Spiritual Disciplines-Praying

This sermon was delivered at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on October 28, 2007, the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Joel 2:23-32
Psalm 65
2Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Something I haven’t mentioned about Luke’s gospel in a long time is that it was the gospel for the city people of God. Mark’s gospel was first and written for the Palestinian masses. Matthew’s gospel was written second and was intended to be read and studied by Christ worshiping Jews. Luke’s gospel, the third of the gospels written, was intended for a more sophisticated, more educated audience. Luke’s gospel was for the Greeks and the Romans, the learned cultured city people. Where the first two were written in the Greek of the small town, Luke’s was written in a more formal language. Not quite the formal Greek of Socrates or Plato, but more formal than the other gospels. We might see it as the difference between the “Good News” or the “New Living” translations of the bible compared to the King James version. Luke’s is the hoidy toidy gospel.

The first time praying is mentioned in Luke’s gospel is when Zacharias was told by the messenger that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son, the man who would be known as John the Baptist. There are seven more times when Luke talks specifically about Jesus praying. Jesus prays when he is baptized. He prays on the mountainside. He prays for himself. He prays for his disciples. He prays for the church. He prays for you and me. He prays in seclusion. He prays with others. He prays in the garden. And as he prays in the garden sweat drops from his brow like great drops of blood.

Our reading today is one of the five times that Jesus teaches about praying. Other times include the Lord’s Prayer, the story of the Widow and the Unjust Judge, Jesus denouncing the way the Scribes pray, Jesus telling the masses to pray for those who abuse them, and today’s lesson, Jesus describing the praying of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

So given these bits of the history of the canon and this lexicon of Lukan praying scripture, I want you to know something special about Luke’s gospel. There are more stories about praying in Luke’s gospel than in all of the other gospels combined.[1] Even John’s gospel, the most ethereal, the most spiritual of the gospels; doesn’t mention prayer or praying even once. But the city Gospel, the Gospel written by the good physician, Luke has thirteen different praying stories. So it seems to me, that the writers and editors and translators of Luke’s gospel thought praying is of great importance for the people receiving this message of the Good News.

Let me say that again, in my opinion, the writers and editors and translators of Luke’s gospel thought praying is of great importance for the people receiving this message of the Good News. Ordinarily you might expect me to say that Jesus though praying was important. And of course, this is true. You might also have expected me to say that Luke thought prayer was important. And I believe this is true too. But what I said, what I meant is that praying, prayer, is important for the people of God. Praying is so important that Luke included thirteen stories about prayers being offered or when praying is discussed.

And when you would look at the gospels and their intended audiences, compared to the other gospels, Luke’s Gospel would be the one directed toward Americans in general, and I believe Presbyterians in particular.

Prayer is important to the body of Christ called Presbyterians too. The Book of Order, the second part of the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) contains some form of the word “pray” over 200 times.[2]

“Prayer is at the heart of worship. In prayer, through the Holy Spirit, people seek after and are found by the one true God who has been revealed in Jesus Christ. They listen and wait upon God, call God by name, remember God’s gracious acts, and offer themselves to God. Prayer may be spoken, sung, offered in silence, or enacted. Prayer grows out of the center of a person’s life in response to the Spirit. Prayer is shaped by the Word of God in Scripture and by the life of the community of faith. Prayer issues in commitment to join God’s work in the world.”[3]

“In prayer we respond to God in many ways. In adoration we praise God for who God is. In thanksgiving we express gratitude for what God has done. In confession we acknowledge repentance for what we as individuals and as a people have done or left undone. In supplication we plead for ourselves and the gathered community. In intercession we plead for others, on behalf of others, and for the whole world. In self-dedication we offer ourselves to the purpose and glory of God.”[4]

There is even a liturgy for a service of daily prayer. In this service, “Prayers may be spoken, sung, enacted, and offered in silence. Daily prayer affords a unique opportunity for silence and meditation in community. Prayer in all its dimensions should be offered with special attention to the public and personal concerns of the community.” [5]

All of this comes out of the Book of Order. I think we’re on to something here.

