{"id":1732,"date":"2018-02-04T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T17:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/?p=1732"},"modified":"2019-09-22T12:52:59","modified_gmt":"2019-09-22T16:52:59","slug":"a-winter-communion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/2018\/02\/04\/a-winter-communion\/","title":{"rendered":"A Winter Communion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click here to\u00a0listen to\u00a0the full service<\/a><\/p>\n

Psalm 147<\/a><\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 9<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to listen to the meditations\u00a0only<\/a><\/p>\n

Preface<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Different are the languages of prayer, but the tears are all the same\u2019.<\/p>\n

So, Abraham Heschel, whose mighty labors to interpret the Hebrew Prophets were drenched themselves in tears\u2014the joyful tears of adoration, the bitter tears of confession, the heartfelt tears of thanksgiving, the worried tears of supplication.<\/p>\n

Prayer is at the heart of communion, especially a winter communion, and its languages are the tongues of adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.<\/p>\n

\u2018Pray without ceasing\u2019, we are taught in the 5th<\/sup> chapter of the earliest document in our New Testament, 1 Thessalonians.\u00a0 Without ceasing.<\/p>\n

We pray in silence before our worship begins, come Sunday.\u00a0 Here, in this sacred hour, we set ourselves for the week to come, and set before ourselves what we hold dear, and all in which we are dearly held.<\/p>\n

Then: Monday noon in meditation, Monday evening in Compline, Wednesday morning in theological community, Wednesday evening in communion, Thursday noon, both in sanctuary silence and then over an outdoor common table, and privately, meal by meal, morning by morning, we pray.<\/p>\n

Prayer is to sit silent before God.\u00a0 Prayer is to give utter attention.\u00a0 Prayer is to think God\u2019s thoughts after God.\u00a0 Prayer, like a poem, is \u2018a momentary stay against confusion\u2019 (Frost).\u00a0\u00a0 Prayer is our winter communion.<\/p>\n

Adoration<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A language learned in prayer is that of adoration.\u00a0\u00a0 Here is the tongue of aspiration, delight, hope, imagination, wonder and praise.\u00a0\u00a0 In the dim-lit daily world, adorational language can be hard to hear, hard to find, for it is the exuberant utterance of \u2018why not\u2019?, of \u2018how about?\u2019, of \u2018oh my\u2019!, sentences concluding in question marks and exclamation points, more enchantment than disenchantment<\/p>\n

Our gospel reading, at heart, is an aspiration, a high hope about human being, human loving, and human life\u2014especially about healing.<\/p>\n

Here in Mark 1, the early church remembers forty years later a very high view, an aspirational hope for human healing.\u00a0\u00a0 A prayer in aspiration that demons–begone! That upon this earth there yet might be\u2014real friendship, real fellowship, real love, real marriage, the reality of the union of hearts, for which we are made.\u00a0 For a hint of the eternal, a glimpse of the divine, a glimmer of joy without shade.\u00a0\u00a0 How we need that hint in our time of humiliation.\u00a0 How we need that height in our culture of degradation.<\/p>\n

All this takes time and practice. Our aspirations take the support and help of a community to last.<\/p>\n

So, in the same breath, and in the same paragraph, the Jesus of Mark\u2019s gospel, and the Lord of Mark\u2019s community, heals the sick, and offers their innocence (not their ignorance) as aspiration. \u00a0\u00a0Innocence is not Holiness.\u00a0 Holiness comes after Innocence, in the aspirations known both in celebration and in defeat.\u00a0 Behold Jesus lifts them, lifts us, in his arms.<\/p>\n

Hence, a few weeks ago we did sing, \u2018Come Let Us Adore Him\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0 There is a prayer, a prayer in a wonder-land.\u00a0 What do you adore?\u00a0 Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.\u00a0 Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also.<\/p>\n

Our January preachers, with their manifold winter gifts, foretold it:\u00a0 remember your baptism, behold plenty good room, save what you love, adore restoration not destruction.<\/p>\n

