Year C
\u00a0Genesis 18:20-32
\u00a0Psalm 138
\u00a0Colossians 2:6-15
\u00a0Luke 11:1-13
May the words of my mouth O God\u2026\u00a0 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O God\u2026 let me pass this test\u2026 and I promise I’ll go to church every Sunday for a year\u2026 O God\u2026 let me just make it to the gas station\u2026 and I promise I’ll always remember to fill up before I set out\u2026 O God\u2026 let me win this lottery\u2026 and I promise that I’ll give more than 10% of my winnings to the church\u2026 O God\u2026 O God\u2026 O God\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O the promises we make to God\u2026 hoping to get what we want\u2026 and into this mix\u2026 are voices which tell us that the exact words we speak with our lips or in our hearts\u2026 can make or break a prayer\u2026 as though prayer was some kind of incantation\u2026 that there are prescribed positions for our bodies\u2026 or that we need to envision\u2026 with as much detail as we can\u2026 the results we want for ourselves or others\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The effectiveness of prayer is mystery\u2026 we know that sometimes prayers are\u2026 or seem to be answered\u2026 and sometimes they’re not\u2026 and so it makes me wonder\u2026 is God a vending machine\u2026 and are prayers quarters\u2026 because if we believe that\u2026 then we must at least sometimes believe that prayer changes God’s mind about us\u2026 when what may really be going on\u2026 is that prayer can also change our minds about God\u2026 and if our minds are changed\u2026 our actions will follow\u2026 and so maybe we simply ought to pray for God’s best outworking for every situation\u2026 but then\u2026 on the other hand\u2026 it’s been demonstrated that when a scientist’s conscious attention is focused on an experiment… that the results are different\u2026 than when their attention is not focused\u2026 so it may be a mysterious combination of both things\u2026 that our prayers may be answered\u2026 or our minds may be changed\u2026 so has anyone ever run out of gas alongside the road\u2026 and did you pray that you wouldn’t\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don’t think our reading from Genesis is intended to teach us how effectively Abraham said his prayers\u2026 and that it changed God’s mind about him\u2026 it’s an exchange\u2026 it’s a form of Jewish haggling\u2026 a form of midrash which demonstrates God’s grace\u2026 which demonstrates God’s desire to be in relationship with us\u2026 and for us to be in relationship with each other\u2026 because according to Ezekiel\u2026 the sin of Sodom was not the sin conservative evangelicals like to think it was\u2026 the sin of Sodom was the sin of being inhospitable\u2026 in Ezekiel 16:49\u2026 God said\u2026 the guilt of your sister Sodom was that she and her daughters had excess food\u2026 prosperous ease\u2026 and were prideful\u2026 but did not aid the poor and needy<\/em>\u2026 did not love their neighbors as themselves\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Abraham appeals not for the judgement he might like to see\u2026 but in the unfolding back and forth\u2026 to the character of God\u2026 knowing that God’s testimony will be made manifest through God’s actions\u2026 and that’s why he could be persistent\u2026 like the man who came at night and knocked\u2026 and according to information I found on a Jewish website\u2026 at least according to tradition\u2026 if someone wants to convert to Judaism\u2026 and asks the rabbi\u2026 according to Jewish law\u2026 the rabbi must say “No” the first three times\u2026 but if that person persists\u2026 the rabbi will do it\u2026 and Abraham intervened more than three times on behalf of Sodom\u2026 he becomes\u2026 in effect\u2026 a satan\u2026 an accuser against God\u2026 and asks\u2026 Are you really going to do this\u2026 are you really going to sweep away the righteous with the unrighteous\u2026 are you really going to discount the value of even ten righteous people as nothing\u2026 and destroy them too<\/em>\u2026 ] and it can be easy\u2026 in our human arrogance\u2026 to think that Abraham convinces God to spare Sodom\u2026 it can be easy to believe that God is enlightened by the logic in Abraham\u2019s argument\u2026 that it’s only because of the relationship that Abraham and God have\u2026 because God had already reckoned Abraham as righteous\u2026 but maybe the story is intended solely\u2026 for Abraham\u2026 and us\u2026 to discover how compassionate God already is\u2026 how forgiving God already is\u2026 and for us to realize how forgiving we are not\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Family Systems\u2026 we understand shame to be the emotion which lets us know that we have exceeded the limits of our humanity\u2026 and have wandered into God\u2019s realm\u2026 but the Greek word which has been translated as persistent<\/em>\u2026 also means shameless<\/em>\u2026 which in this context means\u2026 acting like God\u2026 so perhaps the one who came knocking\u2026 is God\u2026 and is legitimately