The Jesus Prayer

Scripture Readings

New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition Psalm 8

1 O LORD, our Sovereign,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants

you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,

to silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars that you have established;

4 what are humans that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them?

5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God

and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under their feet,

7 all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Sovereign,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition Philippians 2

5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he existed in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

assuming human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a human,

8 he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death—

even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God exalted him even more highly

and gave him the name

that is above every other name,

10 so that at the name given to Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

WWTW- Libby

Introduction: A Short Sermon

We’re continuing our series on prayer.

I knew that I wanted this series to walk us through different prayer practices that the church has used, and to remember that no matter the mechanics, the goal of our prayers was to connect us with God.

Today’s prayer is super long.

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God//Have Mercy on Me//A Sinner.

…this might be a shorter sermon than usual.

But indulge me a moment, let’s practice with this one.

We alternate the phrases with our breaths.

Breathe in “Lord Jesus Christ.”

Breathe out “Son of God.”

Breathe in “Have mercy on me”

Breathe out “A sinner.”

Got that?

Let’s try it a couple more times.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me, A sinner.

Power in the name

The church since it’s inception has known that there is power in the name of Jesus Christ, and this prayer absolutely makes use of that.

A word of caution here:

Not magic words

There are some Christian traditions that have taken this idea that there is power in the name of Jesus to a place where, Jesus serves almost as the phrase “Hocus Pocus”

(turns out that phrase itself has it’s origins in Christianity too, but if you want to hear more about that come see me after worship)

There are some traditions that treat the name of Jesus as some kind of talisman that can grant whatever wishes their hearts desire.

And, I don’t think that’s quite what we mean by saying there’s power in the name of Jesus.

But too often Christianity ignores…Christ.

There are so many Christians I know who will talk about their faith in God, sure.

But when they do, God almost sounds like some kind of nebulous, hard to pin down idea.

And if you drill down just a little bit, the God they are describing sounds an awful lot like themselves only on steroids and the ability to destroy people with lightning.

Frightening.

One of the best compliments I ever got was when I preached at a camp.

One of the kids came up to me and said “Oh, you’re one of those Jesus-y Christians.

…Are there other kinds?

But in fact, there are those who recommend being “Red Letter Christians.”

In some of your Bibles, you might notice that the words of Jesus are written in red letters.

While we don’t want to ignore the rest of the scriptures by any stretch, Red Letter Christians place a whole bunch more weight on the words that Jesus himself said.

Reading through it, I think Paul might have called himself a Red Letter Christian, especially here in Philippians 2.

Philippians- Take on Jesus’ mind

Paul invites us to have the same mind in us as Jesus had.

That is, to orient our minds so that we see the world the way that Jesus saw the world.

It sounds like a tall order, but then Paul uses this beautiful language to explain to us what he means.

It’s called “The Christ Hymn,” and some scholars think it might legitimately be the first Christian song written.

Paul probably borrowed it from the churches who would have been singing it in their worship services.

So what does this hymn have to teach us?

Jesus is God

For starters, this is a topic that has exploded the brains of confirmation students for generations!

But for today, this is important to look at for something specifically important.

To those who have that nebulous, hard to pin down vision of God, Jesus has something to say about that.

Because Jesus is God in human likeness, we understand what God is like a whole lot better.

Through Jesus, we come to understand that God offers Grace before judgement.

Through Jesus, we come to understand that God is interested in healing the broken places in the world.

Through Jesus, we come to understand that God is on the side of the outcast, the burn out, and the left behind.

And most importantly, through Jesus we come to understand that God wants to be with us, rather than viewing God as some kind of cosmic kill joy who would rather punish us than spend the afternoon in our presence.

Jesus tells us what God is like, because Jesus is God.

If you have a vision of God that doesn’t line up with the Red Letters, then perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your perception of God.

Humility

The second thing that Paul badly wants us to know about Christ, and in fact to imitiate Christ’s thinking, is about humility.

