2003--The Presentation of Jesus--XV

2003--The Presentation of Jesus--XV

Scripture Reading Luke 2:22-23 (page 725 in the Pew Bible)
22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"),

We welcome all of you to this service. In particular, I want to welcome members of the media. For the last several years you have told this story to the world in a remarkably sympathetic and kind way. You have inspired hope in many lives. You have every right to claim your share of credit for many of the stories that are being told in this place today.

This is the fifteenth year we have observed the Presentation of Jesus by praying for infertile couples. The first year it happened kind of spontaneously and we prayed for two couples. One had a baby about nine months later and the other adopted. We felt like both were answers to prayer. That is what got us started and we have never looked back.

In 1996 the Eastside newspaper found out about this service and did a story on one of the couples who came. From that point on everything changed. We went from praying for 10 couples to praying for 100. It got so big we got other churches involved and started shifting people to their services. Whenever someone would call from around the country, I would try to get them to go to their own church and ask for prayer and get a service started in their church. Many did. Many more kept coming here.

In 2000 we reported 80 babies. By 2002 it had grown to 150. This year we passed 190 babies as of service time. These are babies that people report to us saying the service, and God’s grace, was a critical part in their success.

We don’t emphasize the miracle aspect of this Sunday as we used to. We didn’t celebrate the adoption stories as we do now. We didn’t really celebrate the medical intervention stories as we do now. And we didn’t say much about those who did not get the answer they came hoping for. The emphasis for the service has changed. We still pray for and receive miracles. However, now we call it a day for prayer, love, and support.

Even though we have seen all these babies born, we have come to realize that there are several parts to what happens here.

The first thing is that we bring infertility out into the open of church conversation. Many people without children feel isolated in church. Everything is about the family and they feel incomplete. Some couples don’t go to church on Mother’s Day. We get email all the time thanking us for just having the service. It validates people in the struggles of their lives.

Second, we don’t claim more success than we have. We try to be very honest about the fact that many people will not receive the answer they hope for. In fact, more will not receive the answer they hope for than will receive. That is where the love and support come in.

If you are worried about not having enough faith, stop worrying. There is no shortage of faith in this room today. You may not have much faith but you came. That took faith. Jesus said that faith as small as a grain of mustard faith is sufficient. Besides, even if you have none, there is plenty to be borrowed here this morning.

If you are worrying about positive mental attitude, stop worrying. I can almost hear some of the conversations coming here. You don’t want to let your hopes get too high so one of you takes the role of reality bearer. “Let’s just see what happens.” We do this, quite reasonably, as a way of protecting our heart from further disappointment. The story of infertility is one disappointment after another. It’s a roller-coaster. Hope and despair are on a teeter totter. First one is up, then the other one. This is not how the Kingdom of God works. This may come as a shock to some, but it isn’t your brain that produces babies!

If you are worried about sin, stop worrying. I got an email last night from a lady who said “We wanted to have a baby but it never happened. We tried to do several invitro but failed. I feel like I am being punished. Please pray for me and my husband to be strong and not to feel like we have been betrayed.” I hear that kind of thing all the time. People feel that God is somehow looking for sins and counting them. It is the Santa Claus syndrome: “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town. He knows if you are sleeping. He knows if you’re awake. He knows if you are good or bad so be good for goodness sake.” But that can’t really be true. If that was true, how could miserable, wretched people have kids? Why can’t some of the very finest people have kids?

For the sake of argument, lets say that you have sinned. Why should I say, “for the sake of argument?” The fact is you have sinned. If sinning prevented having children, no children would have ever been born on the planet. Adam and Eve were created. They sinned. That would have been the end of it. The Bible would have had two people and two chapters. The only people who would have been happy would be the radical environmentalists, and they wouldn’t have been born either.

Besides, God has a solution for that problem. James, the brother of the Lord said, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”[1] The very act of coming to the Lord for healing, as you are today, includes forgiveness of sins. We are coming to the Lord because of a desperate need. He knows that our needs are on two different levels. We have the physical need to be healed of whatever disease, disorder, or dysfunction that leaves you without a child. We have the spiritual need to be right with God. As we trust in him, he forgives us of our sins.

If you are worried about understanding all this, stop worrying. I got an email on Friday from a lady in New York who has had one of those presentation babies. She thinks I am a Catholic Priest. She calls me Father Joe. She wanted to know if this was the Sunday for the special Mass so she could light some candles and pray for everyone.

This service is the end of the line for those kinds of attitudes. We are going to give this problem to God. We are going to pray that the peace of God settles over your soul and you will be at peace no matter what the outcome of this service might be.

Read the Prayer cards:

Heavenly Father,

Mary and Joseph had the joy of presenting Jesus in the temple. Thank you for the blessing of our children. Bless every married couple with the joy of raising children. Especially touch those who, so far, have not been able to have children.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Prayer for infertile couples

Heavenly Father,

You are a great and mighty God, creator of heaven and earth.

We ask for your comfort and peace in these lives. We pray for comfort for their souls. Let them know that you love them. Let them know that you care. Let them know that in their time of suffering, you have not left them to face the pain alone. God be with them.

We pray for peace between husband and wife, that the struggles of life will draw them closer to each other. Bless them with a strong relationship and a strong marriage.

We pray for peace in their souls and hearts, having done all they can, to put their confidence in you. Take away all anxiety and fear. Give them the joy of knowing that their lives and their future is in your hands.

We ask for healing for their bodies. If there is some disorder, disease, or dysfunction that preventing conception, we ask for your healing. If some can conceive, but are unable to carry the baby to term, we ask for healing.

We pray for the blessing of their home with children.