Sunday sermon: Parables wk 4: 'Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

In our 'thinking about' slot, we were picking up on some school assembly themes this week: talking about how we valued things - does everything come with a price tag?
We thought about different advertising slogans and filled in the blanks e.g. 'A Mars a day helps you... ' etc.
And finally, linking that to our readings - and theme on prayer.
It's easy to have a lot of conversations about what prayer is,
and what we might pray about, but from our gospel passage,
Jesus, encouraging and teaching his disciples to pray, might use the Nike slogan: 'just do it' ...
We also thought that prayer is something that is hard to put a price tag on.
Some of this was later drawn into the sermon.

And, on a side note: the singing in church this morning was absolutely beautiful!!

READINGS: Isaiah 62:6-9 Luke 11:1-13

SERMON
Let’s pray: may the words of my mouth
and the thoughts of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.

Way back on the Sunday after Easter in 2016,
we were thinking about the disciples who’d locked themselves into an Upper Room...
Through a locked door, somehow, Jesus joins them rather unexpectedly.
On that day, thinking about doors, I inflicted a stream of shockingly bad
‘knock knock’ jokes upon you.
But...here’s the thing:
given our gospel reading this morning, of the person knocking on his
friend’s door at midnight and, given Jesus’ encouragement to
‘knock and keep on knocking’
well, I’m sorry to have to tell you this,
but, I’ve found a bunch of even worse ‘knock knock’ jokes
and I confess that I'm going to inflict them upon you.
So, brace yourselves, friends, because here we go:
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Figs.
Figs who?
Figs the doorbell, it’s broken!

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Amanda.
Amanda who?
A man da fix your doorbell!

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Annie.
Annie who?
Annie body going to open this door?

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Troy.
Troy who?
Troy ringin’ da doorbell!

And perhaps this one’s best with a strong Aussie accent:
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Olive.
Olive who?
Olive right next door to you.

Here’s one for our sheep farmers:
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Barbara.
Barbara who?
Barbara black sheep, have you any wool?

And this, for our dairy farmers:
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Cow-go
Cow-go who?
No, Cow go MOO!

Last one, I promise:
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Armageddon.
Armageddon who?
Armageddon the message that it’s probably time to end this game...

Don’t know about you, but I’m a little exhausted after all that!
But, Jesus does say ‘Knock and keep on knocking.’

Both our Old and New Testament passages this morning focus on prayer;
both pick up a theme of being persistent in prayer –
‘just do it’
and, keep on doing it.
Both remind those listening that God wants us to talk to him:
to bring to him our joys, our worries,
our praise, our doubts,
all of the things that make up the stuff of our lives
and the life of the world.
Both passages also remind us that God hears us,
and, that God answers –
though, perhaps if we’re asking for a diamond-encrusted Ferrari,
we might be waiting a long time and, we might want spend that time
reflecting on the things we choose to pray for.
Nevertheless, God answers our needs at the right time.

Our gospel passage from Luke begins with prayer.
Occasionally the question pops up:
‘why bother with prayer?’
Well, in verse one of our text, we find that Jesus is praying:
‘One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place.’
Regardless of all the many questions and conversations around the business of prayer,
basically, if Jesus is doing it,
and if we are to model our lives on him...
well, if it’s good enough for Jesus,
it’s good enough for us.
If it matters enough to Jesus to stop and pray,
then, as his followers, so too, it’s something that we should value and do.
But, how to pray?

Well this has been a question for followers of Jesus not only here and now,
but going all the way back to the disciples.
Jesus finishes his time of prayer and
is immediately asked by them to be taught how to pray.
It’s an expectation of a disciple that their rabbi will teach them this skill
and they flag up that John the Baptist has indeed taught his disciples pray;
‘teach us,’ they ask Jesus.
And so, he does.

Jesus gives them a barebones template – a guideline for prayer:
First, name the one you’re praying to:
‘Father’.
Second, what’s he like:
‘holy.’
Third, ask for the bringing in of God’s kingdom:
because, in so doing, quite a number of other prayer concerns are going to be covered –
when God’s kingdom comes there’ll be an end to injustice, sickness, mourning...
for there’ll also be an end to death.
So, pray for the kingdom and work towards helping to bring that in.
Fourth, look to God to supply your needs:
not the diamond-encrusted Ferrari,
but the daily bread that will sustain you.
Fifth, hand over your mess to God –
confess, say sorry, be forgiven and then you’re free to move on with the business of living.
And sixth, having been forgiven, show that same mercy to others –
the ones who’ve caused you harm.
Don’t store up the hurts and go looking for vengeance –
let it go...
be reconciled if at all possible, and move on.
And finally, seek to stay safe from all those things that distract and deter you
from following in God’s way:
‘don’t take us down that road, God, take us the way that best helps to keep us following.’