Jesus is God, and one assumes that comes with a few perks.

Preferred parking, omnipresent power, and universal control to name a few.

So Jesus could have taken all that power for himself, decided that we would just have to work things out on our own, and left us to our own devices.

And would we have blamed him for that?

Instead, Paul says that Jesus “emptied himself”

The word here in Greek is Kenosis, and it has a lot to do with power and laying power aside.

Suppose someone played and won the upcoming powerball.

And when they went to claim their prize, they passed a person experiencing homelessness, and handed them the ticket.

Kenosis.

Jesus takes all that power, all that ability, all that inheritance, and chooses to empty himself of all of that for our benefit.

Here again lies the power of the name of Jesus.

Your bank teller is most likely not going to empty themselves for your benefit.

Your boss is most likely not going to empty themselves for your benefit.

Your work bestie is most likely not going to empty themselves for your benefit.

And hear me on this one again Church, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are not going to empty themselves for your benefit.

But Jesus did.

And Jesus does.

And Jesus will.

We’re supposed to have the same mind as Christ, and while we’re not likely to totally empty ourselves out for someone else, what does it look like to at least engage in that practice a little bit?

What does it look like to empty ourselves, to use our advantage to lift someone else up?

What does it look like to empty our wallets a little bit so that those who have nothing can have a little bit more?

What does it look like to empty our prestige and popularity so that those on the fringes of society can be made to feel welcome?

What does it look like to empty ourselves of anger and vitriol and holding a grudge so that we could fill others with love, peace, and forgiveness?

What if the same mind that was in Christ was in us?

Obedient

Again here, we need to be cautious!

There are people out there in the world who will use this line of thinking, this language of obedience, to demand obedience to their reading and understanding of the scriptures.

In some churches, obedience to the pastor or the elder board, or the church’s doctrinal statement, gets confused for obedience to God.

Here, we note that Jesus was obedient to the mission, no matter what it cost him.

The mission was connection with humanity.

The cost was setting aside all that God power to become human.

The mission was the redemption of the world.

The cost was the cross.

The mission was buying back the creation.

The cost was Jesus’ life.

Now again, we want to have the mindset of Christ, but we aren’t Jesus.

(Thank God!)

So we have a slightly different mission.

We have the one he gave us.

Are we obedient to loving God with all of our heart mind soul and strength?

Are we obedient to loving our neighbor as ourselves?

Are we obedient to a life without worry, because even the sparrows are taken care of?

Are we obedient to a life of generosity, where even the workers who show up at the end of the day get more than what they deserve?

Are we obedient to the life of grace, where forgiveness is the first word we speak and not a last resort?

Are we obedient to that mission?

And are we prepared to pay the cost?

Are we prepared to set aside the things we love in and about ourselves to be able to properly love God and neighbor?

Are we prepared to set aside the false sense of control our worries can sometimes present us with?

Are we prepared to give of our resources in order to live a more generous life?

Are we prepared to offer forgiveness and set aside our own hurts and pains?

Powerful name

All of this points us back to the Jesus prayer.

Paul says that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

That’s a powerful name.

And that’s why the Jesus Prayer can be so very helpful for us:

What the Jesus Prayer Does

Keeps Jesus Name on our lips

There are a lot of versions of Christianity that don’t have anything to do with Jesus.

It’s sad, but true.

Imagine what it would look like to start our day reminding ourselves of who we follow.

Lord Jesus Christ//

Not me…

Not my ideas…

Not my interpretation of the text…

Not the news…

Not politicians…

Lord Jesus Christ//

We’ve talked about in sermons how easy it is to be distracted these days.

This prayer has the ability to center us on Jesus Christ, and keep our focus where it needs to be.

Names Jesus as God

Do we have a hard time remembering what God is like?

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God.

This prayer reminds us that if we want to know who God is, we look at Jesus.

God is kind, because Jesus is kind.

