Creekside Church Sermon of February 13, 2005 "The Framework of Faith: Making Pests of Ourselves" Luke 18:1-8	Rev. David Bibbee
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"The Framework of Faith" is another way of talking about the marks of discipleship. Faith is built upon specific disciplines we will revisit during these Sundays in Lent. Hopefully, by now you can name them, and name the ways these marks are being woven into your life. Christian life is framed by worship, Bible study, communion with fellow Christians, sharing the faith in word and deed, and in giving.

The blueprint Katy placed on the altar represents the first mark-prayer. Architects and builders communicate through blueprints, which turn design into reality. Prayer is communication between the Master Architect and the people charged with building his Kingdom. Our focus isn't upon prayer in general, but specific kind of prayer characterized by persistence.

Jesus told a parable which at first strikes you as funny. It is about a widow who is relentless in her demand for justice from a pathetic excuse of a judge. Likewise, when you pray, you should be persistent to the point of making a pest of yourself. Keep tugging at God's pant leg until he gives in and gives you what you're after.

But when you realize that it is prayer Jesus is talking about, its not so humorious. There's nothing funny about continuing to lay a concern at God's feet without an acknowledgement. There's nothing funny about praying until you're blue in the face without an inkling of an answer.

We assume that the lack of tangible results from prayer is unique to us. But the fact that Jesus told the parable to his disciples indicates that they were having a prayer problem as well. They prayed for Jesus' success. They prayed that his critics would dry up and blow away so Jesus could minister unobstructed. But despite their prayers, the opposition persisted. He was arrested and killed. When he appeared to his followers after the resurrection, he said he would come back, but years went by and there was no sign of him. They were losing heart, which is why Jesus told them this parable. He knew that we wouldn't last for long without persistent, to bolster consistent prayer.

The fact that the heroine of Jesus' parable is a widow tells us something. A widow could not inherit her husband's estate. It went to either to her sons or her brother-in-law. The fact that she came to the judge alone could indicate that she was being cheated out of her right to live off the estate. If she had sons, they weren't around to help her. She had no money, no power, no influence, or friends in high places to apply leverage. But she had one thing going for her-- she knew how to pester.

The judge was not a public servant you wanted on the bench. By his own admission, he didn't care for God and he cared less about people. He probably got his appointment through cronyism. When the widow came with her complaint the first time, he blew her off. Then the pestering began in earnest.

She was on the courthouse steps every morning when the judge arrived. She wouldn't let him through the doors without demanding that he protect her rights. She left ten messages each day on his voice mail. She banged at his door every night at bedtime. She wrote letters to the editor about the judge's indifference. She kept pestering him until she wore him down. He said to himself, "This pain in the neck is driving me crazy. I still don't care about God or anyone else, but I'll give her what she wants so I won't tear my hair out by the fistfuls."

"This is how you should pray," Jesus said. "Don't beat around the bush. Tell God exactly what you want, and don't let up. SEEK, and you'll find. KNOCK, and the door will open. ASK, and if necessary, be a pest about it, and ask and ask and ask and ask, and it shall be given to you. Never quit hoping. Never give up.

This kind of prayer is HARD. It wears you out. When you've prayed your heart out and there is no sign it has been heard; when there's no acknowledgment your prayers have arrived in one piece; when, after pouring your heart out for so long that you can't remember how long you've been at it, and the only voice you hear is your own-- you wonder why you keep at it. You start thinking there is nothing to this "prayer stuff" and doubt if there's a God at home to hear it. Then you start to shrivel up inside, and whatever is left of your heart is cold and hard.

If you've never had such an experience, you are rare. How long are you supposed to keep knocking at that closed door? Till your swollen knuckles bleed? Albert Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result." This wisdom applies to the necessity of moving beyond behaviors, traditions, and practices that no longer serve a purpose. But when it comes to prayer-the kind that carries our deepest desires and longings-Jesus tells us to keep at it. Don't let up and don't lose heart.

