Persistently Prayerful

Luke 11:1-13
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert

What is both the easiest and the hardest thing to do well as a Christian? To be persistently prayerful. What could radically change your life, yet will likely produce no immediate evidence of change? Being persistently prayerful. What could transform both your personal life, your life among friends and family, your work place, and your church the most but which you will resist developing? A persistent prayer life.

I expect you are a lot like me. You want to see immediate results. You are not inclined to do something just because you know it is good for you. You battle the same idols and distractions I do – too busy to pray, too many entertainment options to pray, your mind wanders when you pray, you don’t feel anything which makes you think nothing is happening. St Julian of Norwich said “Pray inwardly even if you do not enjoy it. It does good, though you feel nothing. Yes, even though you think you are doing nothing.

And here’s what inhibits our disciplined prayer life even more – We know that persistently praying will lead us to feel called by God to actually do something yourself about the things you’re praying. We’ll need to call someone, write someone a note asking for forgiveness. We’ll be compelled to give up something sinful when we persist in prayer. The Spirit will ask us to examine ourselves again, and that’s the end of that prayer.

It has been said many times by many people that prayer is about relationship with God and we all know that relationships take time and energy. You don’t get anything if you don’t give anything to the relationship. Prayer is about talking to God and more importantly, listening to God, discerning what God wants you to do and to be.

So today we focus on prayer, but it will do no good for me to preach an inspiring sermon on prayer, if this is possible for me, unless you are prepared to change your life by persisting in prayer. Is that possible for you? So I ask you, “Shall we carry on with this scripture and sermon?” This is no rhetorical question. Will you give some effort this week to renewing your prayer life or will you say “nice sermon, preacher” and go back to life as usual?


NRS Luke 11:1-13 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." 2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial." 5 And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' 7 And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, even though he will not 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.

9 "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

I expect the disciples were much like us, eager to be taught to pray, so that their prayers would be effective in getting them what they wanted. But the prayer Jesus gives both them and us is more about aligning us with God’s Spirit than getting God to do what we want. Martin Luther said “The fewer the words, the better the prayer.” Our lives are noisy and frenetic and often so are our prayers.

And the story of the friend who bangs on the door at midnight teaches us that persistence is the key. I can tell you that persistence does make a difference as I have had a person in need who persisted with me this week. It was as if God sent her to me this week to make this scripture real. [From the pastor’s discretionary account of the mission budget, I had offered her assistance last week, so when she called to thank me, that was wonderful. Then she called to find out how to come to church. Then she called to say her baby was sick and that’s why she did not make it to church. Then she called to make sure that I remembered that I had promised to help find some used clothes for her adolescent daughter. Then she called to tell me the daughter’s size. Then because I had not responded to all these calls, but had just gone to work to try to find help with clothes, she called again and again.] I was not going to forget that she needed more help. It was effective, even if I got a little frustrated, because she was reminding me of a task I had not completed. This not uncommon in the church office or church house, as we might call it – calls for assistance.

Jesus says, “Ask and it will given you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you.” Maybe my phone friend had read these verses because she kept patiently calling over and over to ask, to search, to knock. And if she’s read these verses about how God will provide for her if she persists, I do not want to let her down because we are the body of Christ. I know only in part what it feels like to be worried about providing enough for my children. She knows it all too well.

Jesus gives the example of parent and child. Just like the average parent (there are exceptions) will bend over backwards to please the child, to give the child what he or she wants, or better what he or she needs, just as a parent wants to be a provider, so Jesus says our heavenly parent is more willing to give the Holy Spirit. So it’s not that God will give us anything we ask for, if we just persist in asking. No, it is that God, being unlimited in love, will give us the Holy Spirit much more readily than human parents, limited as they are, will take care of their own child’s needs.

So Jesus is encouraging us to persistently prayerful because through that, God will, without a shadow of doubt, give us the Holy Spirit. But not immediately. Searching for God is, as Sister Joan Chittister says, “the project of a lifetime.” (The Breath of the Soul, p16) She always reminds us that “saying prayers and being prayerful are two different things.” We need to say many prayers in order become prayerful.