Here, Luke gives us a picture of prayer. In this reading, praying is done in public, aloud, as a part of the service of worship. The usual manner of prayer in the temple was standing, with arms outstretched and palms raised and eyes uplifted.[6] Many prayers were offered as call-and-response, like we do with our Call to Worship. And as we do with our Call to Worship, these prayers were often taken from the Psalms.

But the two men praying in this parable are outside of the ordinary in the temple. One, the Pharisee, is all too glad to thank God that he was not like other people, thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like the tax collector. He then tells God, and all who are there to hear him, that he meets the temple requirements for fasting and tithing.

I bet it was a joy to share a pew with him.

The first unusual piece of this reading is that the man is standing by himself. This is odd because separating himself from the assembly; he separates himself from the people of God. Then again, that seems to be the idea of his prayer, he is separate from the heathen masses who have come to the temple. He is different; he should separate himself from the masses.

But this isn’t the only unusual thing about his prayer. Other translations say “he stood up and prayed about himself” where our translation said “standing by himself, he was praying.”[7] This is one of those hinky little translation things that I say pop up in the Greek from time to time. Translating the passage this way, he does not separate himself from the masses. On the contrary, he stands right in the middle of the people and he prays out loud “God, I thank you that I am not like these clowns. I do as you command.”

Then the Tax Collector prays in an unusual way. He’s standing far away from the assembly. He isn’t looking up. His hands are wrapped around him, even beating his chest. And he prays a prayer of humble sincerity. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Jesus then reminds the world that the first will be last and the last will be first. All who exalt themselves, lift themselves up, will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted. If we want our rewards while on earth that’s one choice; but that’s it. Like the rich man and Lazarus from a couple of weeks ago, those who seek life through themselves will get the good life, but those who humble themselves before the Lord God will receive the gift of eternal life.

In the end though, we must be warned against something very seductive in reading this passage. It is tempting to say that we’re glad that we are nothing like this Pharisee. We know our limitations. We know that we must be humble before the Lord. We have to take our needs to the mercy seat of God. But it’s tempting to say, “Thank God I’m not like that Pharisee. Thank God I’m not like that clown. I do as you command.” But beware; when we do that, we use the same words that the Pharisee uses to condemn himself.

Instead, we need to use the words the Tax Collector might have used that very day. The words of Psalm 65, the words we used in our Call to Worship:

To you that hear prayer shall all flesh come,
because of their transgressions.
Our sins are stronger than we are,
but you will blot them out.

We are called to pray. We are called to pray alone. We are called to pray in groups. We are called to pray in the assembly. We are called to pray at home. We are called to pray in silence, in spoken word, and in song. We are called to pray in quiet meditation. We are called to pray in action. We are called to pray without ceasing; our life is to be lived as a constant prayer. We pray for your mercy, O Lord. We pray for your strength and your protection. We pray for your grace. And above all, we pray with arms out stretched and palms up lifted, our eyes toward heaven and we give thanks for your Son Jesus Christ, through whom this has all ready been accomplished.

[1] Using BibleWorks to search the gospels for verb forms of “I pray,” I found six stories in Matthew’s and in Mark’s gospels and none in John’s. Luke’s gospel has thirteen praying stories.
[2] Adobe search of the word “pray” allowing for partial word hits in the PDF form of The Book of Order, Part II of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 2007-2009 Edition. The Office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Louisville, Kentucky, 2007.
[3] Ibid. W-2.1001
[4] Ibid. W-2.1002
[5] Ibid. W-3.4003
[6] “My Bad,” Homiletics Online, http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/printer_friendly_installment.asp?installment_id=93040341 accessed August 20, 2007.
[7] Among other translations, the New International Version renders this verse “prayed about himself” and the New American Standard Bible renders this verse “he was praying this to himself.”