Let's not confuse this with, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Its not another twist on, "Stick to it and everything will work out in the end." If this is how things worked, Jesus would have said, "Keep after God, no matter what you want, and it will be yours… in time."

Janis Joplin sang: "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all have Porsches, I must make amends. Worked hard all my life, no help from my friends. So Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?" This is not the pestering prayer Jesus had in mind. In contrast, what about the prayer on the sign next to SR 19 north of Wakarusa that says, "Come home to Jesus, son."? What about prayers for peace-world peace, peace in feuding families, peace inside your own skin? What about prayers for healing-the healing of the nations, healing for children with cancer, healing for people with broken hearts?

The most important lesson in this parable is not making a nuisance of ourselves until God caves in and gives us what we're after, regardless of its merit. What is at issue is bending our wills toward God's-to want what God wants for us. If a sleazy, heartless, "didn't-give-a-hoot-for-God" judge gave the widow justice just to get her off his back, how much more will our loving God see fit to give us what we need?

Reynolds Price teaches literature at Duke University. In the prime of his life, he was stricken with a rare form of spinal cancer, which left him a paraplegic. When his condition was most grave, Reynolds Price had a dream in which Christ turned to him and said, "Your sins are forgiven." He replied, "Who said anything about my sins? What I want to know is will I be healed?" Christ looked perturbed. "That too," he said, and then disappeared.

Through the witness of a doggedly determined widow, Jesus tells us something about the steadfastness and trustworthiness of God and our need to keep praying that God will be God, whether we get what we're after or not. This is why the theme keeps popping up throughout the New Testament. In Romans it says BE CONTANT in prayer. In Ephesians it says PRAY AT ALL TIMES. In Colossians it says BE STEADFAST IN PRAYER. In Thessalonians, PRAY CONTANTLY.

I don't want to put a damper on unceasing prayer, but Jesus doubts about our doing it-both then and now. At the end of the parable Jesus asked, "But how much of that persistent kind of faith will the Son of Man find on earth when he returns?" Judging from our performance, not much.

Have you caught yourself praying only to realize you're not sure what you were praying about in the first place? Have you prayed about something which was urgent at the time, only to forget about it a day or two later? Have you prayed about a concern once, assumed that once was sufficient, then checked your watch to wait for an answer? This is a prescription for heart failure, and Jesus doesn't want those he loves to ever lose heart.

It's taken us a long time to get where we are today with groundbreaking for a new church within sight. It's taken lots of planning, visioning God's big picture for us, meticulous attention to detail, and patience with the process and each other. It has required deep trust and the nerve to accept risks in order to create a more desirable future. We have seen results from our persistence, but there is a ways to go.

We have to keep bothering God to give us what's necessary not just to build and furnish a new facility, but make us an inviting community. Jesus doesn't want us to lose heart. I get distressed when I hear rumblings that, "I'm not going to see a new church." "We don't have the resources to do it." "People won't give to another campaign." "I'm going to die before it's built." Do you know what? I might join you. I might fall through the ice tomorrow while Dan Petrie and I are going ice fishing and they won't find my body till the ice thaws in March. I might have a massive coronary today over lunch and drop dead in a plate of Kung Pao chicken.

Jesus told his disciples a story to show them it was necessary to pray consistently and never lose heart. If we lose heart over putting up a building and becoming new creations in Christ, then how are we ever going to have the persistence to pray for peace, or reconciliation of the races, or an end to destroying the environment, or God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?

The widow didn't know if the judge would give her justice or not. If she doubted it, she would have thrown in the towel at the end of the first round. She didn't know, but she kept pestering him because she knew her need was worth the try. We have a much better judge than she did. He isn't bothered when we bother him. The point of pestering him isn't to necessarily get what we're after. What we can discover instead is that in the process, we learn what he is after and never lose heart because God knows what he is about.

It's not the easiest thing to do, but if what Jesus says is true, then it's the best thing to do. In the end, we're left with the question-how much of this pestering, persistent faith will Jesus find?

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