Musical Prelude and Service.

Joel 2:22-32 & Luke 18:9-14
So, today is a day we set aside to express our gratitude, our thanks for this community of faith to
which we belong. A day when we celebrate what we have done as a community or a family over
the past year and in the years prior to that. We express gratitude for so many who have guided and
supported this community in very public ways, but also say thanks for the work of those who may
not be recognized as often as they should, working away behind the scenes.
Many contribute through their gifts of money. There are also the contributions of time and energy
that are so critically important as people make use of their skills and their experience. Others show
up in their compassion, their presence, their friendship. And I hope all of us in some way contribute
to this community trough our prayers.
There is a tension that I witness pretty much every time there is a heartbreaking incident, or perhaps
it is better to say we are informed of the latest tragedy of violence or natural disaster. A great many
politicians and other public figures will extend their condolences and note that their thoughts and
prayers are with the community, the family and the loved ones of those affected. Those statements
are often followed closely by those who criticize that expression as being meaningless, and that it is a
way of sounding concerned without actually committing to doing anything to change the
circumstances that led to the tragedy in question.
If you find yourself in or around such debates or conversations, you can either find yourself shutting
down mentally and emotionally, or as I’ve found myself on more than one occasion, tuning out the
debate and exploring what it means to offer your prayers. Because at the end of the day, I truly
believe there is power in prayer. Prayers truly do matter, but we also must be careful that we don’t
take the act of prayer for granted.
Prayer can and does change things. It is meant to. When we know people are keeping us in prayer,
it offers us comfort and strength. It provides us a sense of hope for the days and months ahead. It is
a sign that we are cared for and we are not alone in our struggles.
I don’t want to delve into the mystery of the healing nature of prayer, but I suspect we are all
familiar with stories around this. We may also be familiar with stories of people left disappointed or
asking difficult questions when prayer didn’t seem to achieve the desired affect. Yet, even in those
instances, I wonder if God answers our prayers, only in a way that I was never able to discern.
But prayer also can have a remarkable impact on those of us doing the praying. It can sharpen the
mind, clear away the clutter and help us to better dive into what our true concern is. Through our
conversations with God, we can come to a better understanding of who we are, what we fear, what
we regret, what we need, and who we are truly meant to be.
Today’s scripture readings talk about prayer in a few different ways, but at the end of the day, each
reading approaches worship and prayer as a way of getting in touch with God and coming away from
those conversations with a greater sense of hope. And in the process, they also discuss how we can
and should be transformed by the experience.
Joel is one of the minor prophets we find in Hebrew scripture. It is a small book believed to have
been written in the fifth century BCE, about half a century after the return from exile. The prophecy
describes the devastation of a plague of locusts. Locusts are a species of grasshoppers. While usually
solitary creature they can on occasion gather in large communities and visit incredible devastation on
crops, bringing with them famine. Biblically, the term locust is also used metaphorically to describe
large armies invading countries. The prophet John the baptizer is said to have eaten locusts in the
wilderness.
In any case, Joel talks about e devastation brought by a swarm of locusts, and puts the blame on the
people turning their backs on God. That they have once again forgotten their covenant and this
plague of locusts is the consequence. That only with repentance; acknowledging the wrongdoing and
a change in attitude and action can they find their way to a new beginning.
I will confess that I am struck by the image of the land suffering due to the sin of the people on the
land. That in our greed and disregard of God’s love for all of creation, the land stops providing for us.
But if we find our way back to a right relationship with God, the land will return and provide for us in
abundance. Part of that process is acknowledging that we are not perfect. That we make wrong
steps but are ready to confess that and commit ourselves to doing better.
It is a similar message in Luke. Jesus describes a pharisee whose prayers are comparing himself
favourably to others and offering gratitude that he is not like other people. He puts down his
neighbour in order to build himself up. In his prayers he neglects to take a clear-eyed look at who he
truly is. Even in prayer he is lying to himself.
By contrast, the tax collector humbles himself before God and asks for help to change is ways.
Confession and repentance and a desire to be better.
I have spoken previously about the notion of prophetic vision. That’s the idea that the prophets are
the poets of their time. They offer us vivid imagery and speech to describe our world, our experience
living in a society that is fractured by the forces of greed, of self interest and fear and hatred. The
prophets’ poetry shocks us into a realization that we are in a world that has lost its way and has lost
sight of God’s hand in our lives. But that vision goes beyond critiquing our world and offers us hope
of what can be. The prophetic vision offers us a poetic description of the world God desires for
creation and invites us to be a part of making it real.
Joel’s vision is of a world where everyone can see what this world can be. Your sons and daughters
all have vision; old men dream dreams. This again is part of prayer. Our prayers move us to act; to
be active in bringing about the change we are asking God to make real.
In my readings this week I was reminded of a quote from St. Augustine.
“Hope has two beautiful daughters: anger and courage. Anger that things are the way they are.
Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”
Prayer sharpens our thoughts and helps us to truly see what it is we desire and need. Furthermore,
if we continue to pray, we are gifted visions of how we can work with God to bring these things into
being.
God gifts all of us with the skills and abilities to pray. The pharisee in Jesus’ parable is a religious
authority but has forgotten what it means to pray. The tax collector is seen by the world as a sinner
and seen as estranged from God. But his prayers are still able to reach out to God. God hears all of
our prayers, no matter how eloquent or who it may be who is voicing them. And in God’s love, God
answers.
I want to close with this thought. I truly see worshipping as a community is a gift. We gather as a
community of faith; one with a history and deep and meaningful connections. Grace United blessed
me and my family by calling me to join this community, and among many things, lead us in times of
worship. Worship is something we all take on together. Singing our praise, joining in prayer, listening
to scripture to hear God speak to us in those words and to reflect on what we are hearing.
For a little while, step outside the world. We may still hear the activities of the world outside our
doors. We may contemplate what is happening outside, but we are offered a chance to consider
what this world can and might be. We are gifted a vision of what God’s realm might be, right here in
this sanctuary. In other more orthodox traditions, they are explicit in saying their sanctuaries are
designed to remind people they are on a journey to God’s kin-dom.
I am so grateful to be a part of a community of faith; a community of love and welcome; a
community that takes seriously the desire to create a place were all are made welcome and are
valued. While we may not voice it regularly, it is my hope that we as a community can be mindful
that we are: pilgrims, on a journey to the land God sees for us. A world of love, of justice, of peace
and of mercy. May we catch a glimpse of what that world looks like when gather together in times of
worship.
May our prayers – together and alone, draw us closer to one another and to God, offering us
glimpses of who we are as individuals and also as a community joined together through God the
creator, Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit, that we may be strengthened and inspired to work
together to further God’s vision for what our world can and will be. Thanks be to God. Amen
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789