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“Living in the Spirit: Ask and
It Will be Given to You” |
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In my sermon two weeks ago, I mentioned
that my mother was a “Martha,” a hostess par excellence. Our house was
always ready for company on a moment’s notice. The bed in the guest bedroom
always had clean sheets on it, the living room was always picked up and dusted,
the kitchen and bathrooms were clean enough to pass the inspection of a drill
sergeant. Guests were made to feel very welcome with good conversation,
excellent food, and loving attention. Because hospitality was important to my parents, I had the opportunity to meet a number of special people who came to stay at our house. One of our family friends was a well-known Disciple soloist by the name of Rosa Page Welch. Another visitor was Dr. John Ross, the famous missionary doctor. He stayed in our home when I was in the 1st grade. After that weekend visit by Dr. Ross, I decided that I wanted to grow up to be a medical missionary. I also remember once receiving unexpected guests who woke us up in the middle of the night. When we lived in Alexandria, Louisiana, the family of the United Methodist minister came to sleep at our house because the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross in their front yard. Even though it was the middle of the night, we welcomed them in, made room for them to sleep, made every effort to make them feel as comfortable and safe as we could, and fed them breakfast the next morning. Today’s lectionary reminds us of the importance of being ready for company. In the middle of a collection of Jesus’ teaching about prayer, Luke has inserted a story about late night hospitality. In Jesus’ day, people rose very early in the morning, and one of the family chores was to bake a daily supply of bread. It was very rare for anyone to bake an extra loaf. Without preservatives and zip-lock bags, to bake more would be wasteful. But what if an unexpected guest came to a household late in the night – long after the dinner dishes were washed and put away? It was the custom to entertain guests as graciously as possible, and that included serving them a meal. This host was in a jam (he had no bread). In order to be hospitable, it was necessary for him to go out into the night, wake up neighbors, and hope that someone had leftover bread that he could serve his guest. His plea to his neighbors was not for charity, but rather for a temporary loan – help in a grocery emergency! The borrowed loaves would be replaced in the morning after the daily baking. So far, there is not anything surprising in Jesus’ parable. Sometimes, unexpected guests drop by. Most of us have at least one neighbor that we could turn to for help in an emergency situation like this. If a friend came to my house at midnight needing help, Suanne and I would do whatever we could to help. Wouldn’t you? The surprise in the parable comes to us in the neighbor’s reply to the one who has awakened him. Did his reply make you a little uncomfortable? It does me. In order to understand the neighbor’s reply, we need to understand the family sleeping arrangements of Jesus’ times and culture. This late-night caller is asking his neighbor to stumble and trip over his family who were all sleeping on the floor of that same room together – surely waking some of them. And then, this neighbor must dig around in the pantry for leftover loaves (which families never had). And then, once the rare loaf was found, the neighbor must wrestle back a huge iron bolt that usually squeaked and groaned (waking the rest of the household), and pull open the over-sized solid wood door that could only be opened and closed with great effort. The neighbor in the street was asking for a very awkward and troublesome favor. Do you remember how Jesus started the parable? “Suppose one of you has a friend and you go to him at midnight …” In a way, it is as if Jesus was asking: “would you ever put a friend in such a difficult situation by going to his house in the middle of the night and asking for bread?” That’s not all of the parable – or even the entire rhetorical question. The neighbor responded in sleepy frustration to a bothersome neighbor who was not prepared for company. Jesus told those who have ears to hear: “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is a friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.” Luke has imbedded this story within a collection of teachings about prayer. It is there to teach us (the Church) something we are supposed to know about our own praying. God is the awakened neighbor. The all-powerful Creator is the one who is being petitioned for help. At first, you might be tempted to think, “Aha! This is all about God getting mad at us when we aren’t prepared for the coming of the Kingdom, isn’t it?” Well maybe – but not when it is placed here among teachings about prayer. Luke uses the parable as an illustration about asking God for what we need. I admit it. There are times in my life when I am reluctant to bother God with my problems. I think to myself, “I really shouldn’t be bothering God about this. These needs are really my responsibility. If I were a better steward of my resources – or if I had a stronger faith – I could take care of this myself.” Have you ever done this? Have you thought of heaven’s gate as a closed door with a “Do not disturb” sign hanging on it? Jesus’ parable is about reassurance and persistence. Jesus said, “at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.” [Let’s repeat these words together.] The parable gives us permission to “bug” God! Ask. And keep asking! Search. And keep searching! Knock. And keep knocking! If you want to live in God’s Holy Spirit, you will need to trust what Jesus says. You will need to trust his promise. Jesus said, “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Do you believe these words? Do you believe Jesus? [Let’s repeat these words together!] From time to time, we all experience unexpected crises. In those moments, it is clear that our past decisions – our past actions – our careful preparations – are not going to be enough to get through them. Luke’s good news for us is that we have a neighbor who has the resources to help us. The neighbor is God. We can go to God – even in the dead of night. We can go to God – even when we may think our need is too small to be important to God. We can pray to God – the One who is the source of all blessings – the One who created all of life – and we can ask for help. We may worry that our needs are not great enough – or spiritual enough. We may worry that our faith is not strong enough. We may worry that God will not respond. But Jesus’ words are full of promise. Ask – he says. Be persistent – he says. Search – he says. Keep knocking on heaven’s door – he says. The promise of Jesus’ words is that: “… it will be given to you – you will find – the door will be opened for you.” To live in God’s Holy Spirit is to wrap yourself in prayer. Pray prayers that ask for help to aid those who come to you unexpectedly like guests in the late evening. Pray prayers that search for spiritual guidance. Pray prayers for spiritual awakening. Pray prayers for doors to open to new directions for your ministry. Pray those prayers confidently – faithfully – and persistently. And like a man in a sleeping household, because of your persistence – God will give you whatever you need! Let us pray. O God, much of what happens to us is beyond our control. And yet, your son has promised that you will help us when we need it. Thank you for his good news. Teach us to live more deeply in your Spirit. Teach us to pray more confidently and persistently everyday. Hear our prayers and answer them in Jesus’ name. Amen. |