Do present circumstances discourage you from praying for the desires of your heart?

Zechariah and Elizabeth were unable to have children, but apparently their prayers for a child continued, even into their old age. While Zechariah was serving in the Temple, the angel, Gabriel appeared to him and said, “Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.” (Luke 1:13) He went on to say that this son will be great in the sight of the Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit and bring many people back to the Lord.

Although Zechariah had been praying for a son for many years, his present circumstances caused him to question whether this could still happen. He asked, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” Even Gabriel acknowledged Elizabeth’s advanced age in Luke 1:36.

While Zechariah’s doubt rendered him unable to speak until the promise was fulfilled, his faithfulness in serving the Lord and persistence in prayer over many years was rewarded with the birth of a son, John the Baptist, whose mission was to prepare the way for God’s own son.

Zechariah and Elizabeth are great models for us. They remained faithful and persistent in their prayer over many years and even after the answer to their prayer seemed impossible.

Our daughter, Emily who is now 28, was born with Down syndrome and a speech disability. For more than 20 years we have been praying for the healing of her speech disability so that she could be better understood and able to interact more fully with others. Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, the present circumstances may indicate that not much is happening, but we have seen some progress in her increased efforts to converse, and we will never cease praying in faith for God’s special intervention in the life of this special child entrusted to our family.

Jesus offered the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8) to urge his followers to “always pray and never give up.” He says, “Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” St. Paul entreats us to “pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Th. 5:17) “For nothing is impossible to God,” says Gabriel in a subsequent appearance to Mary. (Luke 1:37)

While we may struggle to know the mind of God, the fact that something may appear impossible is not a reason to refrain from praying for the desire of our hearts.

What are the chances that 102 pilgrims sailing from Plymouth, England in 1620 would encounter two English speaking Indians on the North American continent? These Indians became instrumental in the pilgrims’ survival? Was God looking out for the pilgrims?

Apparently the pilgrims thought so in their actions and prayers. Elder William Brewster quoted from Isaiah 41:9-10 in encouraging them to persevere during their first harsh winter that saw 47 of their party die.

“I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I call you. I said, ‘You are my servant;’ I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

These two Indians, one named Samoset, the other Squanto, helped the pilgrims learn how to plant corn, catch fish, and trade with friendly Indian tribes. During the summer of 1621, after building new dwellings, planting and harvesting enough food to get them through the next winter, the pilgrims were “brimming over with gratitude” and Governor Bradford declared a day of public Thanksgiving in October. (For more detail, see The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel.)

As our national day of Thanksgiving approaches this week, I pause to reflect on a long list of blessings:

• A loving wife of 51 years and a mutual love that grows deeper each year,
• A family of five children, three sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, and 13 grandchildren, all of whom have a genuine love for one another and are living out their Christian faith in the day to day throes of life,
• An adult daughter with special needs whose purity of heart and humble ways show the rest of us the face of God,
• A Father God and his son Jesus Christ who love me and offer to dwell in me through the Holy Spirit, who give me purpose in loving and serving the people in my life and in working to take care of God’s creation according to my circumstances,
• Christian friends from the People of Praise Christian community, Christians in Commerce, St. Mark’s Catholic Church and my neighborhood who would take a call at 3:00 AM if the need arose.
• Meaningful work in business and ministry spanning over 50 years,
• Good health that allows me to continue to work, serve, love and enjoy all of these blessings,
• Material blessings that meet our needs.

This list does not mean we are exempt from trials and challenges, for who can escape them in this world. But we share the God of the Jews and the pilgrims who calls us, strengthens us, and upholds us with his righteous right hand.

What are you thankful for?

How do we view our work? Last Saturday I participated in a seminar conducted by Christians in Commerce International (www.christiansincommerce.org) entitled Hope for the Workplace. One of the participants who worked for a large aero-space manufacturer observed, “I have never thought of my job as serving God.” She went on to explain that she just looked on her work as a job to earn a living in order to do all the other things she wanted to do in life.

Her view of work is one held by many. She never thought about how God views work, that it is part of his design for creation. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work and take care of it.” From the very beginning God assigned us the task to work and take care of his creation. Work is not a curse resulting from the fall, for work was ordained by God before the fall.

