19 Pentecost/Year C
October 20, 2019
Stewardship Season Kick-off Sunday
Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119: 97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8
Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
This isn’t the first time we hear Jesus talk about prayer and it surely will not be the last. Prayer was central and first and foremost in Jesus’ life… and throughout the scriptures we have seen many examples that point to the importance of prayer in Jesus’ life…
Today’s parable is the second one Jesus teaches in Luke’s Gospel on the necessity of prayer. Earlier Jesus told a parable about a man going to his friend in the middle of night to ask for bread and even though at first the friend may not want to get up if he persists his friend will get up and give him the bread (Luke 11:5-8). Next Sunday we will hear another parable on prayer, the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14).
In Luke’s Gospel we see Jesus in prayer more often than in any of the other Gospels. The following examples of Jesus in prayer are only in Luke: Jesus was praying after his baptism when the heavens opened (Luke 3:21). After the cure of the leper Jesus withdrew to the wilderness and prayed (Luke 5:16). Jesus spent all night on the hills in prayer before he chose the Twelve (Luke 6:12-16).
Jesus was praying alone when he asked the disciples “Who do the people say I am?” (Luke 9:18-22).
Eight days later he took Peter, James and John and went up on the mountain to pray (Luke 9:28) and while praying he was transfigured (Luke 9:29). Jesus was praying when his disciples asked him to teach them to pray so he taught them the “Our Father”, the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-4). Jesus prayed for Simon that his faith might not fail (Luke 22:32). Only Luke tells us that Jesus prayed for his crucifiers (Luke 23:34) and as he died committed his spirit into the hands of the Father (Luke 23:46). In the Acts of the Apostles, also attributed to Luke, we see the Church at prayer many times. The disciples in Acts are doing what Jesus has taught them and shown them in the Gospel.
Prayer, as we have seen and heard, not only in the gospel of Luke and in the Acts of the Apostles, was central in Jesus’ life and ought to be central in our lives also. (Fr. Tommy Lane)
Today, is our stewardship season kick-off for the coming year…And I invite all of us to begin with a renewed commitment to prayer…prayer ought to be central in our lives…in our hearts, minds, body, spirit, and in every action we take…prayer ought to be at the center of all we are…and all we do…
Each year, we as a body of Christ, the Church….gather to pray, engage in conversations, and discern the ways in which we will carry out the Mission of Christ: The Mission of the Church…here at St Peter’s and in the wider community…in the coming year.
From the Catechism in the book of common prayer:
Q. What is the mission of the Church?
A. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
Q. How does the Church pursue its mission?
A. The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love.
Q. Through whom does the Church carry out its mission?
A. The church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members.
All of us…all of us have been blessed with God’s many and varied and wonderful gifts to be shared in carrying out the Mission of the Church….And here at St Peter’s…we are On a journey together: Seeking to walk the way of love…with God, one another, and all of creation…And in this coming year…we will embark on a journey that will be focused on Counting and Sharing our Blessings…And for this journey…and throughout all of our journeys here on earth…there’s one thing that we must always carry with us…Prayer…
As Jesus, has shown us, prayer needs to be central, and first and foremost in our lives…Prayer…individually and together, faithfully…and with the persistence of the widow in today’s parable …
Pray with your eyes open, pray with your eyes closed, pray in the morning, pray in the evening…pray over the pledge letter, pray before every decision you make, pray in the midst of every sorrow, pray in gratitude for every blessing…pray…count and share your blessings and see the fruits of God’s love grow in your relationship with God, and with one another…pray and worship together…proclaim the gospel…promote justice, peace and love…Pray for God’s kingdom to come here on earth…pray always…and do not lose heart…
Prayer: The Hymnal 1982 - #10 New every morning is the love
1 New every morning is the love our wakening and uprising prove;
through sleep and darkness safely brought,
restored to life and power and thought.
2 New mercies, each returning day, around us hover while we pray;
new perils past, new sins forgiven,
new thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.
3 If on our daily course our mind be set to hallow all we find,
new treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.
4 Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, as more of heaven in each
we see; some softening gleam of love and prayer
shall dawn on every cross and care.
5 The trivial round, the common task, will furnish all we ought to
ask: room to deny ourselves; a road to bring us daily nearer God.
6 Only, O Lord, in thy dear love, fit us for perfect rest above;
and help us, this and every day, to live more nearly as we pray.
Rev. Julie Platson, Rector
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, Alaska