But prayerfulness is “the capacity to walk in touch with God through everything in life. It is an awareness of the continuing presence of God.” “Prayerfulness sees God everywhere. Prayerfulness talks to God everywhere. Prayerfulness submits the uncertainties of the moment to the scrunity of the internal eye of God. It trusts that no matter how [horrible] the situation may be, I can walk through it unharmed because God is with me.” (Sr. Joan Chittister, The Breath of the Soul, p. 46)

So now, instead of talking of prayer, we will pray, first silently, and then moving into a prayerful reflection on the Lord’s Prayer, guided by the words of The Study Catechism to be read by Sara Rea, Richard, and Grant. Let us begin in silence

The Lord’s Prayer

From the Study Catechism – Confirmation Version

"Our Father in heaven"

When we pray to God as "our Father in heaven," we draw near with childlike reverence, and place ourselves securely in God's hands. We express our confidence that God cares for us, and that nothing on earth is beyond the reach of God's grace.

"Hallowed be your name"

This petition is placed first, because it expresses the goal and purpose of the whole prayer. When we pray for God's name to be "hallowed," we ask that we will know and glorify God as God really is, and that all things will truly come to serve God.

"Your kingdom come"

We ask God to come and rule among us through faith, love and justice. We pray for both the church and the world, that God will rule in our hearts through faith, in our personal relationships through love, and in our institutional affairs through justice.

"Your will be done, on earth as in heaven"

Of course, God's will is always done, and will surely come to pass, whether we desire it or not. But the phrase "on earth as in heaven" means that we ask for the grace to do God's will on earth in the way that it is done in heaven - gladly and from the heart. We yield ourselves, in life and in death, to God's will.

"Give us today our daily bread"

We ask God to supply all our needs, for we know that God, who cares for us in every area of our life, has promised to give us temporal as well as spiritual blessings. God commands us to pray each day for all that we need and no more, so that we will learn to rely completely on God.

“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us"

We pray that a new and right spirit will be put within us. We ask for the grace to treat others with the same mercy we have received from God. We ask that we will not resent or strike back at those who harm us, but that our hearts will be knit together with the merciful heart of God.

"Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil"

We ask God to protect us from all that threatens to hurt or destroy us. We pray for the ability to resist sin and evil in our own lives, and for the grace to endure suffering in trust and without bitterness when it is unavoidable. We ask for the grace to believe in the love of God that will finally swallow up all the evil and hatred in the world.

"For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever"

We give God thanks and praise for the kingdom more powerful than all enemies, for the power perfected in the weakness of love, and for the glory that includes our well-being and that of the whole creation, both now and to all eternity.

"Amen"

"Amen" means "so be it" or "let it be so." It expresses our complete confidence in the triune God, the God of the covenant with Israel as fulfilled through our Lord Jesus Christ, who makes no promise that will not be kept, and whose mercy endures forever.

Just and Right Waters

Amos 5:14-15; 21-24
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert

Amos was a shepherd, called by God, to the difficult task of challenging the Israelites with their abuses when they were at the height of military strength and economic affluence. Did anyone listen to the prophets who warned America of material excess, military over-expansion, and a financial industry out of control in the last twenty years? No, but to this kind of confrontational task, rural Amos was called. And at the heart of his message is the call away from superficial expressions of faith in God to a communal and personal desire to seek good and not evil, to live rightly and justly. Amos challenges his people, “Take away from me the noise of your songs…but let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos says those who love God truly must also love others truly.

The next image on the screen is the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, AL. Notice that the prophet Amos got no credit, only MLK for making the prophet’s words ring true in a time of segregation and injustice. Richard wrote a strong editorial in the early 1990’s, hoping get a Biblical reference to Amos added, but to no avail. Nevertheless, this artful, fountain of ever-flowing water streaming down over the names of those who were killed for resisting injustice is a testimony to the truth of these words, and their power to transform lives. No matter how you feel about the effectiveness of President Obama’s administration, I expect you can smile with me to think how far we have come from these tumultuous days of change in the 1960’s.

I invite you to hear anew these words written 2600 years ago.
Amos 5:14 -15, 21-24
Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts,
will be with you, just as you have said. 15 Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
21 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Many of you are aware that I have just returned from service as a commissioner to the national meeting of Presbyterians in the PC(USA). 712 elders and ministers in equal number, came together in Minneapolis to work, pray and together discern the will of God for our denomination for the next two years. The General Assembly is like the US House of Representatives and the 173 presbyteries are like the US Senate. Most major items passed by the Assembly must also be approved by the presbyteries before anything is changed. If you have read the information I emailed about the Assembly, you know that with much prayer and debate, we dealt with the issue of homosexuality, which touches all our lives in families and neighbors, schools and churches. We have been addressing overtures pro and con on this matter for thirty years.

