July 27 ~ In Prayer We Become the Hands, the Feet, the Hearts, and the Faces that Reveal God to Others

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Genesis 18:20-32

Psalm 138

Colossians 2:6-15 [16-19]

Luke 11:1-13

(The content of this sermon was 100% written in Canada by a human)

One of my gurus, [sad to say he is now dead] Roger Karban said this; “Some years ago when I was commenting on this set of readings, I had a friendly disagreement with the editor of one of the diocesan papers carrying my articles. She strongly objected to my talking about Abraham ‘haggling’ with Yahweh, believing that the term bordered on anti-sematic language. I immediately called a rabbi friend, asking his opinion. He assured me, ‘Roger, there’s nothing wrong in speaking about a Jew haggling. We are not only known for it, but we are also proud of it.’” Now let us be clear, we do not take this haggling between Yahweh and Abraham literally. But the writer is trying to demonstrate the negotiating prowess of Abraham, and also Abraham’s unique relationship with God. Yes, we can talk to God, just be careful where you do it, or they might haul you away.

Last week we heard of Abraham’s hospitality after he had talked to God in the form of the three messengers. Then today the three messengers, [God] left to investigate what was happening at Sodom and Gomorrah. Now God also remained with Abraham, and yes, God can be in two places at once. Now Abraham recognizes that Sodom and Gomorrah should be punished for their doings, but he takes up a prophetic role and intercedes for the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham calls for God’s justice which will be to extend mercy to the innocent. Abraham presses God for mercy but he also reveals humanity’s relative lack of innocence, even among those we love the most. Many people have taken the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as proof of God’s ire and readiness to punish sexual immorality. Sorry, that is not what it is about. The story is portraying God asking Abraham, “Ok, ask me about what is bothering you.” Underneath the question of the innocent suffering because of evil people - a blatant fact of life - Abraham is ultimately asking what we all ask; “Does evil rule the world? Do the innocent make any difference in the world?” We sure must be asking those questions in our world today.

So Abraham puts God on trial, as it were. “Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?” These questions come from a belief that God is in charge of everything that happens. God decides and creation, be it people or nature, cry God’s will into action. Another question that comes from Abraham’s story is, “Why bother to pray if God has already written the script?” Or do we believe, as some say, that if we pray hard enough, God will relent in punishment or cure our beloved’s cancer, or make the sunshine for the picnic, etc.? Do we really think that prayer functions to change God’s will about hard things that are in process? I have one friend in particular who is always asking, “What would Jesus say? What would Jesus do?” I hope it is obvious that this story is much more than that.

Then in our gospel, Jesus is offering a comparison to the scene with Abraham. The disciples ask, “Teach us to pray.” “How are we supposed to relate to God?” “What can we expect from God?” Jesus’ response is simple. Go to God as a child or a parent, trusting in God’s love. Also, look around you and see creation, let yourself be carried away in wondrous awe, then say, “Hallowed!” “Blessed!” “Overwhelming is your very name!” “May your desires for creation come true!” “Your will be done!” Jesus reminds us that the creator of the universe has given us what we need. ‘Our daily [Epiousios] bread’ is a phrase Jesus seems to have invented. It means more than day-to-day, it suggests something like the bread of tomorrow, or the coming age, that is the bread that is consecrated by how it is shared and nourishes. You see it is much more than a piece of bread. Thus Jesus is cutting to the chase, he seems to be saying; “Lead us to be like you, seeing possibility, believing like Abraham that evil does not have the upper hand.” In other words, if we really want God’s rule, then we have to keep badgering those who have the power to make it happen; to feed the hungry, to give children what they need, to rise above retribution, and to value justice and harmony over being supreme, over winning. Do you think Trump’s gang of Christians believe that?

And then we hear Jesus say, “Ask and you will receive.” Now notice, Jesus is not promising a new car or a cure for cancer or anything like that. No, what Jesus promises is that God’s spirit will be with us. So we hear; “When you pray say, ‘behold I am your servant, do with and in and through me according to your will.’” To pray then is to participate in God’s desire for good in our lives. If prayer does not change God, it often changes us. If prayer is not simply presenting a list of our wants and wishes to God to be automatically, even miraculously, fulfilled, it actually engages us in doing our part to meet human need. When we pray, we are inspired and motivated to act. Grace joins our effort and our perseverance to find the outcome that is best for us and others. Do we trust God enough to take our needs to God in prayer? If we do, not only will our relationship with God deepen, but we will learn to be instruments of divine purpose. In other words, the hands, the feet, the hearts, and the faces that reveal God to others.

Yes, if we pray, it means we will be haggling with God. Given the example of Abraham and the teaching of Jesus in our lessons today, each of us gathered in worship might give some consideration to the quality, style, and attitude of our own attempts at prayer. If Abraham seems too bold and daring, then perhaps we are not sufficiently at ease and familiar with God. If Abraham’s manner appears too irreverent, then perhaps we are not completely convinced of God’s desire to become personally involved and available to each of us. Perhaps we have yet to believe in the doting, patient, and parental love of God, but only in so believing can we truly pray as Jesus taught us and as we ought to pray. The effectiveness of prayer is often found in the change it effects in us, not in God. While it is true that our prayer may not change the situations for which we pray, it is also true that frequently ‘we’ change in our praying. By persevering in prayer, we may come to acknowledge that all things are in God’s hands, and that we can rest content to leave them there, trusting the situation will be cared for as God sees fit. It seems trite to say God hears all prayer and sometimes the answer is no! It is better to say God respects the freedom of people and will seldom intervene to change the way events unfold. Prayer can change the one who prays and also the one for whom the prayer is offered, if only human need is recognized and divine solitude is acknowledged.

With the assurance that God is greater than every human need, more powerful than any inconvenience, and more loving than can be imagined… “How much more will God give…” [v. 13]. The Jesus of Luke encourages believers to; ask, seek, and knock, without doubt or hesitation and, like Abraham and the friend in the gospel, with utter shamelessness! Prayer has been a key component of faith for thousands of years. Prayer can be uniquely personal, but today’s readings provide some essential and expansive insights about prayer from both Judaism and early Christianity. Abraham and Jesus both extol the importance of persistence, and Jesus teaches us that prayer at its best is communal. The importance of the body of Christ, us, is that we pray as one body of God’s people. We pray most profoundly, and we dare to pray at all, because God is loving and just.

Lord, teach us how to pray aright,

With reverence and with fear.

Though dust and ashes in your sight,

We may, we must draw near.

We perish if we cease from prayer,

Oh, grant us power to pray.

And when to meet you we prepare,

Lord, meet us on our way.

Give deep humility,

The sense of Godly sorrow give,

A strong desire, with confidence,

To hear your voice and live.

Faith in the only sacrifice

That can for sin atone,

To cast our hopes, to fix our eyes

On Christ, on Christ alone.

Give these, and then your will be done,

Thus strengthened with all might,

We, through your spirit and son,

Shall pray and pray aright.

[ELW 745]

Loving God, we dare to come to you as we have been taught, connected to one another and to you through prayer. The boldness of our ancestors precedes us, and we trust in whatever outcomes you grant us. We pray, because Jesus encouraged us to pray. Amen.