The Prayer Inside, The Prayer Outside
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, June 15, 2025
Jesus wants to redirect our attention to things that are eternal. Sometimes he uses strong words. Like today. They are meant to shake us and wake us up to what is real, that is, to what is eternal. The Lord wants to redirect us from our earthly cares and agendas to enter into intimate communion with him, so that we may, literally, becomes as he is, divine.
St. Teresa of Avila wrote something very simple that, I believe, encapsulates what today's Gospel reading is really about.
"The Lord is in us and we should be there with him." We spend nearly all our time rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic (everything we see is passing away) and very little time with Christ in the silence of the heart.
The Psalmist says much the same, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence my help comes. My help comes from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth." (Psalm 121:1) Here "the hills" is a metaphor for the heart. Where Christ is is where we must look for help. And he is within. "Some trust in chariots and horses, but I will trust in the Lord, our God." (Psalm 20:7)
The Lord speaks of the heart as the place of prayer. "Go into your inner room, but the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret." (Mt. 6:6) How often do we do that? We should every day and often. Are we frightened by the silence of the heart? I think so. But why?
Because to enter the heart of silence is to let go of control. I think that is what we fear most. And yet that is what we most need to do. Faith is letting go, not holding on. Faith has wings.To put them on we must let go of the ties that bind us and take the risk of letting go and letting God. Yes, it is a frightening thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Hebrews 10:31), but it is the one necessary thing. There our false selves must die in the fires of unquenchable love and then we shall rise up with wings as eagles. That is for those that learn to "wait upon the Lord". (Isaiah 40:31)
Prayer and the whole of the spiritual life is meant to rewire our brains. Each time we attend liturgy with attentiveness and focus, enter into the heart and practice stillness and quiet, engage in acts of selfless charity, and fast and pray new neural pathways are created and our minds change. The effect of consistent spiritual practice is significant and scientifically measureable. Read the research for yourselves. We really must become "co-workers with Christ" as St. Paul discovered.
We spend far too much time worrying about belief and form and so little time on spiritual practice. That is why many find the Liturgy dry and lifeless. We come to the marriage feast with empty lamps. Fill them up during the week and then come to the Divine Liturgy and God will certainly light them.
After awhile these new neural pathways produced by spiritual practice will become our default setting and then we will begin to transform and see what putting on the mind of Christ is all about for our small efforts join with the grace of God in us and we will see that Christ truly is "all in all".
So, let's dedicate ourselves to practicing our faith, not just believing in it.