I do not intend Peace Presbyterian to become a congregation driven by a particular social or denominational issue. No, the center of our life must and always be Jesus Christ. But we need to be informed about the struggles of the denomination, and we need to be able to discuss them responsibly and respectfully. They are relevant to how we live our lives as Christians. So I want to share with you today my ruminations about the challenge to discern what is right and just in the eyes of God, through the witness of Scripture and our Reformed confessions of faith as we listen to the voice of the Spirit in the here and now and as we reflect on the history of the Church in previous struggles.

I want to acknowledge that I believe Christians on both sides want to do what right and just in the eyes of God. They want to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through the scriptures and the Confessions of the Church. But there is one major difference between the two camps – those who would welcome same-gendered couples into every part of church life, including ordained leadership as elders, deacons, and ministers – and those who would welcome them into membership in the church while challenging them to repent of same-sex coupling. This major difference is the way scripture is interpreted.

The difference between these two groups is one is looking at the trees of scripture and the other the forest of scripture. One group is placing more authority on the literal interpretation of specific texts, while the other is placing more authority in the whole of scripture’s witness, interpreting the specifics in light of the broad themes of covenantal love, mercy, and justice.

This divide is very similar, in my opinion, to one in the mid 1800’s, though the issues are not exactly the same. A then widely respected seminary professor of Columbia Theological Seminary, wrote to his wife as he was serving as a commissioner to the 1845 General Assembly. He said, “I have no doubts that the Assembly, by a very large majority, will declare slavery not to be sinful, will assert that it is sanctioned by the word of God, that it is purely a civil relation with which the Church, as such, has no right to interfere, and that abolitionism is essentially wicked, disorganizing, and ruinous.” (James Thornwell) About twenty years later the Presbyterian Church split into two denominations – those who thought slavery was wrong based on broad strokes of Biblical justice and righteousness and those who defended it, based on the specific scriptural texts which call slaves to obey their masters.

Between 1930 and 1960, the church lurched through several more theological battles related to social change. Women were first ordained as elders in the northern branch of the church in the 30’s, the same year that the General Assembly declared that the highest goal for young women should be motherhood and that colleges should focus on homemaking. Contraceptives were suspect. In 1956, our friend Marg Towner became the first ordained female minister in the Presbyterian Church. The southern Presbyterian church, still existing separately after the divide over slavery, was about at least a decade behind the north in these actions. Again, the issue was the interpretation of scripture. If one focused on particular verses like the ones in the letters written by or attributed to Paul, which call women to keep silent in church and be submissive to their husbands, then one had a harder time seeing the broad strokes of the recognition and empowerment Jesus (and even Paul) gave to women, despite the male-dominated culture of their time. If one is surrounded by a culture which expects men to be in the public sphere and women to be in the private sphere of the home, then it is hard to fully grasp that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.”

In this same time period, in the middle of the 20th century, the equality of the races was heating up again, and the issue of divorce and remarriage was being contested. I’ve already mention civil rights and Martin Luther King so let’s talk a minute about divorce. In the Gospels, Jesus takes a harsh stand against divorce in the Gospel accounts, excusing it (if you read literally) only for a man when his wife has been unfaithful.

Fifty years ago a male pastor who divorced was expected to step down from his position in the church for a season. But over the last half a century, we have taken broad strokes of forgiveness regarding the difficulties of holding together a marriage which is unhealthy and destructive to one or both parties or harmful to the children of such a union. We can now say that divorce is just and right in certain circumstances. We see marriage as a partnership of two equally valuable persons. That was not the case for thousands of years before.

So where does all this leave us in our current debate about committed, monogamous, same-gendered couples? (Mind you, we’re not talking about any kind of sexual promiscuity, which we can all agree is wrong.) Some folks whom I respect think that we are losing all moral and Biblical ground by considering that homosexuality expressed in a covenantal relationship could be good and not evil.

