For someone who doesn’t have a lot to be proud of, I’m afraid that I have to confess that I have acted with pride far too often in my life. Now, I don’t mean that I’ve surrounded myself with a “posse” of fans and supporters. I don’t mean that I’ve deliberately put anybody down or ignored them because I thought I was better than they were. I don’t mean that I’ve bought a car, jewelry, or expensive clothes to advertise my alleged success. I don’t have the money to do that, but it’s not my style, anyway. And, I don’t mean that I require everyone to call me “Doctor Wilson,” although I do use the title as an “academic credit card” at times when dealing with the college where I teach.
My pride expressed itself in two destructive ways. First, there have been times that I ignored learning things I should have learned because I thought they were “too elementary” for me. Trust me, folks. You pay for that in the long run. But the one that’s relevant to today’s text is the one I’ve only recently acknowledged. I have too often been too proud to ask for help—even from my parents. That’s the second way I’ve hurt myself with pride and, sadly, it’s a way I still hurt myself. It isn’t smart and it isn’t Christian.
You see, I’m so proud that I have trouble asking people for anything. I didn’t get an allowance when I was in high school and any kind of paying work was few and far between. My parents expected me to come to them when I needed money for lunch money, class rings, yearbooks, books, gas money, dates, or anything. Instead of being thankful that they wanted to give me good gifts like this, I resented having to ask. Instead of being thankful that I had parents who were employed and loved me, I insulted them by not making my desires known to them. In too many ways, I shut them out of my life by thinking they were too poor or too “narrow” to meet my needs. And I cheated both my folks and myself—even though they rather heroically pulled my fat out of the fire on several occasions.
Now, a lot of people have the same problem with prayer. They think it demeans them and makes them less noble or less truly human to ask God for something. They think that God intends for them to handle it themselves and end up shutting God out of their lives—cheating both God and themselves instead of building a relationship. And, they rationalize their unwillingness to pray to God with the most feeble excuses: God has more important things to do; God wants us to handle the little things; or That’s too small for God to deal with. I have known people who thought I was being idolatrous to ask for God’s guidance in buying a house or a car. They thought that was too small, too insignificant for God to care about. Gee, here I thought my God created and sustains even sub-atomic particles. If God is involved with the Periodic Table of the Elements, I think God can be involved in my daily life. God may not be a Cubs fan (indeed, history would show us that He most assuredly is not), but that doesn’t stop me from thanking God when I get to see a great play or get to experience the joy of a game at the friendly confines. When I thank God, the experience is that much better.
Of course, my parents had another reason for wanting me to come to them for money. They loved me, wanted what was best for me, and, as a result, wanted to know how the money was being spent. They didn’t want to contribute money for anything that was harmful to me. In the same way, God wants us to come to our heavenly Father for our needs so that God can provide that which is best for us, that which is good for us, and not what is bad for us. We involve God in a powerful proactive way.
[Slide 2] In Luke 11, Jesus’ example in prayer demonstrates a need to His disciples, a need to learn to pray as Jesus prayed—prayer that gave Him power and prayer that provided results that the disciples could see. The disciples looked around and saw that other teachers were training their students* how to pray and they felt like they were missing something vital. So, they asked Jesus to teach them.
And, as we’ve seen in other sermons, He taught the disciples to treat God as “Daddy,” a parent intimately involved in His children’s lives. He taught the disciples to recognize that they needed to treat God’s name (person and reputation) as “holy” to remind them that everything we do reflects upon God’s reputation. He taught the disciples to make sure that their goals and objectives were in agreement with God’s “KINGDOM” goals.
[Slide 3] And Jesus taught His disciples to pray as though every day mattered, recognizing that our needs for growth and health, as well as our mental health, and our spiritual health depend on our relationship with God. Remember, the word used for temptation in the model prayer can either have the positive idea of a test or the negative idea of a seductive possibility. I think God wants us to pass tests, but I think God wants us to pass up the negative.
This last Friday, I spent over eight hours on a panel of faculty deciding whether many of our seniors were going to get a chance to graduate or not. This is the first of two major portfolio and demo reel presentations that they have to pass in order to graduate. And, we were brutal. It is better to be brutal now than to have them expecting to get a job in their respective industries when their skills aren’t up to par. Now, we don’t want to be brutal. Part of the purpose of this is to get them over the hump and ready to interview competitively in a tough marketplace. We’re delighted when they succeed, but we know there are problem students who need a fire lit under them to reach their full potential. When we pray to God to not be lead into “temptation,” we are essentially asking God to light a fire under us when we need it.