So we sing a hymn each Sunday.<\/p>\n

Adoration.\u00a0 A language of prayer.<\/p>\n

Confession<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A language learned in prayer is that of confession.\u00a0 Such a dialect is much needed, in our time, in our generation.\u00a0 Contrition, compunction, regret, and lament.\u00a0 \u201cI am sorry\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cForgive Me\u201d.<\/p>\n

You probably one day suddenly realized the power of confession.\u00a0 Bishop James Matthews once said, in a memorable sermon, that he came to a day when he just wanted to write down in a list his most memorable shortcomings. (I was thinking of him the other day, visiting our own C Faith Richardson, now 102 years of age, who was his secretary).\u00a0 He wrote down his mistakes and his regrets.\u00a0 His regretful mistakes and his mistaken regrets.\u00a0 That he did, and tossed the list into the fire, and resolved to live a great good life unrestrained by what was past.\u00a0 \u201cI gave the list to God and to the fire\u201d, he said, \u201cand I headed out into the future\u201d.\u00a0 Then he added:\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure you all have done the same, one way or another\u201d.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t so sure we all had, but I basked in the confidence\u2014in the living pardon\u2014of his confidence in us.<\/p>\n

We depend on this reminder of our fragility.\u00a0 It keeps us from becoming na\u00efve about the fragility all around us.\u00a0 Especially the disguised fragility of beloved institutions.\u00a0 Many churches are one decade \u00a0away from demise.\u00a0 Some countries are one government away from demise.\u00a0 Our schools, halls of government, businesses, families\u2014all these are far more fragile than they sometimes seem.\u00a0 They take constant tending, mending, and befriending. \u00a0\u00a0They take daily, careful leadership.\u00a0 And when over time the fabric begins to fray, devastation may ensue.\u00a0 Institutions, like people, are nourished by attention to small things. \u2018Yard by yard, life is hard.\u00a0 Inch by inch, it\u2019s a cinch\u2019.<\/p>\n

So we offer confession, KYRIE ELEISON, each Sunday.<\/p>\n

Confession.\u00a0 A language of prayer.<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A language learned in prayer is that of thanksgiving.\u00a0 My friend says that all birds are either robins or non-robins.\u00a0 Well, the prayer book of the Bible is the Book of Psalms, and in that same oversimplified way, the psalms are either laments or thanksgivings, and there are more of the latter.\u00a0 So today the psalmist is singing aloud a song of thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

We know gratitude in hindsight.\u00a0 Thanksgiving is the gift of the rear view mirror, of real retrospective.\u00a0 We learn, and we grow.\u00a0 But as Ralph Sockman repeated, and we now with him, \u2018The larger the body of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of mystery that surrounds it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eucharist is a word that means thanksgiving. It is the marrow this morning of our winter communion. Our Eucharist is a thanksgiving in remembrance and in presence.\u00a0 Eucharist is a thanksgiving in remembrance of our Lord Jesus, his ministry of preaching, teaching and, today, especially healing, his death upon the cross, and his radiant resurrection, our beacon and life.\u00a0 Our Eucharist is a thanksgiving in presence, an announcement of the divine presence, the real presence of God, here and now, in the humblest of forms.\u00a0 Eucharist means thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

In the humblest of forms.<\/p>\n

In the winter of 1982 the Maundy Thursday Holy Communion service was scheduled to occur in the sanctuary of the larger of the two churches, a two-point charge on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, two churches that shared a minister.\u00a0 And perhaps not too much else.\u00a0 In fact, to gather the two into one, in communion, was a rare event, with or without the sacrament.\u00a0 But Maundy Thursday was generally lightly attended, and, for once, all agreed to share the service, one congregation as host and one as guest.\u00a0 Notice the closeness, the kindred etymology of those to words, host and guest.<\/p>\n

