In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express . . .”

Chapter 8 in Romans is one of my favourite passages of Scripture
and the portion of it that we read this morning is one that has always resonated deeply with me - It evokes for me a sense that  I am not alone in my longing
and yearning for God -  that indeed all of creation waits and longs and hopes
 as I do - that one day we will know the completeness of union with God in Christ . . .
      
 That all of creation - the flowers that struggle for survival - my dog - the trees of the forest bush that were behind the manse in Nova Scotia - the whales that swim in the ocean - the mother who prepares a meager meal for her family in Zimbabwe  . . . that all of creation waits with yearning and longing as I do - to know wholeness in God not just at a personal level but on a global scale too.

That one day - God’s peace and justice will rule completely, not just in my life, but in the whole world - and we won’t have Sudanese murdering one another while the world sits back and does nothing - we won’t have wars -
 never mind that they won’t uncover weapons of mass destruction....
 
One day -God’s rule will triumph - and God will bring wholeness to all of creation
 But in the meantime we yearn, we hope, we wait -
 Because we already have a glimpse and a taste of this wholeness....
 
It’s the completeness we feel when we have prayed and felt God’s presence, or sure of an answer. It’s the wholeness we know, when we let go of pride and stubbornness and offer forgiveness, because it is the right thing to do.
 Its the wholeness we know, when someone else forgives us for something we couldn’t forgive ourselves.....
     
Its the wholeness we know, when we have come to church feeling tired, or bored, or grumpy, but leave feeling renewed and strengthened...
Its the wholeness we know when we have reached out to someone and received compassion before we even asked for it -or when we have reached out to someone in pain and offered them our strength and help.
      
It’s the moments we know we are children of God, loved and forgiven....
We have a glimpse and momentary experiences of this completeness in God which is why we yearn - why we wait - why we hope.
 
And while we wait the Spirit helps us -the Spirit is the One who is the bridge between us and God in the meantime - the Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words....
  
They Holy Spirit is not only the way that God speaks to us,
       reveals himself to us,
       but also the way that we are enabled to speak to God.
      The Holy Spirit is that power,
            that gift of God that enables us to be in loving relationship
                with God....”   
  
 You may have heard about or read about a minister in our church
       the late Rev. Chris Vais -
      I didn’t know Chris well but I liked him very much he was
     a man of great gentleness, humour  and integrity....
    A few years ago now, he was diagnosed with ALS or
     Lou Gherigs’ disease....
       
One would have said his vocation as a minister was successful,
     the small country church where he had begun his ministry in Waterdown,
        had grown into a large and warm suburban congregation under
          Chris’ leadership....  he had just been married about a year -
     Rather than retreat into self-pity -
       Chris began writing a journal or newsletter where he shared his
         struggles and triumph and his encounters with God throughout
             the slow progression of the disease - until he died.
 
The journal he began had wide appeal and circulation - he was even featured
   on the National on CBC -
    
One of the first issues he wrote talked about prayer -
        and how for him, in his darkest and most frightening moments
           when prayer was the hardest - he would utter simple words
         words like - Abba Father,  Jesus, Lord - and he wrote of how he
            experienced the Holy Spirit - interceding with sighs too
           deep for words... his prayers became prayers beyond words
               and they were prayers which left him with renewed strength
          and hope, in his relationship with a loving God.....
 
This is our hope too - that when life is overwhelming, when we are struck by our own inadequacies, stunned by our sin, mired in our own unhappiness
suffering in the face of chronic illness ,that when prayer is difficult - when we don’t know the words to say, that like Chris Vais - we can utter a word, we can call upon the Lord and the Spirit will intercede with sighs too deep and we will be renewed....
Meister Eckhart once said, “if the only word that you can utter is thanks then that is enough.”

This we are promised....   
Jesus said he would not leave us alone or abandoned....
 “Too often we present the Christian life as something that we do,
  something that we think or feel. We talk about our search for God,
  our commitment to Christ, our attempts to get close to God.
    
 Yet in Scripture,the story tends to be the other way around...
    In Christ, God is searching for us, “But the Lord God called to the man,
Where are you?” Genesis 3:9
 God is committed to us, God is attempting to get close to us....
     As it says in scripture; “we love because God first love us....”  (WW)

In Christ, God is indeed searching for us, attempting to get close to us
and this yearning for our hearts and love is made visible in the bread that is broken the wine that is poured out for you that in the name of Jesus Christ
so that we might eat, drink and be made whole....we may know completeness
Thanks be to God, Amen