[Slide 4] Immediately after Jesus taught the model prayer, Jesus underlined His teaching with a story. We call it a parable, but parables are usually introduced with a line that says that He spoke a parable to them. It’s really kind of a case study, but we’ll call it a parable for convenience. A lot of people want to know why Jesus spoke in parables. I have four basic thoughts on this that I’ll express very quickly to you:
1. Parables use situations the hearers can relate to, so they can help explain a complex idea;
2. Parables take us far enough out of the original discussion that we can hear without
objecting immediately, making it less emotional;
3. Parables take us far enough out of our personal experience that we can hear without being defensive (at least, until we “get it”), making it less subjective and more objective; and
4. Parables were a traditional teaching method by the rabbis, as useful in teaching as audio-visual aids are today.
[Slide 5] Some people don’t like parables because they don’t think they’re straightforward enough. But I believe we can understand them easily if we follow some basic principles of interpretation. First, let the context determine the meaning. Some scholars disagree with me on this. They suggest that the church “cut and paste” Jesus’ parables into the gospels in order to make them say what they wanted them to say. I say that the Holy Spirit was involved in the canonical and editing process, so I believe that the “editors” of the gospels placed the parables into positions that exploited their original meaning. I don’t think we can ignore the context.
Second, I believe that the overall meaning of the parable should be clear. However, I think there are lots of intricately woven details in certain parables that enhance the meaning. Third, I always test my theories on the details against the overall meaning. For example, we know that today’s parable is about prayer, so we have to fit the details to the idea of prayer. If my details don’t fit the overall message, my theories have to go to the recycle bin. But my fourth caveat should tell you that I don’t like those who like to reduce the meaning of the parables to one thought or lesson alone because I think it is too reductionist and doesn’t allow the text to speak for itself.
[Slide 6] That being said, let me share with you how I think believers should study the parables. First, read the entire chapter concerned or the chapters around it (especially if the parable is at the start of a chapter—unlike today’s parable) to get the idea of the context and potential controversies. Second, list all major characters and “properties” (like movie props) in the story and the verses where you find them described. Next, suggest possible meanings for the characters and props on the basis of what you’ve read and discovered (listing verses when it is spelled out). Finally, add comments based on historical and Biblical observation. BUT, don’t make the mistake of assuming (like the early church fathers who turned parables into elaborate allegories) that everything has a specific meaning. That would be as ridiculous as a Star Wars fan trying to explain the meaning of every symbol on Darth Vader’s armor. It is interesting to some people, but it doesn’t really help you enjoy the movies. Betcha’ wonder how the ex-publisher of Star Wars Insider knows that?
[Slide 7] So, let’s get started with this text. Let me offer my translation as we start out (but feel free to read it alongside the translation you usually use for worship and study):
5) And He said to them, “If one of you has a friend and he goes to him in the middle of the night and he says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves
6) Because my friend approached me on his journey (lit. out of the way)
and I have nothing I can pass along to him.’
7) The person inside answers, ‘Don’t present me with work, the door is already locked and my children are with me in bed and I am unable to rise to give [anything] to you.’
8) I tell you, even if he does not rise and give because of his friend, because of his (friend’s) shamelessness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
We can list things like: you, friend, three loaves of bread, friend on a journey, nothing, door, children, and bed. They may not all be significant, but they all seem to jump out at you from the story. And don’t be worried if you make a list that isn’t the same as someone else’s list on the same parable. This is a technique for you to use.
Now, right away, we know that “you” is the hearer because that’s how Jesus positions it. The friend, we deduce from the subject matter (prayer) and the follow-through in verses 9 and 13, must be God. This is kind of problematic for us because the friend doesn’t seem to want to meet his neighbor’s needs and we’ve been taught that God wants to meet and does meet all of our needs. I’m going to make a suggestion about this, later, but right now, let’s just assume that the friend is God—even if we don’t understand why Jesus made this unflattering symbolism.
[Slide 8] There are a few things from historical and Biblical research that can help us understand this story better. First of all, we need to realize the law of hospitality as Abraham in Genesis 18, Lot in Genesis 19, Jacob’s future father-in-law in Genesis 24, and the old man in Judges 19.
This continued in the New Testament with specific commandments for general church members
(Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2, and I Peter 4:9), as well as church leaders (I Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:8). So, this situation doesn’t reflect a luxury for “you” when you go to seek out some supplies, but it reflects a vital law of hospitality. It is a “need.”
