Become the change for which you pray

ON THIS third Sunday in Lent, how might the words of an old hymn speak to us as a nation and as individuals? I share with you, words from the lovely hymn, Father Hear the Prayer we Offer.

“Father, hear the prayer we offer:

not for ease that prayer shall be,

but for strength that we may ever

live our lives courageously.”

One of the beautiful things about hymns is the way they convey theological truths and messages without repetition, which has its place in many choruses. However, these hymns make certain statements to convey lessons, reminders, and theological truths. Prayer, then, is not to be limited to ease. Prayer invites us to a resolve for courageous living. For example, we seek to become the change for which we pray. Prayer against corruption is not enough. Living against corruption, injustice, and wickedness must be part of our daily life and living.

Jamaicans must courageously speak out and act out for the Jamaica that we want to become. The passenger must no longer be silent while the driver violates the lawful use of the road. The citizen must no longer remain silent in the face of any kind of injustice. The politician must no longer serve partisan politics above Jamaica. Let us pray for strength to live our lives courageously.

“Not for ever in green pastures

do we ask our way to be;

but the steep and rugged pathway

may we tread rejoicingly.”

Jamaicans are no strangers to steep and rugged pathways, literally and figuratively. However, nowadays, there is a temptation to give in to messages that create the impression that as long as you are a Christian, you will forever be in green pastures. The prosperity gospel concept even has many thinking that if they do not acquire the bling and hype, then it means that God is not with them.

There is this false sense of spirituality that suggests that those who are good and godly are those who gain the bling. Material gain becomes, for some, the image of blessedness, and even holiness. The songwriter reminds us that our prayer should not be to forever be in green pastures, but instead, our prayer should be for joy even when the pathway is steep and rugged.

“Not for ever by still waters

would we idly rest and stay;

but would smite the living fountains

from the rocks along our way”.

There was a time when every Jamaican grandmother and grandfather would know and teach the family Psalm 23, which speaks of God’s care when we are passing by still waters. “He leadeth me beside still waters.” The hymnwriter recognises that we cannot always stay idly by still waters. We must also move into action. Like Moses in Exodus 17, we, too, must realise that the seemingly lifeless rocks along our way may be sources of life and thirst-quenching, refreshing water.

From all the reports and even the dryness we see around, not only are we in a meteorological drought. Fruit and vegetable prices are expected to soar. When the people were hit with thirst in the desert, they complained bitterly. They even quarreled with Moses. Seasons of drought sometimes bring in dry seasons for the political powers, too. While temporal leaders must do all in their power to mitigate various crises, the Hebrew people recognised that they too were called to trust in God, even as Moses lead the example of faith.

“Be our strength in hours of weakness,

in our wanderings be our guide;

through endeavour, failure, danger,

Father, be thou at our side.”

This prayerful hymn ends with a call on God as the source of strength. Look back on the words. Not only are we experiencing various challenges as individuals, but we are also challenged as a nation. Yes, we hear of good news and good signs of positive macroeconomic indicators and a return to some pre-COVID markers of growth. And yet, at the micro level, there is much challenge in terms of housing, employability, healthcare, insurance costs, and so on.

There is even evidence to show an increase in depression across the lifespan. Even when there are green pastures, even when there is material gain, life can still feel dull and uninspiring at times. Lent reminds us that life also includes moments in the desert of hunger, thirst, heat, drought, and despair.

The Revised Common Lectionary uses lessons that remind us of not only the rock struck by Moses; but also, in Psalm 95, reminds us that God is the rock of our salvation. In Exodus 17, the people complained bitterly of their hunger and thirst. In John 4, the woman at the well discovered that Jesus was indeed the rock that provided spiritual, thirst-quenching refreshment. Saddleback Church in California clearly understands that the woman at the well was also commissioned by Christ. They got the memo which states that what really matters is worship in spirit and in truth.

The Southern Baptist Convention, which ousted Saddleback Church for affirming the pastoral leadership of a woman, stands in a long line of believers who love Jesus so much that they are unable to encounter his life-giving and liberating approach to women. We would do well to look more closely at John 4, in which Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well breaks taboos around gender, religion, and culture!

Like Moses who listened to God’s order to strike the rock at Horeb, we, too, must strike the rocks along our way. We, too, must hear God’s promise to be with us. “I will be standing there before you on the rock at Horeb.” By faith, I am proclaiming that our rock is Jamaica, upon which God indeed stands. However, it is we who must now ‘strike’ the rock. We must also respectfully engage the women at the riverside and at the standpipes and in our boardrooms in their quest for water.

May we know that God is still with us in the wilderness of Lent. May we be inspired as we pray the words of the Collect for the third Sunday in Lent. “Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

- Fr Sean Major-Campbell is an Anglican priest and advocate for human rights. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.