Sermons Online

return to archives

"The Pastoral Prayer" by Rev. Charles Hoffman

May 12, 2002 Seventh Sunday of Easter
Psalm 1 John 17:1-11

Years ago I discovered a poet by the name of Ralph W. Seager. I don't think he's very well known even though some have compared him to Robert Frost. Seager taught in a small college in upstate New York. One of his poems describes a minister's attempt to give the pastoral prayer. It is entitled Prayer at East Dover. It's first two lines:

He bows in the pulpit and offers the prayer;
We lean in the pews and listen with care.

It is the beginning of the prayer: the pastor reverently bowed and the people attentively listening. Seager goes on to tell that the pastor has been to the school for diviners which has made him respect the rules and the forms, and the prayer is correct.

So the pastor solemnly intones:

O Thou Eternal, Almighty Being,
All-powerful, All-wise, All-knowing, All-seeing,
Omniscient Author, Creator, and Cause,
Deity, Godhead, and Giver of Laws
Lay on the parishioners of this parish
Thy promised blessings they so cherish. . .

The pastor goes on with this high-sounding but largely ineffective jargon and then he stops because he knows that, although the prayer might meet the standards of the seminary, it really isn't touching the people. So he makes the move from general platitudes to specific concerns. Seager says that he brings particulars into our sight:

Dear Father, please help Mrs. Johnson to breathe,
These foggy days make her tired lungs heave,
Move out the mist and lighten the air
And give her the ease of her rocking chair.
Take the bruised hurt out of young Nathan's arm;
It aches him so when he's haying the farm.

Seager concludes the poem making the point that the pastoral prayer must not content itself with generalities and with what he calls anonymous people. Instead it must bend to the person; it must be more specific, not so vague. (The poem appears in Wheatfields and Vineyards, Christian Herald House, Chapaqua, New York 10514, 1975, pp. 68f.).

Now there are some who would debate Seager's point. But I don't think he's implying that pastoral prayers should lift up everyone's maladies and attach a name. That would be to embarrass people. He just doesn't want the prayer to lose itself in vagueness. We've all known people who speak eloquently but say nothing. And if we aren't careful our prayers can do the same.

This morning we are privileged to listen in on the prayer of Jesus from the seventeenth chapter of John. In the chapters preceding this prayer Jesus delivers a sort of farewell to his followers. If you read it in chapters 14 to 16 you will recognize familiar words of encouragement. Let me share a few:

Let not your hearts be troubled. . . In my Father's house are many rooms. . . I go to prepare a place for you.

I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever. . .

I will not leave you desolate. . .

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. . .

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. . .

In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Then follows the prayer of chapter seventeen, a portion of which we read for today's Gospel lesson. It reveals a heart burdened with passion. Jesus knows that his hour has come; he stands face-to-face with his destiny. Everything he has lived for is on the line. And Jesus is aware that in the strange economy of life and death it is often in death that life is justified.

Throughout the pages of history there are examples of those whose death elevated them to a place of distinction and honor. They include people like the martyrs of the church and Joan of Arc, Abraham Lincoln, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Oscar Romero and others.

Clearly, at this juncture Jesus is anticipating the cross and his own death. So he prays that this shall be his moment of glory, the validation of all that he has done to manifest the name and nature of God to the world. It is not vainglory that he is after. It is glorification of all that he has taught and all that he has stood for during the brief course of his life. That's the first burden of this prayer.

The second has to do with his disciples. Jesus says, I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me. He knows that they have to carry on in his absence, that they are still in the world. So he prays for them.

Now listen to the prayer again. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. Let them be united; spare them from division.

What the Lord wants for the embryonic church is a united spirit. That's very clear. And if we had read further we would hear him ask the same for all who follow him, including you and me. One church giving a united witness to the world.

To feel what's going on here imagine a deathbed prayer in which the dying parent is praying for the children. Out of all the things the mother could wish for her children she chooses unity. She wants them to be family, to get along with and care for each other. She could have chosen wealth or fame or anything else but she settles on unity. She wants her family to live together in harmony. She wants them to be one.

That's what is asked for in this prayer and Jesus has been waiting two thousand years for an answer. For two thousand years the scandal of dissension has plagued the church.

Now please notice something here. The prayer is for peace, but it's not a prayer for peace on earth. I'm sure Jesus desires peace on earth but he's realistic. How can there be peace on earth? In fact, how can Christians even pray for peace on earth while they're busy fighting among themselves?

So it's almost as though the Lord says, "Look, we all want peace on earth. But we have to start somewhere so let's settle for peace in the Christian family. That's where it has to start. I know it isn't always easy. It's difficult to get a handle on something so large. How do we wage peace among ourselves?

Many years ago Harry Emerson Fosdick preached a sermon under the title, Mankind's Deep Need – A Sense of Community. In that sermon he said that there are two basic convictions in all great religions: the first is that there is one God (monotheism) and the second is that every person has value. (Living Under Tension).

