June 13th, 2011

Corporate Prayer

                When you hear the term, “Corporate Prayer” what comes to mind? “Pastoral Prayer”? A prayer time in a church service where a preacher simply won’t shut up? If church people are honest, prayer time in church has become nothing more than a ritual of prayer, a “thing” in the right slot in the habitual weekly order that we call “church”. What is plaguing me is not the prayer time, per se, it’s the content of that prayer time. What do we (if, in fact, it is a “we” time of prayer and not a he/she time of prayer) pray for? Who do we pray for?

                In Luke  when the Pharisee invites Jesus to dinner and the “certain woman, the sinner” washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them clean with her hair, then in an astounding move pours extremely expensive perfume upon His head, Simon, the Pharisee, was completely blinded by his very valid religion. What was he blinded to? The woman. To Simon, the woman was not only out of place, she was completely and offensively unwelcome. To Jesus, the woman is the entire point of the situation.

                So, when we pray together, as a church, a community of faith, a family of like minded believers in Jesus, do we pray from our religious habit and ritual where the individuals are largely ignored, or do we make the individuals the point; lifting, encouraging, supporting, holding up? Remember that little lesson where Jesus drops the bomb, I’m paraphrasing, “The measure you use, will be the measure by which [men] pour into your lap” I’m not saying I have the answers here, but the difference between Simon the Pharisee and Jesus is pretty startling. I’d rather offend the religious, be like Jesus, and see the person. Yea, I know, the “religion” is easier. And that is precisely the problem, is it not?

Posted: 11 months ago