Scripture:
When we turn to God in prayer . . . When we are in need of God's blessing, or healing, or perhaps some specific change in our material circumstances . . . How do we approach God? Do we assume God is near, or distant? Do we anticipate that God understands our needs before we speak, or that we must explain them? Hear how the prophet Isaiah reflects on these questions, reading from the 55th chapter, beginning with verse 6:

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; [7] let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. [8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As is often the case, there is a strong connection between the Hebrew scriptures and the writings of Paul. Hear Paul's first letter to the Christians in Corinth, reading from the 13th chapter, verse 12:

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

The children of our congregation are spending their time this summer reviewing parables, and our Adult Education class continues to meet prior to worship, and is examining the master story teller: Luke the Evangelist. In the story that follows, Jesus is trying to teach us about God's ways. Jesus knows better than any of us both that God's ways are not our ways, AND that God's compassion touches each and every one of us. Those themes are captured in the 11th chapter of Luke, verses 1 13:

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." [2] He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. [3] Give us each day our daily bread. [4] And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."

[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; [6] for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' [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.' [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.

[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. [10] For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. [11] Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? [12] Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? [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!"

Sermon:


Last Sunday you were blessed with the preaching of my Associate, the Rev. Sally Wile, and my family and I were blessed with a beautiful day, which included plans for a bike ride and swim. All was going splendidly until I rounded a 90 degree curve on the bike trail, and failed to see a root popping up through the pavement. Now . . . I'll admit that 22 miles per hour was too fast to be going -- but who would have thought a root would pop up right in the middle of the curve! Suddenly, I was flying sideways through the air, until my left side made its appointment with the pavement. Once I came to full stop, my focus shifted from cool drinks to cool compresses, and from fast food to the nearest drug store. What had been a much anticipated outing had turned into a grand disappointment.

Following a sleepless night, I limped into church on Monday morning. Everyone wanted to know why I was limping, and most declined an invitation to check out the road rash that decorated my left arm and leg. Finally, one of our members quipped: "Well, Don't you think that that might be a message from God telling you that when you're not preaching on Sunday, you should still be in church!"

So I'll keep this in mind when my family and I go on vacation later in the summer...!

Although I was greatly disappointed, I persisted in wanting to make the best of the day. My family swam and was able to enjoy the lake while I strapped a freezer pack to my thigh, and tried to read the magazines we had brought. Not surprisingly, my focus drifted -- diverted by the pain -- and I found myself reflecting on today's Gospel lesson: the embarrassed host who is rewarded for his persistence.

As I was thinking about Jesus' unusual story, I looked again at the magazines in my lap, and saw the great decathlon champion, Dan O'Brien on the cover of U. S. News. I smiled the smile we get when synchronicity brings together things which usually remain unconnected. I remembered the story of Dan O'Brien -- and realized that I could not think of any story that better illustrates persistence.

Four years ago, as the Olympic trials drew near, the whole country -- even those who cared nothing for sports -- were at least vaguely aware of the rivalry between Dan and Dave -- known to millions of Americans only by their first names. This was because the shoe manufacturer, Reebok, had already spent over 20 million dollars on TV ads to make sure that "Dan and Dave" were household words, and that we would all tune in to see how their nose to nose competition would be . . . "settled in Barcelona". Even if you hate commercials (as I do), these humorous portraits of head to head, all out competition provided a uniquely American form of engaging entertainment.

Then, on the second day of competition, everything changed. The eighth event in the Decathlon is always the pole vault. Each competitor must decide at what height he will start vaulting. The decision is based on:

how you're feeling after a day and a half of competition, through 7 tough events;

how strong your pole vaulting skill really is;

and how you do perform during the warm ups.

Dan had gone over 16' easily during warm ups, and so -- on the way to a new world record, and virtually embarrassing the competition in the first 7 events -- Dan confidently chose to begin vaulting at 15' 9".

After missing his first 2 attempts, his name was called for his 3rd and final attempt. He had only 2 minutes to (pardon the expression) JUST "DO IT!" He then made a false start -- which is very unusual in pole vaulting -- came back to his spot on the runway where he starts from; and, as if in a daze, launched himself down the runway, only to fail for a third, and final time.

This meant that the best decathlete in the world had managed to get a ZERO in the pole vault--something he had never done. Although he had built a lead which, for his competition, had become insurmountable, there were two ways Dan could allow them to overtake him.

• One was through injury.
  
• The other was through "no heighting" the pole vault.
  

In the end, Dan did not go to Barcelona.

At the time, I found myself wanting Dan to be able to represent our country at the Olympics so badly . . . that, before the final event, I had the following fantasy: what if all the other athletes somehow realized that in some cosmic sense, it was simply unfair for Dan not to be one of the three US decathletes. And what if, in the final event -- the 1,500 meter run -- they all decided to run slowly, and let Dan run out ahead, solo, and thereby move up to third place overall, and make the team.

Although this fantasy seems foolish, it shows how badly I wanted this to turn out right. There's something in each of us that wants things to turn out right, especially in dramatic, high stakes circumstances.But in the end, things don't always turn out right. And whenever we care enormously about something, we risk enormous disappointment.

Now, all of a sudden, we're not only talking about sports . . . we're talking about God's providence, and our perception of what's "right" and what's not. I want to use the story of Dan O'Brien to help illustrate a number of issues raised by today's scripture readings.

Let's begin with persistence. Luke's parable seems to be saying that persistence pays off. The sleepy neighbor obliges the midnight request, not because it comes from his friend, we're told, but because of his friend's persistence.