Both Catholic and Protestant teaching uphold the value and dignity of work, and consider it a part of God’s plan for creation. The Catholic Catechism states, “Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another.

Lester DeKoster, a former professor of Calvin College in his book, Work, The Meaning of Your Life, defines work as, “the form in which we make ourselves useful to others and thus to God.” He goes on to explain that culture and civilization don’t just happen. They are made to happen and keep happening by God, the Holy Spirit through our work. The difference between barbarism and civilization is simply, work.

DeKoster observes that in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus’ choice of services we can do for one another is carefully calculated to comprehend the vast number of jobs of humankind – providing food, drink, clothing, shelter, health care, social services, etc. He says, “The fabric of civilization, like all fabrics, is made up of countless tiny threads – each thread, the work of someone.”

Like the people in the parable, we may be surprised that in doing our work, we too, are serving God. Whether our work is that of a migrant farm worker or the CEO of a large international corporation, it is one of those threads that make up civilization and matters to God. Work is a part of his design for creation and the civilization that follows. It has value and purpose.

How do we view our work? Is it just a job so we can do and have all the other things we want? This is a pocketbook perspective. Is it an idol, becoming an obsession and subordinating all of the other responsibilities we have in life? This is a self-centered perspective. Is it a partnership with God, being a good steward of the talents and gifts God has given us to further the work of his creation? This is God’s perspective.

After Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem in 964 BC, the Bible says that the glory of the Lord filled the temple in the form of a cloud. (1Kings 8:11) For several centuries the Jewish people looked to the temple to worship, sacrifice and seek God’s presence. Because of various periods of unfaithfulness, God eventually removed his presence from the temple.

Jesus declared that from his time forward, people would no longer worship the Father in Jerusalem, but “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23) He proclaims that his body is the new temple and if it is destroyed he will raise it in three days. (John 2:19)

Later with his disciples on the evening before his trial and crucifixion, he surprises them with the words that God’s new dwelling place would be in them and all who believe. “On that day [his resurrection] you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:20, 23) He continues, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” The disciples and all who follow in their footsteps believing in Jesus Christ will become temples of the living God.

St. Paul confirms this when he says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you.” (1 Cor. 3:16)  Again, “We are the temple of the living God.” (2 Cor. 6:16)

Through our baptism and our “yes” to God, we can accept his offer to dwell in us.  Jesus, says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev.3:20)

The first time I heard the phrase, “Christ in us,” or “be Christ” to others, I reacted with skepticism. I have struggled with sin in the past and I struggle with sin today. While I may try to be like Christ, I fall far short. Certainly, I do not always live up to the Beatitudes or all the other restatements of the commandments in Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Yet, Jesus says, “Come to me all who are burdened…for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Then I realized that God’s plan for his creation is to dwell in us through his son, Jesus Christ, so that we, with the power of the Holy Spirit, can partner with God in being and bringing his presence to the people and circumstances of our lives. This is where God both resides and acts in the world today – in and through us. We are called to live in Christ and as Christ, to do what Jesus did – to love, show mercy, heal, witness to the truth and share with all who come into our lives that the kingdom of God is in our midst. Jesus says, “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these…so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” (John 14: 12)

“The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations…is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:26, 27)

Where is God’s temple today? We are his temple, the New Jerusalem.

Although we may abuse God’s gift of free will, he eventually has his way by finding people who will do his will.

In the Book of Acts, the Sanhedrin had arrested the apostles and wanted to put them to death. A Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, cautioned the Sanhedrin not to carry out their intention. He said, “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 538-39)

If our actions are of human origin – motivated by ambition, pride, recognition, anger, resentment, revenge, sexual immorality, etc., they will eventually fail. If they are motivated by the desire to do God’s will they will endure.

History is replete with examples of the failure of individuals and nations whose actions were of human origin and failed. Next week we will remember the 25^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Its creation was of human origin and not from God. Established in 1961, it lasted 28 years, but it was destined to fail, coming down on November 9, 1989.

