Gaining Perspective - By Abraham Joshua Heschel

Prayer is a perspective from which to behold, from which to respond to, the challenges we face. [Humans] in prayer do not seek to impose their will upon God; they seek to impose God's will and mercy upon themselves. Prayer is necessary to make us aware of our failures, backsliding, transgressions, sins.


Taken from Inward/Outward 


Sitting at lunch the other day, the young woman was deeply disturbed by the news she heard coming from a voice through her iPhone.  She stopped looking at her computer and set it to sleep.  She hung up the phone, her eyes watered over like slightly like one staring at a computer screen for too long.  The half eaten sandwich no longer was appealing as she stood to leave, almost forgetting her over-sized purse which now she feels she overpaid for.  Walking to the door toward her car, she makes it halfway and sits at a table outside the cafe paralyzed.


"Are you okay?" I asked.


Looking up at me with a look in her eyes as though she was looking through her relationship Rolodex to recognized who was asking.  Unable to identify any connection she replies, "My friend is dying.  I do not know what to do."  


"My name is Jason and if you do not mind me asking, what is your friend's first name?"


"Sandra."


When I I asked if it would be okay to her if I prayed for Sandra, she looked at me with a very quizzical look as though I had stopped speaking English and began speaking German.  


I am not sure why she looked puzzled when I asked, perhaps because it is a stranger making the request or maybe she does not pray or "believe in that sort of stuff."  Or maybe she has been taught that prayer is something you do to ask God to do something (such as heal someone) and that never "works".  I do not know.  


What I do know is that I understand prayer in the spirit of Heschel - I seek to impose the Mercy and Grace of God onto the human situation.  I do not pray that Sandra's illness he cured (while I hope it is), I pray for God's Grace to be imposed upon Sandra, this young woman and me.

Christmas List = Prayer List

Just a little invitation to anyone who would like to try this - make your Christmas shopping list your prayer list.

It is important to Christians to remember that we are not supposed to pray to only the people we love and who love us, we also are to pray for the outcasts and the enemy.  Likewise, what would it look like if we were to give gifts to not only those whom we love but also the outcasts and the enemy?

What would it look like if our Christmas list were our prayer list and our prayer list was our Christmas list?

Prayer, Stewardship, Evangelism, Bible are not in the UMC?

October 15th edition of the United Methodist Reporter had two articles which I thought great for me to consider.  One has to do with the need for mentors written by Andrew Thompson. This article connects with the work that the Elisha Advocates (you can find the group page on Facebook. You can also find the evolving “Visioning Document” as well as the evolving “Theological Underpinning”) are attempting to do in the Central Texas Conference.   

However, this post is not about Thompson’s article, but about Dan Dick’s article entitled “Message from UM laity: teach Christian essentials”. Dick’s argues that what he has heard from laity over the past 20 years is that “Prayer, stewardship, evangelism and Bible are not being taught in our churches.” 

I am not sure what this really means. Does this mean churches are really not teaching these areas or is what is being taught not understood or is what is being taught not what we want to hear? 

I cannot image a UMC congregation not pray in worship or at meetings or gatherings of any sort. It is my assumption that prayers are heartfelt and meaningful. It is my assumption that prayers are rooted in our ground of being and that they attempt to express the deepest parts of the human soul, but maybe I am mistaken.

I cannot image a UMC congregation not talk about stewardship each year, at the very least a stewardship of finances. It is my assumption that the growing awareness of stewardship of our resources, time, energy, money and the like are addressed in the life of the congregation each week through the collection of tithes and offerings. It my assumption that we do not have committees of “Finance” or “trustees” but committees of “Stewardship of finances” or “Stewardship of space”, but maybe I am mistaken.

I cannot image a congregation not engaging in evangelism, sharing Good News, through the lives of the community members. I assume that we are as excited to be in conversation around the water cooler talking about how we are being transformed each day by Grace and Love as we are to talk about the Kardashians or the Dallas Cowboys. I assume we are inviting people to engage God with the same tenacity and excitement when we are throwing a Super Bowl Party or Bridal shower, but maybe I am mistaken.

I cannot imagine a UMC congregation not talking about the four areas at some point. Each Sunday Scripture is read and the Word proclaimed. It is my assumption that preachers are not giving three stories and a poem in the Proclamation. It is my assumption that preachers cannot help but be open to the Spirit working through Scripture, but maybe I am mistaken.

I am not perfect by any means and I am willing to take my share of the fault on the UMC’s lack of making these four areas less vague. I am even willing to say the lay knowledge and interaction with these four areas reflect, in part, clergy’s knowledge and interaction of these areas. It is my prayer that any community for which I am connected with will have these four bedrocks of the Faith. Additionally I will, with my prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, do my best to make sure these are present.

Will you join me?