Four years ago Dan persisted . . . . After his staggering failure in the pole vault, he continued to compete in the final two events. He almost broke his personal best in the Javelin, and ran the 1,500 meter run, which he hates with a vengeance. But he persisted. Did it pay off for him? Certainly if a ticket to Barcelona is the equivalent of 3 loaves of bread -- Dan's persistence didn't matter. Was this just a case of different rules?

What happens in life when we think we know what we need -- be it 3 loaves of bread, or a particular job we're interviewing for, or a pain free day during which our arthritis subsides, or the opportunity to become pregnant -- and we persist in praying for it . . . and it doesn't happen? What happens if this occurs time and time again? We've all known people whose lives are caught up in a spinning vortex of disappointment. If God has any role in such a person's life, it's often the case that the person feels a great deal of anger at God for not "coming through" for them in the way God comes through for others, such as the host with an empty pantry in Luke's parable. In the end, what we pray for, and persist in hoping for, does not always happen.

Let's take a risk this morning and venture into this treacherous territory. If in prayer we are persistent, the question is: WHY are we persistent? Is it because we think God doesn't get the message the first few times, and needs more prodding? What sort of God is that? God does not need our persistence. We maintain our persistence for ourselves. Our persistence is an expression of, and measure of, our need. It is also a testimony to our continued openness that we might receive a response to our prayers. Why did Dan continue? Why did he throw the Javelin and run the 1,500? For himself. We persist in prayer because that for which we pray is deeply desired -- and we need to lift it up; to express it.

While all of what I have said about persistence is true, it turns out that the translation of the Greek word from Luke's Gospel (anaideia) is open to interpretation. Our translation reads that the sleepy neighbor responds not out of friendship, but because of his friend's "persistence". In Greek, the word really means "shamelessness". Think again of what we know of the circumstances in the parable: the importunate friend is knocking, not for himself, or even for his family. He is knocking, at midnight, because of his shameful embarrassment that a friend has come to his house, and his own cupboards are bare. He had nothing to offer the friend by way of hospitality. And so, in the middle of the night, he swallows his pride, and shamelessly knocks on a neighbor's door. Notice too that he specifically requests 3 loaves. This is because, as everyone who heard this parable would have known, 3 loaves of bread was a manner of speaking which referred to a day's worth of food. Less than that would not have been adequate for him to "measure up" as a gracious host. More was unnecessary.

All of this is to suggest that Jesus is encouraging us, through this parable, to pray boldly, clearly, unapologetically, shamelessly. The verbs in the abbreviated version of the Lord's prayer which precedes the parable are bold and direct: give, forgive, do not bring. The action of the one who knocks at midnight defies convention. Note that scripture does not record that he knocks more than once. It says he goes to the door, states his request, and his sleepy neighbor grants whatever he asks because of . . . . what? It could be because of his friend's shamelessness in coming so late at night.

Prayer is not a timid undertaking. It is undertaken by those who know their needs clearly enough to ask, to search, and finally, to knock. All of this can only occur in a context of trust. Can you imagine going to a friend's house at midnight -- if you had even a shadow of a doubt that your friend would grant your request? You are able to be bold precisely because you are confident that your friend will not turn you away. This boldness is bred in the womb of trust.

There's one thing more that I want to emphasize. Back to Dan O'Brien for a moment. Four years ago, "tragedy" was the word of the day in track and field. It was a tragedy. But let's put it in some perspective. You see, when Dan was young, his parents, one of whom is black and one of whom is white, gave him over for adoption. A couple in Idaho took him in, along with a whole bunch of mixed race kids, and raised him as their son. Not surprisingly, as a young man, he got into trouble. First with booze. Then with drugs. And finally with the Law when he was arrested for burglary. He was going downhill real fast. Then, he got involved in athletics. His life turned around. His Herculean talent emerged. His self confidence and self esteem bloomed. Not only did he rise to become world champion, but his name became a household word throughout America thanks to Reebok.

Then came the huge disappointment of not going to Barcelona. Not only did Dan persist to finish his last two events that day; three weeks after Barcelona, he broke his own world record. And as if that weren't enough, he has persisted for four more years and has now earned the right to compete with the best. However difficult all of this has been, nothing that Dan has ever achieved athletically matches the challenges he overcame when he extricated himself from the life negating habits of his past: drinking, drugs and crime. No world championship can compare to the prodigal receiving another chance, and opening himself to the power of conversion for the better.

And so whenever we feel that we have done our part to pray, and that the "answers" just aren't coming, let's remember that the answers may be coming, but in a form which we don't expect, or recognize, or acknowledge. Dan persisted, regained his pride, and is once again everyone's hero. Still, there are many disappointments, many tragedies, that have NO bright sides to them. That's the reality of our freedom. But that is not to say that there are individuals whom God abandons. The challenge to us is to continue to come to God boldly, and to press God -- for new opportunities, for "daily bread" . . . for the end of brokenness; AND THEN to do our best to open ourselves to the ways in which God IS responding to our prayers. Never forget, God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8 9); and while still in this life, our vision is at best like "looking through a glass darkly". (1 Corinthians 13:12)

My prayer for each of you this summer is that you will set aside the time, and focus your attention, on establishing and developing a trusting relationship with God through prayer; prayer which is bold and direct, prayer which is attentive to needs which are real and pressing and persistent. In such a fashion, your relationship with God will deepen, your gratitude for all of your blessings will grow, and your prayers will be answered, although not always in the way you would expect. May you have a prayerful summer.

Amen.