God's presence and blessing. That symbolism carried over and was given new significance within the Christian Church, something we remind ourselves of at every communion service.

Yet the thing I would like to focus on is the ever-present possibility of missing out on what God is doing in our midst. At times, the worries of life obscure the ways of God. At other times, living as we do in such a materialistic culture, our constant craving for things of this world makes us so insensitive to the things of God's Kingdom. God acts and we just do not see it.

I've had people say to me as a pastor, "I would believe if only God gave me some definite sign". I sometimes feel like shaking them, (rather like some folk feel when a referee makes a bad call at a ball game) and saying, "Wake up, Open your mind. Your life from the moment you get out of bed is surrounded and peopled with evidence of God's blessings."

"Do you have a home? Do you have family who care about you? Is there a church you can be a part of? Do you own a bible? Do you get to eat every day? Then friend you are more blessed than many people in this world who do not enjoy a tenth the luxuries you have, yet still every day, open their lives and receive the goodness of God's love. How much more does God have to bless you till you count it as a sign?”

There are miracles surrounding our lives every day. Miracles taking place in our schools. In our places of work. In our offices. In our hospitals. In our lives. God is not holding back. God is showering down blessing upon blessing upon blessing. Do you see that?

Last week I encouraged you to make 2022 a prayerful year. That is one sure way to see that you don’t miss out on all the good stuff that God is doing around your life.  Tune in to what God is saying and tune your life into what God wants for your life, and you are less likely to miss out on what God is doing.

Now, I know that what I am describing as miracles some would say are just everyday happenings or even coincidences or things with totally rational explanations. That’s what the Steward said. “There’s new wine in my glass, so it follows that the logical conclusion is that it must have been there all the time. No miracle here that I can see.”

But if you asked the servants who had put the water in the jars or the disciples for whom it became a sign of God’s glory; “Has a miracle had taken place?” they would put you right! It’s that sort of story.  It invites you either to say, “I can explain that some other way” or to say, “Wow!”

I am impressed by the extravagance of this miracle. Six thirty-gallon stone jars full of the richest wine is more than enough for any body throwing a party! I am reminded that Jesus has more than enough love and grace and peace and joy to offer than we will ever need. He can turn the stagnant, insipid water of everyday experience into sparkling encounters with His love.

Now it is time for a random fact. Did you know that the African Impala is an animal that can leap almost ten feet high and a distance of fifteen to twenty feet? Did you also know that if you keep one in a zoo that you only have to put a three-foot-high wall around its’ enclosure to keep it fenced in? Why? Because an Impala will not jump unless it can see where its feet are going to land.

The faith that Jesus calls us to is one that does not give us the luxury of knowing where it will lead us. Faith in Christ does not come with a prescribed landing spot. Allow the new wine of God’s Holy Spirit to become your driving force and I cannot tell you where you it will lead you.

But I do caution you that unless you commit your life to following Jesus Christ then every day of your life that you walk without Him, you will miss out on things that the love and grace of God are doing all around you.

It would be tragic if on the last day our judgment came in the form of an angel saying, “Did you see that?” and our only reply was, “No, I was too centered on myself to realize miracles were taking place all around me.”

The message is plain. Center your life on Jesus and the new wine of the Holy Spirit will be there, in all His richness and abundance, to surround your life. Sometimes it will come as the wine of healing. Sometimes it will be a boost in a time of joy or a pick me up in a time of sadness.

Open your heart to Jesus Christ and Christ will come. Open your eyes to the everyday miracles around you and you will see that God is there for you. Focus on the darkness and you will always have your back to the light. Walk in the light and even the darkness will disappear.

Jesus turned water into wine. The disciples say, "Did you see that?" They certainly did!

John 2:11 "And they believed in Him!"

    To God’s name be all glory.

Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Be Prayerful

Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Readings: Psalm 29, Isaiah 43:1-7, Acts 8:14-17, Luke 3:15-17,21-22
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church on January 9, 2022

As we continue into a New Year, I want to focus your attention on a little detail that Luke tells us about the baptism of Jesus. Luke 3:21 reads, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven opened”.

It’s that little phrase, “and was praying” that caught my eye. Somehow, I had got the picture in my mind that the Holy Spirit came down on Jesus as He was being baptized. You have maybe seen pictures in Christian art with that familiar image of John baptizing Jesus in the River Jordan, and the Spirit alighting on Jesus as this took place.

But that’s not how Luke tells it. Luke tells us, all the people were baptized, then Jesus was baptized, and then Jesus prayed, and then the Spirit came. Luke does not picture everything happening at once but gives us a sequence of events that take place. Baptism in water, prayer, and then the Holy Spirit.

In religious life there are the corporate things and the individual things. There are the things that we do, together, and there are the things we need to do for ourselves. Through His baptism Jesus shows us that both are important, the external things and the internal things. But it can be a hard job to keep them both in balance.