St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:8 that “love never fails.” He goes on to say that three things always remain, “faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” The effects of a kind word or a merciful act last forever, radiating outward to others like the ripples from a pebble thrown in a pond.

A few years ago on the day I was scheduled for prostate cancer surgery, a snow storm almost prevented us from getting to the hospital but for the help of a neighbor and his 4 X 4 pickup truck. While I was in a pre-op unit, being readied for surgery, a nurse came in to say that my brother was outside and wanted to come in and pray with me. He was a brother in Christ, whose name was Dave, and he soon had everyone standing around my bed holding hands, including the two surgeons still in their hooded parkas, the nurses and my wife, as he boldly, but humbly, led a prayer for the doctors and the success of the surgery. What was remarkable about all of this was that my friend was himself suffering from renal cell carcinoma and a neuropathy in his feet which made it difficult for him to walk. To this day, I do not know how he was able to travel the 12 miles in that snowstorm to get to the hospital.

His act of love and the memory of that scene, however, will be seared in my memory for eternity.

In today’s culture the actions of human origin tend to dominate the headlines while the actions from God often go unnoticed. But this should not cause us consternation, for the actions from God endure while the actions of human origin fade.

Are we willing to build relationships to bring people to Christ and change the world around us?

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he says that he has become all things to all people in order to bring them the gospel. He says, “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law. To the weak, I became weak to win the weak.” (1 Cor. 9:19-23)

Paul is establishing himself as a prototype for peer ministry and the example that missionaries have followed for centuries. Build relationships, serve needs, be an example, and then share the gospel message.

Jesus suggested similar instructions when sending out the seventy-two. He told them not to move around from house to house, but stay in one house, extend it their peace, serve needs like healing the sick, and then tell them that the Kingdom of God is at hand. (Luke 10:1-12)

Today, we live in a fast food, instant messaging world. In business, we look for quit hits, relying on robo calls to customers instead of real conversations. But changing lives and transforming culture are long term projects. Let’s look at a real life example of how this works.

Barbara worked as a clerk in the juvenile court of Sacramento, California. While she was willing to witness to the Lord when she had the opportunity, she found it hard because of the negative environment stemming from the nature of the cases before the court, the people involved in the cases and the court employees. “Part of my prayer on my way to work every day was to ask that others would see Christ and his love in me,” Barbara said. “While I invited people to my church and shared stories about how God helped me during tough times, I did not see any results.”

When it came time for the court clerks’ Christmas party, Barbara did not plan to attend, but her fellow clerks kept insisting that she had to go. Finally one of them whispered in her ear, “You have to go. You have been elected ‘Clerk of the Year.’” At the presentation, Barbara learned to her surprise that Christ’s presence in her had come through. Some of the things said in her honor were:

“I have never heard her say anything bad about anyone.” “I know better than to bad-mouth people around her. She just looks at me and I think, ‘Oops! Can I reword that?’” “I know if I need help with my work, she won’t get mad or make me feel stupid.” “If you tell her something it won’t get spread all over Juvenile Hall.” “If I need advice, I know I can talk to her. She sees both sides and helps me see the other side too.” “I know she prays for me.”

Barbara was being all things to her co-employees at Juvenile Hall in order to bring God’s presence and the gospel message to the people there – a long term project.

In several of St. Paul’s letters, he often begins with encouraging words to the recipients and thanks God for their faithfulness to the gospel he had taught them. To the Thessalonians, he says that he knows they were chosen by God because the gospel came to them not only with words, but with power, the Holy Spirit, miracles and strong conviction. (1Th. 1:5, CCB)

We see in both Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of the apostles that signs and miracles often accompanied the proclamation of the gospel. Mark, at the end of his gospel sets forth various signs that will accompany believers including the casting out of demons, speaking in new tongues and the placing of hands on the sick that get well. (Mark 16:17)

We might ask ourselves if we experience the gospel as only words or do we experience it with power through the Holy Spirit, and with miracles and signs. Ironically, Jesus criticized those who came to him to see miracles, but he nevertheless performed miracles throughout his ministry. He forgave a cripple his sins, but to show that he had the authority to do so, he visibly healed the cripple of his physical condition. (Luke 5:17-26)

In the late 1970’s my wife and I were prayed with for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. We each experienced a renewal of our faith and the presence of God in a way we had not before. A year later we attended a Jesus ’79 rally in Shea Stadium in New York along with several friends from our parish prayer group. After listening to a talk on healing, the speaker asked the 30,000+ people in attendance to turn to one another and pray for any needs of healing.