shameless with us\u2026 and persistent\u2026 and while we and our families lie in the warmth of our beds\u2026 God knocks on the doors of our comfort\u2026 for us to help feed our neighbors\u2026 by sharing three loaves of bread\u2026 because when we have a deep relationship with someone\u2026 we don’t need to test that relationship\u2026 we can expose our vulnerability\u2026 and safely ask for what we need\u2026 ] as Christ Jesus\u2026 though he was in the form of God did when he emptied himself\u2026 and took on the form of a slave\u2026 a servant\u2026 and taught them to pray\u2026 Father\u2026 hallowed be your name<\/em>\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n T. Denise Anderson\u2026 a Racial Equity and Women’s Ministries director for the Presbyterian Church USA writes\u2026 consider the personal and political dynamics in how The Lord\u2019s Prayer begins\u2026 we say it so much that we may not realize how revolutionary it was for Jesus and his disciples to say these things\u2026 ] their community was under Roman occupation… Julius Caesar was given a title of divinity after his assassination\u2026 and his son\u2026 Caesar Augustus\u2026 capitalized on that title while he was still living\u2026 called himself the son of god\u2026 which he then leveraged to overcome his political rivals\u2026 and it’s into this context that Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus subverts Roman power with the treasonous claim that he is God\u2019s son\u2026 and in teaching his disciples to pray this way\u2026 Jesus passes that distinction on to them\u2026 because if they say Father\u2026 then it is they and not Caesar\u2026 who are Children of the Living God\u2026 and if God is your parent\u2026 and it’s the duty of parents to care for their children\u2026 then God is obligated to care for us\u2026 and so it’s no wonder that God is persistent in knocking on our doors\u2026 when like teenagers\u2026 we withdraw from the family\u2026 hole up in our bedrooms\u2026 and think we know it all\u2026 until our parents insist\u2026 and persist\u2026 that we come down for dinner\u2026 and re-enter community\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n and until we pray for God’s kingdom to come\u2026 and for God’s will to be done\u2026 on earth and in heaven\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And as Fr. John Meulendyk reminds us\u2026 we need to remember the sins that are often committed as we conform to the way things should be… Jesus was the person who broke all social norms\u2026 and yet we do not consider him a sinner\u2026 so part of the work we are called to do is to consider how today’s social norms, rules, and regulations prevent us from addressing social injustices\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Gospel\u2026 we are given a comparable example of persistence\u2026 for three loaves of bread\u2026 but more importantly\u2026 for the bread of forgiveness\u2026 that we must ask for daily\u2026 so are we willing to ask God for what God can give us\u2026 instead of what we want God to give us\u2026 are we willing to let the Spirit pray for and in us\u2026 even when we have run out of words to say\u2026 are we willing to let God cling to us when we\u2019ve lost the strength to hold on to God\u2026 and are we willing to accept that forgiveness\u2026 and let it change our lives\u2026 we may not always succeed\u2026 but it is part of the work that we’re called to do\u2026 Holy God\u2026 make it so\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year C\u00a0Genesis 18:20-32\u00a0Psalm 138\u00a0Colossians 2:6-15\u00a0Luke 11:1-13 May the words of my mouth O God\u2026\u00a0 speak your truth\u2026 O God\u2026 let me pass this test\u2026 and I promise I’ll go to church every Sunday for a year\u2026 O God\u2026 let me just make it to the gas station\u2026 and I promise I’ll always remember to fill up before I set out\u2026 O God\u2026 let me win this lottery\u2026 and I promise that I’ll give more than 10% of my winnings to the church\u2026 O God\u2026 O God\u2026 O God\u2026 O the promises we make to God\u2026 hoping to get what we want\u2026 and into this mix\u2026 are voices which tell us that the exact words we speak with our lips or in our hearts\u2026 can make or break a prayer\u2026 as though prayer was some kind of incantation\u2026 that there are prescribed positions for our bodies\u2026 or that we need to envision\u2026 with as much detail as we can\u2026 the results we want for ourselves or others\u2026 The effectiveness of prayer is mystery\u2026 we know that sometimes prayers are\u2026 or seem to be answered\u2026 and sometimes they’re not\u2026 and so it makes me wonder\u2026 is God a vending machine\u2026 and are prayers quarters\u2026 because if we believe that\u2026 then we must at least sometimes believe that prayer changes God’s mind about us\u2026 when what may really be going on\u2026 is that prayer can also change our minds about God\u2026 and if our minds are changed\u2026 our actions will follow\u2026 and so maybe we simply ought to pray for God’s best outworking for every