Fr Mike's Message - 7/24/22

The Gospel: ​Luke 11:1-13
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, "When you pray, say:
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."
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; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' 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.' 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.
"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. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 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!"

Prayer: ​Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that have you inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application.  Amen

The Message: Well good morning and welcome to our virtual reality for our time of worship together on this seventh Sunday after Pentecost.

One of the things that I say to parents who bring their children to Baptismal classes is: "children learn more from what they see, than they learn from what they hear."

For example, if a child sees that spiritual things are important to their parents, then, more often than not, spiritual things will be important to them. If they hear that spiritual things are important to their parents but they don't see any evidence of that, then, more often than not spiritual things will not be important, or maybe, they will be less important, to them.

An interesting thing that sometimes happens is that children will watch what happens with their friend's families as well. Sometimes they will see a behavior or observe an attitude which they will be attracted to. Sometimes they come back to their parents and ask if their family can do this as well. This is a great moment for the parents to step up and provide or create that opportunity. I have also seen that opportunity missed when the parents don't respond.

I believe that we have a great example of this type of behavior in our Gospel reading this morning. Now don't get me wrong I don't think that the disciples are children or that they are acting like children. But this form of human behavior does carry on for us as we grow older. Sometimes we will see a behavior or observe an attitude which we will be attracted to. We may then follow up on what we have seen or observed and see how we can develop a similar opportunity in our own lives. We often want what we see or observe in other people's lives.

The world of advertising proves that right? Advertisers have made a fine art out of the ability to know how to catch our attention with someone else's opportunities or behavior. They shape their advertising campaigns to make us desire something that someone else has.

I believe that is why Bishop Mark's approach to evangelism works as effectively as it does. Bishop Mark has told us that it happened in his own life and now whenever he gets an opportunity he will says to people: "I know that religious life makes a difference in my life, I am sure it will make a difference in yours. How about I pick you up on Sunday morning and you go with me and experience it for yourself. I am sure it will make a difference as you are dealing with what you are dealing with in your life, right now."

He plants the seed of desire in the person. A desire to experience something that has made a difference for him, and that may be lacking in that person's life.  So, how does that relate to our scripture from Luke this morning?

Before we go any further I want to take a few moments to make sure we are all understanding who and what a disciple might be. Disciple is a word that gets used in many forms throughout the stories of Jesus ministry.

But when we come right down to it there are two basic groups of disciples, that we see and hear about in the Gospels.

There is that select group known as his primary disciples. The 12. This is a close and intimate group who we are told Jesus selects to be his inner sanctum.

Then there is the more general group of disciples. Let's be sure we understand it is a large group of people who were following him as disciples. These are folks who have been drawn out of the crowd which was following Jesus and have begun to seek to learn and grow and take on Jesus teachings. So they have drawn closer but not as close as "his disciples."

It believe that it is from this broader group of disciples that the request comes in the first couple of verses this morning: "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."

Do you see the pattern that I have been talking about? Jesus has been praying. The disciples have observed him and they are interested in learning more. Perhaps they have observed that praying influences the way that Jesus behaves and responds to circumstances? Perhaps they have observed a different measure of peace in the way that he deals with the challenges that come his way?

Whatever they have observed they have decided that they want what Jesus has.

Then to intensify that desire they have also seen that the disciples of John the Baptist have something that they don't have. John has taught his disciples to pray. Those other disciples - John's disciples - have a way of communicating that they don't and Jesus' disciples decide that they want it.

So, one of the disciples comes to Jesus and says: "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

So, Jesus replies "When you pray, say:
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.
It is interesting to note that the prayer, as it appears here in Luke and also in Matthew ends before the concluding Doxology. I did some research and it appears the translators of the 1611 King James Bible assumed that a Greek manuscript they possessed was ancient and therefore adopted the phrase "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever" into the Lord's Prayer of Matthew's Gospel. However, the use of the doxology in English dates from at least 1549 with the First Prayer Book of Edward VI which was influenced by William Tyndale's New Testament translation in 1526.Jesus then goes on to give two brief illustrations of the results of asking in prayer. In the first he uses a neighbors relationship to show how it is important to persist in asking.

Then in the second he lays out one of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture. As I read this scripture in preparation for my message this morning I was struck that this is like an affirmation and encouragement to the disciple who asked him about prayer. It is as though Jesus is saying that asking is absolutely the right thing to do.

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

It is as though Jesus is saying: Ask! Be a disciple. When you see something that I do that you don't understand or know about ASK! When you see something that I have that you want to learn about or that you want to learn how to do then ASK! Be a disciple and learn and grow.

The Rev. Billy Graham said this about disciples:
People in Jesus’ day knew what the word “disciple” meant. The Roman world was filled with philosophers and teachers who gathered students or followers around them, and those followers were called “disciples.” John the Baptist had a band of disciples around him, and so did the Pharisees (a group of religious leaders). But Jesus expanded its meaning by saying that everyone who truly believes in Him is called to be a disciple. “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples’” (John 8:31, NIV).

What is a disciple? First, a disciple is a learner or a student. The Twelve whom Jesus called to be His closest companions were with Him day and night. They had a personal relationship with Him—walking with Him, eating with Him, sharing in His conversation, observing the way He lived, listening to Him preach to the crowds. But they weren’t following Jesus just to enjoy His presence. As Jesus’ disciples, they had a purpose: to learn from Him—absorbing His teaching, learning from His example, even profiting from His rebukes. And this was true for all His disciples, not just the Twelve. To be a disciple is to be a learner." Powerful words from Dr. Graham.

So, my question for us all today is how is your discipleship going today? What do you want to know, what do you want to learn? What is it that you see others having or Jesus having that you want to have in your life?

As the Collect for Guidance says in the Book of Common Prayer Morning Prayer Service: Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.....in you we live and move and have our being... What questions could we ask today to make that a true statement for our lives? ​