Others of us think that to deny such persons, who love the Lord Jesus Christ as we do, who were born with a homosexual orientation, who want to make a commitment or have made a commitment to love one person in the same way I love Richard, is not right. To deny them the opportunity to serve as leaders in the church – elders, deacons, ministers, is an injustice. To deny their partners and children the pension and medical benefits, when dues have been paid, is wrong and unfair. You may not agree with me, and that is okay. We can have a respectful conversation about it, and we all represent the Presbyterian Church (USA), a church which for the last decade has been trying to find the just and right waters.

There is no denying that we are living smack dab in the middle of this debate, one which will not go away in our church or our culture. There are now five states in the union which allow same-gendered couples to get married or to commit themselves to a civil union. You and I have Christian friends on both sides of this issue, and we have close friends to whom this matter is very personal.

No matter where you stand on ordination, I hope that you agree that at Peace and in the PC(USA), Christian unity is right and just, and honest, respectful debate is the only way to preserve such unity for the sake of the Church at large and our witness to Jesus Christ.

We are not the only ones in this struggle for the right and the just. Among the major Christian traditions in this country, the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church are among those on our left. The Southern Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Church are among those on our right.

Nobody wants the church to split. History has already seen the Presbyterian Church split over social issues and Biblical interpretation too many times. The PCA and EPC are the products of such division in the last fifty years. Thanks be to God, the major camps of the 1860’s, Presbyterians north and south, were pieced back together in 1983. Nobody wants to ignore the Word and the Spirit of the Lord. Nobody wants to be mean or un-welcoming toward any of God’s children – whether they see homosexual relationships as sin or not. All of us want what is right and just. We want to seek good and not evil.

And let me be clear. Teens and adults, alike, we in the Presbyterian Church, are not saying that it is just and right to have sex with someone because it feels good to express your love. Fullest expressions of intimacy without commitment, without a promise to love forever is neither just nor right. Our God is one who loves us with a covenantal love. God keeps promises, loves completely, and forgives always. We are called as God’s people to make covenantal commitments, which provide a holy foundation and place of security for the fullest expression of sexual love. We don’t handle all our relationships perfectly, but we never stop trying to live more fully in and by the covenantal love of God through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. As stated in A Declaration of Faith, “We confess the value of love and faithfulness and the disaster of lust and faithlessness in all our relationships as women and men.” As it says in the Confession of 1967, “Anarchy in sexual relationships is a symptom of our alienation from God, neighbor, and self.”

The prophet Amos calls us to seek what is good, not just what feels good. Seek the Lord and live. Be faithful. Be generous. Be celibate (just say “no”) when you are not in a position to commit to a covenant of love. Never take advantage of someone because you can. Love people, care for them, choose the right paths of relationship because it pleases God and leads to life, the joyous life of being connected to the world and humanity as God intends.

Pray with me please. God, you have called us in this time and place to wade in the water of conflict over human sexuality. You’re troubling these waters and it is not easy to make the right choices. Help us to know and to do what is just and what is right. Give us courage to celebrate faithfulness and to denounce infidelity in all our relationships as human beings. Help us to submit ourselves to your Lordship in every aspect of life, including those areas about which Jesus spoke very often – matters of our generosity toward others. Where we fail, forgive us and call us again to new life, to purity of purpose in serving you. Where the church is divided, where we are feeling confused or bewildered sometimes by all the changes in our world, give us clear guidance, that we might truly hate evil and love good, that we might work on ourselves, before we try to work out the sins of others, that we might bring to you worship that is pleasing in your sight, not superficial worship, filled with hypocrisy. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer, that justice may roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Good Samaritan

Matthew 22:37-39 and Mark 12:28b-33
William R. Clough, D. Min
Professor, Pastoral Community Counseling
Argosy University -Sarasota, Florida

This is, arguably, the most familiar of Jesus’ parables and one of the most popular to preach on. The one and only time any Commanding Officer ever gave me any advice on preaching was when I was guest preaching at Camp David and the CO said “I would never presume to tell you what to preach on but just to let you know, the last three chaplains who have been here preached on the Good Samaritan.” That seemed to indicate that this parable is not only exceedingly familiar, but also a popular passage for clergy to use to craft their best, their masterpiece sermon – which is not true in my case, which may become obvious as we proceed.

