First Presbyterian Church
Relationships, not Results
Sermon for April 2, 2006
by Pastor Susan Barnes

My sermon title has changed. I know it says in the bulletin “ Right Ways ” but a better title is “Relationship, not Results.” I changed it after I read a newspaper article about intercessory prayer not making a difference.

The Israelites in the north of Israel , Samaria , were taken into exile by Assyria in the 8 th century bce. The prophet Jeremiah preached to the children and grandchildren of the original exiles about a hundred years after the exile began. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34.

31 The days are surely coming, says the LORD , when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah .

32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt -- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

This ends our reading from Jeremiah.

I will be their God, and they will be my people. God wants a relationship with us. God wants us to want that too. But it hasn't been easy for us human beings to choose God over the world.

The gospel of John was written to a beleaguered church. The gospel of John uses the metaphor of fruit to describe the work of the community of faith. The early Christians needed to be encouraged that Jesus' death wasn't a sign of failure, but had a deeper greater purpose. Jesus explains it at Passover time. When he entered Jerusalem for the last time, many people celebrated his name, waving palms and shouting Hosanna.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in John 12:20-33.

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

27 "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say -- 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

This ends our reading from the gospel of John.

Anthem: Lambs of God

Let us pray. O gracious and holy God, give us diligence to seek you, wisdom to perceive you, and patience to wait for you. Grant us, O God, a mind to meditate on you; eyes to behold you; ears to listen for your word; a heart to love you; and a life to proclaim you; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Last week, we read the story of the Israelites in the wilderness being cured of snakebite by looking at Moses lifting a pole with a snake on it. Our text in John 3 referred to Jesus being lifted up also. And again, we hear that reference.

The crucifixion is a terrible way to be executed. How did Jesus know he was going to die that way? I think he knew the risks he took for his work and his teaching. He did not let the threat of death stop him from doing what was right, and what was God's work, even during a time of political upheaval. He did not sit quietly back, but boldly proclaimed the realm of God.

And yet, faced with his imminent crucifixion, Jesus' soul is troubled.

Being God's son didn't exempt him from suffering. That's one of many paradoxes for us Christians – trying to figure out how Jesus could be both human and divine. Our letter to the Hebrews is even more descriptive of Jesus' emotions. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Hebrews 5:5-10.

5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you" 1; 6 as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. 2

This ends our reading of God's word. This business about being made perfect doesn't have anything to do with moral achievement, but with the completion of his preparation as high priest. Another way to translate the word for perfect is consecrated or ordained. The Bible describes some kings of Israel as sons of God. Being God's son means Jesus is the king. But our text in Hebrews speaks of Jesus being our high priest. He was a priest appointed by God, as Melchizadek was; not appointed by an earthly king, looking for political results.

Exploitation, wealth, political expediency, and fast results are not the goals of God's realm, God's kingdom. They are the goals of what the book of Hebrews called the spirit of the world.

The comedians of Monty Python half-heartedly made up a title for a movie called “Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory.” They read the new testament to get ideas for the movie. But Monty Python's John Cleese said that there's nothing about Jesus that one can make fun of – he doesn't really lust after glory at all. Jesus is not interested in glorifying himself, just in glorifying God. A priest's job was to make sacrifices; the sacrifice, and God's receiving it, were holy, not the priest. The priest was just a vessel.

But human nature being what it is, priests had high status. And so the comedians recognized that while Jesus isn't a good target for humor, his followers are. His followers certainly lusted for glory. And so Monty Python made Life of Brian, a movie about a man who lived in Jesus' time. They make fun of everyone who misunderstands Jesus.

The community of faith often misunderstands. We want to follow Jesus, but we also want glory and power and wealth. We might call them by other names: success, results, security. But still, Jesus teaches us “ Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” We are supposed to value what's important to God, not to the world.

