When the Homily is about Immunology

The Mystery that is Prayer, Free will, God’s Providence, and Home Appraisals

I believe prayer changes things, but don’t ask me to explain how precisely it does so, for I do not know. It is, if you think about it, as asinine a thing as having a debate with God when He informs you that he is going to wipe out a city and you try to discern quantitatively how many righteous people it would take for Him to spare the city – as if God doesn’t already KNOW how many righteous people are there? Or that if you could present five righteous people God would change his mind?

CS Lewis is supposed to have said (he certainly did when played by Anthony Hopkins) that prayer doesn't change God's mind, but rather it changes ours. Certainly there is truth to this, but it is not the end of the truth. I don't know if the former of these potential abilities of prayer needs to take place in order for things to change.

In the scriptures and specifically by our Lord we are told in no uncertain terms, to "ask, seek, and knock" and we are told that healing can come ("if any among you is sick…") and demons can be cast out and circumstances can change through prayer. But sometimes healing doesn't come, and sometimes circumstances remain horrible, and sometimes – it would seem – the demons remain. Do I understand it? Of course not.

Take Wonderworking Icons for instance…are they legit? Heck, I dunno..I imagine some have walked away from them unhealed, but they are certainly a part of our Orthodox tradition. I cannot explain – very well - why God would chose to work His wonders through "stuff", but the fact is He does. He is a sacramental God...don’t forget the wonderworking incarnation y'all. You might even recall St. Paul's wonderworking kerchief, or the Angel stirred healing waters of Bethesda. Or how about the amazing stories of our Saints, wouldn’t it be nice if every hardened unbeliever would experience what St. Mary experienced when she tried to enter into that Church in the Holy Land? Or, for that matter, a St. Thomas style experience for all the doubters, eh?

Freewill is an amazing force in our day to day life. Our freewill is constantly impacting those around us whether we like it or not, and by the same token if, for instance, we are praying for someone’s healing, we are likely asking that someone's freewill might be inhibited: That a nurse and doctor will be diligent in their work, as opposed to lax and sloppy, or that a particular medical device built years ago was built with a good quality assurance manager doing his job properly. Think about it...we are potentially asking for a lot – heck consider in the Liturgy when we beseech God’s mercy upon those traveling. I don't know about you, but inherent in that prayer I am asking also for the safety of those travelers, and THAT can entail a great deal of potential miraculous "fixes" with regard to freewill (and not to mention regular old mechanical failure)

I believe God can accomplish it all. I cannot explain it and frankly I wonder if it is beyond our ability or scope of being to even try and explain it ("things too marvelous for me"). We are told to be like little children and as many of you know our little children will frequently look up to their daddies and mommies and ask for things quite beyond our ability to provide. They will also ask for things they shouldn’t...and they may cry, but love heals. Our Heavenly Father, who is good and loves mankind, I think would smile upon our equally humbly made requests, but it is not up to us to know the depths of His wisdom...we trust Him. Amidst everyday life and the Scriptures, the Traditions of the Church, and the lives of our Saints I see a profound mystery between the power of prayer, freewill, God's providence, and yes...home appraisals.

Ours happen to be this Friday at 10am. Your prayers are sought...let the miraculous "fixes" come, according to His will.