situation\u2026 but then\u2026 on the other hand\u2026 it’s been demonstrated that when a scientist’s conscious attention is focused on an experiment… that the results are different\u2026 than when their attention is not focused\u2026 so it may be a mysterious combination of both things\u2026 that our prayers may be answered\u2026 or our minds may be changed\u2026 so has anyone ever run out of gas alongside the road\u2026 and did you pray that you wouldn’t\u2026 I don’t think our reading from Genesis is intended to teach us how effectively Abraham said his prayers\u2026 and that it changed God’s mind about him\u2026 it’s an exchange\u2026 it’s a form of Jewish haggling\u2026 a form of midrash which demonstrates God’s grace\u2026 which demonstrates God’s desire to be in relationship with us\u2026 and for us to be in relationship with each other\u2026 because according to Ezekiel\u2026 the sin of Sodom was not the sin conservative evangelicals like to think it was\u2026 the sin of Sodom was the sin of being inhospitable\u2026 in Ezekiel 16:49\u2026 God said\u2026 the guilt of your sister Sodom was that she and her daughters had excess food\u2026 prosperous ease\u2026 and were prideful\u2026 but did not aid the poor and needy\u2026 did not love their neighbors as themselves\u2026 But Abraham appeals not for the judgement he might like to see\u2026 but in the unfolding back and forth\u2026 to the character of God\u2026 knowing that God’s testimony will be made manifest through God’s actions\u2026 and that’s why he could be persistent\u2026 like the man who came at night and knocked\u2026 and according to information I found on a Jewish website\u2026 at least according to tradition\u2026 if someone wants to convert to Judaism\u2026 and asks the rabbi\u2026 according to Jewish law\u2026 the rabbi must say “No” the first three times\u2026 but if that person persists\u2026 the rabbi will do it\u2026 and Abraham intervened more than three times on behalf of Sodom\u2026 he becomes\u2026 in effect\u2026 a satan\u2026 an accuser against God\u2026 and asks\u2026 Are you really going to do this\u2026 are you really going to sweep away the righteous with the unrighteous\u2026 are you really going to discount the value of even ten righteous people as nothing\u2026 and destroy them too\u2026 ] and it can be easy\u2026 in our human arrogance\u2026 to think that Abraham convinces God to spare Sodom\u2026 it can be easy to believe that God is enlightened by the logic in Abraham\u2019s argument\u2026 that it’s only because of the relationship that Abraham and God have\u2026 because God had already reckoned Abraham as righteous\u2026 but maybe the story is intended solely\u2026 for Abraham\u2026 and us\u2026 to discover how compassionate God already is\u2026 how forgiving God already is\u2026 and for us to realize how forgiving we are not\u2026 In Family Systems\u2026 we understand shame to be the emotion which lets us know that we have exceeded the limits of our humanity\u2026 and have wandered into God\u2019s realm\u2026 but the Greek word which has been translated as persistent\u2026 also means shameless\u2026 which in this context means\u2026 acting like God\u2026 so perhaps the one who came knocking\u2026 is God\u2026 and is legitimately shameless with us\u2026 and persistent\u2026 and while we and our families lie in the warmth of our beds\u2026 God knocks on the doors of our comfort\u2026 for us to help feed our neighbors\u2026 by sharing three loaves of bread\u2026 because when we have a deep relationship with someone\u2026 we don’t need to test that relationship\u2026 we can expose our vulnerability\u2026 and safely ask for what we need\u2026 ] as Christ Jesus\u2026 though he was in the form of God did when he emptied himself\u2026 and took on the form of a slave\u2026 a servant\u2026 and taught them to pray\u2026 Father\u2026 hallowed be your name\u2026 T. Denise Anderson\u2026 a Racial Equity and Women’s Ministries director for the Presbyterian Church USA writes\u2026 consider the personal and political dynamics in how The Lord\u2019s Prayer begins\u2026 we say it so much that we may not realize how revolutionary it was for Jesus and his disciples to say these things\u2026 ] their community was under Roman occupation… Julius Caesar was given a title of divinity after his assassination\u2026 and his son\u2026 Caesar Augustus\u2026 capitalized on that title while he was still living\u2026 called himself the son of god\u2026 which he then leveraged to overcome his political rivals\u2026 and it’s into this context that Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray\u2026 Jesus subverts Roman power with the treasonous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[160,158,159],"class_list":["post-1715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-breaking-social-norms","tag-prayer","tag-relationship-with-god"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1715"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1716,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715\/revisions\/1716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}