“THE PRAYER THAT RECEIVES CHRIST”
Saint John 16. 23-30
Rogate - The Fifth Sunday after Easter:21 May Anno Domini 2006
Fr Watson
When the "12" had hitherto asked the Lord for things it was mostly their old "Adam" asking for mammon. They asked for food and drink and constantly wondered if there was enough bread. They asked for places at His left and right hand in what they thought would be an earthly kingdom of power. The asked for peace and quiet ("tell that yelling woman to go away Lord, send those babies and children away") and physical safety ("Wake up and save us Lord, don't you care that we're perishing"). You are all the same. Your old sinful nature, which sticks to you like a wet angora turtleneck, usually asks Jesus for the wrong things. You request stuff. You ask for creature comforts and personality massages. You sometimes demand results. You want what you want when you want it. Repent. Repent and hear the Word of the Lord.
"Most assuredly"... that means the God/Man, the Most High in flesh & blood guarantees it; it is true--believe it, "I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." Dear Saints, by the Power of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit Who empowers you to say "Jesus," to say "Jesus is Lord" (and mean it), ask the Father of Lights for His Will to be done in your lives in the Name of His blessed only-begotten Son. And it will be!
Ah, but remember just what is that holy Name that you ask intercession by? The Name is Jesus. The Name means "He saves," or "Savior." How does He accomplish this rescue? Does the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity "save" you by might and conquest? Well, to be sure, He does victoriously smash the head of the serpent, but is that the way it looks to the depraved eyes of the world; to your own ogling eyes of flesh? No, not at all, rather what you see is a "worm" drenched in sin, spit and sweat, twisting on a Cross covered in slippery-slick blood. Ah, good, now you understand what His Name really means. Now you understand the will of the Father. God loves in that He sends His Son to be the ransom, the propitiation, the substitute slaughtered lamb. Ask for this. Ask for faith. Ask for courage to confess and walk in His way.
Jesus tells His Disciples, then and now, not to worry about what to eat, what to wear, and what to drink. He tells the truth when He informs all, that life, eternal life in Him, is more than these things of mammon. He knows that you need them and He will provide. He will take care of you. These are all things which He says even the "gentiles" seek, i.e. even non-believers require clothing, "three-squares," and a roof over their head. The Psalmist says that the Lord lets the rain fall on the unjust as well as the flock of faith.
So, if "stuff" in not the "one thing needful," if you modern day "Martha's" are likewise chastised for not focusing on the enduring heavenly things, what is it that you should be praying for in Jesus' Name? What is it that you should be asking of the Father knowing that He will give it to you? Jesus! Jesus!
You don't need earthly wealth or success. You don't need bigger buildings, more toys, fuller pews, happier children, longer vacations. You don't need homilies on time management, anger-control, weight loss, better marriages, or peace in the Middle East. You need Jesus. You need the Savior. You need His salvation of you (that is faith) and you need His daily assurance of that Redemption (that is strengthening of said faith and forgiveness of sins). You need Peace.
Jesus says "ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full." The Apostle helps instruct us all on just what it is that you should, indeed need, to ask for. Paul writes "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." [1 Cor. 2.2] What do you ask for? You ask for He Who is Lord and God, true Man and true God. You receive His Body given on Calvary to pay for your wrongs. You receive His Blood shed from that tree to cover your corruption over with His perfection. You receive from His obedience and sacrifice life and light. Pray for more of Him; pray for more of His Word; pray for more of His sacramental presence. Pray like Paul when he writes "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them dung, that I may win Christ...That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings..." [Php. 3. 8, 10]
Pray to the Father by the power of the Spirit in the Name of the Son, the Name that you wear, a Name that is now yours forever +. Pray for an eager mind to grasp more tightly the Word of Life. Pray for a hungry soul and spirit that yearns for the Bread of Heaven. Pray for the real "daily Bread" which strengthens and preserves you both in body and soul unto life everlasting. Depart in Peace!
In the Name of The Father and of The Son + and of The Holy Ghost