Against that need, we also know something about the arrangement of the typical four-room house of that era. We know that the inner room was often something of a courtyard with a place for an oven toward the rear of the household, any animals on the inside of the courtyard, and other sleeping quarters on the edges. The husband of the household usually slept against the door (both a human “deadbolt” and “alarm system” all-in-one) and would have been likely to disrupt the animals by traversing the courtyard to get to the food storage at the back of the house. This, in turn, would disrupt the whole household. We’ll get back to this.
We also know it was dangerous to travel in the hot climate by day, so sometimes people traveled in the cool of the morning and evening in much the way that I remember crossing the Mojave Desert in early morning and night when our family traveled when I was young and we had no air conditioning in the car. Remember those goofy canvas bags we used to tie to the front bumpers? The caravansaries (crude inns that were nothing like Motel 6 or any of those “motor lodges” on ‘50s era Route 66) weren’t necessarily safe places to stay (and in Genesis 19 and Judges 19, neither were the houses), so good people were obliged to take care of travelers.
[Slide 9] So, what do we have, here? We have a needy traveler,* “you” are asking for three loaves of bread, and the fact that “you” have nothing. Here’s someone in need and “you” have nothing. Now, I’m going to resist the idea of suggesting that the number three is used as a divine number here and allegorizing Jesus as the bread of life. I do think that three is intended to help us realize that we’re asking God (“He who caused to be, He who continues to be, and He who always will be”) to meet the need, but we don’t necessarily need to interpret the “three” to get there. Rather, let’s focus on the fact that “WE have nothing.”
If WE want to have power in prayer, I believe the most important lesson to be learned is that WE have NOTHING. I once heard Chip Dalby preach on this text and compare this phrase to our modern phrase. “I’ve got nothing.” Ever play a game where you had to reveal the strength of a unit, a resource, a tile, or a domino and said, “I’ve got nuthin’.” Your partner or opponents are expecting you to reveal something that will affect the game and you have to virtually pass your turn? Well, a lot of the reality of prayer is recognizing that WE’VE GOT NUTHIN’ and GOD HAS EVERYTHING.
In fact, remember what I was saying about going to my parents for money? Part of the reason I didn’t want to do so was because then I would have to admit that I needed them. It was easy to ignore what they were providing in home, food, utilities, and clothes. Those expenditures were relatively invisible to me because they were “out of sight, out of mind.” But, I really needed to know that my parents (as unreasonable as they seem to all teenagers and I was no exception) were providing for me. And the easiest way for me to know this was to come to them for money.
Guess what? Prayer isn’t a matter of filling out a requisition form or order form so that God will know what we need. God knows already. Prayer is a matter of getting our attitude to the point where we affirm that God provides all we have and God gives us what is best for us. But we need to keep asking God for what we want and what we need to remind us where it’s all coming from.
When my Dad set his foot down because I was pig-headedly going in a wrong direction, he’d say, “As long as you put your feet under my table, …” When we admit that we’ve got nothin’, it means that we’re cognizant of the fact that God has everything, everything we are about to receive comes from Him, and we’re willing to live properly in order to put our feet under His table.
While I’m using such confessional examples, let me tell you another way I hurt my parents’ feelings. Ever hear a spoiled child cry, “You never give me anything good!?” Well, my attitude was often that my parents never give me anything good. I showed that attitude when I didn’t ask them because I didn’t think they would let me go somewhere, do something, or have something. There may have been times when I was right. They wouldn’t let me go to a party at a friend’s house if the parents weren’t there. But there were lots of things I didn’t ask for or to go to because I was certain they wouldn’t let me go or couldn’t afford for me to go. That was WRONG!
And it’s wrong for us when we treat God that way, as well. [Slide 10] We start out with our inadequacy and see a host of excuses following. The neighbor in Jesus’ story doesn’t want to be bothered with extra work. I believe that Jesus threw this excuse into the story NOT because it is what the Father would really say to us, but because it is what some of us ASSUME God would say to us. “Not now, I’m too busy.” What an arrogant and erroneous assumption on our part! Then, the neighbor states that the door is locked. The door is clearly an obstacle, but the door could easily be opened. I think Jesus put this excuse here because we sometimes assume that God won’t overcome obstacles that seem so clearly to stand between us and God’s provision. But when we get to verse 9, we are clearly informed that the door WILL be opened to us.
Then, we are told that the children might be disturbed. Does this remind you of those proud believers who say, “I don’t bother God with stuff I can handle because others need Him more!?” I personally think the early church would have understood themselves as the “children,” but I can’t prove it. So, let’s just say that they represent “others.” Do we really, wrongly believe God cares more about “others” than about us?
