Reuben's 4th. Sermon.

Reuben's Sermon for Lent. Sunday, March 08, 1998

+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

"For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever Amen.

God bless Mummy and Daddy, God bless Granny and Granda, God bless Grandma and Grandpa, God bless Aidan and Maurice and the Cat.

Lighten our darkness, we beseech Thee O Lord, and by Thy great mercy, defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen."

....the last part of the prayers that I said every night on going to bed about forty years ago.

The bedtime prayers of a five year old child, taught by his mother, and I still know them off by heart.

Forty years later; here I am, giving a sermon on "Renewing our Prayer and Worship".

Now there's a frightening title...

"Renewing our Prayer and Worship"

It suggests change, something different.

But if we don't vary the way we do things, just a little, once in a while, we can find ourselves travelling a road toward parrot-fashion words that start to lose their meaning.

It happens to all of us and is such an easy trap to fall into.

Like the prayers I said at bedtime when I was a child. I still know them off by heart, but they can lose their meaning so easily.

So, variation in prayer and worship is important, and there is an enormous wealth of new and traditional prayer and worship out there that is just waiting for us.

Tonight, I could talk to you about the history and meaning of prayer and worship and its importance in our Christian lives...

...but I'm not.

We already know the importance of prayer and regular worship. Let's face it, talking about regular worship to an "Evensong Congregation" is literally "Preaching to the Converted".

So, for the next few minutes I'm going to talk to you about just a few aspects of prayer and worship, and tell you about some ways that I have been able to put a little life back into my contact with God.

Lent is a time when we should be examining our lives:

The way we do things, and preparing for a fresh start.

A time of reorganisation.

A time for a good Spring Clean.

It's a good idea, throughout Lent to use the church building more.

It's always here and it's open from the first morning service till the end of the last service of the day - everyday.

Have a look at the Team Review and look at the services you could come to.

As well as those, Roland, Andrew and I are taking the Compline Service every Wednesday evening at 9 o'clock.

Last week it was Roland, this week it will be Andrew, and next week me, and so on. It's a beautiful service lasting no more than 15 to 20 minutes.

We should also look at our patterns of prayer, and indeed the prayers we pray so often.

You see, as we become familiar with our prayers and worship, we let the words start to wash over us and they become a background litany. We hear them but we don't always listen.

Now this can be good, believe it or not; as our thoughts drift to the things and people that are important to us in our prayer.

This can, however, often be bad; when our thoughts should be concentrated on the words we pray.

Let me explain:

In the Holy Communion Service on a Sunday morning we use many prayers regularly.

For example; The Eucharistic Prayer. You know, the bit in the middle of the service which starts:
The Lord is Here - His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts - We lift them to the Lord.
The Eucharistic Prayer is THE most important prayer in the Holy Communion Service.
There are four Eucharistic Prayers available for use in the A.S.B. We normally use the first one.
In the past, during Lent and Advent we have used the Third Eucharistic Prayer.
This Lent, we are staying with the First Eucharistic Prayer. It's the climax of prayers in the Holy Communion Service.
At the end we sing: Blessing and honour and glory and power, be yours for ever and ever. Amen.
Let me read to you the concluding words of the First Eucharistic Prayer, the words we hear so often:
"Accept through him, our great high priest,
this our sacrifice of thanks and praise;
and as we eat and drink these holy gifts
in the presence of your divine majesty,
renew us by your Spirit,
inspire us with your love,
and unite us in the body of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him, and with him, and in him,
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
with all who stand before you in earth and heaven,
we worship you, Father almighty, in songs of everlasting praise"
And what did we get this morning?
Blessing and honour and glory and power be yours for ever and ever. Amen.
It's called "The Great Amen"!
The choir were singing their little hearts out, but the rest of us, including me, fell a little short this morning.
It's BLESSING

and HONOUR

and GLORY

and POWER,

be YOURS - FOR EVER AND EVER - AMEN!

I have noticed when we use the Third Eucharistic Prayer, a similar situation.

Brother Peter Douglas pointed it out to me some years ago.

The Third Eucharistic Prayer ends:
"Send the Holy Spirit on your people
and gather into one, in your kingdom,
all who share this one bread and one cup,
so that we, in the company of all the saints,
may praise and glorify you for ever,
through him from whom all good things come,
Jesus Christ our Lord;
By whom, and with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever."
Amen.
After some of the most important words you can imagine, is that the best we can do?
Amen.
We all do it, I'm just as guilty.

It should be AMEN! It's the most important Amen in the whole service. The GREAT Amen.

But because we hear the same words every week, we get used to them, we become comfortable with them and they wash over us, sometimes without registering up here.

So, although I know the service so well, I refresh my understanding of what is actually happening by having the book open in front of me, if I can.

Letting the words re-establish their meaning, and not letting them flow past me, as sometimes they do.

There is a time, however, when it is important to let the words wash over you, so that you can pray at a different level.

Let me explain this different level of prayer that I am talking about.

It's prayer without words.

When we're doing something routine, we find that our mind wanders. We think about things, events, concerns, people we know. Without realising it, we sometimes find that we are praying.

Often, when working up on a roof somewhere, I find that I not only feel distanced from the world below, but closer to heaven above.

As I work, my mind wanders and I think of many things and concerns, people and situations.

And as my mind journeys through these thoughts, I offer them to God. Prayer without words.

Now the same sort of Prayer without words is used constantly in the Christian Church.

The Rosary:

Not just for Roman Catholics but ALL Catholics, and that includes us.

Many Anglicans are frightened of "The Rosary", because they don't know much about it or how it works, but I can tell you that many more Anglicans than you may think, say the Rosary on a regular basis.

Using the repetitive prayer of ten "Hail Marys" at a time, with your mind reflecting on one of the mysteries (there are fifteen, five Joyful, five Sorrowful and five Glorious) your mind engages into what I feel is pure prayer.

The Rosary Beads are used to help you keep count.

It takes quite a while to master the use of "The Rosary", but the rewards can be enormous.

If anyone would like information or instruction on how to use "The Rosary" (within the structure of their prayers), ask Fr. Michael or myself.

There are many other ways you can aid and structure your private prayer. Don't be frightened to try something new.

Often, it's a good idea to set to one side a special place in your house, possibly a favourite chair, or the corner of a bedroom.

The important thing is that you are comfortable, and free from distractions.

Something to focus on helps. A lighted candle, a cross, a picture or Icon, even a vase of flowers. All these things can help you to "focus" on what you are doing.

I have a book that I use:
In my book I keep a list of people that I pray for and people I have been asked to pray for. Also, in my book, I have special prayers that I like to use. I collect prayers.

I have a timetable, which I will not break, based around my life, for when I pray at various times of the day. And although when I first started, I thought it would take up too much time, I was surprised to find that I seemed to end up with more time!

This is most certainly why a structured day of worship and prayer, as you would find somewhere like Alnmouth Friary, organises your life and routine, and allows you to do so much.

There are many ways we can all renew our prayer and worship.

This Lent, with God's help, let us all do our best to keep our prayer and worship as fresh and meaningful (and regular) as we possibly can.

+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.