Sermons

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The Prayer of Jesus
May 22, 2005
Sermon Series on the Gospel of Luke
Margie Van Duzer
Luke 11:1-4

Let’s turn to the reading for today’s sermon – Luke 11:1-4.

Jesus 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.

He said to them

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.

There are lots of ways to approach the Lord’s Prayer, but Jesus in the gospel of Luke invites us to approach this prayer of his through the lens of “asking.”

As with all Bible Study, it is important to look at the verses before and after our text, to set the framework for this prayer of Jesus. It is also important to look for repeated words or phrases. When we do so we note that this prayer is set in the framework of asking. Both before and after these verses, we see the theme of asking.

We see in the first verse of chapter 11 that Jesus was praying in a certain place.

Now Luke has mentioned a number of times earlier in the gospel when Jesus does this. In chapters 4, 5, 6, and twice in 9 and here again in 11, Luke specifically mentions Jesus going off to pray.

It is only now, in chapter 11, after the disciples have seen Jesus pray lots of times that one of them finally asks Jesus to teach them to pray. Think about this.

This is after a lot of ministry stuff has already happened. All this time, from what we read, the disciples had yet to be taught by Jesus how to pray.

Jesus waits to be asked before he teaches them how to pray.

If I were Jesus I’d have taught the disciples long before this – after all prayer is important and with all the ministry they’d been doing, I’d just tell them what to do. But Jesus isn’t me. He doesn’t barge in – he waits to be asked.

We might think about this as a model for our own relating to others. Do we wait to be asked? Or do we pour out the Christian content to others, perhaps, when they aren’t ready yet hear it? Here Jesus waits to offer guidance until he is asked.

The verses after the prayer also help set the “asking framework." In these verses Jesus says

Ask and it will be given, for everyone who asks receives.

The parable following the Lord’s Prayer is to encourage persistence in asking, and the reason for this is seen in the second little parable in verses 11-13. Notice how many times the word ask is used.

If a son asks for a fish, asks for bread, asks for an egg. If we, with all our faults still want to give good gifts to our kids when they ask, how much more does God want to give good gifts to us. God gives generously, and we especially experience this generosity when we ask.

We have a God who longs to be asked, and it is within this framework that Jesus teaches his disciples the Lord’s Prayer.

So, what does the Lord’s Prayer tell us about asking?

When we look at the first 2 verses of the Lord’s Prayer, verses 2 and 3, we see that our asking is to be set in the context of God’s sovereignty:

Father, hallow be your name, your kingdom come.

This is a prayer that in essence says,

Father, we recognize that life is truly all about you.

When we pray this prayer, we are reminded that life is not ultimately all about us. No - life is ultimately all about God and God’s kingdom. We are to pray that God’s ways, God’s perspective, God’s essence be known in this world.

Hallowed be your name.

Lord, we recognize how holy you are. We want this holy presence to be made known here on earth. We want the world to see your holiness, your majesty. Who you are in all of your fullness. And may we have eyes to see this in our lives, in the lives of those around us, and in the world we live in.

I think that is just some of what it means when we pray

Father, hallowed by your name.

When we pray Hallowed be your name, we are reminded that life is primarily about who God is, not about us.

I am currently reading Eugene Peterson’s new book on Christian spirituality called Christ Plays In 10,000 Places – and in it he speaks to how we’ve lost a sense of reverence and awe towards God and God's holiness.

He says if we get too interested too soon in what we are to do in life, we mess up. But when we are first reminded of God’s holiness (and, he says, that happens largely through prayer)our first response is to:

• Stop.
• Do nothing.
• Recognize all of life is under the holiness of God.
• Life is all about God and our role in His world.

Holy be your name.

And, may your kingdom come.

Please may your kingdom come soon in all of its fullness. May your truth, justice, righteousness, and mercy be present with all people, in all parts of this earth. May your desire for all your children to be provided for, and know you, come. May your desire that the lion will lie down with the lamb come. May your shalom come. May your kingdom come.

By praying your kingdom come, we are reminded once again that life is about God and God’s kingdom, not about us and our little kingdoms.

So, what does this tell us about asking? It reminds us, over and over, that our requests are set down in the context of God’s majesty, His plans.

The first part of the prayer of Jesus is about God’s sovereignty. It is grounded in God’s holiness and asks for God’s kingdom to come. It is out of this perspective that we make our further requests.

Next, we see our asking is to be set in the context of our intimate dependence on God and is to foster this intimacy.

The prayer begins with Jesus addressing God as “Father.” The word he uses, better translated “Dad” or “Daddy”, is radically different than the traditional Jewish mode of addressing God.

