One of my
classmates in seminary was Art Cubbon, a Coast Guard Commander who was put in
charge of leading a new class of boats to be deployed in the Gulf of Mexico to
track down smugglers coming from Central and South America. These boats were going to be the most
powerful and fastest ocean going vessels ever operated by the Coast Guard. Art got to have a hand in the design and
construction of these new boats. And he
personally oversaw the construction of the prototype, the one he would
personally command.
Art was not the
kind of guy who would sit back in his relatively high rank and receive reports
and updates from the lower ranks. Every
day he was out in the docks personally crawling around the new ship seeing
first hand how it was being built. He
asked questions and made changes. When
it was all done the prototype exceeded all expectations. Art never said how fast it could go but he
did say that for a long time after it was launched smugglers who were long
accustomed to outrunning the Coast Guard in their speedboats were now being
outrun.
Art took his kids
with him a couple times to see the ship being built. The first time they were amazed and impressed
to see so many people saluting their dad and addressing him as “Commander
Cubbon.” They asked him, “Everyone calls
you ‘commander’. What are we supposed to
call you?”
Art replied to
them, “Call me ‘Dad’. You’re the only
ones who can call me that. And that’s a
higher rank than the Coast Guard can ever give me.”
I like that story
as I consider Jesus teachings on prayer.
In Chapter 11 of Luke we read the disciples asking Jesus how to pray. John the Baptist has taught his
disciples. Now they want their leader to
tell them.
It seems like
such a simple thing to us. We know how
to pray – just send a thought up to heaven; pretty simple! But it’s not.
They’re probably asking for more than just the words to say.
What posture
should they take? Stand, sit, kneel, lay
down?
What direction should they face?
East, West, towards Jerusalem?
Is there anything they should do in preparation, any rituals,
rites, or ceremonies?
Do they need to cleanse themselves in any way?
And certainly not least, how do they address God? If you were here when we studied Exodus think
back to the scenes where God is talking to the people on the mountain. God is portrayed as so powerful that it’s
like the very atoms of creation are so overwhelmed by God’s presence that they
are breaking apart. How do you address
God who is powerful beyond all words, terrifying, and ultimately our judge?
How do you
address such a being?
What are Jesus
first words on how to pray? “When you
pray, say: ‘Father…’”
Father implies a
close, safe and intimate relationship.
Coast Guard Commander Art Cubbon had a rank that demanded salutes from
many others and respect. But there was
no higher honor to him than being a dad.
God could demand
anything of us. But God wants the
connection of father and child. Strange
as it sounds, it is almost as if God is honored to be our parent.
It is an amazing
and powerful teaching. It tells us a lot
about God, God’s nature, and our relationship with God.
Now, before we go
farther, it is important to remember that all images have their
weaknesses. Some of us had good fathers
who were supportive, capable, kind, and loving.
Some of us had abusive fathers who were exploitative, mean, and hurtful. Some of us may not know who our father is. Jesus meant no harm or bad feelings when he
says to call God “Father.”
In his day the
father was the head of the household.
Any good father would work hard, be a steward of the land and livestock,
make a lot of sacrifices, keep the family safe, and be responsible for pretty
much everything. Having a good father
was a blessing.
This was the
image Jesus wants for his followers. God
our Father is strong, safe, secure.
Father is hard working, loving, kind, and deeply committed to his wife,
children, servants, and slaves. A good
father could be proud of his family, and his family would work to honor the
father and the whole family through similar commitment and hard work.
We do well to
keep this whole image in mind as we continue on with Jesus advice about
prayer. In the Small Catechism
Martin Luther writes, “With these words God wants to attract us, so that we
come to believe he is truly our Father and we are truly his children, in order
that we may ask him boldly and with complete confidence, just as loving
children ask their loving father.”
People will jump
to 11:9 of our gospel reading where Jesus says, “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.”
This sounds like
a recipe for greed and selfishness. But
it must be kept in light of the first bit – God is Father, we are
children. The requests must be made in
light of the family system with a child making a request of a good father who
will consider it in light of the overall strength and honor of the household.
I think too often
people pray as individuals. As if prayer
is a personal relationship with God. It
certainly is. But it is also a family thing. Our prayer time in church is not that we each
say our own thing, bringing up our personal needs and individual
ambitions. In worship, when we are
gathered as a family of faith, our prayers are OUR prayers. Some of them are certainly individual. That’s perfectly okay. But they are all part of a community. I think good prayers take into account the
whole family of faith and its implications.
Notice Jesus
final words on prayer from Chapter 11, “…how much more will the heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Prayer isn’t about selfish getting.
It is about the family of faith growing in strength and health.
Let me read an
excerpt from Mark Twain’s writing called Letter to the Earth:
(Letters From the Earth, Uncensored Writings, Mark Twain,
HarperPerennial, Copyright 1938, 2004 Edition, Pg. 119-120)
How would it be
if prayer worked liked that? It’s
absurd! Yet I think it gives us a good
contrast to understand Jesus’ teachings.
It is perfectly fine to want things, yearn for things, and pray
desperately for things. Jesus teachings
go on to tell us to be diligent and persistent in prayer. But remember we are making them to our loving
Father. We make them as individuals who
are part of a community.
Our first role is
members of God’s family. From that we act. From that we pray. God hears and knows our prayers. God desires to build us and his family into
something strong and robust. May God
send the Spirit into your lives. May you
have the humility to recognize your brokenness.
May you have the courage to face tough challenges. And may your prayers equip and empower you to
live in fullness of life as God intends.
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