SERMONS

Texts: John 17: 6- 20
By Stephen Gituma Guantai, Guest Preacher
May 24th, 2009

My late grandfather once said, “How good it is to know that Jesus is praying for us. It gives me joy that God has real concern for me.” In today’s reading, John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, tells us how Jesus prayed a very unique prayer for his disciples.

Knowing that his time was approaching for his return to his heavenly glory, Jesus prayed a very unique prayer. This is the only time we hear of Jesus praying in public. In many occasions, we hear of Jesus going into a lonely place, including to the mountains to pray and sometimes praying all night long (Mark 1: 9-13, 1:35, 6: 31, 14: 32-42).

I call it radical the way Jesus prayed this specific prayer. Verse 9b of Mark 1 reads, “I am not praying for the world, but for those who you have given me, for they are yours.” What does this mean? Does it mean to no longer love the world? No, I do think so. This is because he had known the hostility of the world. Therefore, he was praying this prayer specifically for his followers who were to carry his message to the world. He himself had been accused falsely, and paid the price on the cross.

As a Christian, what does prayer mean to you? How do you define prayer in your life? In relation to God, others people and all of God’s creation? And why do we pray anyway?

Generally prayer has been defined as conversation with God. I pray because I believe that in mysterious ways, God does answer our prayers, whenever we call upon his holy name. Answers to my prayers may not be answered the way I would like them to be answered. However, I do believe that God is faithful, and will take care of my situation– whatever it is.
This Memorial weekend, when we communally remember our loved ones who have gone before us, I know for many its like opening bleeding wounds. I believe no one else can fully understand the pain, except perhaps the person who has lost a loved, especially, parents who have lost their sons and daughters, wives and husbands who have lost their spouses, and children who have lost their fathers or mothers in the war, or through other means. Yet, as we remember them, let us not allow the grief wear us down. I pray that our Lord God, who is our source of comfort, will be your strength.

In his book, With Open Hands, Henry Nouwen says, “A man who prays is one who can once more breathe freedom to move where he wishes with no fear.” Nouwen reminds me of my childhood. I grew up in a country where people do not take anything for granted. Life itself has taught people how to rely on God’s mercy.

I remember it was our tradition to say prayers before taking meals, or doing any work. Being aware that there are some people who had nothing to eat, we thanked God for providing us with food, and prayed for them, who had nothing, that God may provide them too. And before going to bed, and when waking up, and starting any daily activity, a prayer of thanksgiving and for protection was always said.

For those who are parents and grandparents, or guardians, always remember, whatever you do, children are watching you and learning from you, what you say and do. The seeds you plant in them will reproduce from what they learned from you. I remember, as a small boy, when used to visit my late grandparents, God bless their souls, I learned a memorable lesson, which became the beginning of my Christian journey. Before going to bed, my grandfather used to start evening prayers by singing one of his favorite song from Kimeru Hymnal, # 17, (99) “Glory to Thee, my God, this night.” The song was a form of prayer by itself; after singing, my grandfather prayer never forgot to thank God for the blessings of the day and protection and asked God to continue protecting us and the whole world. As a child I would go to sleep peacefully assured that God was protecting us.

The next morning at 5:00am, my grandfather again would wake us up by singing his morning favorite song, # 14 of that same hymnal, “Lord of Light” As usual it was a prayer of thanksgiving, protection and blessings of the day. As I said, this was something I have always treasured in my heart. When I am praying, I can comfortably tell God things that I cannot tell any human soul. And I always feel sense of relief and peace within me. Any time I forget to pray, I feel that I have missed something. But like my grandfather used to say, I am glad to know that God in Jesus is always praying for me; (John17:9-20).

Parents who fail to teach their children how to pray in times of happiness, and tough times are not only offending God, but their children, for one day these children will look back and say, “My dad or mom never taught anything about God.” I believe that one of the essential qualities of a good and loving parent is to have a faithful prayer life. Our children need to see and hear us praying for them and for others, for our economic situations in our county and in the whole world. They need to know that there is a God who cares and protect, for St. Paul puts it, “For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of you know poets have said, we are his offspring.” (Acts 17: 28). The words and actions we leave behind will be a lasting image of who we are in relation to our creator and others.

