Romans 8:22-27
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
I’d like to tell you a story about Mina. Participants in the Thursday morning Bible study group may recognize it, but I don’t think you’ll mind hearing it again in the context of the state of God’s creation today.
As a young pastor over 40 years ago, one of my first congregational shut-ins was an elderly woman named Mina. Mina lived in what was then called an adult home, the home of a caretaker of those who no longer could live on their own. Mina’s husband had died long ago and her children had all moved far away from home. And Mina had mobility issues. One would be tempted to feel sorry for all the blessings of her life that were slowly being taken away from her. But I quickly learned in my monthly communion visits with her that she still possessed a sharp and quick mind.
Mina turned out to be my congregational historian. She was an expert on the century farms in the county and had a long history with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. If I needed background information on church families or individuals, Mina was my go to person.
After a few years, even her ability to live semi-independently was taken away from her and she was moved to a nursing home in Ogdensburg, NY, some 45 minutes away. I would still visit her regularly and she would carry on interesting conversations with me and you would never know she felt any worse for having lost so much.
Then one day I received a message that Mina had suffered a stroke and had been taken to the Ogdensburg hospital. In my limited experience, both with illness and as a pastor, I had no idea what it meant for her to have had a stroke. But I hopped into the car and drove the 45 minutes up to the hospital.
Mina was in a private room. I remember it being dark in the room and her bed was almost in the exact center of the room. I walked up to her bed, took Mina’s hand, and said, “Hello, Mina, it’s Pastor Jim.”
She gave me no reply. Now I was wearing a clerical collar. I thought it was pretty obvious what I was and who I was. So I repeated a bit louder, “Hello, Mina, it’s Pastor Jim.” Nothing. I wondered if she was just scared. Her eyes had a frightened look to them. So I tried again, “Mina, you are in the hospital. Can you tell me what happened?” Still no response; not even movement in her lips.
I wondered why she didn’t want to talk with me. Was she angry at me? Was she angry at God? Now please understand, this was my first experience ever with a stroke patient. I was clueless.
My initial thought was to feel sorry for her. To actually pity her. Now it seemed everything had been taken away from her: her speech and her love of conversation, her mind and her keen insights. But even that concern was overcome by a feeling of frustration. After all, I had driven 45 minutes to see her and she wouldn’t even talk to me! How could I offer any kind of pastoral care?
In total resignation, I said, “OK Mina, I’m going to say a prayer and I will end with The Lord’s Prayer and you are welcome to join me. So I offered a prayer with words that sounded meaningless and trite to me. I just wanted this to be over. But when I started, “Our Father, who art in heaven,” Mina joined in, speaking in full voice even up to the “forever and ever, Amen.”
I was flabbergasted! Now I understand more fully how a stroke works. My mother-in-law lived with us for ten years when she had a stroke. I know that she could not think to speak, but there were certain phrases, prayers and songs, so embedded in her memory that she was able to recite them without hesitation.
As was true for all my visits with Mina, I think I got more out of them than she did. Certainly in this last visit, her grasping onto the words of the Lord’s Prayer made a profound impact on my life and ministry.
So much had been taken away from her, but not everything. Still deep in the heart and soul of Mina were the comforting words of her faith. She may not have known what to say or have been able to say it, but the Spirit of God was ready to intercede on her behalf.
Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak

1 Lord, speak to us, that we may speak
in living echoes of your tone;
as you have sought, so let us seek
your straying children, lost and lone.

2 Oh, lead us, Lord, that we may lead
the wand'ring and the wav'ring feet;
oh, feed us, Lord, that we may feed
your hung'ring ones with manna sweet.

3 Oh, teach us, Lord, that we may teach
the precious truths which you impart;
and wing our words, that they may reach
the hidden depths of many a heart.

4 Oh, fill us with your fullness, Lord,
until our very hearts o'erflow
in kindling thought and glowing word,
your love to tell, your praise to show.
Many of us today are experiencing grief and sadness and loss, the loss of personal freedom to go where you want and do what you want to do, the loss of time with family and friends due to stay-at-home orders, the loss of jobs and the income necessary for making ends meet, the loss of joy as worry and anxiety take over, the loss of certainty that everything will be all right, the loss of confidence in those who run our nation’s state’s and community’s response, the loss of a church family with whom to pass a sign of peace, the loss of health if afflicted with the coronavirus and more sadly the loss of bedside visitors, and finally those who have actually lost their life and the families who have lost loved ones.
Give thanks to God that you have not lost your faith, in fact, that you cannot lose your faith because it has been so deeply embedded in you. At that moment when you think it is all gone, that you have nothing left anymore, nothing left to say, nothing left to do, not even anything left to pray, that the Spirit of God intercedes for you in sighs that reach down to the depths of your soul. Have you had prayers like that? I know I have.
Maybe my story about Mina may help, or it may just seem meaningless and trite to you. Either way, join me in a prayer that speaks to all our needs and all our hopes, especially at a time such as this, the prayer Jesus taught us, not out of frustration and resignation, but out of the faith down in the depths of our soul- Our Father…….