This summer we have been on the road with Jesus and the twelve disciples journeying through the gospel of Luke.
Stressing the importance of seeing, drawing near and getting involved in a meaningful Jesus shared the parable of the Samaritan and the guy in the ditch. “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus, in last week’s gospel, lifted up the value of the gathered community, including everyone – because all does really mean all – and allowing everyone to be spiritually fed.
We experienced Jesus call us by name from the places where we feel pulled back and forth in our serving and those instances where we feel perturbed. Jesus calls us from all those places where distractions and anxieties in our lives to “stay and sit” in the presence of Jesus.
Twelve disciples formed by the master as he walks toward the cross.
Discipleship formation takes four steps…in order, for success. This can be traced through all four gospels. This is how Jesus does it with not just the 12 but all of those following him.
Jesus does, the 12 watch.
Jesus does, the 12 help.
The 12 do, Jesus helps.
The 12 do, Jesus watches.
The 12 have been watching Jesus pray…a lot!
The gospel of Luke especially lifts up Jesus’ prayer life. Of all the words that describe prayer in the New Testament, over half are found in Luke and Acts.
Jesus demonstrated and taught prayer at
- His baptism
- Healings
- Major encounters with the scribes and pharisees
- The calling of the 12 – he prayed all night about that one!
- Prayed for and with the 12 prior to going to Jerusalem
- He will pray in the garden of Gethsemane the night before he goes to the cross
- He will pray while on the cross.
In this scene that begins chapter 11, Jesus is praying in a certain place. We also learn that for Jesus prayer was something that you did.
It was only natural, then, that one of the 12 looks at Jesus and asks, “how do you do that? How do you pray?”
They were not looking for some great techniques or formulas for prayer, though those are not bad in and of themselves. I’ve been taught and passed on many techniques from five finger prayers to ACTS to PTA.
And I don’t believe that teaching them a prayer that has become known as the Lord’s Prayer was intended to become what it has. Don’t get me wrong – that’s a wonderful thing because it’s one of the few prayers that Christians CAN speak with some degree of unity.
At non-denominational gathering there are “sins, debtors and trespasses” all over the place – and you quickly find out who the protestants and Catholics are as well.
I concur with a Luther seminary scholar, Matt Skinner, who said that ‘“teach us to pray” is equivalent to “show us your heart” or “tell us, what IS it like to be in communion with God?”’ And I add, teach us: what does it look like to be in relationship with God who is good all the time and all the time, is good?
Perhaps that is what makes praying in public so frightening…because when we do pray we are showing our hearts, our thoughts and feelings, about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
In that moment we are vulnerable, which the world teaches us to never be, but which we must be if we are to grow and develop, learn to love God, love people and make disciples and a few other things along the way.
Jesus teaches them and us the prayer that we call the Lord’s Prayer – we pray it every Sunday using a 16th century form of English.
Not comfortable with leaving the lesson there, Jesus employs a parable to explain the act of praying. That’s when things can get a bit confusing.
Remembering that a parable is a story that is not necessarily true BUT reveals truth about God, Jesus, and the Kingdom of God and us .
The clue to understanding this lies in how NRSV translates the parable. So we’ll do some reworking of verse 8.
Instead of “persistence” – which conveys that if we bug God long enough God will finally relent and give us what we want. Kind of like a kid whining in the candy aisle of the grocery store. I’m going to put this out there: that theology is not helpful.
If we translate that word as “shamelessness” then things begin to fall into place. Translating it this way means “lack of sensitivity to what’s proper, don’t care about acquiring public shame.” Now THAT’S going to get the attention of everyone listening in the 1st century because they were all about shame and avoiding it at all costs.
So who is the shame attached to? Answer that one and you might find yourselves down a theological rabbit hole as well.
We’ll turn to scholars again – this time to Walter Liefeld.
The one praying – the petitioner – does act with shameless disregard of his neighbor and probably the whole neighborhood as the commotion is heard throughout.
Here’s the turn about in the parable – because all parables have “turn abouts” in them.
Even though the petitioner acts in a shameful way, the neighbor acts in a way that will bring honor to both of them.
That is powerful stuff. Hallowed is your name. Forgive us our sins.
Liefeld: God will act to honor God’s name even when we act in dishonorable ways.
And notice what is happening here: God is the subject of active verbs…ALWAYS.
Skinner breaks down the prayer this way:
- God hears.
- God provides.
- God forgives.
- God protects.
- God expects us to be generous with one another.
God is the subject of active verbs. That’s where the final verses of this parable take us on this journey.
I love it when I walk into a meeting or meal and immediately asked, “Pastor, will you lead us in prayer?” As if my prayers are heard better than others. The look on your faces when I say “no?” Priceless!
No one is the key to making prayers work. No one’s prayers are better than any others. The key to prayer is to understand that God is the one acting.
Lessons along the way…God seeks to be in relationship with us. We are to keep asking, seeking, and knocking – shamelessly – because the God of love, mercy, grace and forgiveness has done it already. God has asked of us, sought us out, knocks on our door shameless and relentlessly. God is doing it now and will continue to do it.
Connecting life and scripture 