July 28, 2013
“Hungry People”
Rev. Mark R. Miller
Luke 11:1-13
“The clasping of the hands in prayer
is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” Most conversations about prayer do not begin
to touch on this simpler reality. But
these words form Karl Barth get to the heart of what we call the Lord’s Prayer.
When we put our hands together we are not just talking to God, but also saying
“No” to the current arrangements of our lives and of the world. To pray is to be part of the uprising against
everything that is wrong. Maybe that is
why so many people are afraid of prayer.
Prayer in a consumer society simply
does not work. When we spend money or
time, which in our society is the same thing, we expect something in
return. We give because we will get more
in return. Isn’t that what we teach our
children? It is better to give than
receive, because what you get in return is more than you could ever give. The underlying problem is that we are focused
on what is in it for us. This not only
impacts our understanding of prayer but impacts our understanding of church.
When Christians in North America
struggle with the loss of membership or lack of “young people,” this same
mentality can show up. We need more
people to keep our church going! Or,
less blatant, is the desire to change all sorts of things in the hope that
“young people” will like what the church has to offer. The problems come when the church finds
itself in the business of meeting everyone’s individual needs. At some point, we will not be able to do it
all. What happens when we cannot make
everyone happy? What happens when things
do not go the way each person likes? If
we continue to believe our work is to please people and provide for all the
desires of people inside the church we have failed in our mission just as sure
as we will fail in the attempt to be a good consumer church.
The biggest problem with this
orientation in the life of faith is that eventually we have to deal with one
big issue. God does not act like this
and Jesus never said, “Come and follow me and you will be happy and like
everything about the other people who are following me.” What happens when God does not answer prayer
the way we expect or hope? How do we
deal with this? We could say, God always
answers our prayers, just not in the way we want. Or, we could tell people it is their fault
for not praying hard enough. After all,
Jesus said if you are persistent, God will give you everything you want! So if you do not have what you want in life,
it is your fault! Except that is not
what Jesus said.
What Jesus is saying to the
disciples is the foundation for prayer in the life of faith. And it is not about praying hard enough or
even about God simply saying “No” to your request. When the disciples ask Jesus about prayer it
is not what they or we expect. The
simple reality about prayer is that it is about asking God for one thing, “Bring
about the kingdom Lord!” The rest of the
prayer is about how to live in the meantime.
Give us bread for tomorrow. Not
me, not just my family, but we. This
means all people. Forgive our sin and
where we fall short and make us forgive others, and save us from the troubles
that come from working for your kingdom.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer is
necessary because we are unwilling to share our resources. In our culture it is alright for some people
to be homeless. It is acceptable for
families to go hungry and children to be exploited. In our culture it is alright to give to
charity but you better not question why charity is necessary. And in our culture it is alright for people
to hoard more than they, their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
could ever use while all this happens.
And many of them claim this is just God’s blessing. Which leaves me wondering which God are they
talking about?
Jesus talked about persistence in
prayer and God providing. But what is it
that God provides? The good news is that
the answer to this question is right there in the text. Be persistent Jesus says. Demand things from God – Give us, forgive us,
and deliver us! These are not timid
prayers. These are words that come from
a relationship with God as Abba, and even like a friend you would go to in the
middle of the night for help. Jesus
says, ask, seek, knock and your prayers will be answered. And what is it that God will give? The answer is in verse thirteen, “…how much
more will the heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to those who ask.”
No
car, or job, or parking space, or anything else other than the Holy Spirit.
This is a difficult
teaching. It is not a very satisfying
answer for those of us used to getting a return for our investment. Anne Braden tells a story about her work for
justice and about persistence. And she
says that we will not get to see the end of our work. But we are able to keep going if we know in what
Cathedral we are placing our stone… talk about the great cathedrals… it is not a very satisfying answer.
Prayer is resistance to the disorder
in God’s world. It helps us continue on
and changes us from being consumers to being part of the body of Christ. And when we truly look at the disorder around
us, receiving the Holy Spirit, in whatever form it may come, seems more
powerful than anything else I could imagine to ask.
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. Amen?