For instance, a devout Jew is expected to say three times daily a prayer than begins,

Lord God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob! God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth! Our shield and the shield of our fathers.

It’s in contrast to these images that Jesus says we are to simply address God as Father – God as a loving, affectionate parent, like the image of a child in the lap or arms of a mother or father.

One commentator I read on this passage said that were Jesus in the U.S. today, since 50% of our households are without fathers, he probably would have used the word Mother, as that would be more accessible to most of us.

The issue isn’t gender. The issue is the image of an affectionate loving parent, caring for us as their children. Children need parents to live, and so too, do we need God to live. Simply by using the term Father as we pray, we are acknowledging our intimate dependence on God, as a loving parent, a parent we need to provide for us and protect us.

This awareness of intimate dependence continues as we ask our father to provide for our daily needs.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Just as children need their parents to feed and provide for them, so too, we need God to provide for us. I think Jesus knew here, how easy it is it would be for his disciples to think that they have provided for themselves.

We tend to credit ourselves for what we have. It is our doing, maybe with a little bit of side help from God, when needed. I think this is the case, especially when we have so much, as most of us do. In Deuteronomy 8 we hear

...do not say to yourself, my power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth. But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives….

It is our loving Father who provides for our daily needs. When we pray this prayer, Father, give us this day our daily bread, we are reminded of our intimate dependence on our loving God. And notice the repetition of day and daily.

We pray for our needs to be met day by day. Very much like the provision of God in the Old Testament with the manna from heaven He provided each day. The Israelites were to trust God for each days needs, trusting him to provide for tomorrow, tomorrow.

When we depend on God on a day by day basis for our needs, asking God day after day to take care of us, over and over again, this fosters our intimate dependence on Him.

When we pray - do not bring us to the time of trial, - we are also aware of our dependence on our Father for protection and care. The word for trial here is not the law-court imagery we might think of. Rather, it is that which puts pressure on us, that which is trying – like a time when we may feel overwhelmed, under pressure.

We need God, and need to ask Him to save us from such circumstances that would overwhelm us. We are not independent invincible types that can overcome everything. We are weak and vulnerable. And we need God’s intervention in our lives, to guide us and keep us from falling.

I love the benediction in the book of Jude,

... to him who is able to keep you from falling.

We have a loving God, who is tender and caring with our vulnerabilities, wanting to do whatever it takes to keep us from times too hard for us to bear.

I have a tough time trusting God will take care of my kids without the help of Jeff or me. And, given they are young adults, it really isn’t my place to hover close by. I know that. But last summer saying goodbye to our college freshman to the other side of the country wasn’t easy for me. I knew absolutely it was the good and right thing, but I still had a hard time emotionally letting go. My emotions were raw, right on the surface.

This wasn’t about my son. It was about me and my letting go of the parenting role I had had for so long. Plus, I was concerned that I would be an embarassment to Nate. I didn’t want to be a crying blubbering, puddle of a parent as I said good-bye. But it felt pretty overwhelming to me. I knew I needed God’s help. And God knew how hard this was for me.

God met me through the words and presence of a Jesuit priest. My husband, Jeff, had heard that the new Vice President of the school was a good guy and thought it would be nice for us to meet him. I thought, "What were the chances he’d see us, given the busy time of orientation?" Yet, he did make time .

In our talking he was very kind. We found out he was from Seattle, knew folks that we did, he even knew about Bethany and he referred to us as the Bethany parish. He also spoke directly to how difficult this letting go time can be, and tenderly spoke to Jeff and me about the need to be gentle with each other in the weeks to come.

I felt very cared for. I had a strong sense that God was holding me, giving me the reassurance of His care, letting me know he understood my vulnerability, and he would be there for me. Protecting me from trials I was afraid would overwhelm me.

Praying to a heavenly Father to give us our daily bread, and keep us from trial, fosters our intimate dependence on Him.

Our requests are set in the context of God’s sovereignty, our asking is set in the context of intimate dependence, and finally, our asking is also to be set in the context of a compassionate Christian community.

When Jesus taught this prayer it was clearly meant to be prayed in community, corporately, not as individuals.

Give us our daily bread, forgive us our sins as we forgive our debtors… Do not bring us to the time of trial.

Us, our, we – in our individualistic mind sets, we can lose sight of the corporate nature of this prayer. And when we pray this prayer corporately, not individually, it takes on more meaning.

When we pray “give us our daily bread," if we pray this sincerely over and over, then if I see a brother or sister in the community who is without food when I have some, it’d be an obvious response that I’m to share what I have with them. After all, I’m praying for their daily needs just as much as I’m praying for mine. Praying this prayer, "give us each day our daily bread," will lead us to compassionate care for others within the body of Christ.

