Ordinary Time, Summer 07

Cycle C, Proper 12

July 29, 2007

Title: Mosquito spirituality

Speaker: Linda

Song leader: Christine

Worship leader: Gary

Texts: Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:6-15; Luke 11:1-13

Genesis 18:20 Then the LORD said, "How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! 18:21 I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know." 18:22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 18:23 Then Abraham came near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 18:24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" 18:26 And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake." 18:27 Abraham answered, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 18:28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." 18:29 Again he spoke to him, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." 18:30 Then he said, "Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." 18:31 He said, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." 18:32 Then he said, "Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."

Psalm 138 NRSV

I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;

before the gods I sing your praise;

I bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love

and your faithfulness;

for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.

On the day I called, you answered me,

you increased my strength of soul.

All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,

for they have heard the words of your mouth.

They shall sing of the ways of the LORD,

for great is the glory of the LORD.

For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;

but the haughty he perceives from far away.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;

you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Psalm 138, adapted from CEV

Leader:

With all my heart

I praise you, Lord.

In the presence of the gods

I sing your praises.

I praise you for your love

and your faithfulness.

Men:

You were true to your word;

when we asked for your help,

you answered our prayers and gave us courage.

Women:

All the leaders of earth have heard your promises, Lord,

and they will praise you.

Right:

Though you are above us all,

you care for a humble people,

and you keep a close watch on everyone who is proud.

Left:

We are surrounded by trouble,

but you protect us against our angry enemies.

With your own powerful arm you keep us safe.

ALL:

You, Lord, will always treat us with kindness.

Your love never fails.

You have made us what we are.

Don’t give up on us now!

Colossians 2:6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 2:7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 2:9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 2:10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 2:12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 2:13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 2:14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

Luke 11:1 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." 11:2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 11:3 Give us each day our daily bread. 11:4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial." 11:5 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; 11:6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' 11:7 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.' 11:8 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. 11:9 "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. 11:10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11:11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 11:12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 11:13 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!"

(notes: Rienecker and Rogers quote Arndt in v. 4, do not bring us to the time of trial as ”do not permit the foes of our soul to catch us in their net.”

Contemporary quote:

"Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries." -- John Albert Michener

Introduction: the Torah on one foot

During the reign of King Herod, and probably overlapping Jesus’ boyhood,

there lived a very famous rabbi in Jerusalem called Rabbi Hillel.

Perhaps he was one of the rabbis in the Temple

when the 12 year old boy Jesus astonished the teachers of the Law…

Hillel was known for his wisdom in teaching the Hebrew Law,

and for his amazing patience.

The story goes that a young man in King Herod’s court

made a bet with some buddies

that he could make this famous wise and patient rabbi angry.

So he barged noisily into the rabbi’s class the next day where he was instructing his disciples on some of the finer points of the Torah, the Hebrew Law.

“Rabbi! Rabbi!” he shouted urgently, “why do the Babylonians have such round heads?”

Hillel turned to face him calmly. “Clearly, it is because their midwives aren’t properly trained,” he said and then returned to teaching the students.

(Maybe this is where the expression “ask a silly question, get a silly answer” comes from.)

Crestfallen, the young man slunk away.

But he came back the next day with another disruption,

another silly question,

and the next day

and the day after that.

Each time, Rabbi Hillel answered him softly, kindly

and then returned to instructing his disciples.

But he was a persistent young man.

Besides, he had risked a significant sum of money on this bet

and he was starting to feel a little desperate;

it looked as though he wouldn’t be eating very well for the next while…

Finally, he had an idea

that he thought might get the old man’s goat.

The next day he burst into the rabbi’s class yet again,

jumped right in front of him

and started to hop up and down on one foot,

and waving his arms right in the rabbi’s face.

“Rabbi! Rabbi!” he shouted, “can you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot??”

The students gaped at him,

aghast as he continued to hop on one foot

and flap and squawk like a stork.

They had studied the Torah daily for years

and knew that they would spend their whole lifetimes studying

and never be done;

how dare this pesky idiot be so rude and so stupid

to think he could learn the Torah while standing on one foot?

And they knew their teacher;

they knew how much he treasured the Hebrew Law…

it was his whole life’s passion.

They looked a little anxiously at him

and wondered if this time

he would lose it with this outrageous, annoying pest…

Rabbi Hillel was unperturbed.

He looked right at the ridiculous young man

hopping and squawking and flapping in front of him

and said softly,

“That which is hateful to you, do it not unto your neighbor.

That is the whole of the Torah; all the rest is commentary.

Now, go and learn.”

The young man stood stock still in dismay.

All his persistence had not gotten him what he wanted

and the wisdom of the rabbi’s pointed answer

had completely taken the wind out of his sails.

Then he said, with feeling, “May there be no one else like you in this whole country!”

“Why do you say that?” Hillel asked him, still kindly.

“Because of you and your patience, I’ve lost my bet—and a lot of money!” the young man spluttered.

Hillel smiled into his long white beard. “Well, my son, better that you lose your money than I should lose my temper!”

