ON THE GROCERYSTORE PARKING LOT
A woman walked by wearing a sweatshirt that read “PRAY, PRAY, PRAY”. It seems there is something wrong here theologically. Do we have to beg God to do the right thing? Do we have to call three times to get God’s attention? Will God be impressed by our persistence? Either God is in complete control and whatever happens will happen anyway, or God is not in complete control and perhaps pleading will help enable the good thing to happen.
On the other hand, perhaps God needs our participation in current events in order to get the right things done and is waiting for us to express our ready commitment. Then, it would seem, what is needed is not persistent prayer but actual work on our behalf in co-operation with God in order for good to triumph. Thus, what is needed is not repetitive prayer but diligent co-operative hard work. Sweatshirts bearing mottos appropriate to solid effort would be more useful.
Prayer as a way to get God to do what we think is right and good seems wrong theologically. Yet to just sit bye waiting to see what transpires and call it “God’s will” would be irresponsible. I think it is both sensible and responsible for us to view what happens as a result of a combination of what we think and work for as right and what God will and can do given the mitigating circumstances and actions of un-cooperative people. Prayer and work go together hand-in-hand.
On yet another day, on that same parking lot, I saw the former House Representative Gabby Giffords, wife of Senator Mark Kelley. You may recall she was shot in the head several years back in still another parking lot at a political rally. She continues to work, along with her husband, for peace and justice in America. Mari and I have seen her there in the parking lot several times in recent years. She is always very pleasant and friendly as she makes her way along the sidewalk ever so carefully because she is still rather crippled.
Once Mari said to her “Hello Ms. Gabby”. She smiled broadly and replied, in her high-pitched voice: “Hello. How are you?” She is always accompanied by another young woman who carries the groceries and drives the car. She is such an inspiration as she continues to work, not just pray repeatedly, for peace and justice in America. It is such a joy and inspiration to see her in the parking lot.
4 responses to “ON THE GROCERYSTORE PARKING LOT”
Many approaches to prayer. Our now retired Minneapolis pastor had dialogs with other pastors during Lent. One year the topic was prayer. A Unitarian minister said he writes poetry instead of praying. The pastor of a Black partner church said she’s a prayer warrior who sets her alarm at 2 a.m. so she can pray. The pastor of Saint Mary’s Basilica lost his chain of thought when he wanted to tell us about the Mary Prayer and instead blurted out his admiration of Pope Francis, noting that was said by one who had served under the worst bishop ever. When I did some post retirement teaching at Sheldon Jackson in Sitka, a colleague was a priest who had a dispensation from his vows so he could marry. He said asking saints to pray for us was like asking anyone to pray for us. He knew a woman who looked forward to heaven so she’d have time to be in constant prayer.
Yikes – consider the wide variety !!! I used to silently “grunt” payers toward students in my classes whom I knew were having troubles, etc. Mari and I now send silent prayers as we go along. I try to think of prayer as a way of living, but sometimes this is too “indirect” I do not think God (whoever that is) pays attention to such things – more attention to acts of kindness and even holding back nasty remarks :O) Paz, Jerry
I would like to think of “Ora et Labora” as a bit more integrated with one another than is commonly thought. Stress the “ora” and you get useless mystics who think they can leave everything to God and disdain the workers. Stress the “labora” and you get a lot of social activists who disdain those who pray and aren’t “busily at work”. I think that we, unlike President Ford, can chew gum and walk at the same time. Centering prayer is rather like zen meditation in that the practitioner can say, as does the Zen master, “See! I am chopping wood and nothing is happening!” But in the case of Christian prayer, there is a stillness that waits on God as one is busily at work. We bring God to bear on our situation in prayer that is integrated with what we do. To the Christian mystic, this is “contemplative prayer”, but it is a type that does not withdraw into contemplation as a separate act.
WOW !!! How well put, David !! Do you have or have you read Thomas Kelley’s “Testament of Devotion”? If not You would love it. Paz, Jerry