Mark 1:29-39 Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." 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." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
We hear a lot about doses these days. How many doses of vaccine do you need for some degree of immunity to the coronavirus? How many doses of vaccine are required to insure you will not transmit the virus to others? How many doses have you had? How likely is it you will need booster doses to deal with virus variants? Would it not be possible to take care of all these issues with one big megadose?
This talk about doses makes me wonder about prayer. How many doses of prayer do we need to live our lives with faith, hope and love, to strengthened us to bow our heads with our brother Jesus and mean it when we say, “Not my will, your will be done?” How many doses of prayer do we need?
It turns out that punctuating our lives with prayer is a widely accepted practice. It is the Anglican Episcopal tradition to pray the Daily Offices, at least three times and as many as five. Our Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and monastic sisters and brothers all teach the value of ordering our lives around regular periods of prayer every day.
We are actually counseled to pray even more frequently than five, ten or fourteen times each day. In what may be the earliest letter to one of the first Christian churches, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy write to strengthen the new Thessalonian Christians as they face persecution. “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thes 5.16-18) A theme continued in Paul’s letter to the Romans when he writes, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Ro 12.12)
Apparently a single Sunday megadose of prayer is not sufficient to live a Christian life strengthened in faith, illumined by hope and manifest with love.
“In the morning, while it was still very dark, (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” Following the frenzy of healings and exorcisms the night before, in the hush of predawn darkness Jesus rises and goes to a deserted place to refresh and replenish his strength and healing power in relationship with God.
All that Jesus says and all that Jesus does is a manifestation of his relationship in God. I believe Jesus goes off to pray alone to strengthen his faith, illumine his hope and embody his love. Jesus understands that his healings and exorcisms, his parables and preaching are outward and visible signs of the power and Presence of God with him. And so Jesus never stops praying, he never ceases turning toward God, the source and sustenance of his life and ministry. Which is how even in the midst of unspeakable suffering Jesus is able to pray, “Not my will but your will be done.”
As daughters and sons of God I believe we too must acknowledge our complete and utter dependence on God, God who is closer to us than our own breath, God who is the source and sustenance of all that we say and all that we do, God in whom we are to align our will.
It takes courage and faith that God really is with us to drop the weapons we deploy to keep other people and situations we do not relish at a safe distance. It takes courage and faith that God really is with us to walk church outside the building walls and powerfully manifest our interconnected, interdependent relationships with one another and 'those people' with whom we disagree. It takes courage and faith that God really is with us to lay down our personal preferences and pray with Jesus, “Not my will but your will be done.”
One Sunday morning mega dose of praying “Your kingdom come, your will be done,” is not sufficient to sustain my courage and faith in God with me as I navigate the moment to moment aches and agony, drama and disappointment, intrigue and injustice that constantly accost me. And so I find myself slipping away from the crowd to pray. I find my self pausing to pray before answering my phone, during zoom meetings, while waiting for my turn at self-check-out stations because one mega dose of prayer on Sunday is not enough to sustain me.
Let me ask you. How many doses of prayer do you need to ward off judgment, selfishness and greed? How many doses of prayer are required to strengthen your faith? give you hope? free you to love? How many doses of prayer have you had? How likely is it you will need booster doses to deal with fear and temptation? Do you really think it is possible to live a life of faith, hope and love sustained on a single Sunday megadose of prayer each week?
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