Knock, Knock

Knock, Knock

(a sermon on Luke 11:1-13)

“I would rather live in a world surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.”

― Harry Fosdick

Prayer is nearly too mysterious for words. So as to get out of the way as much as possible, I’m going to give you space and time to listen to something other than my voice and ideas this morning. That’s another way of saying that I’m going to ask you to pray this sermon about prayer with me.

We’re taking a field trip to the Prayer Café. Before you go, we must have a signed permission slip and waiver from everyone.

Permission Slip

I hereby give permission for me to visit the Prayer Café. I acknowledge that, even though the Prayer Café has an unlimited menu, there are times when my order will arrive at times other than I expected, times when it will look nothing like what I ordered, times when I will want to send it back because accepting it requires me to take risks with which I am not at all comfortable, times when my order doesn’t arrive at all, but never will I leave unfed. I also acknowledge that, despite my frequent misgivings and doubts, the best meals usually come when I ask the waiter to bring me “Today’s Special” because that’s what helps me to realize that tomorrow is also. ______________________________

(signature)

The Menu

We’re all too used to having everything spelled out clearly, so we can understand it, which is why prayer is so difficult for us. This morning, just to ease your anxiety, I have printed menus. Take a look at them now, and, when you hear or taste something that your ears or taste buds can’t quite identify, feel free to refer back to your menu.

Prayer Café Menu

(Not only are all welcome here, but all ARE here, whether they or we notice it or not. In fact, there is no “they” and “we.” Look at the wordle of Jesus’ prayer, if you doubt that.)

Appetizer: “Warning” – a dish of humility that comes from the Prayer Café’s garden of mystery.

Salad: “Prayer Poet” – a blending of flavors connecting prayer to the poets.

Veggies: “Questions” – fiber and vitamin-filled truth about the Prayer Café’s reason for existence.

Luke’s Dish: “The Prayer of Our Savior in Questions” – catch of the day, freshly grilled with the punctuation that best complements all of the dishes from the Prayer Café, prepared and shared from our guest chef, Maren Tirabassi.

Dessert: “Bolder Dash” – a bittersweet (dark chocolate) reminder that the Prayer Café is open 24/7 and nothing is above or beyond request on the menu.

Here's your first course: 

Appetizer: “Warning”

I am less certain about

HOW prayer works;

more certain THAT it works.

I’m not sure about

the forms it takes;

more sure that it takes many forms.

I can’t say that

I always recognize prayer’s answer;

but I can say that

I often hear its questions.

I won’t claim that

I can answer its inquiries;

but letting them roam the house

is a surefire way to create circulation.

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Salad: “Prayer Poet”

The psalmists knew very well

how carefully loaded phrases

strung together in surprising ways

can be explosive in both

hopeful and dangerous ways;

how hurling guttural truth

toward the heavens changes

the world in ways we can

neither explain nor predict;

how leaving wide margins

of blank silence leaves room

for the other voice to speak.

The pieces that both come from

and travel to the deepest places

often begin with empty lines,

which represent the ways

we duct-tape the voices in our head

long enough to hear the one in our heart.

Those are the ones asking us

questions which most need answering;

questions that all creation asks daily;

questions that weave us into

the tapestry of history and hope.

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Veggies (your favorites, of course): “Questions”

The essence of prayer is really

quite simple. At its core, prayer is

a rhythmic reminder that all conversation

is opportunity to both speak to God

and listen for God’s guidance.

All seeking and striving are interactions

between our own wills/understandings,

and God’s creative purposes.

When we turn it into a laundry list,

imploring God to remove all stains

from our emotional wardrobes;

when we use it as a detailed honey-do list

for God to generate our pleasure and happiness;

when we wield it to ward off pain and suffering,

we have missed its purposes altogether.

Imagine finding a pile of precisely mitered

pieces of wood, along with a variety

of tools and fasteners at your disposal.

Or if you're less of a workshop kind of person

and more of a cook, imagine a pantry full

of fresh ingredients and a drawer full

of all sorts of pots and pans with which

to create a yet-to-be-determined dish.

Was this collection designed

to be connected or combined in a way that

would accomplish some purpose?

If so, what?

When you find yourself attaching one piece

to another or mixing one ingredient with another, 

slowly, over the course of many years,

do you dream of what it could one day become?

Do you have a picture of completeness in your mind?

Now imagine yourself coming to the realization

that you know the one who not only

created the pieces of wood and fasteners

and that pantry full of ingredients and pans

that are within your reach and influence,

but also created everything else

that was, is, and will ever be.

What if you had a chance every day –

all day long – to listen for questions

about how you are choosing to connect

the pieces, or combine the ingredients, 

creating something with this collection?

What if you had the opportunity to offer up

what you’ve already constructed/combined to the one

whose grand design is Love itself?

Would you want to know how your pieces or ingredients

fit with the rest, and how you might rearrange

or reconstruct what you once imagined,

so that it complements all of the rest;

so that your pieces and ingredients find their way

into the whole, and maybe even the holy?

Yeah, that listening and conversation

are how prayer is designed to function;

opening us to see and be answers

to the deepest questions and needs

planted in the universe’s heart.

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Luke’s Dish: “The Prayer of Our Savior in Questions” by Maren Tirabassi

O God where are you?

Are you in heaven or here with us?

If you are here, look around – do something.

Are you “ours” or everyone’s God?

Are you as tender as a parent …

as dangerous as a parent?

How can we make your name holy

or make it holy again when it has been abused,

used to justify every kind of harm?

Where is the laundry for your name?

Why don’t we recognize your will?

How do we bring about your peaceable realm?

Can we trust you with our daily needs

and live free of planning?

Will you teach us to be forgiving …

for their sake and our sake?

How do we walk away from temptation –

one step, twelve steps?

And is ‘deliver us from evil’

the kind of delivery

that means someone is being born?

What is the future? Can you really help us?

How can we reflect your glory?

When is … forever

and what do you want us to do

with our lives now?             Amen

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Dessert: “Bolder Dash”

Fear assaults halls of prayer,

intimidates with balderdash,

“What good is petition

if it doesn’t come true?”

Reason peeks from behind Anxiety,

calculates known sequencing,

concurs with Fear’s assessment,

“Not very likely to happen.”

Faith blows in from four corners,

laughs at the absurdity,

“Prayer isn’t an exercise in probability;

but rather one of possibility.”

Hope musters up from the deeps,

rolls away the stone of doubt,

“It’s not really prayer until

it approaches the preposterous!”

Courage starches the sails,

squeezes adrenal glands,

“Now is not the time for timidity;

it’s time to make a bolder dash.”

Dove descends in fire and cloud,

voice of gentle thunder,

“Unleash your wildest prayers of healing

for those whose faith and hope are fading!”

Ours is not the task

to determine what will or won’t,

but to fiercely ask for what we need

and wholly trust the holy Giver.

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