What that means is that we are all children of the same Parent and we are all members of the same family. One God and one family: that's where we start. We start living as though it's the truth. We start small but over time it will make a big difference.

Now I'm aware that there may be someone who is thinking, I wonder what's going on in the church to provoke a sermon like this one. What does Hoffman know that I don't know? So let me put your mind at ease if you happen to be thinking along those lines. I don't have any inside information. I just know that we all need to expand the circle of our concern. We have to do intentionally the things that make for peace. Don't stop at the outskirts of the denomination or even at the boundaries of Christianity. Look to your Jewish and Muslim neighbors and light a candle for the atheists, too.

We all come from the same Source; we all are members of the same family. And if you want to know why I preach this sermon then it's because of what we see going on in our world. Far, far too often when the circle needs to be enlarged we see it drawn tighter. And, God help us, we live in a world where we can no longer afford such provincialism and such elitism.

Now I may get myself in trouble for saying it, but I have never had much faith in the success of what is called the ecumenical movement. In its purest form the ecumenical movement aimed to bring all the churches, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, under one roof. And sometimes that goal was authenticated by reference to the prayer of Jesus before us this morning.

It's not going to happen. Am I a pessimist? Maybe. I don't know for sure. But perhaps on the subject of the unity of the various churches we ought to see ourselves as cousins to each other. When I was growing up we had a variety of cousins. We had city cousins and cousins who were a little weird and a cousin from California and even cousins who wet the bed. My brother and sister and I were the country cousins. But in spite of our differences we were all part of the same family. And we manifested that by getting together on various occasions and celebrating the family history around meals and conversation and games. Sometimes, even though we were members of different churches, we got together for worship.

Now I believe that it's high time for the Christian church to manifest itself as the whole family of Christ. I'm the first to admit that I'm not comfortable when I'm around some of my ecclesiastical cousins, especially the ones who know everything, especially those who even know the mind of God on every issue. Maybe that's just my problem. The prayer for unity still stands in judgment on my reticence to reach out and embrace those first, second and third cousins.

But I want to tell you that just recently I atoned for some of my own standoffishness. I was invited to assist in the wedding of a Methodist and a Catholic. I don't know, but there's something about Catholics and Methodists that brings them together. Maybe it goes all the way back to the eighteenth century John Wesley who once wrote an open letter to a Catholic Christian in which he extended the olive branch. Basically, Wesley said let's be united in the things that matter. Let's honor and respect each other and let's own up to the fact that some of what separates us is merely individual opinions about which we can live and let live.

But come back to the Methodist/Catholic wedding service. Because the wedding was in a Catholic chapel I thought it only right that the priest take the lead. I was the visitor and because I had never done anything quite like this in the Catholic Church I asked him to help me fit in. He was wonderful. He offered me a cassock to wear over an alb. I said fine. But then he decided he didn't want to wear a cassock over an alb; he just wanted to wear a cassock. I said fine.

But there's a problem here. You can't wear a cassock without something under it and if you aren't wearing an alb then you have to wear a clerical collar. He said he had one that would fit me. I said fine.

Now I had never worn a clerical collar in my life. But by now I was beginning to get into this. One of my Methodist friends looked at me as if to say, "What are you doing?" And I said, "Well, when in Rome. . ."

By the time we got down to the serious business of the marriage ceremony I was crossing myself and genuflecting and otherwise masquerading as a priest. If the pope had come along I would have kissed his ring! Wherever my mentor priest led me I was willing to go.

And do you know what? After the service the Catholics loved me and even wanted a copy of the homily I had delivered. It was a great experience. And the heartfelt grace of Christian love was very much in evidence in that community of Catholic and Methodist Christians who were celebrating the marriage of two wonderful human beings and who were willing to say that in Christ we are indeed one.

And I hope you will not think it sacrilegious of me to think that the Lord got a kick out of that wedding, too.

Our Lord prayed we all might be one. If you watch for the opportunities you will find ways to answer the prayer in your own life.

Pastoral Prayer

Creator God, you have blessed us with life and given us the gift of friends and family. On this special day of national observance we acknowledge that as individuals we experience many different emotions. For some this is the first Mother's Day since she has gone. For others it is a reminder of what might have been. So in the midst of joy we pray for those who cannot share the celebration.

We praise you for all those who have loved us with parental love. We thank you for all who have guided our feet to the sanctuary and encouraged us to give our lives for good causes.

This morning we pray for our church. Guide our mission and focus our energies. Alert our conscience to injustice and teach us in the ways of service.

You know our needs and you know our names. You hear our prayers.

This morning we unite in prayer with all those around the world who pray for harmony and for a safe place to raise their families and to live out their days. We pray, too, for all of us in positions of wealth and power that our strength might aid the weak, that our wealth might enrich the poor.

You know our needs and you know our names. You hear our prayers even as we offer them in the Name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.