That's why Jeremiah prophesies about God's covenant being written on our hearts; we won't need to teach it to one another, because everyone will know God. It will be as natural and unstoppable as a mother's love, or a baby being determined to learn to walk no matter how many times it falls down, or a boy whacking a stick to make noise.

Jesus' death is life-giving because it results in community being formed – that's the seed dying which “bears much fruit.”

The community is the fruit. The church is that community. In church, we long for the day when God's covenant is written on our hearts. But until that time, we have Sunday School where we teach one another, and we have worship services where together we practice knowing the Lord, as we pray together “thy will be done.”

We haven't got it all figured out yet. We are all in the process of learning what it means to follow Jesus.

I was interested to read last week about a study on prayer funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

“The research team tested the effect of having three Christian groups pray for particular patients, starting the night before surgery and continuing for two weeks. The volunteers prayed for ‘a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications' for specific patients — their identities known only by first name and first initial of the last name.”

Most of the time, when we pray for someone, we pray for them as part of our community. We have some connection with them. But for the researchers, a community relationship wasn't something they could test, so they didn't bother.

“The patients, meanwhile, were split into three groups of about 600 apiece: those who knew they were being prayed for, those who were prayed for but only knew it was a possibility, and those who weren't prayed for but were told it was a possibility. The researchers didn't ask patients or their families and friends to alter any plans they had for prayer, saying such a step would have been unethical and impractical.

The study looked for any complications within 30 days of the surgery. Results showed no effect of prayer on complication-free recovery. But among patients who did receive prayers, 59 percent of the patients who knew they were being prayed for developed a complication, versus 52 percent of those who were told it was just a possibility.”

Because the most common complication was an irregular heartbeat, researchers speculated that knowing they were chosen to receive prayers may have inadvertently put the patients under increased stress. “Did the patients think, ‘I am so sick they had to call in the prayer team?'” asked one researcher.” 3

I think there are just too many variables with prayer to control adequately for a scientific study. I agree with Dr. David Stevens, who said he believes intercessory prayer can influence medical outcomes, but that science is not equipped to explore it. He said “Do we control God through prayer? Theologians would say absolutely not. God decides sometimes to intervene, and sometimes not.”

I love the way Roberta Bondi speaks of prayer as friendship with God. As we learn to pray for others, our friendship with God grows.

She writes “We hope to receive what we ask for, but we also accept that when we pray, we never know what the outcome of our prayer will be. We do not know the mind of God. There were more people whom Jesus did not heal in his lifetime than he healed. We do not know why some are healed and some are not. When we pray for another person, we often do not even know what they really need.

To expect that if we only ask God in the right way or offer God enough in return, God will give us what we ask is to think of an act of prayer as magic or bribery rather than friendship with God. No one can manipulate or buy off God. If the starting point of prayer is friendship, however, there is not a friend in the world who always gives us what we ask. [Two] things we do know absolutely about intercessory prayer as we face the fact that we may not receive what we ask in the form we ask it: First, whenever we long for and pray for the well-being of other people, we are only asking God for what God already longs for far more than we. Second, if we are to be friends of God, we must tell God what we want for others as surely as we must ask God for ourselves, without worrying about the appropriateness of our asking or the probability that what we ask for we will receive.” 4

The bottom line for me is that Jesus prayed for other people, and I will too. It doesn't matter to me whether or not a scientific study can demonstrate statistically significant results. I know that when I pray for people, I feel my love for them more. I know that when I am prayed for, I feel God's love through those who are doing the praying. I don't need anyone to prove that prayer works effectively. I don't need to measure prayer success by the standards of this world. I do it because it's part of the covenant being written on my heart.

May all our hearts learn that covenant so that we will be and bear much fruit.

1 Psalm 2:7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you.

2 Psalm 110:4 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." 1

3Stein, Rob. “ Prayer Doesn't Aid Recovery, Study Finds ” Washington Post , March 31, 2006; A06

4 Bondi, Roberta, To Pray is to Love, p. 131-2.