As Jeff’s wife, I go to lots of SPU business school functions–some admittedly more interesting than others. Last month I went to one that was terrific. I went apprehensively – the main speaker was a guy who sold cars – how exciting could that be?

A man named Don Flow. A Christian who believed work should provide a deeply compassionate caring environment, both for the employees and the customers. He spoke of how he wanted his business to be like a family, a community of folks that care for one another.

He gave examples of how it actually is working. When one employee needed extra money for some medical expenses, the other employees on the same team pitched in from each of their salaries to cover them.

When a family was driving down the East Coast from New York to Disney world and their van broke – not only did one of the mechanics that worked for this business agree to pull an all nighter to fix the costumer’s van, he invited the family to spend the night at his house. When asked why he’d done so much his response was,

Well, we are encouraged to treat customers like family, and wouldn’t you do that for a family member?

I was struck with how much this modeled what Christian community is to be about.

In the early church (in the centuries before Constantine became emperor) non-Christians wrote that Christians were so good at caring for each other that non-Christians were being drawn to them and their faith. Evangelism wasn’t so much by speaking out the truth in evangelistic rallies. Rather it was modeled by the compassionate care Christians showed for one another.

As one non-Christian of the time wrote

“The efficiency the Christians show whenever matters of community needs happen is unbelievable; they literally spare nothing.”

I think when we pray regularly together, "give us each day our daily bread," that from that prayer will automatically flow compassionate community.

We are also called to pray for the forgiveness of our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

Sometimes forgiving others can be hard. Especially if you have a strong streak in you (like I do) that believes people should get what they deserve.

I am very much a child of the 60’s. Growing up in Santa Cruz, California, there were multiple demonstrations against the Vietnam War. My brother was at UC Berkeley when Governor Reagan called in the National Guard on campus in response to the anti-war demonstrators.

Also suffice it to say that, especially following the information about Watergate, President Nixon was not my favorite person. And I was mad at President Ford for pardoning him. President Nixon didn’t get what he deserved. I wanted him punished.

Well, shortly before he died, his reputation was on the rise – folks were commenting on his contribution to opening up relations with China, and saying nice things about him. This, again, irritated me.

Well, my kids were in elementary school at this time. I felt they needed to be taught about the real President Nixon. I made them watch public television documentaries on Watergate, I kinda forced them to watch the movie All the Presidents Men, starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.

I shared with them my profound insight from living through this time, all to educate my early elementary age boys about the criminal side of President Nixon’s past. Try as I might to pass along my righteous indignation, I’m not sure my kids got it–they were more interested in Ninja Turtles than they were in Nixon.

Even though retribution can seem so much more compelling at times, when I pray

Father, forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone indebted to us

I am called away from retribution and called towards compassionate forgiveness. Forgiveness breaks down walls to build community. But remember, this is a corporate prayer.

Given the communal nature of this prayer–forgive us our sins -we are asking God to forgive us our own personal sins, but we are also asking God to forgive the sins of each other person in our praying community.

We’re asking God to forgive others’ sin as much as we are praying for our own forgiveness. That’s lots of forgiveness going around. And, in the giving and receiving of forgiveness, compassionate community happens.

Moreover, we don’t just ask God to forgive, we are also called to forgive everyone who are indebted to us.

Note here that Jesus uses the word indebted, or debts in the second part of the clause, not the word for sins. Given the concern in Luke’s writings that possessions could hinder community fellowship, the use of the specific word “debt” here may imply not just traditional sin (which it certainly does) but may also refer to actual material debt as well.

Perhaps Jesus knows that economic disparity can lead to a fractured community. Perhaps he is speaking to the Old Testament idea of Jubilee–a time when all debt was to be released.

Perhaps this is something we need to think about as we, rich American Christians, address the issue of financial debt owed by poorer countries. In any event, Jesus is certainly calling us to let go of all kinds of debts that others may owe us-emotional or material.

God’s compassion leads to generosity–He is, in his very being, a generous God. When we pray this forgiveness section of the prayer, we are acknowledging our desire to reflect God’s grace-filled generosity, his abundant compassion.

We are called to pray, to ask. Not because God likes to hear us beg, but because he is at his very core a gracious and generous God who longs to give to us. And praying the Lord’s Prayer reminds us that our requests are set in the context of God’s sovereignty, our intimate dependence on Him and compassionate Christian community.

Praying the Lord’s Prayer acknowledges God’s sovereignty, Praying the Lord’s Prayer encourages us to intimately depend on God, and praying the Lord’s Prayer commits us to compassionate care for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

May we, as Jesus’ disciples, let the words of His prayer so dwell in us, that the truth of these words be reflected in our very being.

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