Preach - 18th September 2022

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Luke 16:1-3

1   Timothy 2:1-7

2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, 4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For

there is one God;

    there is also one mediator between God and humankind,

Christ Jesus, himself human,

6 

    who gave himself a ransom for all

—this was attested at the right time. 7 For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth,[a] I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Luke 16:1-3

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 Then Jesus[a] said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” 3 Then the manager said to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.” 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” 6 He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” 7 Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth[b] so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

[c]

Instructions for prayer, a dishonest manager and the day before the Queen’s funeral

After a week of collective grief and reflection as a nation. I have never heard so many people say, ‘I’m not a royalist but…’ Whatever your views were before, things may have changed this week and your reaction might have even surprised you.

I have the privilege of speaking with many people about their grief. You might not see that as an immediate privilege, but I mean that. Not just here this week, but in my role. Some people do not think of God except for moments in life when they are faced with death. Church can be a place where grief is allowed, perhaps even contained. I hope and I believe that people think of God as a safe place for their grief.

Many people have been surprised at the level of grief they have felt surrounding the Queen’s death. But the reality is that her death can remind us of losses we have had in our own lives. The Queen has been a constant for so long, certainly for my children’s lives, my lifetime, even my parents have never lived under a different monarch. Any change will affect us, and it is right that we should grieve. Her death evokes memories of losing a parent, grandparent, old friend, someone we have looked up to, someone we never really imagined life without. As we prepare for her funeral tomorrow, it is good to face the reality of our feelings and we can bring them before God. 

After the collective losses and challenges we have faced over the last few years from the pandemic, there is possibly a lot of unprocessed trauma and loss in us as well, and this has probably triggered some of that within us.

When we cry emotional tears, they are different to tears from allergies or the general tears in our eyes to keep them lubricated. They contain different chemicals, and a recent discovery is that emotional tears contain more protein than the other tear types. One effect this has is to make them less sticky and therefore they fall more slowly. The impact of emotional tears falling more slowly is that they stay on your face for longer, and a theory is that this is to illicit a compassionate response from those around us. Tears may in fact be physiologically designed to draw connection from others when we need emotional support. 

What does it mean for us as humans if we are designed to seek compassion from each other? As if we are not designed to cry alone and hide away, suffer and struggle by ourselves. Some people will say they prefer to be alone when they are sad, and we respect that, but I do have to wonder if that is a genuine preference or a reaction to be shamed for having emotion. For far too long tears have been associated with weakness, and yet the shortest bible verse in existence will tell us that Jesus wept.

Jesus - fully human - fully divine - wept when he felt grief. Despite knowing the glory of the resurrection that was to come, still he wept. And I think the significance of the word is worth dwelling on here. Jesus didn’t have a little sniffle, a side tear from one eye that was quickly wiped away. 

Jesus wept when Lazarus died. He is full of compassion for his friends. We may cry on behalf of the royal family (John 11)

Jesus wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19)

Jesus also cried in Hebrews 5:7-9, During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission

Our sadness and compassion for others, are not things we should hide. Tears are an expression of our humanity. And in the same way they can connect us to each other, they can also connect us to God.

Not only does Revelation promise that God will wipe away all of our tears, but we also read in the psalms that God keeps track of all our sorrows. Sometimes the only way we can pray, is to cry. To let the Holy Spirit pray on our behalf as we weep before God (Romans 8). I have done this many times. To be completely honest before God about the sorrow in my heart and to trust him with that.

So I have said that tears are normal, they are healthy, that grieving the queen is a natural response, that tears rightly connect us to each other and to God and that tears themselves can be form of prayer. If at the same time we grieve the Queen, we are also crying for someone else, then not only do I think that is ok, but I think that is even part of her role: she represents something.

Our reading from Timothy today gives us some instructions for prayer, which are incredibly timely. Instructing us to pray for kings and all people who  are in high positions. 

It is God’s will that we pray for our leaders, whether they be literal kings - as is the case today - leaders in other areas, such as our government, our teachers, and all people who lead and guide us - people who make decisions that affect us. People who have power. 

Why should we pray for these people? They have responsibilities on their shoulders and their decisions impact our world, we want to pray that God will guide them, soften their hearts, give them strength and endurance and a vision for God’s kingdom.

As we find ourselves faced with the reality of our monarchy, grieving the old and welcoming the new, this verse is increasingly significant. 

But let’s not forget what comes just before.

We are called to pray, intercede, make supplications and give thanks for everyone. This includes kings, queens and our leaders, but it comes from a heart of praying for everyone.

I think that leaders are specifically mentioned because we might forget to pray for those who have authority over us, we might overlook that or we might not think it is our role if we see them as ‘above us’. I know I can have a massive inferiority complex if I am ever asked to pray for a leader, there are so many people who I deeply respect and look up to as Christians, amazing leaders - intercessors - prophets - preachers - worship leaders.

And suddenly if I find myself in a position to pray for them, I can think, who am I to pray for them?

Well this is really an issue of false pride. Who am I not to pray for them? And why am I any less or more worthy to pray for different people? Do I think I am better than someone people and so my prayers are justified? Surely the question should be, why am I not feeling inferiority complex when I pray for others? All of God’s children are worthy of prayer, and I am equally qualified to pray for any of them, as are all of us. All of our prayers hold the same value to God. So we are instructed clearly to pray for our leaders, to humble ourselves and remember them in their roles and duties, and in doing so to pray for everyone. When we pray for the leader of a nation, we are praying for that nation. 

And when we grieve as a nation, and consider the tremendous impact her majesty the Queen had upon the world, we are joining in with the heart cry of the people. When we weave in our own grief, the tears are mingled together, we are connected to the heart beat of God: of Jesus weeping for Lazurus and for humanity.

Our gospel passage is about the dishonest manager, which we cannot unpack fully today, but I will add this: I think a key theme of this parable is making preparation for life after death. The manager needed to make plans for what would happen after he lost his job - Jesus reminds us that we need to be prepared for what happens when we die - we must hold that in mind in living our lives - we will answer to God for the things that happen on earth. Any death of someone we know reminds us of that reality. It can cause us to reevaluate our beliefs, or perhaps check over our accounts - are we prepared for death? Are we ready to meet God and face what we have done?

As we pray for the new King, perhaps we can also pray for the new age for our nation and for ourselves. When we pray and ask God to bless things, we are not enhancing their sacredness, but rather we are acknowledging that. This is important. We ask God to bless King Charles, to bless our country, this place, us. We are acknowledging the sacredness of these precious things, and we are privileged to do that. It is part of the calling on each of our lives, whether ordained or not: to pray, to bless, to comfort each other in our grief. We can bring God’s blessing to places where it feels lonely or broken. Where human failures and weakness have left a gap.

Because it is God’s desire that all people be saved, that all people know the truth. God wants this so much, that he gave himself as a ransom. We are standing on the brink of a new dawn and we have been called to pray - to pray for everyone. To stop, to look around and to notice, and to be honest with ourselves, each other and with God.

Perhaps we could think about this connectedness and togetherness tomorrow during the funeral, is there anyone who might be alone that would appreciate someone to watch the funeral with? It is God’s very nature to be in communion - the Holy Spirit, Jesus, the Father are all in communion together and with us. So when we are in communion - connected - together with others - ad we pray for them and sit along side them - we are reflecting the very nature of God.

Amen.