--adapted from Jaffe and Zeitlin, While Standing on One Foot

[Some scholars think that Jesus based his Golden Rule on Hillel’s statement, making it a positive and more demanding “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”]

Risky persistence:

Persistence can sometimes bring you what you want—or not.

There is an African proverb that says, “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a hut with just one mosquito."

Even a very small something, if persistent,

can bring about change…

but does the mosquito know for sure

if it will get the nourishment it needs by its persistence—

or will it get a swift swat??

Persistence can bring change, yes,

but it’s risky change…

In this passage in Luke, Jesus urges us to be persistent.

We usually hear or recite Matthew’s version of the Lord’s prayer;

here we have Luke’s instead.

And it’s much shorter than the more familiar version

short and to the point.

In Matthew, the Lord’s prayer comes

right at the heart of his sermon on the mount;

Here in Luke,

Jesus’ disciples have just asked him

to teach them how to pray….

and this is his response.

Let’s read Jesus’ prayer together: it’s in your bulletin in the bottom paragraph of the front page; let’s begin three lines down in that reading where it says, “Father…”

We’ll end just before verse 5; it’s not even three lines long….

Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

And do not bring us to the time of trial.

It doesn’t seem finished, does it? It just stops.

Right after this model prayer which ends without even an AMEN--

Jesus continues his lesson,

telling the story of a persistent, annoying

mosquito-like friend

and, shockingly,

tells us to be as persistent and annoying

as that in our prayers!

Ask! Search! Knock!

Even bad parents know how to give good gifts to their kids, he says…

and so does God.

And so will God.

And God seems to like—and reward!

pesky behavior in prayer.

Maybe this is why Luke doesn’t end his version of the Lord’s Prayer.

It’s not supposed to end; it’s supposed to go on and on, buzzing in God’s ears like a mosquito…

Some spiritual teachers refuse to answer their students’ questions until their persistence tells the teacher that they truly want to know—and will listen carefully.

Risky prayer:

At first glance this looks like Jesus’ promise that God will give us what we ask for. But look again.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say that parents always give their kids what they ask for—just that they know how to give “good gifts.”

And notice that Jesus doesn’t say that God will give us

exactly what we ask for, either…

But it does say that God will give us something

in response to all our persistent asking, searching, knocking…

do you see what it is?

God will give the Holy Spirit to those who are persistent in prayer.

Not merely what we ask for,

but the Spirit of God...

This is a scary thought, actually,

if you want to be the master of your own ship,

dictate your own decisions.

We can’t control or manipulate the Spirit of God

and sometimes with that great Wind in our sails

we get blown where we might rather not go.

Persistent prayer will bring a response, Jesus promises…

but suddenly it looks like a risky business…

And persistent prayer is a risky business.

Just two chapters earlier in Luke,

Jesus says bluntly in another teaching session with his disciples,

“Those who want to save their life will lose it

and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.

What does it profit them if they gain the whole world,

but lose or forfeit themselves?” (Luke 9:24-25)

This may have been what the Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard was pondering when he said:

"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. "

Conclusion:

Being persistent in prayer is taking the risk of opening ourselves up

to God’s Spirit of wisdom,

God’s hopes and possibilities for us

and trusting that whatever comes will be good.

[A quick look at the words that the Spirit of God is described by in the Bible include: The Spirit of wisdom, life, adoption, love, freedom, truth, grace, peace fellowship…]

Our persistent prayers may not bring us quite what we think we need or want;

but we can trust that it will be good,

that this loving Spirit of wisdom will be with us.

The pesty young man who persistently tried to annoy Rabbi Hillel learned some wisdom that stuck with him far longer than the money he would have won in the bet.

I will close with another story:

As a young adult I landed one of my first food service jobs as a baker.

I found out that I’d be assistant to an older woman and I was thrilled—while I would never have admitted that I needed my mom who was over 3000 miles away, truth was that I did still need motherly wisdom and guidance.

I prayed fervently that this woman would be a mentor for me; I envisioned a kind, loving person who would graciously share wisdom as well as baking skills with me.

Instead, it quickly became clear that she saw me as competition;

she resented me and I thought even hated me.

I was miserable working with her that whole year

although there was some real satisfaction in turning out 70 pies in a day!

I didn’t think that God had responded to my prayers…

But early yesterday morning I had this text running through my brain

while I was making pies for our family reunion,

and for the first time I realized what a huge gift it has been in my life

to have started out working with someone like her.

At a very minimum, I learned to treat my assistants with Hillel’s lesson:

“That which is hateful to you, do it not unto your neighbor.”

It completely changed the way I understood being a boss,

having and using power…

every person that I have supervised since then has benefited from my experience with her.

And I continue to persistently try to move beyond Hillel

to Jesus’ more positive,

even more demanding lesson,
”Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Yes, God responded to my prayers—but not in the limited way I hoped for. God’s idea, God’s loving Spirit, was far bigger. And it has benefited far more people.

Let’s pray:

"Disturb us, Lord, to [risk and pray] more boldly [and more persistently], to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. Amen."

--adapted from a prayer attributed to Sir Francis Drake