{"id":30048,"date":"2011-07-27T18:21:42","date_gmt":"2011-07-27T18:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/theanchoress\/?p=30048"},"modified":"2017-03-06T14:12:56","modified_gmt":"2017-03-06T14:12:56","slug":"kathy-coffey-at-patheos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/2011\/07\/27\/kathy-coffey-at-patheos\/","title":{"rendered":"Kathy Coffey at Patheos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Today, a new column<\/strong> debuts in the Catholic Portal<\/strong><\/a> with award-winning writer Kathy Coffey\u2019s Catholic Being<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 and nothing could be better-timed, I think, than her excellent exposition on how the pathway to prayer can be accessed by stress<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>If we think of prayer as long, uninterrupted stretches in a quiet church or retreat house, we might get more stressed out worrying that we\u2019ll never achieve that. Instead, we might want to think of prayer in terms of the different voices heard in John 11:1-44.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s definitely a stressful situation. Lazarus, the beloved brother of Martha and Mary has just died. Making matters worse, Jesus has delayed coming, even though he knew Lazarus was ill. His disciples are annoyed with him for returning to an area where the Jews were just trying to stone him. Emotions must be running high, but various forms of prayer appear during the crisis.<\/p>\n

Lazarus, Mary, Martha and Jesus all love each other\u2014so the sisters must wonder why Jesus waited so long to come. We can only imagine their anxiety increasing as Lazarus grew worse, and their dear friend didn\u2019t appear. Martha\u2019s complaint, \u201cLord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died\u201d may sound like whining. On the other hand, it is honest expression of her feelings\u2014and her respect for Jesus.<\/p>\n

Later, Mary weeps; her friends join her, and Jesus also weeps. This could be our prayer when we have no words left, and silent tears are eloquent. Jesus is \u201cgreatly disturbed,\u201d but begins his prayer by thanking God. Despite the annoying criticism of the crowd (\u201cCould not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?\u201d), he can still be grateful. In that stance lies a message for us\u2014no matter how stressed we are, we can still be deeply thankful.<\/p>\n

Jesus speaks with great confidence to God: \u201cFather\u2026I knew that you always hear me.\u201d Then from the depth of his inmost being tears the wrenching cry, \u201cLazarus, come out!\u201d It is the call to life, a stirring invitation to renewed engagement with the family Lazarus loves.<\/p>\n

None of this occurs in a silent chapel. Indeed, the background noise of the crowd must be irritating. Prayer doesn\u2019t always convey the polite emotions. Martha\u2019s distress is as raw as the anger which rages through some of the psalms (see Ps. 88, 120, 137). No one consults a Bible or a book of prayer\u2014all of it is spontaneous; some of it is wordless.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is one of those pieces you might want to print out<\/strong> for bedtime reading or coffee-on-the-porch reading (or, you know, Coffey-on-the-porch\u2026yeah, you get it!) If you\u2019re finding yourself too frazzled, too stressed, too busy to pray, this might be exactly the gentle nudge you need.<\/p>\n

Oh, and be sure to stop by and welcome Kathy to the pages!<\/strong><\/a> As my Auntie Lillie would say, \u201cshe\u2019s got a nice face, ain\u2019t she?\u201d<\/em> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, a new column debuts in the Catholic Portal with award-winning writer Kathy Coffey\u2019s Catholic Being \u2014 and nothing could be better-timed, I think, than her excellent exposition on how the pathway to prayer can be accessed by stress: If we think of prayer as long, uninterrupted stretches in a quiet church or retreat house, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[297,4892],"class_list":["post-30048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anxiety","tag-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nKathy Coffey at Patheos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today, a new column debuts in the Catholic Portal with award-winning writer Kathy Coffey's Catholic Being -- and nothing could be better-timed, I think,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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