It’s a useful template, so useful, that, when blended with the versions from the other gospels,
we end up with the prayer that has been said by Christian communities down through the ages –
our community prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, which we pray every week.

Having given his disciples a lesson on prayer:
first by actually showing by example and doing it himself,
and secondly, by giving a relatively easy structure to follow,
Jesus then widens the lesson –
encourages them to persist in prayer.
Which brings us to our parable this week:
he tells them the story of an annoying friend – a friend in need –
knocking on the door at midnight asking for three loaves of bread;
a friend who just keeps on knocking until he gets an answer.
The formerly sleeping friend,
now very much awake,
gets up,
gets the bread,
opens the door,
and probably very grumpily says:
‘Okay already, here’s the bread: now go away!’

When it comes to prayer,
keep knocking at the door, says Jesus.
Ask, seek, knock:
because the door will be opened.
And, here’s the difference:
unlike that friend who’s been woken from sleep,
and, just as a father won’t give snakes or scorpions to his child when asked for a fish,
so God, the great Heavenly Father is gracious and good.
God is the giver of all good things:
God will meet your needs.
Not only that:
God will do so willingly, cheerfully –
delighting in the fact that you’ve actually stopped and asked.
Not so much ‘okay already, now go away’
but rather
‘Hello! Welcome, I’m so glad you’re here, now, let’s have a chat.’
That door is available to be knocked on 24/7 –
at midnight, midday, or any time between.
Jesus teaches his disciples,
teaches us,
that God is always with us,
always ready to listen,
always ready to help –
sometimes in ways we can’t even imagine.

Why pray?
Well, Jesus did.
But what’s the value in it?
What’s the benefit?
Prayer is stopping:
taking time to hang out with God –
and as we do so,
so it’s a way of growing in faith,
because it’s about strengthening our relationship with God:
the more time we spend together,
the more we get to know the One who knows us completely.
Prayer is a gift given to us by God:
a time to be,
a time to be still;
prayer is a breathing space in the midst of the busyness of our living
and all the demands upon our lives.
It’s about relationship,
it’s about learning to listen – deeply listen;
it’s about discovering how much God loves us –
loves ... you:
God, the Creator of the universe,
has time...
for you,
has time to listen to you,
for you are his beloved.
Prayer is not just bringing a shopping list to God,
even while we do bring our worries and concerns.
Prayer is a time for sifting through what’s important in life –
as the old hymn says 'take it to the Lord in prayer'
and reflect on it together;
prayer also takes us out of our own wee bubble:
a time where we think not only of ourselves and our needs,
but beyond ourselves to the needs of others.
Prayer is a hopeful thing:
praying for a better you,
and a better world:
that God’s kingdom come.
Prayer is giving your stuff to God –
a healing process as you let go
of cares,
of hurts...
giving them over to God,
rather than carrying the burden.

Pray.
And keep on praying.
Even though you’re not sure God’s listening,
even though you’re not sure God’s even there.
Pray.
For God is both with you, and listening, even if you might not feel it.
Sometimes, in what seems the silence,
you’ll find that answer you’ve been looking for,
or discover the strength to make that particular decision you’ve been
hemming and hawing over,
or find comfort in the midst of your pain.
Be still... and know God –
the One who loves you beyond all measure –
who wants so much for you;
who actively wants you
to ask,
to seek,
to knock...
to be in relationship with him.
Ultimately,
prayer is an exercise in believing that you –
even you –
can be loved enough to be listened to completely.
Trust in God’s love,
knock, knock – at his door,
and pray his kingdom come.

Let’s pray:
Lord, teach us to pray:
help us move beyond our discomfort,
our doubts,
our fears,
even our lack of believing that you would
ever want to listen to us.
Teach us your love:
move our sometimes reluctant,
sometimes, weary, feet toward you
that we may better follow you.
Teach us to listen:
to let go of the need
to fill silence with noise,
to fill space with busyness;
help us to ‘be’ –
to be still
and in the stillness,
to know that you are God,
and that we are yours.
Teach us that answers:
can sometimes be dramatic,
can sometimes be immediate,
can sometimes arrive quietly,
can sometimes come slowly, over time...
but that, regardless of how,
regardless of where and when,
that there are answers;
and so teach us to look in both obvious
and less obvious places.
Teach us patience,
teach us to keep knocking on your door
in trust, and with thankfulness.
Lord, teach us to pray:
not just now,
but throughout the course of our lives,
as we follow you.
And, as we follow,
as we seek you and your kingdom,
teach us to give you the glory,
always, and forever.
Amen.