Take Time, Make Time to Pray
a sermon based on Luke 9:28-36
by Dr. Cynthia Huling Hummel

I caught up with my friend Tony this past week and he was telling me about a men’s camping weekend he went on last spring.  Eight or so men from his church had signed up for the trip.  Some of the guys left straight from work and some met at the church and carpooled together.  They’d made most of the plans by email and phone and they sorted out who was going to be responsible for shopping and who would be cooking the meals.  They would be staying in cabins (not tents) but there were still many details to work out like who would bring (or gather) the firewood, sleeping arrangements, and that sort of thing.  After weeks of planning, the big day arrived and the forecast wasn’t good.  The weather channel predicted rain all weekend, with a chance of snow in the higher elevations.  Despite the grim predictions, no one canceled.  Maybe the men knew that it would be too hard to reschedule or maybe they figured a weekend away from the wives (and their list of chores) was not something that any of the men wanted to miss.  They decided to tough it out. 

By Sunday, this group of acquaintances, was a group of friends.  Tony said there was a bonding, a special closeness.  Tony didn’t go into any of the details, but you could tell by the way his face lit up, that something wonderful had transpired and that he was transformed.   He had a mountaintop experience: a holy moment when he experienced God’s presence in a powerful way.  Tony said  “It was prayer that made it a different weekend.  Don’t get me wrong…we certainly aren’t holy rollers, just guys having  a good time.  But it was different than other camping weekends I’d been on.  I’m quite sure it was because we took the time to pray—and because we did that, I think that we were open to being transformed: that we knew going into this weekend that it could change our lives and it did.    Moments of transformation begin with moments of prayer.  We need to take the time and make the time to pray and that is what we’re going to talk about this morning.  

Luke tells us that about eight days after --- (after what?) The miraculous feeding of the 5,000 and after Peter’s confession, that Jesus took three of his followers: Peter, John and James and they went up on the mountain to pray: our mountaintop experiences begin with prayer.  I think we would all agree that we can stop and pray anywhere.  And Jesus could have too, but he chooses to take the time, to go to the mountain to pray.  It seems to me that there is something important in this for us to consider.  Perhaps (like Jesus) we need to make the time and take the time; to go to our prayer place to spend time listening and talking to God. Yes, I know that we can pray anywhere (in the car, in the shower, while cleaning), but I’d like us to consider following Jesus’ example.  Where is your prayer place?  

Where is that special place, that special space where you and I feel God’s presence in an especially powerful way?  Where is that place where we would bring 2 or 3 friends and go to pray?  Perhaps it’s the beach, perhaps a garden, perhaps it’s a special place in the woods..  I’ve shared with many of you, that one of  the places that I go to for prayer is the monastery.  As soon as I walk in to the sanctuary, I feel a peace that passes all understanding.  When I chant the psalms with the monks, I feel bathed in the music and surrounded by God’s love.  If you haven’t found a prayer place, I would like to invite you to come to sit in our  sanctuary during the week. I’d love to hear about your prayer place: where it is that you go to be close to God.  Remember---moments of transformation begin with moments of prayer.  Jesus shows us that we need to take the time and make the time to pray.

            Jesus could have gone to the mountain by himself, but Luke tells us that Jesus chose to bring 3 of his disciples with him.  I tend to like to be by myself when I pray, but Jesus shows us another way and that is solidarity instead of solitude.  There is something special about praying with and in the presence of others.  There is something very intimate about inviting others to be with us when we pray.  And so I offer that as a possibility for you to consider.  As we begin our Lenten journey, on Ash Wednesday, to consider being part of our prayer group.  (You can pray in silence  or pray out loud.)  Consider this for your Lenten discipline.  Remember that moments of transformation begin with moments of prayer.  Let’s take the time and make the time to pray together.

            Luke tells us that Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep.  It was night and Peter and the others were tired.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I am praying- especially at night, my eyelids get so heavy and my body so relaxed, that my mind starts to drift and I can’t stay focused.  I’ve even been known to fall asleep in the middle of my prayers.  I hope that God is more understanding than I would be if someone fell asleep in the middle of our conversation.  Luke tells us that even though Peter and the others were sleepy, they stayed awake.  Because they stayed awake, they experienced Jesus in his glory.  They didn’t miss it. 

One of my goals this Lent is to stay more focused and more alert when I pray.  I’ve been using prayer beads as a way of keeping my mind from wandering.  What keeps you focused when you pray?  Do you like to meditate to music?  To light a candle?  To kneel or to walk?   You might consider trying one of these.  We need to apply the same discipline that we use in other areas of our life (like getting regular exercise)  to our prayer life.  It helps to set aside a specific time to pray, a time when you’re not sleepy or hurried.  A dear friend emailed me to tell me that she prays for me every morning at 9:00 am.  And she  invited me to join her in prayer.  And so I try to make that space every morning to join her as we pray for one another, for our church families and for those we love.   Sometimes having a prayer partner or a shared prayer time helps us to keep our discipline.  Moments of transformation begin with moments of prayer.  Can we take the time and make the time to pray?

            Peter was moved by what he experienced on the mountain.  He said “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings: One for you; one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  Peter experienced the holy.  He witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration (his transformation) and was transformed himself.  Peter wanted to honor the moment, to preserve the moment; to freeze it in time.  I think most of us are a lot like Peter, when we come face to face with the holy, we want to hang on to it—but my experience with holy moments is that they are fleeting.  We can’t hold on to them.  And yet they stay with us because we are changed forever.  They live on in our hearts.  We remember our holy moments with a sense of awe and wonder, knowing that God was (and is) very near.  Peter’s encounter with God, was not tranquil, but filled with turmoil and terror.  A cloud came and overshadowed Peter and the others and they were terrified. And in that moment of terror, God spoke saying “this is my chosen, (my beloved) listen to him. “ 

 Suddenly Jesus was alone and (Luke says) they kept silent and in those days told no one of the things that they had seen.”   Why silence?  Perhaps the three didn’t think that anyone would believe their story.  But I believe that their silence was rooted in something much deeper than that.  I believe that Peter and the others needed time to ponder and pray about what they experienced.  When we are transformed by the presence and power of God in our lives, we need time to “process” what we’ve been through.  We need to hold these precious times in our hearts- they are not for sharing… at least not yet.    I was thinking about Tony and about the men’s camping weekend and the way his face glowed when he spoke about it.  Tony recognized that what made the men’s camping weekend special, what set the tone; was that they began in prayer and prayer opened them to experience the presence and power of God.  Moments of transformation begin with moments of prayer.  We need to take the time and make the time to pray.  Amen.