Monks' Corner
Diocesan Press Service. October 3, 1974 [74269]
(Monks' Corner is a monthly spiritual column prepared exclusively for the diocesan publications -- please do not print this material in any other publications.) Article No. 1 (Suggested for November issues)
CHRIST'S PRIESTLY PRAYER
by the Rev. Connor Lynn, O.H.C.
In the Seventeenth Chapter of John God shows himself to us in Christ's priestly prayer, three of which stand out in my mind.
First, Jesus' relationship to his disciples is one of positive affirmation of their goodness. On the night of His betrayal and His agony in Gethsemane, He recognizes their weaknesses. He does not waste time on criticism nor does He give up hope, for He sees in them the glory of God. His prayer is their call. It is also an act of Creation. Second, through prayer he calls them to unity with Him and with each other. And third, through prayer He calls them to contemplation, to look upon the glory of God. The Lord's Prayer is the same for us today. The prayer of Jesus is a dynamic force that is creative and powergiving. If we enter into this prayer with the Lord he changes how we act towards each other and all of creation. For those who hear this prayer it is spirit and life, but for those who refuse to listen the prayer is a judgment.
At the Baptism of Jesus the voice of God affirms "this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. " He calls Jesus to righteousness by discerning, recognizing righteous- ness in Him. He calls forth all of creation into being by a positive declaration. In the act of creation God says yes, the cosmos is good; In the Incarnation God says yes, humanity is good; In the vocation that God gives to each of us He says yes, you and I are good because He made us and He loves us. I John iii 2 says, "We are God's children right now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We know that at this revelation we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."
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This is not to ignore the sin in the world, or the failure of the Church or our own individual failures, but it is to say that the way Jesus deals with sin is creative and hopeful -- Try to imagine Jesus at the Last Supper delivering a harangue to Judas not to betray Him, or to Peter not to deny Him, or to all of the apostles not to fall asleep in the Garden, or to Thomas not to doubt His risen Presence. Instead, he was in their midst in love. Jesus almost never criticized or condemned. He had hope that eventually doubting Thomas would say, "My Lord and My God." He had hope that beyond Peter's denial would be his crucifixion upside down for the Kingdom's sake. At the Last Supper he celebrated the Good- news of creation in the ancient Passover prayer, and pointed to his own sacrifice as the giving of himself, the Light of the World, through whom all things and all relationships are recreated.
We can never really come into our own as persons or as a community until we see and accept ourselves and each other as God sees us. Because Jesus did not see Peter and Thomas as failures he made it possible for them to be changed. They permitted the life of Jesus to be their life. They had a choice. They could remain in their doubt, pride, fear, and anxiety or they could bring their motives and conduct to God's love. You and I have the same choice.
Article No. 2 (Suggested for November issues)
WHEN YE PRAY . . . . PUT YOUR WHOLE SELF INTO IT
by the Rev. Lincoln Taylor, O.H.C.
Prayer is a communication of love. It is the converse of love between God and man. Very few people ever try to love with only their minds or just with spoken words. Love is tireless to find ways to bring the whole self into its expression or reception.
Much of the imagined difficulty with prayer is with the idea that prayer to be reverent, must be sedate, reserved, not too boisterous, and certainly with a controlled discipline of the physical being. The process often begins when we strive desperately to keep our children still in the church pew, or failing that decide they must be left at home or kept busy in a merry baby sitters room in the parish hall. Prayer confined to the mind or lips is generally quite burdensome.
The new provision for the congregational proclamation at the Ordination of a Bishop "He is worthy" was a new and exciting experience. Prayer is the action of the whole person, just as love is. In one way or another our five physical senses of touch, taste, smell, seeing and hearing can and should be permitted and encouraged to share the loving communication of prayer. One of the inspiring features of the Bible record is the manner in which many of those seeking favors of God, or receiving answers from God, and in the New Testament beseeching our Lord, not only put their whole selves into the action, but employed all manner of expressive 'sacramentals' or objects to get the message across. Incense, lamps, songs and shouts, gestures, postures, anointings, bread, wine, salt and a host of others were used. One can also attend to our Lord's converse with the Father, as for example, in Gethsemane, and the manner in which he was completely involved.
The Time-Life book on the Great Ages of Man and Ancient Egypt dispels any concept that only the Latin temperament, or the Jewish or New Testament people put their whole selves in their prayers to God. St. Francis of Assisi, the Jongleur di'Dieu, has never ceased to influence the Church by the love songs of prayer which flowed out of his happy heart.
Finally, each individual is a potential fountain of inventive means to enrich and enliven the Church's prayer life. The Bible proclaims that when it comes to loving and praising God, not only should we do it with our whole heart, soul, mind, strength, but that we should never fear to go beyond what is rightfully His due.