How are we going to get out of this mess - July 6

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 1, 2, 3; PM Psalm 4, 7; Num. 32:1-6,16-27; Rom. 8:26-30; Matt. 23:1-12

“Dear God, what should I pray for today?” 

July has arrived which means we have made it to the second half of the year 2020.  For our football fans who are reading, we are at the start of the third quarter, and it feels like we are down 97-3.  But America loves a come-from-behind story and I am hoping for one.  Maybe something like the Reggie Miller 8 point swing in about 9 seconds against the New York Knicks in 1995 or one a little more familiar here in Alabama, when Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers were down 24-0 in the Iron Bowl.  I keep wondering how in the world are we going to get out of this mess we collectively know as the year 2020.  I am hoping for a comeback of even greater this fall.   Not only am I hoping sports return, but worldwide peace, justice, hope for those who have struggled to find hope, reconciliation, a booming economy, and political unity with a vanquishing of Covid-19 (and all other emerging threats).   Which brings me to today’s question, “How and what do I pray for when life is so crazy?  When people are so divided?  When I myself don’t know what is best? How are we going to get out of this mess?”

Which leads me to ponder, what if we aren’t supposed to know how to get out of this mess?  I am struck with our readings from Paul’s letter to the Roman’s where Paul encourages the community that is also struggling to pray. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.  And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  I wonder if what Paul is suggesting that is not a prayer which proposes a certain outcome, but instead an openness to God. 

I have struggled over the years with Romans (v. 8:28) where Paul says that “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” I don’t want to suggest that some of the cruelty, or pain, or violence is God’s will, but it is comforting to think that potentially God is making something beautiful and new out of it.  Maybe to believe this is to let go of outcomes such as preserving or reforming that which needs attention, and instead being open to the movement of God in the midst of our common life. That openness can lead to preserving what God’s need preserved and reforming what God needs to be reformed, but we can be freed from our attachment to what we believe is best. 

I’m hoping the 2nd half of this year is an incredible underdog story that rivals all others.  Why shouldn’t it be?  Our God led the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt through 40 years of the wilderness into new life and promise.  Our God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  And from the lives of 12 disciples and a few of their friends, the greatest story in the world has spread, a story of love and hope, and new life to all ends of the earth.   If that isn’t an underdog story, then I don’t know what is. I’m ready to see what this chapter has in store.

-       John+  

Questions for Self-Reflection

  • What have you been praying for lately?  Could you let go of those outcomes in your prayer life?

Daily Challenge

  • Try 15 minutes of centering prayer with no petitions or intercessions.  Here is a quick guide[1]

    • Sit comfortably with your eyes closed, relax, and quiet yourself. Be in love and faith to God.

    • Choose a sacred word that best supports your sincere intention to be in the Lord's presence and open to His divine action within you.

    • Let that word be gently present as your symbol of your sincere intention to be in the Lord's presence and open to His divine action within you.

    • Whenever you become aware of anything (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, associations, etc.), simply return to your sacred word, your anchor.

[1] Pennington, Fr. M. Basil. "Centering prayer: Refining the Rules". Review for Religious. 45 (3): 386–393.

 

John Burruss