Abridged Worship – July 28, 2024

I want to talk about the prayer from Ephesians this morning but first let me say that prayer can be a very hot topic. It was the reason I left the UCC for a while in my late teens, early 20s. I left because I believed the United Church had not taught me how to pray, so I looked elsewhere to find a church that would impart this wisdom to me. What I discovered was not an answer on how to pray but other people who were willing to be examples of spoken prayer. I didn’t become proficient at it in these different churches, – there were those who prayed in the UCC, so I went back to my church – listening for the prayers of others. Later, while in seminary my friends and I found that we were often asked on the spot to pray. I think folks believed that there was a class in extemporaneous prayer in seminary. I assure you there was not. My friends and I listened to our teachers, supervisors, and professors and got brave enough to utter prayers as we were inspired to speak. Because as I found in my time away from the United Church the best way to learn how to pray is to learn from examples, like the prayer we have this morning from Ephesians, listening to others praying, and by just opening our mouths and doing it.  The prayers we share out loud teach those around us how to pray.

So, let’s look at this prayer Paul wrote to the Ephesians. First, we have verse 14: “It is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father.

Who do we pray to? First our prayers are directed to God, in the Greek the meaning is more like The Creator, the Holy One who is caring for all of us, all families in heaven above and on earth below. We pray to our Creator, care giver, the one who is invested in us. Our prayers are directed to our Creator, the Holy One who cares for us and is invested in us.

Paul then says, “Strengthen your people”. What people? Who is he talking about? In different translations of the bible the words may be read as tribes, clans, nations and so it is suggested that he is talking about all the peoples of the earth, regardless of their allegiance or faith.

Paul prays that all people will have the Holy One, the Creator in their hearts. The Holy One that knows no divisions, no separation between tribe or clan, male or female, slave or free – all people will have the Holy One in their hearts so that their souls are filled with the power of the Spirit in their hearts. This means, having the Holy One in their hearts means their lives will be lived out of God’s love. God’s love is the basis of all they do. The Holy One, God, or Creator is the power of love. That power, that love of the Holy One fills you and when that happens, when it is recognized, transformation comes. Transformation must happen. With the love of the Holy One rooted in our hearts as the basis of our lives we are then able to grasp the love Jesus has for us. But the prayer goes on to say that this love this profound and deep love fills us and flows through our entire being. This leads us to living and abundant life, a life full of goodness, hope, faith and love. Don’t get me wrong here it doesn’t mean that everything in our lives will finally work out the way we want but rather in the struggles of life we will not lose ourselves to despair. We have this undefinable love inside of us to fill us with the knowledge that we are enough, we are loved, we are free, we are valued, we are God’s beloved. Did you hear that? Let me say it again. This is important to hear. No matter what goes on in our lives or around us we have this undefinable love inside of us to fill us with the knowledge that we are enough, we are loved, we are free, we are valued, we are God’s beloved.

If we know and believe in our hearts in that kind of love for us, then it can change a life. Let that sink in. No matter what you have previously thought about yourself you are God’s beloved right now. That love within us fills us with endless possibilities. Because the power of love is at work in us and through us as God is at work in this world. When you are filled with God’s love you cannot help but make a difference in the world around you, and in the lives of the people around you. 

You see this prayer has been passed down over the generations from a church in Ephesus to you the Church of Mountain View. Paul’s prayer comes to you as individuals and as a church. Let yourselves be filled with God’s love, recognize that love for yourself and be transformed into life affirming, life giving, abundant livers of God’s love for this world.

This brings me to the Gospel message today. We see that a community has gathered around Jesus, 5,000 they say, not including women and children in the other gospel stories. The crowd does not seem to say they are hungry and are looking to be fed by Jesus and the disciples but rather Jesus looks out at the crowd and sees through love and compassion that hospitality dictates that he cares for them. He wants to feed them spiritually and physically. There has been many signs and miracles going on where the people have come to him for transformation in their lives and he wants to fill them from a place of love. And so, as the story goes, a young boy offers his lunch. A small act of love and compassion, becomes the basis of the miracle of this feeding of over 5,000 people. It’s a small act but people are fed and like that young person we are not always aware of how our actions change someone’s life or the world.

Jack Schlatter, a retired teacher, tells this story about two of his former students. “Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove, and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped carry part of the burden. As they walked, Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball, and history, that he was having a lot of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was invited in for a coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed quickly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated. Three weeks before graduation, Bill reminded Mark of the day when they had first met. ‘Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?’ asked Bill. ‘You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life.”

It was a small thing to do, yet it’s possible that Mark would never do anything – no matter how grandiose in the world’s view – more important than he did that day. His little deed made a difference, fed a distraught life, and created a miracle. 

You see the prayer from Ephesians teaches us that we are loved by God with a love which is immeasurable it is so large, that love fills us and recognized it transforms us to live our lives with God’s love as our source of being. Then we become capable of transforming our lives and the lives of others. So pray your prayers, open your hearts, and fill this world with God’s immense and undying love.