( Romans 8,26-30 ) - [ Deutsch ] - [ Akündigungen563.82 KB ]
Dear congregation, some people think that a pastor always has the right words. Has good advice and knows how to interpret God's words in specific situations, can comfort and encourage others.
But sometimes I am speechless too. Like any of you, I think. I hear sad news and I want to reply, but I don't know what to say. O dear, that's the only words I can think of sometimes. "O dear" - that's easy to say and to send as a WhatsApp message.
Alas, it is more a sound than a word, a groan, a stammer, a sigh. It can express sadness or longing.
There is enough reason in the world to sigh. And God should hear us sighing. He wants to hear us.
I once read that sighing is essential to life. That's what doctors say. That we unconsciously sigh 12 times in an hour. When we sigh, we take a deeper breath. And we need air to breathe so we can live. We sigh out of worry or sorrow and sometimes out of relief. That way our feelings come to the fore. We take a deep breath to calm down. Sighing helps to make us free.
And in prayer, too, I can sigh because I have been saved or I can sigh because I wish to be freed from something. O God, hear my prayer. I bring before God what moves and concerns me at this moment, without using well-considered words. A sigh just comes straight from my soul and heart. Maybe I'm not exactly sure why I'm sighing right now.
But we don't need to lose ourselves in sighing. Because we are not alone. For God gives us his Spirit, the comforter, the helper.
So, let's sigh, BUT: in conversation with God's Spirit. So that we make room for him in us, so that he can sigh in us. So that we live in him and let him speak for us:
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Dear congregation, conversing with God's Spirit gives momentum to my relationship with God. He gives me strength to face what is not good in my life and in this world. And when I feel weak.
I tend to feel weak during in-between situations. When something is over, has passed, I'm groping in the fog, I don't know what to do next. The new has not yet begun. These are delicate moments in my life, I feel vulnerable and irritable. The fear: Am I (good) enough? Or the thought: Who am I? What can I do? Nobody sees me or listens to me.
God obviously knows us. And he knows there is more to say about us than just naming our weaknesses. We can be helped, helped up. Then we can sit up. Weakness is not the last word said about us. Our weakness is being addressed and supported from outside. There is help for our weakness.
The Spirit helps us in our weakness. You can repeat this statement of trust like a mantra by saying the confession out loud. Then this expression of hope gets momentum and starts to move. In German, the words "hop" and "hope" are linguistically related. This hope relies on God's Spirit from the beginning. It counts on him, trusts him – even against all odds. Because people who live on hope see further. People who live from love see deeper. People who live by faith see things in a different light (Lothar Zenetti).
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Faith in the Holy Spirit is the most difficult thing for young people, and maybe even for older people. I can believe in God. And Jesus shows me the way to life. But why do I need the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit? He is not tangible; you cannot see him. And yet we can feel a spirit, we say there is a good spirit in this house. It is noticeable and tangible; a good spirit is at work here. Everyone knows what that means: the atmosphere, the style, the way people live in the house, how they live together and treat each other.
The Spirit shows what kind of person you are. People realize who you are by how you live and what you direct your life towards.
Are you someone who always has pious sayings ready, or do you live according to God’s Spirit? Do you just talk, or are your words followed by actions? Do love and mercy, forgiveness and truth rule your thoughts or are your words just idle chatter, cheap consolation and rash explanations for God and the world?
Every word spoken should be preceded by listening to what God wants from us today. And where he wants us to go.
The Spirit of God has been there from the beginning, from the start of creation. He is the air we breathe. He gives life, is the life principle, yes, the beginning of life, the reason that we can breathe and live.
The Spirit of God is like the wind that blows the sails of a boat, giving impetus and momentum. Without him everything would stand still, there would be no change, we Christians would not exist today. To be spiritual and mindful is to live by the Spirit of God, who comforts and reassures and comes to our aid when we are afflicted and weak, when doubt and worry overtake us. The Spirit helps us in our weakness - and he does help. It doesn't say: "He could if he wanted to", but: "He does it". God's Spirit is power, and he releases powers that are stronger than human knowledge, speech, and wisdom.
God's Spirit leads to freedom, puts people on the path of reconciliation, lets us stand up for peace, justice and the
preservation of creation. And that with the little strength that each and every one of us has. God's Spirit is a spirit of hope and joy.
For me, living with the Spirit of God means making room for him in my life. So that I don't just cry out to God, "Listen!", but that I say, "Speak, sigh, God, I am listening."
Sometimes it's easy for me to pray: to bring to God what's on my mind, what's bothering me, who I want to pray for. I entrust to him the living and the dead. But sometimes the thought hits me: if I pray for one, then I should also be praying for all the others too. If I hold one misery against God, what about all the other hardships people suffer? Then I worry about forgetting someone, that my prayer list is not complete. The wish that everything should work out well is so great that I can't find the right words.
I believe God hears our prayers even when we can't find the right words. God's Spirit intercedes for us through wordless sighs in us. Amen