Prayer

Dostoevsky once said, "prayer is an education." And that's about right. In prayer we mimic Gods action in the world. We meet God in his hiding place. We fall on our knees and find Jesus. Prayer is an expression of a fundamental reality, expressed in Philippians 2. God is self emptying. If we fail to empty ourselves, we miss out on an important opportunity for relationship with Him.

The image of Jesus that sticks with so many is that of Him praying to His Father. There are so many paintings and images of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane or in a quite place, looking up at God. This is a strange image, if you think about it. God is literally praying to God. Some claim that Jesus did this to give us an example of how to live. It is about living a perfect human life. On one level, this is doubtless true. Some will just say that Jesus is talking to His dad. The Trinity is One God in three Persons, after all, and it makes some sense for One Person of the Trinity to have a conversation with Another. But somehow I doubt proper praying was necessary for this. Certainly Jesus and God remained essentially One even during Jesus' time on Earth. Still, there is also probably truth in this suggestion as well.

But what if what Jesus was really doing was revealing God to us? Jesus entire life was on of humility, of self-giving love. In this we see God. If we fail to realize this, we miss one of the most profound truths in the Gospels. I wonder how much God makes in the lives of most of the people who believe in Him. Would they live significantly different if they did not believe in Him? I think a great many people would not, barring some little rituals here and there. And for Christians, how many really live differently because of Jesus? Would they live or believe any differently if they just believed in God? I doubt it. Most Christians justify their belief in Jesus, not by remarking how Jesus makes a difference in their picture of God, but by misrepresenting Judaism. Judaism is painted as this legalistic religion that required animal sacrifice for forgiveness. Jesus takes the place of that animal sacrifice, and that is why Jesus matters.

The truth of the matter is that the idea that Jews today or during Jesus time thought that perfect obedience to
the law was necessary for salvation is simply false. Most Jews understood the law as a way for Jews to live lives that were 'set apart' from the lives of the people around them. But they did not think perfect obedience to the law was possible, much less necessary for 'salvation'. For Jews, what saves them is the act of God adopting them as His people through Abraham and Moses' covenants. It is an act of grace. So Judaism is not some Law Religion that must be replaced by the Grace Religion of Christianity. Once you get rid of this dichotomy, Judaism/Christianity as Grace Religion Vs Law Religion, what is really left for the average Christian? Little, I'd wager.

For me, the simple image of Jesus praying is the very key to all The Incarnation is all about. Jesus is showing us a new way to think about God, and a new path to God. Prayer is shaping oneself into the image of the divine, truly in Dostoevsky's words 'an education'. It is this new vision of God has humble and self-giving, made the very center of our faith, which truly can set Christianity apart.