Prayer

During Lent, many people choose to fast in various ways. We give up meat, or alcohol, or chocolate, or we may give up a practice that we usually like to do. But there are times when we are put into a situation where we are asked to break our fast. We may be invited to dinner, and the hosts serve us something we have given up. They may not know of our fast, so no disrespect is intended. What should we do? That’s what today’s story addresses.

They said there was a man in Syria who lived near the way into the desert, and it was his work faithfully to refresh every monk who came from the desert, at whatever time he came. One day a hermit arrived, and he offered him food. But the hermit refused, saying, "I am fasting." The man was saddened, and said, "Please do not pass over your servant, do not scorn me. Let us pray together. Look, here's a tree; let us obey him for whom the tree bows down when he kneels and prays." So the hermit knelt and prayed, but nothing happened. Then the man knelt down, and at once the tree bent its trunk. They rejoiced at the sight, and gave thanks to God who is always doing wonders.

A few things to note here: the man who provides refreshment does not browbeat the hermit into submitting to eat. Instead, he is humble, and asks for God’s guidance, through the sign of the bending tree. That the tree bowed down of course sounds like the tree was praying, a lovely image. It also suggests that there are many kinds of prayer, that is, many ways of communing with God. Fasting is one, so is kneeling down and praying. But offering hospitality is also a critical form of prayer, for God is not far away in heaven, but right here, with us, in us, between us. In hospitality offered in love, God is present, and thus, this is a form of prayer. Peace. 

-Rev. Stephen Milton, Lawrence Park Community Church, Toronto

Quotation source: The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks, Translated by Benedict Ward, ( London, 2003), p. 136.

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