Homily – Sunday, the (date)

Reading: Mark 1:29-39

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

What is prayer?

There was once a shepherd boy who used to watch people walk to church but was sad no one taught him to pray. One day he decided he had to pray to God and kneeling down in a bushy area he started reciting the alphabet. A passer-by saw this boy and called him and asked, “what are you doing?”. He said I was praying. And why the alphabets. He said- I wanted God to take care of me and all my sheep and to keep everyone safe.. I did not know what to say so I decided to do the alphabets so that God would put it in the right words and answer me.

The elderly man walked on to church learning that he had heard one of the most meaningful prayers- Lord keep everyone sage.

A mother had two sons, one a farmer and one a seller. The elder one came to the mother in the morning as he was going to the field and said- Mom pray for a good rain today so that the crops would be blessed. The second came a bit later and said- mother please pray that there would be no rain today so that my selling would not be affected. What would the mother pray for?

What is prayer?

Abraham Lincoln testifies about his prayer life- “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”

Ravi Zacharias reminds us- “I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him. We have kept him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on him in prayer, we wonder where he is. He is exactly where we left him.”

Thomas Aquinas prayed- “Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.” Prayer is that communication with the Divine.

Ralf Waldo Emerson said- “The wise man in the storm prays to God not for safety from danger but for deliverance from fear and the strength to face the storm.”

For each one of us- What then is prayer?

In the Eastern tradition devotion has different manifestations- we call it the Bhakthi Bhava. Today I would want to draw your attention to the manifestations of Bhakthi/ devotion in our prayer life as is envisaged in the Eastern tradition.

All along the Epiphany Sundays we were asking the question- Who is Jesus and today we look at Jesus as the Man of Prayer.

The Blissful Peace (Santha Bhava)

Prayer is the bliss that you enjoy when you spent time with the Divine. Early in the morning, while it is dark, Jesus goes to a lonely place and there he prayed.

All those who have had this experience of these early morning hours “Alone with the Alone” would understand what this actually means.

In the quietness of the morning

When morning light is warming up to enter the field

When dreams take flight

Prayer is a sacred time in sacred space with the sacred one.

It is not about words said but more about words unsaid

It is not about your body and mind only but the soul immersed

It is the symphony of hopes and despair

It is the time for tears to flow, tears of gratitude, joy and anxieties

It is a sacred chat, a dialogue with the Divine

It is about whispered sighs through storms and tranquillity

Where faith gives wings to hope

Everyone around would say- It is impossible

Your inner voice says- It is possible

It’s a journey to heights unknown and depths untrodden

It’s a journey with the great unknown

It is the bliss of solitude with the creator

Rather a heart without words not words without heart

It is the key of the morning and bolt of the evening.

Look closely again at the text- And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.”

You go far from the business of the gaze of the searching and gain your inner strength with the source of all strength.

We have become too busy in the noises and persuits around us that we miss out on one of the most satisfying experience- the experience of prayer.

The Joyful Servanthood (Dasya Bhava)

Prayer is the strength to serve humanity as if you are serving God. We say- Work is Worship.

Laborare est orare (Thomas Carlyle) to work is to pray.

Look at Jesus in the text- straight from the synagogue he is going to the house of Simon Peter and realising his mother-in-law was sick.

I particularly like two phrases here

Jesus held her by her hand and Jesus lifted her up.

That exactly is Christian servanthood- to hold people by their hand and lift them up.

Prayer can be seen as the ministry of handholding.

There are several people broken around us who would very much appreciate a supportive hand.

Prayer is holding that hand out.

Prayer can be seen as the ministry of lifting people up.

There are several people who have fallen down and needs someone just to lift them up back to their feet.

Prayer is lifting people up back to their feet.

Dr. Somerwell used to say- In every patient of mine I used to see Jesus and as I treated them I saw that as serving my Christ in prayer. Each surgery I did were hymns and prayers serving my God.

That’s why we read in the text

Several people who were sick and were with unclean spirits came to him and Jesus cured them and cast the unclean spirits out.

Prayer gives us the strength against all the unclean ones.

It is all about diakonia- service.

The Sweetness of Love (Madhurya Bhava)

Why do you enjoy the time with the Divine.

It is all about love-

He calls me to his banqueting table and his banner over me is Love

We often say- My beloved is mine and I am his

O he is far more beautiful than ten thousands

Fairer than the fairest is he

Bhakthi (devotion) has this prema bhava- madhurya or Lasya Bhava

You love your time with your beloved because of Love

We sing

O how I love Jesus

Because he first loved me

Why do I proclaim- because this love cannot be contained within me

See what Jesus says when the disciples found him-

He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.”

To be fully seen and known by somebody- nothing hidden- and still be loved with no limits- that’s the miracle we experience in prayer.

He accepts me as I am, with my strengths and my flaws and loves me just the same and that’s why I love him so.

There is no moment when we stay apart and that is love for me.

Prayer is the joy you experience when God becomes your beloved. Some people even see celibacy in this light.

The Parental Affection (The Motherly affection) Vathsalya Bhava

It is appropriate that we read this text also in the context of the presentation of Christ- happening forty days after his birth.

The baby Jesus in the hands of Mary or by himself is the most appropriate image of God for several people.

They love to approach God with that motherliness (vathsalya)

Vathsalya means close to the heart

Where is God?

Is God in temples or churches or mosques or in pilgrim centres?

Osho has a very interesting story.

Too many people were pestering God with complaints and requests and God found it difficult to find a place to hide.

Then one day an experienced saint told God- the best place to hide is the human heart- not many people will search you there.

When Paul writes your body is the temple where the Spirit of God dwells, he also tells us- search God within you and find him.

Heart as the temple of God and as a little child you sing lullaby to the divine and that is worship.

Reciprocally like a mother God accompanies us in our pain

We sang in the Psalm,

He heals the broken heart and binds up all our wounds.

He rebuilds the shattered and gathers the lost.

The accompanying Friendship (Sakhithwa Bhava)

The text concludes- And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Companionship with God is a wonderful experience of prayer

We often sing

What a friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and griefs o bear

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share

That’s why fellowship is often defined as the companionship of those who have made Christ their dearest companion.

D L Moody explains that the secret of his faithful and victorious life was that Jesus was his personal companion, not a creed, dogma or doctrine but a real person indeed.

William Temple often reminded True Worship is nothing but intimacy and friendship with God.

And when we have such a friend who knows us as we are and offers that right hand of friendship to all- why will not I say

LET US GO

LET US CROSS BOUNDARIES

LET US PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF THE GOOD FRIEND

Yes Prayer is the strength to go.

Prayer is the strength to transcend boundaries and go to neighbouring towns and then to the next

Prayer is the courage to proclaim the good news.

Conclusion

The question for us then is What is Prayer?

What is Worship?

Is it just the beauty of the liturgy? The joy of fellowship? The commitment to service? The willingness to witness? The yearning for harmony?

What is prayer?

Vinod Victor

February 4, 2024