St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
Tidings from St. Matthew's
December 15, 2013
     
Reflection on Prayer 

 By Ron Matross   

I find it difficult to write about prayer because I often find it difficult to pray.  Sometimes I'm disheartened because the things that I most fervently pray for don't happen--my lab tests look bad or my friend dies.  At other times, I'm doing structured prayer like the Daily Office, and my mind wanders off.  And sometimes I'm busy and I just forget to be bothered with the chore of prayer.  

 

But there are times, despite my stumbling language and my skeptical and easily distracted mind, when I do feel like I've connected, like I've gotten through to God, and God has gotten through to me.  One day last summer I was standing on the Lake Street bridge, staring down at the river below and feeling rotten. I had broken bones, broken dreams, and a broken spirit.  And that's just what I told God:  "Lord, I'm broken.  I've made a mess of my life, and maybe my family would be better off if I was gone."  No, Clarence the Guardian Angel didn't appear to me, but I did find myself suddenly saying, "No!  You're listening to the negative force.  There is a positive force in this world and you must turn toward it."  I pasted a smile on my face, walked to the coffee shop across the river, chatted with the barista, and started to think about how God was calling me to use my experience to reach out to others.

 

So, was that episode a prayer, and was God answering me?   I think so.  I don't believe in a clockwork God, who manipulates the space and time continuum to orchestrate the details of my life or the lives of the billions of other sentient beings on this planet or the billions of other planets likely to inhabited by intelligent life.  Stuff happens to us, good and bad, all the time and I don't think God has anything to do with it.   But I do think God is always there for us, ready to speak to our hearts and minds to help us to deal with all that stuff, if only we can reach out and connect. 

 

Because we're impulsive and self-centered, connecting to God isn't that easy.  Our religious rituals recognize that we before we try to talk to God, we need do things to interrupt our usual thoughts and open the channel.   Muslims physically prostrate themselves at specific times during the day before they start to pray.  Jews recite blessings or thank-you's--some forms of traditional Judaism call on people to say 100 blessings a day! And our Christian rites ask us to confess our shortcomings and to give thanks to God.  Centering prayer and meditation are also ways to get into us into the right frame of my mind to tune out the static and listen to the voice of God.  And our current church art exhibit of sacred places reminds us that our physical environment can help us open the channel, too.

 

Lately, my best prayers have occurred when I'm on a daily walk, out in nature and moving, what I love best.  They start with gratitude--giving thanks for all the blessings in my life.   Only afterwards do I feel like I've opened the channel enough to start making requests of God. And my requests are not for specific outcomes in my life, because intellectually I just don't believe that God will intervene to make my lab tests good or my children safe on their travels, any more that I believe God will intervene to help the Gophers beat the Badgers.  Rather, I pray for the three things that I know in my heart I have received from God, on that day on the bridge and on several  other occasions.

 

The first is guidance.  I believe that this force or presence that we call God is directional-that if I am open to it, I will be pointed toward that which is positive and life-affirming and away from that which is negative and life-denying.  The second is comfort--God will bring me peace and comfort, regardless of what I have encountered.  And the third is strength--God will strengthen my will and spirit to deal with whatever obstacles have come before me.  I ask for these things not just for me, but also for my family and others for whom I care.  Maybe I will be part of the way God delivers guidance, comfort and strength to them.

 

In this season of giving, I believe that these three things are God's great gifts to us, available unconditionally to us if only we can open ourselves to them.  If you wish, you can think of them in terms of the Trinity.  Jesus, the Great Guide, who came to show us the Way, will continue to guide us in our daily lives.  The Holy Spirit, the Holy Comforter, will calm us when we are disturbed and ease our pain.  And God, the Mighty Creator, will share the strength that created the "vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home".

Could we ask for anything more? 

5 Questions for Phil Boelter 

Many of you know our Pastoral Assistant, Phil Boelter, who joined our congregation this past summer. He will be ordained to the Transitional Diaconate Thursday, December 19th, 7:00pm at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Sunfish Lake.  Then, God willing, he will be ordained as a priest in June of 2014.

 What drew you to ordination and the priesthood?  It's in my blood from way back, since I was an ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) pastor for seven years, from 1990-1997.  As soon as I got settled in at St. Anne's 4 years ago I was really challenged to think of a reason why I shouldn't be using my previous training and skills.  The environment at St Anne's was and is

 incredibly supportive of everyone in the community finding and using their gifts for the common good.   

