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Year C, 2016
Fr. Robert D. Arnold
Proper 12
St. Luke 11:1-13
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the subsistence economy of 1st century Galilee, resources had to be
managed very carefully. Women were the family resource managers. Very
early every morning, before it got hotter than it will today, the women of the
village would gather at the community well to collect their water for the day
then head to community oven to bake enough bread to feed their family for
one day—3 small loaves per person. There was, of course, no refrigeration,
so if a young and inexperienced wife miscalculated on the dough, she would
simply have to bake more bread than needed. All the other women, of
course, would notice and perhaps find the inexperienced young woman
somewhat amusing. People in little villages need something to talk about,
and this sort of faux pas would be the chatter of the day. If someone had
extra bread, everybody in the apartment building would know it. In
addition, hospitality was considered a sacred duty. To be inhospitable
would also cause tongues to wag, and one would lose face and standing in
the community, perhaps permanently. It reflected that much on your
character. With that background, we are now ready to hear a parable.
A guest arrives late at night. Hospitality is, needless to say, offered.
However, this man’s wife was a very careful manager of the family
resources and, not expecting company that night, only baked enough for
their daily bread. There wasn’t anything in the house to eat. How
embarrassing! Even we would be uncomfortable not being able to offer
some form of refreshment to a guest. In 1st century Galilee it was downright
shameful. But then this wife remembered the young wife who had baked
too much bread that morning, and she sends her husband to their neighbor’s
apartment to borrow some bread. Imagine this man shouting from his bed,
“Go away before you wake the whole house. I don’t care about your
problem.” Friends don’t behave that way. And even if that were what this
friend wanted to do, he would have known that the next day, when the story
of his shameful refusal got around, no one would even speak to him. In that
honor culture, this loss of face would have been devastating. To make the
situation even more ludicrous, Jesus has this desperate man persistently—
shamelessly—beating on the door to get a response from his neighbor. The
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people who first heard this story would have known immediately that such a
thing would never happen. A friend does not deny the request of a friend,
even if he says, “I won’t, I won’t, I won’t!” As realistic as Jesus always is,
He relates how angry the man became at being so rudely disturbed in the
middle of the night (I think we can all relate to that!), and says that the man
grants his request and gives him the bread not out of friendship, but out of
the desire to just get rid him. So, if a neighbor like that grants a request like
that, how much more will God grant our requests!
The point of the parable is not the need for persistence, but the
certainty of a neighborly response … and God’s response to our prayers.
We make a mistake if we think Jesus is teaching us to pray with persistence
—just keep beating on God’s door and sooner or later God will respond just
to shut us up. No! The point is the very opposite. We don’t need to exhaust
God with constant badgering. God’s response is more certain than that of a
friend. “For I tell you,” Jesus concludes, “ask, and it will be given you.
Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” God
will respond readily to our needs.
There is, of course, a huge difference between needs and wants.
Prayer is not an invitation to submit a wish list to the Almighty or request a
solution for the messes we get our selves into. Prayer isn’t the same thing as
hitting the lottery. God is ready to respond and our Lord invites us to ask,
seek, and knock in the confidence that God will respond with that which we
need.
The Lord’s Prayer is the model for all our praying. And notice, Jesus
even gives us permission to address God as He did: “Abba”. Abba is a title
of both respect and affection. “Father” is, I think, a little to formal; “Dad”
maybe a little too familiar. I like to translate it as “Papa.” It is unique to
Jesus. We are to pray, Jesus teaches us, with the confidence of children
going to a beloved papa. When you knock, Jesus says, say “Papa.” And
what are we to seek? “Papa, may your name be holy and honored. May
your kingdom come in fullness and power for us and for all. Forgive us our
sins as we commit ourselves to passing on that forgiveness to others. Save
us from a trial too great for us.” When you knock, say “Papa,” and seek the
things Jesus taught us to seek.
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And what should we ask for? The prayer teaches us to ask for bread.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Luke changes it to say “Give us each
day our daily bread.” It is true, all we need to survive is one day’s portion—
no more, no less. But what about tomorrow? What about the insecurity of
not knowing what tomorrow will bring? We need the confidence to know
God will supply our daily bread today, tomorrow, and the days to come.
That’s what we are to ask for: the Bread of Life, the bread that daily feeds
our bodies and the Bread that sustains our spirits, minds and relationships—
the Bread that feeds life. “Papa, give us what we need for life. Satisfy the
deepest needs and longings of our lives—give us every day this Bread of
life.
God is ready to respond—more ready than we are to ask, more
dependable than a neighbor, more understanding than a friend. Knock, seek,
and ask; but when you knock, say, “Papa.” When you seek, seek the things
Jesus taught us to seek; and when you ask, ask for bread—the bread needed
to sustain life today, but also the bread needed to fill our spirits every day.
The door will be opened and God will place into your outstretched hands His
own Spirit which, as it turns out, is exactly what we most needed. Amen.