Report by Marcelle Martin:
Warm weather has brought out more tourists, and Market Street in front of the Liberty Bell is now busier on Sunday afternoons. On April 29th, a young woman stopped to talk to us about why we were holding the vigils. Her companion, perhaps her mother, was impatient and said: "We have a bus to catch!" The younger one asked: "Catching a bus is more important than peace in the world?"
In a recent report (#89), a fellow vigiler wrote: "I'm coming to think that the act of prayer doesn't really have anything to do with God." I agree with him that prayer has very much to do with our own transformation. When we pray for those we love and also for our enemies, the act of prayer softens our hearts and helps us to forgive, love, and serve others. Most likely it is "that of God" within each of us that is most engaged in causing healing and transformation when we pray.
God is, of course, far greater than the sum of "that of God" in each of us, and the fullness of the Divine is a vast cosmic unity within which we human beings are infinitesimally small. I believe, nonetheless, that our prayer can reach the cosmic Divine Being and that our outer lives and our prayer experiences are meant to be a school in which we grow into our true nature and divine inheritance as sons and daughters of God. Grappling with why God doesn't seem to "answer" all prayers is part of the learning.
As I sought to pray for peace in the world during this past Sunday's vigil, I was reminded of the importance of asking for the miracle of transformation and believing it is possible. Two gospel stories were on my mind. One is the story of the Canaanite woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter. Both Jesus and the disciples repeatedly told her to go away because she was not one of their own people. Convinced that this holy man could heal her child, the woman persisted in spite of insults, and Jesus was touched. "What faith you have!" he exclaimed. He healed her daughter instantly. (Matt 15:28) For me this Sunday afternoon, the lesson of this story was to persist in believing that God could indeed perform miraculous healing. In this example and in parables, Jesus taught that although God may not respond to one's first or second or third request, God does respond to persistence and to faith that is not diminished by delays or disappointments or insults.
At the vigils I am aware that praying for peace in the world is a huge request. Peace cannot be achieved as long as injustice prevails, so to pray for peace is also to pray for justice. And peace is not only a matter of harmony among human beings, but of harmony among all the living beings and the planet itself. I am aware that with our lifestyles and many of our national practices we are committing daily violence against the planet and all its inhabitants. I am afraid of the personal sacrifices I have to make to live in a manner that is conducive to such peace, so I am praying also for the willingness to "let peace begin with me." In short, I am praying for the radical transformation of both myself and of human society.
At Sunday's vigil I thought about how people in spiritual communities in every culture are praying for peace and human welfare. It came to me that things would be much worse on this planet right now if it weren't for the faithful, persistent prayers of so many people over time. Then I stepped forward to speak with an African American man who was supportive of the vigil. "I pray for peace, too," he said. "But things just seem to keep getting worse."
"Imagine how bad they would be if we weren't praying," I said. I invited him to join us, but he was in a hurry to get somewhere.
As I prayed, I remembered another story from the gospels, the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage. In the midst of a crowd, convinced that contact with Jesus would heal her, she touched the edge of his cloak. A healing power entered into her and she was cured. Jesus, who felt the power go out of him, said: "Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well." (Matt 9:22, Mark 5:25, Luke 8:43) Remembering this story, I stood on Independence Mall in the midst of the noise and bustle of my culture and reached in my mind for the hem of the cloak of Jesus. I sought for faith that this prayer would be answered.
I have experienced small miracles, and I know from experience that God responds to prayers. When I stand on Independence Mall with my fellow vigilers, in company with praying people all over the planet who are asking for peace on earth, I know I am asking for a huge miracle. But I am also certain that it was not I — or any of my fellow vigilers — who initiated this prayer. God asked us to pray this prayer. Why? Because God WANTS to bring transformation, healing, and peace to this planet, and God wants us to participate in the process.
I've recently been studying the lives of some European medieval mystics and have been humbled by accounts of how passionately, totally they loved God, and how much they sacrificed in order to serve the Divine purposes. I am also awed by the way that God was able to perform astonishing miracles through many of them. One of the great problems of miracle stories, aside from the questions of whether they actually happened or were really miracles, is the issue of why God grants the requests of some prayers and not of others. Jesus, who said that prayer was needed for certain kinds of healing (Mark 9:29), explained that he did only what the Father told him to do; he could do nothing on his own (John 5:30). The fifteenth century mystic Catherine of Genoa administered a hospital during the plague years. Sometimes she prayed for miraculous healing for certain individuals, who were cured. Mostly, however, with patience and compassion and utter self-giving, she ministered to the physical and spiritual needs of those who were dying. Once she prayed for the healing of a dying man, and he was healed long enough for a profound spiritual transformation. Catherine explained to his wife that she knew the healing would be granted as soon as she felt the desire to pray for it, because she only prayed for someone's healing when God asked it of her. Because it was God who asked for such a prayer, she knew it would be granted.
Our prayers don't cause miracles; God does. For divine reasons we don't understand, God decides when and how such things will happen. But though we are infinitesimally small and though it is important to acknowledge our ultimate powerlessness, God wants us to pray. God requires our faith, our persistence, and our prayers in order to bring about certain miraculous acts of healing and transformation. Peace in the world is a big request, but I believe God wants people everywhere to pray for it.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE
Independence Mall Vigil for PeacePlease join us at our weekly prayer vigils for peace in the world, held in front of the Liberty Bell on Market St. between 5th and 6th, every Sunday from 4 to 5 PM. For more information, contact cityquake@aol.com.
In our reports, participants share their experiences of the prayer vigils and explore beliefs related to their participation. Reports reflect the experience of each author and do not necessarily represent the beliefs or practice of all vigil participants. We welcome your responses, which are forwarded to the individual authors (when possible). We sometimes include part of a response in a future report, unless you ask us not to.
It is meaningful to us that you share in the vigils by reading these reports and in other ways, such as joining us in prayer.
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM