A homily given at 6pm Night Prayer on Sunday 1st January 2023, Epiphany, by The Rev’d Dr Lynn Arnold AO
Seeking God in the garden in the cool of the day.
God walked in the garden in the cool of the day. We read this in Genesis 3:8. It is a beautiful image. Over the next four weeks, in place of Evensong, we are having Night Prayer, based on the Compline service. This year we are calling the January cycle of Night Prayer a ‘Serenata of worship’ a play on two words – serenata, the Italian for a song sung in the evening (sera in Italian) and serene. As said in my words in the pew sheets for each service, we are wanting these times of worship to be:
… a prayerful tapestry based on the foundation of the Word while using the warp and weft of Prayer, Music, and Silence to create a holy cloak of worship.
During the homily time of each service, I will be reflecting on a series of prayers I encountered in 2012 as I discerned whether to proceed on a path to ordination. In that process I had followed a strict Lenten regimen according to Orthodox traditions; this included a daily search for suitable prayers which might echo my feelings that day. Thus I encountered over forty such prayers which were significant to me on that pilgrimage; over these four weeks, I will be sharing some of those as well as making some commentary about their spiritual import. This evening, I have printed out the first twelve days of these prayers – they will be available after the service. Some of these I will read out during our time of intercession tonight; while I will also refer to some others shortly.
God walked in the garden in the cool of the day. That reference from Genesis refers to an imminent time of existential crisis; for, by that fateful evening, Adam and Eve had already embarked upon transgression. God knew this had happened, asking Adam: ‘Where are you?’ This was not a question of location but of the very essence of being – ‘Just where are you now in your life, Adam?’
Up until this moment, there had been a harmonious tranquility to life in God’s garden. One of the twelve prayers [Day 7] refers to Barekendan, which the prayer interprets as being ‘the memory of human happiness that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden.’ That Armenian Orthodox prayer is prayed before the start of each Lent as part of a holiday where people joyously embark upon a period of fasting; for it is a time when they are about to embark on a journey to a more virtuous life, ‘stepping away from sorrow and grief towards joy, and from evil to good.’
It is an interesting thought, isn’t it, to embark on a hard journey with a spirit of joy. Do we embark upon prayer, even in times of difficulty with joy? It is perhaps hard to imagine Adam and Eve, pausing from their arduous exile beyond the garden, kneeling in prayer and doing it with joy. Yet, tough as their lives had become, both of them knew both that God existed; that there was a state of barekendan to which they might, with considerable effort, return. The certainty of that knowledge for them should well have been a cause of joy. Echoing this, Paul, through all his travails, wrote:
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. [Philippians 4:12]
He was content because, despite everything he endured, he knew not only that God existed but, more importantly, that God cared for his creation. Our psalm this evening affirmed this. Verse 3 said:
Our God is in the heavens: he does whatever he pleases.
And what does he please to do? Verse 12 tells us:
The Lord has been mindful of us.
Our reading from Exodus likewise reminded us of there being an omnipotent God who intervenes for us:
God said to Moses: ‘I am who I am’ [3:14]
Following this with:
God appeared to Moses saying: ‘I have given heed to you … I declare that I will you up out of misery. [3:16-17]
Finally, our reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians likewise affirmed the same ideas:
When you were dead in trespasses … God made you alive together with him. [2:13]
In each instance God reaching out; but also, in each instance, an implied outreach of humanity to God. The psalmist had been speaking to God, so too had Moses; while Paul had been responding to the Colossians who had sought to know to whom they should speak.
All of this is prayer.
On the second day of my 2012 Lenten journey, I had cited the prayer of St John Chrysostom about prayer:
Prayer is the light of the soul, giving us true knowledge of God. It is a link mediating between God and man. By prayer the soul is borne up to heaven and in a marvellous way, embraces the Lord.
My 2012 entry for the third day of that journey, was not a prayer as such, but a definition of it proffered by Kathleen Norris:
Prayer is not doing, but being. It is not words but the beyond-words experience of coming into the presence of something much greater than oneself. It is an invitation to recognise holiness, and to utter simple words – Holy, Holy, Holy – in response.
We utter simple words – Holy, Holy, Holy – in response to God’s invitation. Shortly, we will sing the hymn, Faithful vigil ended; we will hear echoes there of that ‘experience of coming into the presence of something much greater than oneself’:
All the Spirit promised, all the Father willed,
Now these eyes behold it perfectly fulfilled. [verse 2]
Similarly, our final hymn this evening – Let all mortal flesh keep silence – speaks of the awe we feel when we realise we have come into ‘presence of something much greater than oneself’:
Let all mortal flesh keep silence and with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly-minded, for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand. [verse 1]
With such awareness, we may profoundly empathise with St Columba when he prayed the prayer I cited on Day 4, finishing with:
I beg that me, a little man trembling and most wretched, rowing through the infinite storms of this age, Christ may draw after him to the lofty most beautiful haven of life.
A SERENATA OF WORSHIP
Night Prayer, January 2023
Part 1 – January 1
This year, as I lead us through the next four Sunday sessions of Night Prayer, I will be reflecting back on the time leading to my own decision to proceed along the path towards ordination back in 2012. A key part of the process of personal discernment was the following a strict Lenten practice according to the Orthodox traditions along with a daily search during the Great Lent for suitable prayers that seemed to echo my feelings along the journey. I encountered over forty such prayers which were significant to me on that pilgrimage; over these four weeks, I will be sharing some of those as well as making some commentary about their spiritual import. Each evening, our organist will guide our worship through reflective playing and accompanying us in the singing of hymns to enable our worship to reach that space where we may feel a union with God. There will also be periods of silent worship where we will wait upon the ‘still small voice of God’ amidst the busyness of our lives. I pray that this series of Night Prayer might nourish each of us.
May God bless and keep you always, Rev Dr Lynn Arnold AO
Here follow the first twelve prayers I encountered on the first twelve days of my Lenten Fast in 2012:
Day 1
The Prayer of St Ephram the Syrian:
O Lord and Master of my life, keep from me the spirit of indifference and discouragement, lust of power and idle chatter. Instead, grant to me, Your servant, the spirit of wholeness of being, humble-mindedness, patience and love. O Lord and King, grant me the grace to be aware of my sins and not to judge my brother; for You are blessed now and ever and forever. Amen.
Day 2
An extract from St John Chrysostom from his Homily 6 on Prayer:
Prayer is the light of the soul, giving us true knowledge of God. It is a link mediating between God and man. By prayer the soul is borne up to heaven and in a marvellous way, embraces the Lord.
Day 3
Kathleen Norris (from her book ‘Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith’) on the subject of prayer:
Prayer is not doing, but being. It is not words but the beyond-words experience of coming into the presence of something much greater than oneself. It is an invitation to recognise holiness, and to utter simple words – Holy, Holy, Holy – in response. Attentiveness is all; I sometimes think of prayer as a certain quality of attention that comes upon me when I’m busy doing something else. When a person – friend or foe – suddenly comes to mind, I take it as a sign to pray for them. I know several pastors who use their daily jogging run in order to pray for all the members of their churches, lingering over each name, ‘because if I don’t know that that person needs, I can be certain God does.’
Day 4
A prayer from St Columba:
O helper of workers, ruler of all good, guard on the ramparts and defender of the faithful, who lift up the lowly and crush the proud, ruler of the faithful, enemy of the impenitent, judge of all judges, who punishes those who err, pure life of the living, light and Father of lights shining with a great light, denying to none of the hopeful your strength and your help, I beg that me, a little man trembling and most wretched, rowing through the infinite storms of this age, Christ may draw after him to the lofty most beautiful haven of life.
Day 5
Prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be understood, as to understand, to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
Day 6
Prayer from St Augustine of Hippo:
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake or watch or weep tonight, and give your saints and angels charge over those who sleep. Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ. Rest your weary ones. Soothe your suffering ones. Bless your dying ones. And all for your love’s sake. Amen.
Day 7
Barekendan of the Great Lent from the Armenian Orthodox Church:
Barekendan is the memory of human happiness that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden. It is also an example of the easy life in paradise by which man was given the right to taste all the fruit except the one that grew on the tree of life which is the symbol of fasting. Barekendan is the symbol of the soul’s completely prospered virtues due to which people pass from mourning to joy, from tortures to peacefulness. It is by this perception that each Christian takes the 40-day way of Great Lent with penitence, abstinence and hope for mercy.
Day 8
Prayer of Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision:
Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.
Day 9
Prayer of St Augustine:
Lord you know those who are sore stricken and heavy of heart. As their days, so let their strength be. Heal the sick, comfort the weary, succour the tempted, give peace to the dying and light at eventide – watch over us who are still in our dangerous voyage, and remember such as lie exposed to the rough storms of trouble and temptations. Frail is our vessel, and the ocean is wide; but as in your mercy you have set our course, so steer the vessel of our life toward the ever-lasting shore of peace, and bring us at length to the quiet haven of our heart’s desire, where you, O our God, are blessed , and live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
Day 10
Prayer of St John Chrysostom:
Even if a sinner is departed, as much as we can, we must help: not by tears, but by prayers, supplications, and alms and offerings. For these were not just thought up, nor is it in vain that we remember the departed in the Divine mysteries … but that from this they might receive some comfort. At the moment of dying we all present ourselves as sinners and, hopefully, from that knowledge we seek forgiveness rather than trusting in our own self-thought virtues. Jesus descended into Hell after his crucifixion in what must been a divine praying for those already departed – if the Son of God could and would do that, then for those of us, whose time has not yet come, our prayers for the departed should be offered.
Day 11
Prayer from St Eusebius:
May I be no man’s enemy, and may I be the friend of that which is eternal and abides. May I never quarrel with those nearest to me: and if I do, may I be reconciled quickly. May I love, seek, and attain only that which is good. May I wish for all men’s happiness and envy none. May I never rejoice in the ill-fortune of one who has wronged me. When I have done or said was is wrong, may I never wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until I make amends. May I win no victory that harms either me or my opponent. May I reconcile friends who are angry with one another. May I, to the extent of my power, give all needful help to my friends and all who are in want. May I never fail a friend who is in danger. When visiting those in grief may I be able by gentle and healing words to soften their pain. May I respect myself. May I always keep tame that which rages within me. May I accustom myself to be gentle, and never be angry with people because of circumstances. May I never discuss who is wicked and what wicked things he has done, but know good men and follow in their footsteps.
Day 12:
Prayer of St John of the Cross:
O blessed Jesus, give me stillness of soul in thee; let thy mighty calmness reign in me. Rule me, O King of gentleness, King of peace. Give me control, great power of self-control; control over my words, thoughts and actions. From all irritability, want of meekness, want of gentleness, dear Lord, deliver me. By thine own deep patience, give me patience. Make me in this and all things more and more like thee.