In church life there are a whole lot of external things that need to be done.  We need people to serve on session and as deacons. We need people to be on committees to plan and arrange things.  We need Sunday School teachers if we are going to have a Sunday School.  We need choir members if we are going to have a choir. We need to care for one another.

We need to give our time and our talents and our treasure to the churches work if the church is to flourish. We need to be physically involved and seen to be involved with our church. We should rejoice in those times we get to share in the sacraments of Baptism or the Lord’s Supper. These things are an important part of Christian life. But they are only one side of the coin.

The other side of the coin is that we need to be people who, on a one-to-one basis, are getting their act together with God. We need to have a personal walk and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We do not just need to hear the Bible read on Sunday; we need to read it for ourselves. We do not just need to sit under the preacher’s prayers; we need to be cultivating a personal prayer life. We do not just need to be just listening to a sermon on a Sunday morning; we are called to be a living sermon for the entire world to read 24/7, 52 weeks of the year.

As we head into a New Year of church life, I would urge all of us to be active in the different activities of the church, but more than that I want to invite you to be prayerful. Whether in the Church you hold positions of responsibility or you just attend occasionally, be prayerful. We all lead such busy lives. Personal devotions, and in particular prayer can be pushed aside. We need to find time for it.

One of the great things about prayer though, is that the only equipment we need to pray, is a heart willing to listen to God.  We can pray anywhere, anytime. We do not need an iPhone, or a device, or a book, or anything external. We do not need to be in church or at any office or in any special place. This opens a lot of opportunities! Particularly when Covid forces us to take personal time.

Some people like to pray when they are driving to work. Turn off the radio and tune in to God instead.  Some like to take a walk around the block and have a word. Some like to jog and pray. Some work-out and pray. Some chill out and pray. Some like to have a special time of the day when they can shut the door behind them and be alone with God.

Some people have ways they like to approach their prayer times. Maybe a song or a piece of music. Maybe a bible reading.  Maybe a breathing exercise or meditation. Others find it easier to just keep chatting away throughout the day, whenever they get a chance. We are all different and there is no one way or one discipline or one system of prayer that suits all.

If you have not made any resolutions this year,
(or maybe did make some but have blown them already),
then why not resolve to make 2022 a more prayerful year?

To be prayerful will bring all sorts of benefits. You will be far more centered on God and better focused on the things that God can do through your life. You will find other ‘full’ things start to come along – you’ll be a little more joyful, peaceful, and hopeful.

It is no secret. Even an atheist, secular, psychologist will tell you that if you take a little time out of a day for reflection and meditation then you will become far more focused on the tasks that you have to do each day. That it is something that reduces stress. Prayer has definite health benefits!

But more than all of that, I keep coming back to that little detail about Jesus’ baptism that Luke tells us. That it was after His baptism, when He prayed, that the Spirit came down and He received the assurance, “Thou art my beloved Son, with thee I am well pleased”.

There is Jesus. In the middle of all that religious activity and expectation. There is Jesus being baptized. He comes up out of the water. And He prays. A deep personal and heart felt prayer.

This was the start of His new life. He was about to embark on a road that would lead Him to the cross.  He would be filled with power from on high. There would be those who would love Him and those who hated Him. There would be so much to share and so much to do. So, He prays. And assurance comes. An assurance that He would need to hear again, for doubts soon set in.

Time and time again we see Jesus withdrawing from the busyness, walking away from all the things that needed doing then and there, walking away from the needs of the people and the disciples clamoring to learn, walking away to take time out to pray.  If He who was already so close to the Father’s heart needed to do that, then how much more do our lives need to be prayerful!

Prayer has been called ‘the most talked about and least practiced discipline of the Christian life.’ You hear sermons about it, buy books about it, think about it, talk about it, muse about it, wonder about it, see the benefits in it, hear the testimonies concerning it, hear people extolling it and praising it, yet still never get around to really doing it! That should not be so!

So, I urge you, if you want to be a better husband or wife, a better friend, a better parent or grandparent, a better son or daughter, better at your schoolwork or better at your office work or better at whatever makes up your daily lot, if you want to be a better contributor or a better caregiver, or a better lover, or a better worker… then be prayerful.

If you want to be a real treasure to your church, to your family, to those you love, to your community, and you value your own personal growth and your own well-being, then let 2022 be a prayerful year.

We have no knowledge of the challenges this year will bring our way. We simply cannot predict how anything, be it Covid, or politics, or family, or just the simple act of daily living might look like in coming days.

So, this is a win-win resolution to make. We are not being asked to give anything up. We are being invited to deepen our relationship with God. We are being invited to deeper fellowship with God and a deeper experience of God’s love.

Luke tells us, it was when all the people had been baptized, and Jesus Himself had been baptized, “and was praying” that heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit came down as a dove and Jesus received the assurance, He needed to see Him through the tumultuous days that lay ahead.

We do not know what the days ahead may bring to us.
But we can know that God will walk every step of the way with us.
How?
By being prayerful!

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.