Our friends, said, “Let’s pray for Bill’s eyes.” (I had been previously diagnosed with glaucoma and the loss of about 30% of my field of vision.) They laid hands on me and prayed that my vision would be restored. The following Monday morning, I just happened to have one of my quarterly examinations with my ophthalmologist and he just happened to conduct a yearly field of vision test. As he conducted the test I began to hear him say “hum” repeatedly. After about the fourth “hum” I asked if there was something wrong. He said, “Well, you seem to have a full field of vision.” I said, “I thought you told me I could never recover the vision I had lost. He said, “Yes, I did.”

I then told him where I had been on Saturday and how some friends prayed with me for healing, and he said, “I will take all the help I can get.”

To me, my wife and friends, it was a physical affirmation of God’s presence in our lives, a sign of the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and the world today. We weren’t looking for a sign in order to believe. We believed and would have continued to believe even without the sign. But it built up our faith, and affirmed the reality of God’s presence and love for us.

Signs of God’s presence can take many forms. Perhaps the most powerful and lasting is a changed heart. Jesus’ self-invitation to Zacchaeus’ house was not accompanied by a physical sign of healing, but it did result in a changed heart with a far more enduring effect on Zacchaeus and no doubt the people in his life. (Luke 19:1-10)

Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the dead and asks that the stone covering his grave be removed. Lazarus’ sister, Martha, protests that it has been four days since his burial and that there will be a stench. Jesus says “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God.” (John 11:38-43)

Martha is looking at the physical reality of the situation as she knows it. No one has ever walked out of a grave four days after being buried and dead bodies start to smell from decay soon after death. Jesus, however, is looking beyond the limitations of physical reality to demonstrate God’s glory by raising Lazarus from the dead.

How often do we minimize the glory of God by not being able to see beyond some present day physical reality? We may be trying to cope with a difficult boss or a lost job, the prolonged care of a loved one who is ill or who has died, or any number of circumstances that consume all of our energies and leave no room in our perspective beyond the present reality in front of us.

When our daughter, Emily, was born with Down syndrome I was shocked. I didn’t know anything about Down syndrome children, and thought only the worst. After having three older daughters, followed by an eleven year gap, and then a son, we were hoping for the son to have a sibling to grow up with like his older sisters had with one another. Now our plans seemed to be thwarted. I could not see beyond the present reality and cried out to the Lord for understanding.  He responded in varying ways, calming my fears and giving me peace.

One of the ways in which he shared his mind with me about his love for his special children was through the words of author Morris West in his book Clowns of God, a book I just happened to pick up randomly and begin to read at a rented beach house when Emily was one. It was a novel about a Pope who had seen a vision of the end times, the imminence of a nuclear war between the U. S. and Russia, and the return of Jesus in the form of a care giver to the Pope. The care giver identifies himself as Jesus the night before war is to break out and he is challenged to prove who he is. He picks up a little girl with Down syndrome, sets her on his lap and says:

“I know what you are thinking. You need a sign. What better one could I give than to make this little one whole and new? I could do it; but I will not. I am the Lord and not a conjuror. I gave this mite a gift I denied to all of you–eternal innocence. To you she looks imperfect—but to me she is flawless, like the bud that dies unopened or the fledgling that falls from the nest to be devoured by the ants. She will never offend me, as all of you have done. She will never pervert or destroy the work of my Father’s hands. She is necessary to you. She will evoke the kindness that will keep you human. Her infirmity will prompt you to gratitude for your own good fortune…More! She will remind you every day that I am who I am, that my ways are not yours, and that the smallest dust mote whirled in the darkest space does not fall out of my hand. I have chosen you. You have not chosen me. This little one is my sign to you. Treasure her!”

