This homily was delivered at Christ Episcopal Church in Yankton, South Dakota on January 7, 2018, the First Sunday after Epiphany.
Lex orandi, lex credendi is a Latin phrase that
comes to us from a little known fifth century theologian, Prosper of
Aquitaine. The literal translation of
this phrase is “The law of prayer (is) the law of belief,” or “What we pray
reflects what we hold true in our hearts.” Lex orandi, lex credendi is part of
our Christian and Anglican heritage.
During this interim period, while we are searching
for a rector, I would like to share some reflections on this heritage by taking
a closer look at the prayers we use and probing some of the nooks and crannies, maybe even a rubric or
two, found in the Book of Common Prayer that tell us something about ourselves.
Our Book of Common Prayer identifies churches of the
Episcopal Church, first and foremost, as places of Prayer and Praise. We take
seriously what Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew (quoting the prophet
Isaiah), “My house shall be called a House of Prayer.”[1]
Prayer shapes us and how we see and interact with
the world we live in. What we say also says something of who we are. Corporate
prayer is a shared intercommunicative process that presents us as a unit in an
intentional act of communing with God. In other words, coming together in a
service like Morning Prayer or Holy Communions adds a deeper dimension to
communing with God, as doing so involves communing with one another as the body
of Christ.
Corporate prayer and worship enacts what Jesus said
is the greatest commandment: “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, all your soul, and all your mind’ and the second is like it, ‘You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.’” [2]
Our coming together to worship and pray is a visible sign and symbol of such
love in the world. This is perhaps the
most important gift our small congregation offers our community and those
seeking to better know the God who knows us better than ourselves – the
unifying love of God in Christ
In our increasingly polarized world where we can find ourselves divided on so many levels, it is in our common prayers that we find common ground and common purpose. Our prayers cross boundaries and collect us into a unified voice regardless of any apparent differences that exist. It is in the prayers that have be said by Christians throughout the ages that give us the assurance that differences can be set aside in the face of the mutual needs and in expressing gratitude for the grace of God that sustains us in faith.
The prayers in our prayer book are made up of canticles, collects, confessions, litanies, prayers of the people, sacramental prayers, suffrages, thanksgivings, and much more. All the prayers are highly crafted and present an economic use of words; saying a great deal in a few short statements.
One of the advantages to the prayers in our prayer book is that they can be said with great intention. You can study them, meditate on them, and think them through before saying them. Taking a few brief moments before the start of the service to look at the Collect for the Day and the other prayers allows one to say those prayers from the depth of one’s heart and with the totality of one’s mind and soul.
Prayer is also a kenotic act – an act of emptying
ourselves – of letting go and letting God.
Anyone who has been involved in Centering Prayer or any form of
contemplative prayer has experienced this practice of mindfully letting go and
letting God. In corporate worship, the
use of liturgical prayer is likewise intended help us let go of the smaller
self, the ego, in order to engage the large self, the Body of Christ.
So I want to start this series by briefly examining
the familiar kenotic prayer said at the beginning of every Holy Eucharist
service, a prayer we should be familiar with:
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open,
all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the
inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily
magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen[3]
This prayer is all about the heart, the core of our
being. And by core of our being, I mean
that the heart is where our God- image dwells – the essence of that being in
which we move, live, and have our being.[4] So
it should not come as any surprise that our hearts are open to God; that God
knows our desires better than we can express them, that there is nothing to
hide from God and nothing that can be hid from God.
Although God is addressed as Almighty, we know that
God is mightily in love with us – loves us deeper than we can love ourselves.
In this prayer, we acknowledge God as intimately knowing us beyond the limited
perception of our minds. There is no need to fear God knowing our desires and
secrets. Rather, we should feel a sense of comfort in knowing that we don’t
have a need for pretense or trying to find the right words to express what it
is we desire when seeking God’s help.
This prayer then asks that our hearts be cleansed-
emptied of the bothersome clutter of our thoughts – the anxieties, the emotional
baggage, the fear, the hatred and the wrong-minded desires and have them be
replaced with the breath of our origin – the inspiration of the Holy Spirit –
the purity of our original being. In that perfection – the perfection of God’s
image – we can love God as our true parent, and in that love, encounter a love
for all, that Love which words alone cannot express.
We end this prayer, as we end most collects as the
collective body of Christ, whose name we bear as our own – the name of Christ
who claims us as his own.
This is why we come to this place. This is why we worship:
To empty ourselves of all that is selfish and small
minded;
To find our true made-in-the-image of God selves, to
reclaim and proclaim our original state of grace, to be renewed by God’s
life-giving Spirit;
To commune with our larger self, the Body of Christ;
To love God perfectly, if only for a moment;
And this is why we keep coming:
Because once we walk out of these doors, we will
encounter a world that is alluring, deceptive, and imperfect; in short, a world
of our making that needs much forgiveness, much healing, and much love.
And if during this next week we are inspired by this
brief moment to bring about such forgiveness, healing, and love for just one
person; if we garner in these brief moments of prayerful worship enough
personal integrity and faith to kenotically dispense the grace offered us here
to others, the world will be a better place.
Amen.
* * * * * * * * * *
Until next time, stay faithful.
[1] See
Isaiah 56:7 and Matthew 21:13
[2]
Matthew 22: 37 - 39
[3]
“The Book of common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites
and Ceremonies of the Church together with the Psalter or Psalms of David” according to use of The Episcopal Church, The
Church Hymnal Corporation, New York, 1979, page 355.
[4]
Acts 17:28
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