This is a time for prayer. When terrible things happen even the least prayerful of us turn to prayer. What else can be done when words fail, when we feel powerless, lost and frightened.
We meet today in a world at war, We are in the shadow of the two big world wars of the last century, and the ongoing wars in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq. There are many wars, insurgencies and conflicts ongoing.
I am very concerned that a man who has been involved in violence against women, who has promoted hatred against black people, has been elected to be the next President of the USA. I cannot stop this, nor perhaps should I - after all, Donald Trump has been democratically elected. But I can pray and listen to what God wants. To act without prayer is to risk futility, a life that is out of step with our living and loving Creator.
What can we learn about prayer from the example of Jesus ? Lots. We have of course the Lord's Prayer, a beautiful pattern for prayer. But how did Jesus pray - we want to know so that our lives can be modeled after his.
He shows us that sometimes prayer is simply waiting on God. We read of him leaving his followers regularly (daily?) to commune with his Father in the hills around the lakeside. Prayer was the powerhouse for his life.
We read in Mark's Gospel (Chapter 1, verse 35) that Jesus went off to pray early, while still dark. He went to a solitary place, he got away from it all. Prayer was a priority in his life, it helped him be clear about the daily pattern and agenda of his ministry. We too can learn from this.
But waiting is not easy ! If we think about the times we have had to wait we would have to say some of it - like waiting for a doctor's appointment - has been frustrating, worrying. Of course it can be joyful - like waiting for a birthday present. I think that Jesus was good at waiting, and then he could know when the Spirit led him on. Look at the Baptism by John the Baptist, the 40 days in the wilderness. Luke tell us in 4.14 that it was the spirit that led him back to Galilee.
We are not defeated by wars past, or wars that may come. We are people of hope, knowing in our deepest being that love and sacrifice overcome death and abuse of the vulnerable. To live up that calling, to be who we are called to be we must learn to wait on God, to hear God's voice. That's what Jesus did - and it's essential if our lives are to be shaped to be like his, that we do the same.