In the twenty-eight years since this moment, Emily has taught me as much about God and his ways and his love as anything I have ever read or experienced. When I look back and see the joy, love and understanding she has brought to our family and all who encounter her beautiful smile, her greetings of love and purity of heart, I see the glory of God in our midst.

As tenants of this life, are we producing fruit for the Landlord?

In Luke 20, Jesus had just entered Jerusalem in a triumphal way. He had cleared the temple of the moneychangers and was teaching in the temple courts. A few days earlier, he had raised Lazarus from the dead. The chief priests and elders were challenging Jesus and asking by what authority he was doing all of these things. Jesus responds with the parable of the tenants.  (Luke 20:9-19)

A man planted a vineyard – God created all that exists.

The man rented the vineyard to some farmers – God entrusts creation to us and gives us dominion over it with the specific instruction “to take care of it.” (Gen. 2:15)

At harvest time he sent his servants and subsequently his son to collect some of the fruit, but tenants beat the servants and killed the son, claiming the vineyard to be theirs.  Just as the tenants attempt to claim ownership of the vineyard, so has the human race attempted to claim ownership of creation, denying the creator and determining for itself what is right and wrong, true or false.

The response of the vineyard owner was harsh. He killed the tenants and gave the vineyard to others. The chief priests and elders realized Jesus was talking about them.

What kind of tenants are we of the responsibilities God has entrusted to us? He gives each of us a lease of time in this physical world with varying durations. He entrusts us with various talents. He puts people in our lives. He has a job or work that is to be our contribution to taking care of his creation. He expects some fruit to come from his lease to us.

Recently I was rereading a book of letters our children had put together from family and friends to celebrate a milestone birthday of mine a few years ago. In the letters from the children were various memories of when I spent time with them while they were young, playing a game, taking a hike, building something, making a trail through the woods or sharing some advice which they had requested of me. Most of these moments I had forgotten, but they had not. While I may not have realized it then, these times given to me by God in my lease from him were bearing fruit, and may have contributed in some small way to where our children are today, all Christian adults with families of their own and bearing fruit in their turn. Our special needs child, now also an adult, simply reflects the face of God in her smile, simplicity and greetings of love.

Time, spouse, children, work, friends, ministry and faith — all are part of the lease God gives to each of us. All are precious seeds waiting to bear fruit for the Lord under our tenancy.

Last week a good friend and professional colleague of many years died of pancreatic cancer. We began working together as attorneys for a large international oil company in 1974. He was such a good man – talented in his work, combining intellect and solid legal knowledge with practical application. He was always true to his word, even when the potential consequences could affect him negatively. Though our friendship was primarily professional, I loved him like a brother and we have remained friends beyond our professional lives.

When I reflect on all the reasons I respected him, very few had anything to do with his physical nature. His character and integrity; his sense of fairness and desire to do what was right; his sense of humor and willingness to have a good laugh, even at himself — all of these reflected his heart, that immaterial inner being that we struggle to define, using words like soul, spirit or inner self.

Cancer is an ugly disease. I, too, have struggled with it, but without fatal effect up to this point. While cancer can kill the body, it cannot kill the soul, or heart or whatever word we want to use to describe most of the things that make us who we truly are.

There have been several books published in recent years of people who have had “near death” experiences and later recover and tell about seeing relatives and friends who have died, hearing music and seeing sights they can’t find words to describe and in some cases meeting Jesus. The authors have included a couple of doctors, including a neurosurgeon, a minister, an airline pilot, and a 3 year old boy, among others. I grew up listening to my mother describe such an experience when she was in an auto accident and suffered near fatal head injuries before she was married.

Job asks, “If a man dies will he live again?” (Job 14:14) Jesus answers the question. We die to this physical world in the current age, but if we believe in him, the best part of us lives on, soul and spirit. Jesus says, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life…he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24) Later he says to Martha before the raising of Lazarus, “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25, 26)

I believe St. Paul has the most encouraging words on this subject when he says, “ No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9) My friend has died physically to his family and to those of us who knew him, but the most important part of him still lives.