You’ve heard it updated: a man was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho when a gang jumped him, beat him up and left him for dead. Along came a UN envoy and when he saw the man he said “That’s awful but I can’t take sides.” and passed by quickly. Then along came a member of the Israeli parliament who saw the man and immediately called – his speechwriter to say “Write me a speech that makes me sound tough on crime!” But then a Hamas fighter came down the road and said, “Enough already! I’m disgusted and I just can’t leave an injured person by the side of the road!” so he put the man in his truck, took him to the hospital and said “Take care of him, here’s my name and address. Send the bill to me!”

Retellings recover the shock value of the original parable.

And you’ve heard it interpreted: The priest represents the impotence of organized religion – for centuries we’ve had the opportunity to solve problems but have been just about as apt to make things worse or leave them the same. The Levite represents the impotence of government – big or limited – which has done no better. The Samaritan represents those who, day by day, act by act, minute by minute, actually make the world better.

Which recovers a point of the parable.

It’s important to notice that this parable is commentary on the Great Commandments and this is the third time the Gospels deal with the exhortations to love God and love one another.

Matthew 22:37-39 – Jesus just answers simply and directly: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

In Mark 12:28b-33 the answer is clearly classic Jewish morality: Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad “'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' [Deuteronomy 6:4-5] The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' [Leviticus 19:18] No other commandment is greater than these." And the Scribe agrees,
"Well said," he replied "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other. To love God with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And Jesus said “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

In Luke it’s not Jesus but it’s the Lawyer who gives the Great Commandments. He asks, Jesus asks back, and he answers rightly but, being a lawyer, wants clarification, hence the parable.

In Matthew the Great Commandments are an aphorism, the sort of summary we all agree on. A concise summary theologians love to expand on and preachers love to use to exhort the congregation to love or to seek eternal life. In Mark it’s a mutual, but undefined, understanding. It’s really easy to agree on ideals as long as we’re not pressed to turn them into policies. But finally, here in Luke, the Great Commandments are redefined. “Neighbor” is not defined by the characteristics of the neighbor “neighbor” is defined by your characteristics, by the condition of your heart, your mind, your spirit, your might, your transparency to the will of God.

We’re usually inclined to define neighbor by the characteristics of the person, something like “Neighbor” the person of Jewish descent who lives closest to you, not counting foreigners (see “stranger”) or people who have forfeited their right to “neighbor” status (see “exceptions,” which do include blasphemy, theft, murder – but do not include “jerky behavior by the person next door” which does not rise to the level of forfeiture of “neighbor” status.

When you define neighbor by external characteristics you stop thinking about human need and start thinking about human worthiness; you stop thinking about the love of God and start trying to discern who God loves.

Most sermons on this parable end up exhorting you to love God and love your neighbor but clearly, you already love God and neighbor or you wouldn’t be here. I mean, why show up to church unless you want to serve God in concrete expressions of love, and you want help and direction doing it.

You want to make a positive difference in life. You know there’s a lot of pain and suffering in the world and you want to help prevent, preempt, and heal it. You want to stop the oil spill, end world hunger, correct injustice, end slavery, comfort the sick, and help people live relationships that are healthy, harmonious, kind, just, and loving. That’s why we seek out and the church apprises you of opportunities to do all those things.

You want to make that difference by serving God. Without God, “doing good” ultimately devolves to looking out for number one, doing a job, or into the fragile enthusiasm of the moment. So we meet, as a congregation for mutual encouragement and feedback on what God wants and how best to provide it.

The problem is that being a “good person” is really vague and nobody’s very good at it. So we surround ourselves with other people to keep us honest, to keep us moving. We can do more as a group than as individuals so we get together with people who have similarly God inspired goals and are looking for particular places to help.

We want to get in touch, once again, with the wisdom that started it all. To be reminded of the calling we felt when we started, the ultimate purpose of life, to have the vision we share clarified, re-burnished. To once again see ourselves in light of eternity, in the grand march of God’s people, in the lineage of the prophets and saints, the people who really did make a difference by the grace of God.

Perhaps the ultimate answer to what you must do to have eternal life, full life, abundant life, in the truest sense of the term a good life is to get beyond yourself. After all, when confronted with a person in need, the first two people in this parable who encountered him asked, “What will happen to me if I stop?” But the third thought, “What will happen to him if I don’t?”