Creekside Church Sermon of July 29, 2001 "Our Father" Luke 11:1-13	Rev. David Bibbee
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In the gospels, the disciples are not always portrayed in flattering ways. They consistently don't get what Jesus teaches them. Yet in the text before us they are on to something. They were perceptive enough to see a connection between what Jesus did and how he prayed. For every hour of action, he spent three in prayer, and this awareness created for the disciples a desire. "Lord, teach us to pray."

Jesus did not give them a theological discourse on the nature, substance, and societal implications of prayer. He said, "When you pray, this is what you say…'Our Father…'" You know the rest. Almost everyone knows a piece of it given all the times the Lord's Prayer has been prayed and recited in a multitude of settings. Our Father. The words are invoked in worship of every persuasion. We hear the prayer in ceremonies at birth, baptism, and burial. It is prayed at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, in monasteries, and by the military before battle. It is prayed in private devotions and at the inauguration of heads of state. It is heard in civic ceremonies like a bridge dedication, or in locker rooms. I watched a documentary about the season of a high school basketball team. Minutes before a pivotal game, the coach gave an impassioned "Let's get fired up" speech which was seasoned with numerous expletives which were bleeped from the audio. "Now let's get out there and BLEEP their BLEEP!" The team then formed a tight circle as the coach said, "Let's pray…'Our Father…'"

The most inspired words grow cold and stale through thoughtless repetition. Our hearts get encrusted with Teflon which keeps the substance from sticking. Jesus criticized the religion of his own day for turning prayer into vain public recitation that was all show and no substance.

Our Father. You may be surprised to know the Lord's Prayer was not spoken in public worship in the early church. It was held in such awe and reverence that it was only taught to those being prepared for baptism. It was the conviction of the church that the prayer was too important to give to people who did not understand it. The spirit of this conviction has been expressed through the centuries in liturgical churches where the Lord's Prayer is prayed only after the priest prays:

"And make us worthy, O Lord, that we joyously and without presumption may make bold to call upon you, Father, and to say, "Our Father…"

In those first years of the church's existence, praying the prayer marked you as a member of a new community. It was a subversive and dangerous prayer, because pledging allegiance to anyone but Caesar would get you killed. Pray it publicly today and no one cares. This is why acquainting ourselves with the meaning of the Lord's Prayer is so important. It's the only prayer Jesus gave us. It's the prayer by which all prayer is judged. It is God's gift to us-a touchstone to which we return in order to order our priorities and deepen our relationship with Him, which in turn deepens our relationship with each other. There is no exhausting its power, Martin Luther put it, "To this day I am still nursing on the Lord's Prayer like a child, and am still eating and drinking of it like an old man without getting bored with it."

In the time I've been given, I want you to consider with me just the first two words of the prayer. There's a lifetime of learning contained in the words, "Our Father". Look at that little, "our". We don't address God as our God because we decided to strike up a relationship with The Almighty. God is not ours because of anything we have done. On our own we didn't have a clue of what to do about our condition. Left to ourselves, we make golden calves, we put our security in militarism, and we worship the almighty dollar. The possibility of a relationship with God has nothing to do with what we do or believe. Nothing. The scriptures remind us, "You did not choose me, but I chose you…once you were not a people, but now you are God's people." God is ours because he revealed himself to us. Creating a relationship was God's idea, not ours.

There is another dimension of this little word our…one that is not positive. Sitting at the dinner table when you were a child, did your mother ever say to you, "We haven't touched our brussels sprouts!" If I were a kid again I would have a comeback. "Since they're our brussels sprouts, I'll be generous and let you have mine."

In that context ours meant mine. But I also think of times when I wanted ours to be mine.

After graduating from high school a friend and I looked for an apartment in Columbus, Ohio where we were going to school in the fall. Crunching the numbers, however, our fathers thought it would be a less expensive enterprise to buy us a car and have us commute the 40 miles to Columbus, instead. They got us a new 1972 Pontiac Ventura. It was "our" car. 50/50. I drove one week, Steve drove the next. When I drove during the week, Steve got the car on the weekend. For the next three months all went well. Then unforeseen needs and special occasions arose. Steve wanted to go to a concert in "our" car on "my" weekend. I had a date and wanted "our" car on his weekend. At the end of the school year we had enough of "our" car. I wanted my own.

Our culture teaches us to think individually. Care for yourself. Fend for yourself. Pursue your own self-interests. Your personal desires matter more that the desires of the group. This way of thinking colors how we have prayed and related to God. We manage to include the needs of others in our prayers, but if we are honest, we will admit that most of the time the focus of our prayer is upon us. When the subject is our relationship with God, I immediately think of my relationship. When the subject is faith, I think about my faith. When the concern is problems in the life of prayer, I think of my problems and what must be done to make it right for me. My concerns, my needs, my faith, my future.

