June 22, 2007

A RELUCTANT FRIEND, A SINFUL FATHER, AN UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGE

Luke 11:5-13, 18:1-8

The title of my sermon this morning is: A Reluctant Friend, A Sinful Father, and An Unrighteous Judge. The question before us is this: What do these three rather unsavory characters have in common, and what can they teach us about the topic of prayer?

In our messages this summer we are investigating some of Jesus’ parables. Today I have chosen to pull together a couple different passages and different parables because they deal with a common theme, the theme of prayer.

In the first story, a guest shows up late at night after a long journey. In a panic, his host realizes he has no food to place before his guest. In a culture in which hospitality is an essential virtue, he goes to his friend and neighbor to ask for three loaves of bread to feed his guest. It turns out that his friend is not such a good friend. His answer is, “Don’t bother me! Go away! I have already locked the door, and my children and I are all in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything!”

We must keep in mind the culture of the time as we recreate this story in our minds. The house in which the friend lives is probably a simple, one room stone structure. All the family slept together on simple mats on a raised section at one end of the room. For the man to get up would involve waking and disturbing the whole family. He is reluctant to respond to his friend’s request. But think about the larger context. This small stone house is probably clustered close by other similar homes in a village setting. Very little is private in such a setting. The man at the door would not have knocked at the door, but rather called out his friend’s name. The neighbors may also be awake and listening to the exchange and the bold request. Even if friendship is not a strong enough motive to help, the audacity and persistence of the request will eventually call the man forth from the warmth of his bed to supply his friend’s needs.

In the following story, a son asks his father for a fish. Would a father play a trick on his son and give him a snake instead? If a son asks for an egg, would the father slip him a scorpion? Even in the way Jesus phrases the question, it is apparent that a strong “No!” answer is expected. Such a thing is unthinkable!

Finally, in the parable in Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of a judge and a widow. The judge is not a good judge. He is a bad judge. We are told that he is a judge who does not care about God and he does not care about people or what they think of him. He makes his judgments arbitrarily, without any consideration for right and wrong, justice or injustice. The widow in the story comes to him seeking justice and protection from those who would cheat her of her property and her inheritance. At first the judge does nothing. This woman means nothing to him. She obviously has no resources to offer him a fat bribe. She has no man to speak for her or she would not be in the court at all. He brushes her requests aside. But she keeps on coming, day after day after day. Finally he concludes, “If I want any peace, I will have to give her what she is asking or she will wear me out.” So her request is granted.

Now, I don’t know about you, but all of these stories sound rather strange to me. There is something odd about them. Something doesn’t seem quite right. What kind of teaching is this? The reason these stories seem strange is because Jesus is using a different kind of literary device. It is one that is not so familiar to us, so we need to approach it carefully. It is interesting that all three of these stories use the same device. You see, most parables are based on comparison. “The kingdom of heaven is like…” The meaning of the parables is based on the similarities we find between the story and the principle or truth Jesus is trying to drive home. But the meaning of these stories in front of us is not found in the similarities but rather in the contrast. We might call these “How much more” parables. This phrase actually occurs in Luke 11:13, but the same idea is also implied in the others. We will see what is meant by the phrase as we go along.

First, though, let’s look at some common ingredients in all three parables. First of all, there is an asker: a friend, a son, a widow. Secondly there is a request: The friend asks for bread, the son asks for a fish or an egg, the widow asks for justice. Thirdly (and this is most important to the teaching) all three petitioners get what they ask for. All three are successful in their quest. The friend gets his bread, the son gets his fish or his egg, the widow gets justice.

So far so good. In the context of prayer, we are the askers. We are told to be like the characters in these stories. We are to ask. And the implication is that when we ask, we will receive.

But then we come to the fourth common element in each of the stories. And it is here that we come to the contrast. The fourth element in each story is the person to whom the petition is submitted. In each case, this person has resources or power to grant the request and to meet the need. In the first parable, it is a reluctant friend. In the second, it is a sinful father. In the third it is an unrighteous judge. Now here, in the contrast, is the impact point of these stories. Listen very carefully. God is not like them! He is very, very different. And this is where the “how much more” reasoning comes in. If the petitioners in these stories received what they asked from this cast of characters, how much more will we receive answers to our requests and our petitions? After all, our God is not a reluctant friend who responds only under duress. He is a willing and compassionate friend! God is not a sinful father, but rather a truly righteous and good father who delights to meet his children’s needs. He is not an unrighteous judge who grants justice only at his own whim and at his own convenience. He is a righteous, caring judge who is ready to act speedily to meet the needs of his people for protection and justice.

It is in understanding the contrast that the impact of these parables really strikes home and reaches our hearts. We are motivated to pray boldly and expectantly and persistently like the petitioners in the stories did, because our God is not like the characters in the stories. If they received their requests, how much more will we when we present them to our loving Friend, perfect Father and righteous Judge?

We can learn a great deal from these petitioners. While each of these stories shares the same broad strokes of emphasis, there are subtle distinctions. The friend at midnight is characterized by his boldness. He is really asking a great deal. It is midnight. It is inconvenient. He is disturbing an entire family and possibly an entire neighborhood. He had to know this. Now what he asks is not greedy; only three loaves of bread. Even that is not for himself but for his visitor. But he is asking boldly, without hesitation, not afraid to press his request. I am not good at that. I hate to bother people. I don’t like to ask for things or to have people go out of their way for me. I’d rather do it myself and be self sufficient. But this passage and this story tells me that such reticence is out of place in my relationship with God.

Look at the direct application Jesus makes of this story in verse 9: So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. There it is in Jesus’ own direct instructions. “Ask, seek and knock…” It is never too late at night, or too much trouble, or too inconvenient. God is waiting for us to call, to seek, to knock. What are we waiting for? Let us be bold in our praying!

The son is characterized by his confidence that he will receive good gifts from his father. As Jesus says, even sinful fathers give good gifts to their children. In this example, Jesus is not contrasting a good father with a bad father. Rather he is contrasting human fathers (who are sinful, as all human beings are sinful) with God as our perfect heavenly Father. Even earthly fathers, in spite of their flawed and sinful nature, are inclined to give good gifts to their own children. Because that is true of most earthly fathers, children have confidence to ask their fathers for the things they need. How much more should that carry over into our relationship with our heavenly Father!

Prayer is really about trust, isn’t it? Can we trust God to give good gifts when we ask him? Now at this point, a whole host of questions about prayer come bubbling to the surface of our minds. What about unanswered prayer? What about the healing you prayed for, and it never came? What about the exam you prayed about, and you failed? What about the job offer you prayed about and it didn’t happen? What about the loved one you’ve prayed for for years, and they still haven’t come to Christ?

Let me first of all say that I don’t know the answers to all these questions. I struggle just like you do, to reconcile these realities of my life with the prayer promises of Scripture. But let me share a couple thoughts. The first is in the form of a little story that happened when I was a boy. I was playing with a friend in his backyard one day, when I slipped and fell. When I put out my hand to catch myself, I came down right on a long thorn which jabbed deep into the palm of my hand. Fortunately, it came right out again, leaving only a deep puncture wound. But my friend was the son of the missionary doctor on our station. He immediately announced, “You have to get a tetanus shot!” Now, as a child I had a deep fear of injections. I’d had a couple early experiences with dull needles, and then I’d been around other kids who fed this phobia. I tried to convince my friend that I was fine, that I didn’t need a shot. But he refused to listen and marched me straight down to the hospital to the nurse. To my dismay, she agreed that I needed the injection. She told me to sit down and wait and she’d be back with the needle in a few minutes. Now there was no escape! But then I thought of one. What if Jesus came back to earth before she came back? Then I wouldn’t need the shot! So I began to pray for the Lord’s return. I prayed very hard, very sincerely. “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” I even remember walking over to the door and look up at the sky to see if there were any unusual clouds gathering to signal Christ’s return. You’ve probably guessed by now, but God didn’t answer my prayer!

From our perspective as adults, we chuckle at a story like that. But from my childish perspective, my fear was very real and so were my prayers. I sometimes wonder how God views some of our prayer requests. I wonder if he sees them in much the same way I now view my prayers that day. His plan, his perspective, his sense of proportion is so much greater, so much wiser, so much more comprehensive than ours. When he doesn’t answer, it isn’t because he doesn’t hear, or he doesn’t care, but because he has another, bigger plan and a bigger agenda. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask. We should ask. We are instructed to ask and ask boldly. But we should ask humbly and in trust. God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. But sometimes he doesn’t give us what we ask because he has an even better plan and an even greater gift in store for us.

The second insight I would share comes from this passage itself. Look at the way verse 13 ends: “…how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” The parallel passage in Matthew 7:7 reads a little differently: “…how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.” These are not in contradiction but in harmony. God only gives good gifts. And the greatest gift he has to give is the gift of himself, the gift of his own Spirit who lives in us, the sense of his presence with us, whatever our circumstances. So whatever your need, whatever your dilemma, ask, trusting in your heavenly Father, the giver of good gifts. And trust his answer.

The widow is characterized by her persistence. When she didn’t get the judge’s attention the first day, she came back the next day. And she just kept on coming! Now remember, God is not like that unjust judge. But we are to be like this woman. Keep on praying! This is the reason Jesus told this parable. Luke actually explained the meaning before he related the story. Look at Luke 18:1: Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. We live in the era of instant solutions and quick results. But life and God don’t work on our time table Some things take time and persistence.

This is another answer to the matter of unanswered prayer. Don’t give up! Keep on asking. Some prayers may be answered in an instant. Others may be answered in a day. Others may be answered in a month or a year. Others may be answered in a lifetime. The answer to some of our prayers may not be revealed until the trumpet sounds and the Lord himself descends to the earth. This may be especially true of prayers like this widow’s prayer; prayers for justice. Look at how Jesus’ words conclude in the story of the unjust judge in Luke 18:7-8: And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

I am not sure of all that is going on in that verse, but there is one thing that is clear. Some prayers will not be answered fully until Jesus comes to earth again. But that is not a reason to stop praying. That is a reason to persist in our prayers for justice and righteousness and for God’s intervention in this world in which we live. Jesus concludes with a rhetorical question: When I come again, will I find faith on the earth? I think that is another way of asking, “Will I find people still praying and longing for my return?” Maybe my boyhood prayer was not so far from the mark after all! “Lord Jesus, come quickly!”

I realize that I have probably raised more questions about prayer than I have answered. But what I want to leave with you are these three stories. Remember, I said last time that the stories and parables of Jesus sometimes defy our efforts to tie them up in neat propositional conclusions and packages. But what they do is sit in our minds and in our hearts and continue to drip feed God’s truth into our souls as we need it. The friend at midnight with his bold request, the son who confidently expects good gifts from his father, and the widow who would give the unjust judge no peace. Learn from them and keep on praying.