As believers, it is a joy to know that Jesus is praying for us, praying for our protection from the evil one. More so, it is a joy to pray, praying for us as a family, and a community of faith to be one, as Jesus himself is one with God. In verse 20, Jesus said, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…..” By praying this kind of prayer, Jesus demonstrated and affirmed his mission on earth: that he came to reconcile us with God. Thus, he prayed for his entire future-followers, that they, too, may be protected and sanctified so that they may bear more fruits.

My favorite story along this line is about a lady who lived a few miles away from a church. One Sunday, she decided to attend that church. When the pastor asked the visitors to stand and introduce themselves, this lady stood and introduced herself, and she concluded by saying, “I have never been to any church, and I don’t know why I came here today.” As was sitting down, a young boy stood up, and said, “I think I know why you came here today! Our Sunday school teacher asked us to pray for someone who is not a member of our family, and I decided to pray for you. I have been praying for you for a long time, because though you seem to be lonely, you are good neighbor. I would love to have you as our neighbor even in heaven.” God has sense of humor. Later on day, the woman joined the church and committed her life to Christ.

As a Christian and a parent, I believe in the power and importance of prayer; and it breaks my heart to see that our children are denied what I call basic right, by eliminating prayer in schools. I bet that’s one reason why we have all the problems we are facing today, such as teen sex, abortion, drugs, alcohol, lies and violence in our schools and streets, and killings in the families. Parents, I want to encourage you to continue praying for your children for to protect and give them wisdom, and to have a close intimate relationship with God. And always remember prayer is the backbone of a Christian family and the church community.

Do you know of any person of faith who has ever been falsely accused of wrong-doing because of his or her faith in God? The best example for us is Daniel, who served 70 years in a foreign land, among people hostile to anyone who believed in the true God. By refusing to compromise his faith by worship other gods, he landed himself in the den lions, but he was protected by God. (Dan 6:3, 13-26) Daniel prayed for his enemies that God would change their hearts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if someone accuses you falsely because of your faith and for doing what is just, pray for him or her, so that God could keep him or her alive and safe, so that he or she can live to witness the blessings that God has in store for you. Just humble yourself before your God and God will lift you up in due time. In his 1st letter to the Christian around the world, Peter, writes, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5: 6-7).
I know I have said this before, but I will say it again—anytime life becomes tough, and you feel like running away, run to God in prayer. However, the answers to your prayers may be delayed, but God will never forget you. When we humble ourselves before they Lord, he his faithful and will carry us through tough times, even this time of world economic crises, job lay-offs– you name it—God will never abandon us.

We also need to always confess our sins to God, for, as St. Paul puts it: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and for our justification raised him from the dead.” (Romans, 5:6, 4:25). I know that nobody likes to be called a sinner, but the Word of God is very clear on this, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and that truth is not in us.” (1 John 1: 8-9) I believe that our relationship with God and others must be in one accord. Therefore, we need also to be always ready to forgive others unconditionally.

When I completed seminary the first person to challenge my theology was my own dad. When he said, that when praying the Lord’s Prayer; he does not say, “Forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us…” because, he was not sure whether everybody saying it had forgiven others. Instead, he would personalize it by saying “Forgive me as I forgive those who sin against me.” I believe that in order to have a sincere and honest conversation with God, we must first forgive those who have wronged you in any way. I know this is a great challenge for us, but if we must let the spirit of anger and hatred controls us, we are not treating ourselves justly.

I want to end this sermon by saying, for those of us who are facing what you may call the worst time in your life,–may be your family is grieving the loss of a loved one, perhaps you have lost your job, or you have been diagnosed with a certain kind of sickness and doctors have told you that there is no hope–may you always remember that someone is praying for you. Keep up your faith, keep on praying without ceasing, for as it is written in Hebrews, “ Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold firm to the faith we process. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrew 4:14-16) Amen.