July 24, 2016 - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - Formulaic Praying

Matt was on vacation so Toni, Jon, Shirley, Luka, Annie and I led guitar and drum based worship music.  Today, as usual for me the music was true and honest Creator sounds that come from a community that knows one another and has nothing to prove.  Many are comfortable with who we are and even in that the details are left up to God.  This is our musical vocabulary, given to us to respond back to God.

There are always life lessons for me in seeing how this music comes together and what remains fluid and improvisational.
There is a gentleness and warmth in the musical uplift that happens in worship that is different during practice.  The voices that are there blend, triumphant or quiet, often lost in wonder.

This was the first time we tried to incorporate what we have called Creator Praise into a Call To Worship.  It meant that worship began with announcements.  Jan told a story about a homeless person sharing with someone in need.  There was a "widow's mite - give as completely as you can" feel to it.  Singing Morning Has Broken immediately after that story was a quick shift of mood.   We then moved to Free To Be Me and the Gathering Hymn - Down In The River To Pray moved to a hushed a capella finish

The Gospel Lesson was Jesus teaching the disciples the Lord's Prayer,  Pastor Michelle began her sermon with observations about the Munich shopping center shooting.  She was surprised how few postings there were by her Facebook friends in reaction to the shooting.

She went on to repeat the frustration some people voice when they hear others say when victims of all these attacks are in our prayers. Those people feel like prayer is a convenient way to shrug off any action to change the situation.

Reading the whole Gospel today deepened some of my understandings of the Lord's Prayer.  Pastor Michelle quoted from John Dominic Crossan's book The Greatest Prayer where he describes the Lord's Prayer as being a revolutionary, dangerous prayer.

I agree with this and something more.  In her sermon she also said that the Lord's Prayer was both the easiest and hardest prayer to pray.  This also rings true to me.  For there is something as gentle and true as today's worship music in this prayer.  Asking only for the daily essentials to keep body and soul together and for God's will to be done on earth is compelling but hard to understand and hard to limit our request to God in this way.

Starting with Luke 11 verse 5 God's response to prayer is addressed.  To my ear Jesus, by giving his disciples this story about a friend requesting the three loaves of bread, Jesus reveals when God's response is understood.  If there is an understanding that our requests to God are rational and reasonable there will be a response that is rational, reasonable and will be seen as frustrating.  God's response will not be what we anticipate, particularly if, in our hearts, we feel a certain response is justified.

Today I feel like the disciples are asking Jesus for a formula to praying, like John the Baptist gave his followers.  I see Jesus giving his disciples what they asked for.  He gives them something short and simple.  Simultaneously he warns them not to think that, by using a formula, they will get what they are asking for from God, even with "simple" requests.

It was great to have Larry and Linda worship with us.  The congregations deep connections were in full display.