Difference between revisions of "Sermon for July 28th, 2013"

Revision as of 15:41, 27 July 2013

Luke 11:1-13

11He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3Give us each day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.’

5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 7And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” 8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

When my 8-year old son, Grady, wants something, he'll warm up to it in a very clever, roundabout sort of way. He usually starts by quoting me. Dad, do you remember how you said it's important for kids to learn responsibility and hard work? You also talk a lot about how you want to exercise more and get in better shape. Well, I've been thinking (here it comes...). I think I've figured out a way we can accomplish both at the same time. You see, taking care of a puppy would teach me responsibility, and you could walk him every day to get more exercise...

When my 5-year old daughter, Abby, wants something, she uses an entirely different approach, although it's just about as subtle. She'll wait until I'm sitting down, and then she'll crawl into my lap. I love you, my Daddy. Do you love me? I would be soooo happy, Daddy, (and here there's usually a dramatic sigh) if only I had a puppy-dog...

My favorite approach, however, is my one year old son, Jonah. He will come bursting into the room, running at me as fast as his little legs will allow, nearly knocking both of us over, and at the top of his lungs he will exlaim, "Dada! Doggie! Dada! Doggie! Dada! Doggie!" There is no subtlety whatsoever in a child that young. And when it comes to prayer, I think there's a lot we could learn from that example.

Writer and novelist Anne Lamott has said that there are really only two prayers: "Thank you, thank you" and "help me, help me, help me." Everything else is just a variation on those two. The "thank you, thank you" is a way of acknowledging God, acknowledging that God is in control, and that every good thing comes from God. To continue the analogy with my own children, this is why my oldest son quotes me first, why my daughter tells me she loves me, and in Jonah's request, it's all the enthusiasm in that first word, "Dada!" When we pray as Jesus taught his disciples in the gospel of Luke, the first words are "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come." Thank you, thank you.

But notice how quickly the "help me, help me, help me" comes: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.

One line for God, and then immediately three for us. Give us...Forgive us...Bring us. Not even a polite "please" in there. Just gimme, gimme, gimme. And yet...this is the way Jesus is telling us we should pray.

In Matthew, right before the same teaching on the Lord's prayer, Jesus says "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." In other words, keep it short, keep it simple. No frills and flourishes. Just get to the point. Thank you, thank you. Help me, help me, help me. Jesus' model prayer is 25% about God, and 75% about us. That may sound lopsided, but if God already knows what we need, chances are he also already knows who he is and what he's done, without us reading his own resume back to him at the beginning of a long-winded prayer. A simple acknowledgment will do. Thank you, thank you. Help me, help me, help me.

Prayer is the place where God's goodness connects with our needs and desires. Prayer is the place where God and mankind come together.

{joke about husbands & wives}

Ask and it will be given to you, search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. That may just be the most dangerous verse in the entire bible. So many times I've witnessed this one verse blown out of all proportion in two different directions, no less. On one extreme you have those who us this verse to justify treating God like a personal vending machine: Just put the right prayer in the right slot, and God will reward you with candy, a luxury car, a five day cruise, or lots and lots of money. Whatever YOU want, really. On the other extreme are those who sincerely approach God with real, heartfelt and often desperate needs that seem to meet with nothing but divine silence. Lord, you said to ask and it will be given to you. I asked. Why did you still let my loved one die? I have known many for whom this verse was a promise broken...and the final straw on a journey away from God.

Like so many verses in the Bible, this one is most dangerous when it is taken out of context, isolated and all by itself. But we find it in the middle of a series of teachings on prayer, prompted by the disciples' request to Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray." First, Jesus gives a simple, model framework to work with, one that embodies some core principles. Next he gives two illustrations of those principles