God is welcoming, because Jesus is welcoming.

God is just, because Jesus is just.

And it’s important that we stick to Jesus’ vision of justice, and not our own.

God is loving, because Jesus is loving.

God is generous because Jesus is generous.

God is merciful, because Jesus is merciful.

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God.

Reminds us of our place in all of this.

That mercy is important.

This prayer reminds us of the truth we all know, but seldom like to admit: We are sinners.

I did a Google image search for sinner, and do you know who’s picture popped up?

EVERYBODIES!

We get it wrong!

We mess up!

We say the things we wish we hadn’t.

We hurt those who are closest to us.

When we get a choice between God’s way of doing things and our way of doing things, we choose our own. Every. Single. Time.

We are sinners.

But…not just sinners.

We are sinners in possession of God’s great mercy.

This prayer only asks for one thing.

Have mercy on me//a sinner.

What if the mercy of God was the only thing we were looking for this week?

What if we were a little less hard on ourselves because of our failures?

What if we saw ourselves the way that God sees us in Christ?

What if we completely bought in to the mercy of Christ?

What if we did that? I bet we’d be more merciful.

When we are in possession of the mercy of Jesus, we can give that mercy to others.

We can be more kind.

We can be more loving.

We can be more forgiving.

We only ask for one thing in this prayer.

Firstly, it’s the one thing God is most eager to give us in Christ.

And secondly, as they say in the recovery movement, we can only keep what we have by giving it away.

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God//Have Mercy on Me//A Sinner.

How can we use the prayer?

Prayer walk

On Friday, I had the blessing of being able to spend some time at the prayer labyrinth at Garfield Farm.

Side note: The labyrinth is an amazing, maybe one of my favorite prayer tools.

But the whole time I was walking, this was the prayer I was breathing through.

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God//Have Mercy On Me//A sinner.

But you don’t need a labyrinth to do this one.

Some folks in this congregation have caught me, some times when I have a little bit of time in the middle of my work day I’ll head over to the Monroeville Mall, get in touch with my inner silver sneaker, and walk around the mall.

You know what’s going on in my head?

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God//Have Mercy on Me//A Sinner

Sometimes I go back down behind the church and walk on the trail.

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God//Have Mercy on Me//A Sinner.

Sometimes I go out for a walk in my neighborhood at night…

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God//Have Mercy on Me//A sinner.

That, by the way, is a great practice if you want to pray for your neighbors.

Watching the news

I was watching the news the other day, and I laughed at how many blood pressure medication ads came up.

That have to know…right?

They have to know that their business model, regardless of their partisan affiliation, is built around keeping us afraid of darn near everything, and so it raises our blood pressure.

So when I’m trying my level best to be an informed citizen, but the news is raising my blood pressure through the roof…

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God//Have Mercy on Me//A sinner.

It has the two-fold habit of bringing our blood pressure down without medication…

But it also reminds us of who’s in control of our futures…and it’s no one on the screen.

Reminding us what’s important.

I think we have some trouble with focus, don’t we?

I have on more than a few occasions walked into the laundry room, a room which has only and exactly one purpose and function, and forgotten why I was there…

I have been in the car with every intention of going home, and getting lost along the way because I was lost in my thoughts.

I have been in debates in churches that started as a discussion on how best to preach the gospel, but found their way to be an argument on what color the carpet should be in the sanctuary.

I have been in discussions about politics that start as how best to serve the citizenry, but found their way to hurtful and derogatory comments about our own fellow Americans.

We have some trouble with focus.

I think this prayer brings us back to earth.

It reminds us that there is a God, and it’s not us.

It reminds us that if we want to know that God, we look to Jesus.

It reminds us that we are far from perfect, and that we are in desperate need of mercy.

And it reminds us that Jesus is always quick to give us that mercy.

To be honest, almost everything beyond that is bonus.

Those are the essentials.

Lord Jesus Christ//Son of God//Have Mercy on Me//A Sinner