The 10 th Sunday after Pentecost, July 24 th 2016 St. John s Lutheran Church, Summit, New Jersey "Lord Teach us to Pray (Luke 11: 1-13)

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1 The 10 th Sunday after Pentecost, July 24 th 2016 St. John s Lutheran Church, Summit, New Jersey "Lord Teach us to Pray (Luke 11: 1-13) Grace be to you and peace from God our Creator, Redeemer, and Life-giving Spirit. Amen. A few weeks ago, a trio consisting of Andrew Larsen, and Jane and Jama Bowman sang an old African-American Spiritual at the 10:30 AM service: Standin in the Need of Prayer. They sang, and some of you know it, It's me, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. It's me, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Not my mother or my father, but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer; not my mother or my father, but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. What is this prayer that they, we, and Jesus disciples of every time and place stand in need of? What is it and how do we do it? Is prayer an ever-ascending petition to our Sugar Daddy or Sugar Momma in the sky? Is it a silent or vocal form of whining when we don t get our way and thanking God when we do? Is it lament when we re grieving and praise when we re astounded by God s goodness? Is it all of these and more? Regardless of how we define prayer, one thing is certain ---- we can live a lifetime and never really call ourselves experts in praying. While we may like the cadences or the images that someone s prayer conjures up for us, it still doesn t make them experts in prayer, not even if they re pastors. You see, all of us --- preachers, teachers and creatures can ask, as Jesus first disciples did, Lord, teach us to pray. In Luke s Gospel, more than any other Gospel, Jesus is a praying man. And while he taught his disciples about prayer and how to pray, it was even more meaningful that he taught them by his prayer practice; he taught them by example. You see Jesus depended upon prayer in the great soul-moving 1

2 experiences of his life... Whether he needed courage, strength, or fellowship with the Father, Jesus relied on the power of prayer to get him through his life and ministry. Indeed, he could have very well written that spiritual It s me, it s me, it s me, O Lord, standin in the need of prayer. Jesus was a praying man...in the beginning of his ministry Luke says, Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. Jesus prayed, listened and was affirmed in his identity and the Son of God. When he had to make the difficult decision about whom to call as his disciples, about those to whom he should teach and entrust his mission and ministry, he prayed. In Luke chapter 6 we read: Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose 12 of them, whom he also named apostles. Before he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed; and when he was hanging there on the cross dying, he prayed: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing... Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. Yes, Jesus was a praying man; it was central to his life. And his disciples knew this because they had witnessed him so often going out to the desert or up on the mountain by himself to pray. Clearly they saw something powerful in Jesus that happened when he prayed and they wanted to know how to access that power. So one day after Jesus finished praying, they said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. And Jesus taught them a version of what we have come to know as the Lord s Prayer. 2

3 The Lord s Prayer is only found in Matthew and Luke and Matthew s version is much closer to what we say every Sunday before we commune. But the Luke text still teaches the main part of the prayer. Notice that Jesus doesn t say to the disciples, If you pray as though there were an option. He begins by saying, When you pray, because he expects his followers to pray; he expects them to connect with God who is the source of their life and who gives them purpose and meaning. When you pray say, Father, Abba, hallowed be your name. We pray first, says Jesus, to one who is as close to us as a father, because prayer is a relationship -- an intimate, loving, caring parent/child relationship. It s been wonderful watching our grandson, little Elliot grow. And not unlike the first time he took a step, the first time he said, Da-da his parents eyes lit up. He s still working on Mama and doesn t have any other words yet. But hearing that word da-da was awesome because it meant that Elliot knew who his father was and he connected the person to the name: da-da. So too, Jesus says that when we pray we know who our Father, our gracious heavenly parent is. First we recognize our relationship and then we also acknowledge that God is God and we are not. Hallowed, holy is your name. You are the One in charge, God; You are Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Holy is your name. Jesus dispenses with the niceties, and doesn t tell them to say, Please or God, if you really want to ; rather Jesus says, When you pray say, Your kingdom come. Let your reign fill the earth O God; bring about the justice and peace, that we all need, O God. In the Small Catechism Luther says, In fact, God's kingdom comes on its own without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come to us. Yes, God s reign is near and already here. But we need the kingdom to be born in us. We need to reflect God s presence and power in our lives. We need God to be our ruler and our sovereign --- more than any earthly powers, or princes or presidents 3

4 we need and long for God to be our God. Your kingdom come Have you noticed too that this prayer is not an individual prayer but a communal one? Jesus isn t teaching them as solo disciples, but as a community; as a people who seek God s presence and desire God s good gifts for themselves as well as for others. Give us each day our daily bread. It s not about me but about we. Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial. The Lord s Prayer was given and taught as a prayer to define us as the people of God; us as followers of Jesus. Jesus ends this prayer session with his disciples by telling them a parable and by urging them to be persistent or even better, to be shameless in the ways that they come before God in prayer. Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I don t have any food for him. And he answers, Don t bother me; the door is already locked, and my children are asleep; I can t get up and give you anything. I tell you, even though he won t 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. In other words Jesus is saying prayer is like this. Prayer is like a friend going to another friend and asking for what is needed. It s about going to God again and again and again asking, seeking and knocking for what need. And God knows the difference between what we want and what we need; but just because we need it, doesn t mean we get it. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying that, if possible, the cup of death might pass from him, he didn t get an Okay from God. He didn t hear, Alright Son, you re off the hook and don t have to die. Maybe he could have avoided the cross if all the religious leaders had converted, repented of their sins and believed in him. But that didn't happen. 4

5 So often we pray for healing and the answer isn t what we asked for. Sometimes our prayers result in healing, maybe through the discovery of a new drug or an experimental treatment or through the skills of our doctor, nurses. But sometimes the best efforts of the medical team and our prayers aren't enough and the answer to our prayer seems like a "No". But isn t that how life is, sisters and brothers? Sometimes we are able to meet the needs of our friends. "Can I borrow a screwdriver?" "Can you help me with this?" But there are many times -- and maybe it s when they re asking what s most important, that we can t do anything to change the situation or to help fix it. "I'm out of work, can you get me a job where you work?" "I've got cancer, can you make it better?" "I'm so depressed, that I don't know if I will ever be happy again, can't you help me feel better?" When Christine Johansson was dying, I felt so helpless as her pastor. In spite of all the chemo, radiation, physical therapy, experimental drugs, nothing could keep her from dying. And as I stood around her bedside knowing that there was nothing I could do to change the situation, I hoped that my presence with her family could bring them the comfort and love of this Christian community; that it would surround Stefan, Alex and Linnea with the love of their family here at St. John s. Her life wasn t spared but her family was cared for --- not just by me, but by you as well --- as we prayed and commended her to God and grieved and prepared food for the funeral repast. You ll never know how much a simple thing like serving Swedish meatballs and lingonberries did to bring comfort in the midst of unspeakable grief. That s what friends do. They show up when then can and pray for us when they can t. Keep on asking, seeking and knocking says Jesus. For we knock on a door that s already open; the door of the God who is our Savior and Friend. And when we do, the very heart of God is open to us, feeling our pain, knowing our needs and standing with us who are always in the need of prayer. Amen. 5