Well.\u00a0 The boiler died in the host sanctuary sometime that day, or perhaps the day before, though its demise was not noticed until about an hour before the service, noticed by freezing choir members there to practice.\u00a0\u00a0 In those ancient days there was no mode or media to announce the dilemma, and relocate.\u00a0 So, after some consider, it was decide to move the service next door into the Methodist Parsonage.\u00a0 You knew this was the parsonage because of a sign on the porch saying so.\u00a0 This was an expansive if drafty country house, with two large living rooms, one a parlor with the piano, and the other with couches and chairs, and a large dining room and big country kitchen.\u00a0\u00a0 Putting the coats on the porch and the children upstairs, we conjured that we could fit the light Lenten attendance.\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes you generalize, sometimes you specialize, and sometimes you improvise.\u00a0 A Trustee sat on the piano bench to turn hymn pages for the pianist.\u00a0 It was crowded.\u00a0 The children behaved upstairs, at least at the start.\u00a0 Later you could hear them rustling to run from east to west, giggling as their feet sounded like a small airplane landing nearby.\u00a0 Then quiet again.<\/p>\n

Two churches of people who did not regularly sit together, of an evening, by historical accident and the ingenuity of some lay leaders, sat cheek to jowl.\u00a0 There was good close singing, in four parts, with the choir dispersed into the community.\u00a0 There was a warmth quite welcome at 10 below zero outside.\u00a0 At the time of communion all slowly moved from parlor to living room to dining room into the kitchen to serve and be served.\u00a0 And at the end a long full silence filled the house.\u00a0\u00a0 A long silence, that is, full of thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Thirty-eight years is about the distance in time between the ministry of Jesus and the writing of Mark.\u00a0 The memory sifts to hold onto what matters, counts, lasts, has meaning.\u00a0 Of all the worship services in those years, from Christmas to Easter to Confirmation, the one most remembered is the crowded household communion, and the silence, and the thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

If you are wondering how to pray, start with a word of thanks, a thanksgiving, a generous recognition of a cause of gratitude.\u00a0\u00a0 You will not have far to look.<\/p>\n

Sing to the Lord with Thanksgiving, Psalm 147.\u00a0 I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.\u00a0 1 Corinthians 9.<\/em><\/p>\n

So we read a psalm each Sunday.<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving.\u00a0 A language of prayer.<\/p>\n

Supplication<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A language learned in prayer is that of supplication.\u00a0\u00a0 We name what we need.\u00a0 Seek and you will find.\u00a0 Knock and the door will open.\u00a0 Ask and it shall be given.\u00a0 Not always.\u00a0 Not frequently.\u00a0 Not in a timely way.\u00a0 But\u2026<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t easily get what you don\u2019t name as needed.<\/p>\n

In supplication, today, we feel or murmur or mutter, perhaps through clenched teeth, a prayer of supplication. How will this happen?\u00a0 We see no easy way.<\/p>\n

In supplication, we are reminded of who we are and whose we are. \u00a0Supplication, the honest statement of what we need, the honest desire to return to a deep personal faith and an active social involvement, against all manner of winds blowing against, helps us build the future, a good future.\u00a0 Prayer is a kind of prop.<\/p>\n

Emily Dickinson had her occasional happy moments and happy thoughts and choice, true words of thanksgiving (amid darker hues aplenty to be sure):<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 The Props assist the House<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Until the House is built<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 And then the Props withdraw<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 And adequate, erect,<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 The House support itself<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 And cease to recollect<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 The Auger and the Carpenter-<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Just such a retrospect<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Hath the perfected Life-<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 A past of Plank and Nail<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 And slowness-then the Scaffolds drop<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Affirming it a Soul.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So we offer our common prayer every Sunday.<\/p>\n

Supplication.\u00a0 A language of prayer.<\/p>\n

Coda<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Different are the languages of prayer, but the tears are all the same\u2019.<\/p>\n

Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.<\/p>\n

Ye that do truly and earnestly repent, and are in love and charity with your neighbor, and intend to lead a new life, following after the commandments of God, come, draw near in faith, and take this Holy Sacrament, this prayerful winter communion, to your lasting comfort.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–\u00a0The Reverend Doctor, Robert Allan Hill, Dean.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here to\u00a0listen to\u00a0the full service Psalm 147 1 Corinthians 9 Click here to listen to the meditations\u00a0only Preface \u2018Different are the languages of prayer, but the tears are all the same\u2019. So, Abraham Heschel, whose mighty labors to interpret the Hebrew Prophets were drenched themselves in tears\u2014the joyful tears of adoration, the bitter tears […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2679,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[6],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1732"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1732"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1819,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1732\/revisions\/1819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}