Think of how often Christianity is commended on the basis of self-interest and "what's in it for me". "Give yourself to Jesus. He's the best deal you ever had." We hear people speak of accepting Jesus as their "personal" Lord and savior. I sometimes squirm when I hear this. Jesus "is" Lord and savior. Yes, we have a personal relationship with him. But it isn't just personal and it is not a private experience. We hear people say, "Since I met Jesus," as if it was a personal achievement.

The truth is, Jesus finds us, calls us, saves us, and doesn't leave us to ourselves but places us in a community of people committed to him. Nowhere in the Lord's Prayer will you find the words I, me, my, and mine. It is ours and us. Jesus didn't teach us, "My Father who art in heaven…give me this day my daily bread." In do-it-yourself religions all you need to do is get in touch with your better self, or follow your own bliss, or be one with the elements of nature, or sit in the lotus position and stare at the sunset. You don't need anyone else. But Jesus saw fit to put us in a community of people at different points on the journey who are all joined by a commitment to live for him and like him.

It has been a long-held belief in the Church of the Brethren that no one comes to faith apart from a brother or sister. Becoming a Christian doesn't just dawn on you. It takes someone to tell you the story. It takes someone to teach you. It takes someone to invite you. It takes seeing others live it. It takes someone who has struggled in life and made it through on the strong wings of faith. It takes parents, grandparents, Sunday school teachers, co-workers, and the Bible study in a friends home to make us Christian. If I may alter the title of a Beatles song…"We get by with "lots" of help from our friends." These friends make up "our" of Our Father.

Though there's not time left to do it justice, let's talk about the father of this prayer. Language is an imprecise tool for describing big concepts. Even the best metaphors are so inadequate in conveying the reality of God. No single image will do it. Jesus called God, "Father." He made the connection even more intimate by calling God, "Abba," which means, "Daddy." Never had anyone dared to address God in this way before. It was as close as Jesus could get to describing his own relationship to God and at the same time reveal the heart of God to us.

Not everyone embraces father as a way of addressing God. Male language has been used over the centuries to exclude and exploit women. In recent years fatherhood has gotten a bum rap. The courts are coming down on dead-beat dads. Many people, maybe some of you here today, carry emotional scars from an absent, abusive, or emotionally cold and distant father. But we also must remember that not even the best fathers are perfect. No matter how loving and caring, fathers make mistakes.

After the Lord's Prayer, Jesus told the parable of a man who knocks at his neighbor's door at midnight wanting to borrow food for some unexpected guests. "Do you know what time it is? I'm not going to wake the whole house just because you're low on groceries!" But the man keeps knocking until his neighbor gives in and gives what he needs. Jesus wasn't implying we must pester the Father to get what we need. Jesus used a common teaching method of the "lesser to the greater" to say that if a grouchy neighbor gives you stale Wonder Bread, how much more will our loving Father give what you need? If a child asks for a fish will a caring father give her a cobra? If a child asks for an egg, will a caring father say, "Have a scorpion instead."? Of course not. How much more then will God give you.

As much as they try, our earthly fathers can't give us everything we need. Arthur Boers says that, "In calling God "Father", Jesus wasn't stressing maleness, but relationship." The Father cares for you more than you will know. He has more for us than any mother, father, or biological family can give. With deep emotion Lisa Vardaman stood here several weeks ago and declared in her faith statement that this church is her real family. When we pray "Our Father" we are saying we belong to that unique family that has taught us to pray and continues to pray with us throughout our lives.

Jesus said, "Call no one your father on earth, you have one father-the one in heaven." We misunderstand him. We forget that he is better than the best of fathers. We mistake God for what he is not.

In an old book called the "Maiden's Bequest", a quiet orphan girl is terrified by a hell-fire preacher. She visits Pastor Cowie and is reduced to tears. With deep concern he asks:

Pastor: "What's the matter dear?"

Stumbling for words she told the story, though interrupted with much weeping.

Annie: "I went last night to the church to hear Mr. Brown. And he preached a grand sermon. But I haven't been able to be with myself since then. I am one of the wicked that God hates, and I'll never get to heaven, for I can't help forgetting him sometimes. And the wicked will be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. And I can't stand it."

In the good heart of Pastor Cowie arose a gentle indignation against the overly pious who had terrified and bewildered that precious, small child. He thought a moment and said:

Pastor: "You haven't forgotten your father, have you Annie?"

Annie: "I think about him most every day."

Pastor: "But there comes a day now and then when you don't think much about him, doesn't there?"

Annie: "Yes, sir."

Pastor: "Do you think he would be angry with his child because she was taken up with her books and play? Do you think he would be angry that you didn't think about him that day, especially when you can't see him?"

Annie: "Indeed, no sir…he wouldn't be so sore upon me as that."

Pastor: "What do you think he would say?"

Annie: "If Mr. Bruce were to get after me for it, my father would say 'Let the lassie alone. She'll think about me another day…there's time enough.'"

Pastor: "Well, don't you think your father in heaven would say the same?"

Annie: "Maybe he might, sir. But, you see, my father was my own father, and he would make the best of me."

Pastor: "And is not God kinder than your father?"

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