 

I think without that encouragement I might've stayed "in the pew" rather than discerning about Holy Orders.  To me, the ordained ministry is really about exactly that - helping others use their gifts for the common good (more on that below) and its based on something we all share - our baptism into the death and risen life of Christ.  We ALL share Christ's priesthood together, not just the sacramentally ordained bishops, priests and deacons... and that sacrifice is directed to the whole creation as the prayer for Christ the King Sunday we just prayed a few weeks ago, in order "to renew all things in Christ."

 

What are your passions in ministry? Or as Rob Bell would say, what is the most important thing?   The most important thing for me in ministry are the powerful tools Christ left behind for us so we can continue his work of healing the creation.   Christ is made present to us in the Word and words of the Scriptures - whether that is through meditation or study individually or together or preaching.  The other way that ministry comes alive for me is through the Sacraments - especially Eucharist - there is nothing to compare with being blessed to break and pour and share Christ's body and blood at the Table God has already set for us all.

 

What exactly happens at an "ordination"?   Yikes!  A lot of different activities, but Ramona and I will be presented by God's people to Bishop Brian Prior who will lay hands on us and join the assembly in prayer to grace us to become servants (the meaning of the word deacon) of God to minister to the needs of the world.  This begins a brief transitional period during which we move toward priestly ordination.  I was reminded by my friend and fellow servant Alla Renne Bozarth last week of the relationship between diaconal ordination and the larger concept  of ministry.  She will forgive me, as I hope the reader will, for my quoting her directly at length: "As you approach ordination to the priesthood, never forget that most of your lifetime ministry as a specialist in Holy Orders will be diaconal, this ministry of direct service through what I call the Sacrament of the Word and Work. The Sacrament of Divine Mystery we celebrate in Holy Eucharist is the pinnacle expression of the soul's communion with Christ, but it is the deacon's bread-baking ministry of practical application that will take most of our time and energy, and this is true for priests and bishops alike."  

 What should those attending the service expect?  Singing, praying, rejoicing, an encouraging Word, an open Table and a wonderful party afterwards!  

 

At the 7:00pm evening service here, you have often played the guitar - can you tell us a little about this interest?  I've played guitar chords (more like banged along with Kum-by-ya!) since high school - but about 2 years ago I decided to step it up a notch  and pursue classical guitar lessons - what started out as another notch in my IPhone calendar for practice and lessons quickly became a means of worship and also relaxation for me.  My first guitar teacher talked about the need for "focused awareness."  The art of meditating on scripture (lectio divina) is such a large part of my Benedictine oblate background which uses a similar idea - it's hard to explain but I liken it to when runners talk about being in "the Zone."  Everything else seems to fall away and its just you and (you fill in the blank - scripture, guitar, the road, God).  If you see me with my eyes closed at worship you can safely assume I'm in the Zone... not the Zzzzone.  :-)

 

What is the name of your dog in the picture?   That is Jack the dog.... our family dog for the past 14 years.  People often ask his breed.  He's like Velveeta - a blend of three different cheeses.... I mean breeds.... Bassett, Beagle and Spaniel.  He has been living with cancer this past year - so please pray for him! 

 

Anything else you would like to add? No - I think I've said quite enough, as I get told pretty often (maybe too much!).  Just one request - everybody, please come help us celebrate on the 19th - your presence would be the greatest gift you could give me this holiday.

St. Matthew's Christmas Service Schedule

  • Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24: 4:00pm Living Creche - All Ages are welcome to this Godly Play-style retelling of the Christmas Story.   
  • Christmas Eve, 10:00pm Candlelight Service with full Choir featuring Kirsten Whitson, Cellist.  Sermon by the Rev. Blair Pogue.   
  • Christmas Day: 10:30am Festival Eucharist, Sermon by Lisa Wiens Heinsohn.

Brilliant Story on Homelessness  

 

There is a moving, multi-part story on homelessness among children and families in the New York Times.  Written by Andrea Elliot, the series offers remarkable insight into the life of one girl and her family and reminds us of our Project Home families and young adults at YouthLink.  Read the story Here.  

Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • December 15: Caroling and Comfort Food, 4:00pm 
  • December 19: Ordination of Phil Boelter, 7:00pm at St. Anne's Sunfish Lake 
  • December 22: The Magnificat by the Parish Choir, 10:30am service  
  • December 22: Greening of the Church, right after the 10:30am service 
  • December 24: Living Creche at 4:00pm, Candlelight Service, 10:00pm
  • December 25: Christmas Day Service, 10:30am 

Please share your news and photos with us at:  tidings@stmatthewsmn.org
 
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