Rosh Hashanah 5773/2012
A story: Some years ago there was a car crash in front of the Baptist church in the town where my family used to live. The driver, taking her eyes off the road to turn and yell at her children in the back seat, swerved and hit an on-coming vehicle. The children were injured, the older girl critically. The Baptist church undertook a ‘round-the-clock prayer vigil. When at last the girl was released from the hospital, a member of the church wrote a letter to the local newspaper congratulating the church for the power of its prayers, taking credit for the girl’s survival.
Another story: I met a woman who was visiting her critically ill friend in the hospital. She was distraught because the medical staff would not discuss her friend’s condition with her and tell her which organs and systems of the body were malfunctioning. She said to me: “How can I pray if I don’t know specifically what I’m praying for? I need to know what I’m praying for.”
Two years ago on Yom Kippur, I offered a radical perspective on God which opened up a lot of conversation and reflection for quite some time afterwards. People are still reading that sermon on the internet, two years later.
Today I want to take the next step, and share a radical approach to prayer. Why? Because I think we’ve gotten boxed into a corner that is not a very Jewish corner. And because there is a lot of suffering in our lives, and this could help....
A story: Some years ago there was a car crash in front of the Baptist church in the town where my family used to live. The driver, taking her eyes off the road to turn and yell at her children in the back seat, swerved and hit an on-coming vehicle. The children were injured, the older girl critically. The Baptist church undertook a ‘round-the-clock prayer vigil. When at last the girl was released from the hospital, a member of the church wrote a letter to the local newspaper congratulating the church for the power of its prayers, taking credit for the girl’s survival.
Another story: I met a woman who was visiting her critically ill friend in the hospital. She was distraught because the medical staff would not discuss her friend’s condition with her and tell her which organs and systems of the body were malfunctioning. She said to me: “How can I pray if I don’t know specifically what I’m praying for? I need to know what I’m praying for.”
Two years ago on Yom Kippur, I offered a radical perspective on God which opened up a lot of conversation and reflection for quite some time afterwards. People are still reading that sermon on the internet, two years later.
Today I want to take the next step, and share a radical approach to prayer. Why? Because I think we’ve gotten boxed into a corner that is not a very Jewish corner. And because there is a lot of suffering in our lives, and this could help....