Proper 12 C
The Prayer of the Dead to the Living
St. Luke 11:1-13
28 July 2013 – Redeemer
In the Lord’s prayer there is only one petition in which you do the work. Every other petition is asking your Father to work – to hallow His name, extend His Kingdom, give daily bread, deliver from evil. Which petition speaks of your work? Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Most of the Lord’s prayer causes us no problems. It is an easy prayer to pray. You can daydream during the prayer because God’s name is holy, His Kingdom has come to you and He gives you your daily bread, but then comes the one petition where you pray about yourself.
We pray that the Lord would forgive us as we forgive each other. And the Peter in us asks, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother, my husband, my children – seven times?” Seven is quite a lot. Forgive? We would rather join the company of James and John who saw Jerusalem reject Jesus and asked, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” Forgive? But Lord, I’m better than that sinner over there.
Do you know why you don’t want to forgive? Because when you forgive you die. You die to your own right for payback. When you forgive you declare yourself to be a loser in the courtroom of justice – losing the upper hand, losing your power, losing the debt you are owed. When you forgive you die to yourself and no one wants to die. (Idea from Capon)
And that makes the Lord’s Prayer a prayer for the dead. (And no I’m not talking about praying for the dead – that won’t do any good no matter what the Pope says.) I’m talking about praying as the dead – those who have died to sin and been raised to life in Christ.
Consider the little parable Jesus tells at the end of the Lord’s Prayer. And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.” (5–8)
Once again Jesus tells us a story that just would not happen in the real world. Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight? Well not me. I’ll tell you that. Certainly not for a loaf of bread. If there’s been an accident, if I see someone creeping around the yard, I might bother my neighbor, but not for a midnight snack. Can you imagine what your neighbor would think as you explained your situation. Well, we had company coming and they didn’t get in till real late. And I was just too lazy today to get to Coborns and they’re really hungry. I smelled you grilling for supper. Don’t you have some leftover brats and potato salad or something you could give me to feed them?
According to Jesus this neighbor is a better neighbor than you are. He doesn’t call you what you are – a shameless loser. Really? At midnight? You want me to get out of bed because you didn’t budget your time and weren’t prepared? No, your neighbor doesn’t call you what you are. He tells you enough of the truth to get rid of you, “Do you know what time it is? Give him some of your own food. I’m in bed. The kids are in bed. The lights are off. The doors are locked. And I’ve got a big day tomorrow at work. I’m not giving you anything.”
That’s the answer we would expect, but Jesus’ stories are filled with the unexpected. This parable doesn’t end with the door getting slammed in your face and your neighbor giving you the evil eye for a few weeks. Your neighbor rises from his slumber. And not because he is your friend (because right now there is nothing friendly about you.), but because of your “impudence” whatever that means. That’s how the ESV translates the word, but it can also mean “shamelessness.” What is shamelessness? It is losing all self-respect. It is admitting you’re lazy to your neighbor. You’re coming to him like a beggar with no rights, no power, helpless and you’re depending not on any friendship, but only on your neighbor’s heart. You’re saying, “I hate to bother you, but I am a damned fool, help me.” Your neighbor has a heart, a heart of compassion, a heart of mercy for fools. He rises from bed, and who knows, he might give you the bread he had just baked for breakfast for his own family. He saves you from yourself. He lifts you up and when you go back to your house and share the food with your guest, both of you exclaim that you have the best neighbor in the world – a better neighbor than anyone deserves.
When you pray the Lord’s prayer you are not praying to your neighbor. Jesus says when you pray say, “Father.” Why can you ascend to heaven and walk into the holy living room and dare say to God, “Dad, I need something?” Because Christ has risen from His slumber in the grave to answer every feeble prayer and every cry for mercy ever voiced.
Christ is your neighbor – He chose to live right next door to you, born of a woman as you were born of your mother. He moved into the neighborhood of sinners when He was baptized by John. And then all the sin, all the folly, all the hate and harm that you inflicted on those around you and upon yourself He took. He became the worst guy on the block – the sinner and when His house, His body, was destroyed with sin on the cross the whole neighborhood was cleaned up. Your value soared – for God purchased you with His body and blood. You are precious in the sight of your Father – worth the value of His Son’s life.
Jesus’ resurrection to life on the third day, His rising from the dead is the very reason you can pray. There is nothing you do in prayer. Your prayers are not heard because you are praying from the heart or praying in big groups or even praying some silly prayer guaranteed on the pages of the Saint Cloud Times. Prayer is going over to your neighbor’s house in the middle of the night with a request so foolish that any normal person would slam the door in your face. Prayer is going over to your neighbor’s house, knowing that you have no ordinary neighbor. For your neighbor is the Father who gave His Son to death on the cross. Your neighbor is the One who rose from the dead after forgiving you your sins and rescuing you from death. Your neighbor is the One who always finds when you seek, who opens when you knock and who gives when you ask. For your neighbor is your Father who opens the door of life to you by saying, “Yes, son, what is it?” In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
27 July 2013 anno Domini