Sermon: "An Image for Intercessory Prayer"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This week's sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

The Gospel just read offers us a wonderful image - an image that is both compelling and memorable.

Retell the story of the healing of the paralytic man (NB "When Jesus saw their faith" - ie. the faith of the friends.)

Two architectural notes…Rooftops typically were flat, places for rest and prayer, accessed by outside stairways…Secondly, roofs were made of wooden beams, three feet apart, and packed with brush and clay.

Why this Gospel story is so important to me. Clergy conference early in my priesthood. Bible study with colleagues. Image emerged from study of this story - intercessory prayer.

Thus, I present this visual image to you today with a meaning enriched by my own Bible study and my own prayer life for almost 30 years. Indeed, the image has been compelling and memorable for me for a long time. Thus, I offer it to you, with the hope that perhaps the image may likewise enrich your Bible study and prayer life.

What is it that concerns you most in these days? About what do you pray? Do you have on your mind and heart some special loved one? Are you particularly concerned about a friend in some need? Do you have a meeting or an event or a problem that weighs heavily on you? For instance, is the prospect of war or the part that our country is playing on the world scene of concern to you?

Whatever your concern or issue is - and whoever is uppermost in your mind - I encourage you to visualize the Gospel story today. You are one of those friends of the paralytic man. In your prayer, you place your concern or problem or loved one on a mat … and climb the roof of the house where Jesus is. You dig a hole in the rooftop. And you let down that concern or problem or loved one into the presence of Jesus. Thus, you have work to do, on behalf of the concern or person you pray for…and because of your faith, you do that work. Remember, Jesus saw the friends' faith - and then, he healed the paralytic man.

However, it is important finally to recognize that after putting your prayer request in the presence of Jesus, you have done what you can do. The rest is up to Jesus. His response may surprise us, as it did those in his presence at the scene in Capernaum. However, his response is his responsibility - not ours. And, thanks be to God for that!

May we be enriched by our reading and study of God's Word in Holy Scripture, and may we be strengthened as we take our concerns to our Lord in prayer. And, finally, may we remember the foundation for our work of faith, as we prayed in the collect today, "O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love…" Amen.

Copyright © 2003 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee