Sermon preached by the Reverend John E. Kitagawa at the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday, 25 July 2010 (The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost) at St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish, Tucson, Arizona

PERSISTENT PRAYER

Genesis 18: 20-32; Colossians 2: 6-15; Luke 11: 1-13

Vivid memories of the Interfaith Journey’s recent visit to the Church of Pater Noster flood my mind as I listen to today’s Gospel. The Church of Pater Noster is located on the Mount of Olives, east of Old Jerusalem. According to Lucan tradition, this is where Jesus taught the disciples to pray the Lord’s Prayer. It must be noted that in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 6: 9-13), the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer is part of the Sermon on the Mount, delivered on a hillside in Galilee. One of the impressive elements of visiting Pater Noster is seeing the Lord’s Prayer in 50 or more languages on the garden walls. The diversity of languages was underscored as we waited to enter a small chapel. We could hear group after group praying the Lord’s Prayer in their own languages. I was reminded of past experiences in international church gatherings when participants prayed the Lord’s Prayer in their own languages at the same time. It is a simultaneous reminder of humankind’s brokenness, represented in the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 1-9), and of the Pentecostal power of the Holy Spirit to gather and unite humanity in Christ (Acts 2: 1-12).

Whether taught on the Mount of Olives or a hillside in Galilee, we need to focus on the gifts Jesus gave us through this prayer. Most of us have said this prayer so long that we hardly pay attention to the way Jesus begins the prayer (Luke 11: 2a). At the time, it was common for Jewish prayers to begin: “Our Father, Our King”[1]. Instead of such lofty and formal words, Jesus uses the word “Abba” for “Father,” which is actually much more like “Papa”[2]. We need to hear this as Good News and new news. Jesus is teaching his disciples then “to approach God in prayer with the same intimacy as a child addressing a human father”[3]. Because we are so aware of abusive or dysfunctional parent – child relationships, I have to point in this discussion to models of healthy parent-child relationships. I also want you to emphasize and focus on intimacy and familiarity rather than the gender of the parent. Jesus wants us to know that God is the opposite of distant, detached and/or disengaged from human life.

In the next breath, Jesus teaches us to ask that God’s Kingdom be brought to fruition and reality in the world we inhabit (Luke 11: 2b). Once again, Jesus is pointing to an accessible and involved God who desires and makes possible the transformation, redemption and reconciliation of all life in the here and NOW—not tomorrow, not someday, but NOW. There is no “pie in the sky” or “bye and bye” here.

Jesus next turns his attention to the nature of God and to God’s relationship to humankind. Implicit in the request for “daily bread” (Luke 11: 3) is the recognition that God is the provider for our most basic needs. One of the best known Biblical examples of this is God’s provision of manna to the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 16: 4). We capture this theological and spiritual verity in this brief Offertory Anthem:

“All things come of thee, O Lord.

And of thine own have we given thee.”

This is a foundational theological and spiritual principle to lift up and teach in today’s world. We live in a society in which many people explicitly or implicitly believe in the idea that we deserve only the things we work for and earn. This is problematic because, ultimately, this idea elevates human beings to the status of creator, and usurps God’s justice, and God’s continuing power and role in the world.

In the next petition (Luke 11: 4a), Jesus would have us ask for forgiveness, for the healing of our spiritual brokenness. When Luke uses the word “sin”, he refers to human offenses against God and against our neighbors. The concept of humankind’s need for forgiveness is deeply rooted in the Bible, as is the concept of God’s mercy. It is Biblically correct to say that we can live in joyful expectation of God’s forgiveness, and through the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. In my experience, many people struggle spiritually to accept and live into the freedom and responsibility engendered by God’s forgiveness. In this prayer, Jesus adds another dimension to our spiritual struggle by telling us we must also offer forgiveness for offenses done unto us.

In Luke’s rendering, the final petition is a fervent request for God to save us from the time of trial (Luke 11: 4b). This could be read as a petition for God to help us avoid difficult, dangerous or unpleasant circumstances. I think it more relevant and powerful to read this as a request for God’s grace to cope with and overcome the temptations and trials in our lives, much like God blessed and empowered Jesus to cope with and overcome trials and temptations.

You will recall that today’s Gospel begins with an unidentified disciple asking Jesus to teach the disciples to pray (Luke 11: 1). The brief prayer he taught the disciples obviously caught on! At funerals and weddings, people who have not been in church for decades can recall from the deep recesses of their memories the version of the Lord’s Prayer they learned as a child. A chaplain at an Alzheimer’s unit told me years ago the only time some of the most unresponsive patients would perk up was to recite the Lord’s Prayer.

If we know the Lord’s Prayer, we know something about prayer. But, Luke obviously thought we needed to know more. The story about the neighbor is not about elevating annoying behavior to a virtue. Think of it in relationship the disciple’s request for Jesus to teach them about prayer. Luke wants us to know that persistence in prayer is important. For one thing, giving up too easily or quickly is an indicator of the level of our interest in or concern for what we seek or request. This story suggests there is a redundancy in the phrase, “Pray without ceasing.” Furthermore, over time, persistent prayer can open us to perceive and receive unexpected manifestations of God’s grace. Another way of saying this may be that the mystery of persistent prayer is the gift of a new capacity to recognize God’s response to our prayer.

Taken out of context, the next teaching about prayer could be misleading and harmful to our prayer lives.

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you (Luke 11: 9).

Taken apart from the spiritual discipline of persistent prayer, a literal reading of this verse suggests you should have gotten that bicycle when you were ten years old, or the doors of opportunity should have opened to you when you graduated from college.

We have to read on to learn more about the One who responds to our prayers.

Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 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? (Luke 11: 11-13).

There is an impeccable logic to these verses. Is that sufficient for you to believe? Is it enough for you to trust? Trust is essential—trust that God will respond in the best, most helpful and empowering ways. Persistence in prayer is not about sheer stubbornness and human will. Persistence in prayer is grounded in this basic trust in God. I think the following Collect fleshes out this thought. It is sometimes said by the celebrant at the end of the Prayers of the People.

Almighty God, to whom our needs are known before we ask. Help us to ask only what accords with your will; and those good things which we dare not, or in our blindness cannot ask, grant us for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord[4].

In a sense, this takes some pressure off of us. We do not have to perfect in our prayer. We do not have to be precise or exactly on target about what we ask or seek. This teaching suggests our part is to learn to trust that God knows, understands and does respond.

As I draw this to a close, I have a serious request of each and every one of you. In addition to your usual prayers, please pray unceasingly for St. Philip’s Parish—for our diverse ministries that change and transform the lives of parishioners and neighbors. This is an activity in which everyone can participate. I do not think anyone is too old, or too young, or too sick, or too infirm, or too busy, or too new, or too (you fill in the word) to pray. I ask you to do this for two reasons. One reason is that I believe in the transforming power of prayer—the power to call forth gifts of ministry, to strengthen, to awaken creativity, and to renew commitment and resolve. The second reason is that I believe in the transforming power of prayer for you—the power to renew or deepen your loving relationship with God, to engage you in the work of the Holy Spirit in new ways, to discern or renew your call as a follower of Jesus Christ, and/or to heighten your joy in being a child of God.

Let me offer you three starting points. There is a prayer for the parish on page 817 of the Book of Common Prayer. It appears to be a pretty generic prayer, but prayed consistently and persistently, you will discover its depth and meaning. Our Sunday bulletin offers a second possible starting point. Week by week, there is a gratitude sentence for a specific St. Philip’s ministry, and how it touches and transforms lives. Consistent prayer over the week, I think, might make you curious and lead you to learn more about that ministry. Persistent prayer for a week, I believe, will open your hearts and minds to God’s redeeming and reconciling love and work amongst and through us. Thirdly, you could start by reflecting on the programs and ministries that touch your life in meaningful and transforming ways. Give thanks for the ways God has blessed you. Then, please pray God to guide, strengthen and bless these programs and ministries so they may continue to touch your life and those of others.

AMEN.