Finally, the neighbor says he isn’t ABLE to get up. Now, isn’t that a crock? Can you imagine anyone refusing to pray to God because they assumed God wasn’t ABLE to do something? Well, I don’t have to imagine it. I’ve known people who just didn’t think God would bother or didn’t think God dealt at their particular detail level. But the truth is that such an attitude is unbelief.
The punch line or bottom line is “shamelessness.” The Greek is obscure. It can mean asking with “no shame.” Wailam’s father used to talk about people who could ask for something “wooden-faced.” They weren’t embarrassed at all to ask for something. He even quoted a Portuguese proverb, “To ask doesn’t offend.” That’s how we need to approach God. If we ask for the wrong thing, God will simply refuse and, often, show us why we don’t need or shouldn’t have something.
The same Greek word could also mean that the neighbor answered the knock (eventually) in order that the neighbor himself would not be shamed. Reputation was on the line. The verse might also mean that God’s reputation is on the line when we pray. When, as a teenager, I unilaterally decided that my parents couldn’t afford something or wouldn’t let me have/do something, I shamed them. If I told a friend, “We can’t afford it” without asking my folks (and I’m afraid there were times I did), I was embarrassing my parents—even if they didn’t know (I hope they’ll still speak to me after this sermon). We can’t afford to make God look bad with our unbelief, our presumption that God will say no, God being too busy, or anything being too difficult.
[Slide 11] So, what do we have? We have a lot of speculation on the meaning of the door, children, and the bed, but no definitive answers. I do think that when we look at the details in the light of the chapter’s context, we get the sense that the view of God as the neighbor is a problem with our perspective rather than God’s character. I don’t think Jesus is telling us that God is deliberately hesitant to answer our prayers because of these excuses.
[Slide 12] Let’s just consider what we think we’ve learned from the parable.
Jesus wanted us to know that WE have NOTHING
Jesus wanted us to know that not only do WE have NEEDS, but need to meet NEEDS
In order to meet NEEDS, we need to learn to ASK for resources to meet those NEEDS
Sometimes, it seems like God doesn’t respond to our prayers in order not to disturb others, but that is likely to be our problem in perception
To ask (wooden-faced) is no shame
To ask with “no shame” sets US free to acknowledge who God is and what God does for us.
[Slide 13] Now, if our interpretation of the parable is correct, it ought to be reflected in the rest of the teaching. So, let’s consider the other verses in our text:
9) Just as I am telling you, ‘Ask and it shall be given to you; search and you shall discover, knock and it will be opened to you,
10) BECAUSE everyone who keeps on asking receives, and (everyone) who keeps on seeking finds, and to (everyone) who keeps on knocking, it is opened.
11) So, would any father out of you, if a son asks for a fish from you, would you give him a serpent instead of a fish?
12) And if he asks for an egg, give him a scorpion?
13) If, therefore, you existing in evil know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to the ones who are asking.”
Verses 9-10 suggest a habitual practice of asking, searching, and knocking. Guess what? That means establishing a relationship where we know that we need to receive something from God in order to pass it along according to God’s will. We have nothing, but He has everything. We’re wrong if we think God is too busy, too aloof, too weak, or too uncaring to answer our prayers. And we’re wrong if we think prayer isn’t part of the relationship, of “allowing” God to be involved in our lives as, too often, we are too proud to let our human parents be involved in our lives.
[Slide 14] But it is verses 11-14 that tell us our interpretation is correct. In unbelief, we cry out that God won’t give us anything good. In refusing to pray or being slip-shod in our approach to prayer, we say that God doesn’t really care what we think or say. But Jesus went on to close the circle. He noted that even though a snake might feel similar to a snake when touched, no human father would dream of giving a venomous snake to a child in place of some fish. He noted that even though their desert scorpions would curl up into a form factor about the size of an egg, no human father would dream of giving that to a child in place of an egg.
Then, Jesus ties things down even more. He states that if fathers who live in the conditional, unsettling, undependable environment of earth (“If you, living in evil, …”), can give good gifts to your children, how much more will our Heavenly Father give you the Holy Spirit!* Wait a minute! I thought we were talking about “bread,” about everyday stuff! We are! You see, we need the Holy Spirit in order to be able to operate at the level God wants us to function. The Holy Spirit is God’s good gift that counteracts our “nuthin’.” And that means that if we don’t learn to affirm to God that we have “nuthin’” so that God can give us the presence of the Holy Spirit, we’re going to be ineffective.
Prayer is not only admitting our inadequacy and our need for God’s guidance, it is opening ourselves up to the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. Anything else is an insult—even worse than those unthinking, irresponsible insults toward my parents back in my teen-aged years. Let’s learn to admit our need so that we can experience/receive God’s good gift of God’s Holy Spirit.
