Knock, knock.
Who's there?
No, this isn't a joke. The next line isn't "Barbie." We read today about a knock at the door, a knock that requires a decision, a sound that impels us into action. Maybe you've been in this situation. Your children have gone to bed. You've gotten yourself ready to go to bed and are just settling in. Or maybe it's even later at night and someone comes pounding on the door. What are you going to do?
Maybe if you ignore it the person will go away. Has that ever gone through your mind? I remember once when this happened to me and that very thought went through my mind. I rolled over and tried to ignore it. I was living in a kind of rowdy part of town. And it was about two in the morning. But the knocking continued.
So what do you do? You get out of bed, grumble a bit, and go to the door, like I did. Drowsy, sleepy, out of sorts. The knocking continued. Who would be on the other side of the door? Maybe the police? Maybe some vagrant? Who knows? So I opened the door. It seemed the only way to get the noise to stop. By this time I figured the rest of the apartment building was probably awake.
Now let's picture a couple of scenarios. What if the police came and needed to let me know someone in my family was sick or dying and they couldn't reach me by phone? I'd be shocked but thankful. They were there doing me a service that I needed. What if it was some drunk who thought he was trying to get into his own apartment and didn't know where he was going? Would it be a perfectly appropriate reaction to tell the guy to shove off and figure out where he was really intending to go? His wife wouldn't have such a friendly reception for him. Maybe the building is on fire and the fire alarms are not working? A wake-up knock would be a very good thing. So who could be on the other side of the door? Depending on who it is I'd probably react quite differently.
I opened the door. This really happened. I am not kidding. Who did I find on the other side of the door? Oops, excuse me. Whom did I find on the other side of the door? I was greeted with the strong smell of cigarette smoke, then two young ladies stumbled into the apartment, giggling. Now you might think in those days as a single undergraduate student I'd think a middle-of-the-night visit by two young ladies would be quite the opportunity, right? No, in fact, Linda and Kim were dropping in on me, not sure I'd be asleep yet, but fairly intoxicated, and in need of help. Oddly enough, when I was awake and they were sober, they tended to look to me for some big brothering from time to time, though they were both graduate students and I was not. But they needed a little big brothering.
What did I do? Give them the heave ho? You can imagine I was tempted to. But I didn't. This is not to my praise or to my blame. It's just the situation. I cared for their needs and then gave them the heave ho. Yes, they were sheepish and apologetic the next day, and rightly so. Why did I help them? They were my friends. They had humbled themselves, realized their need, and come to me for help. They were not able to take care of their need by themselves.
Is this like our relationship with our heavenly Father? We come to him realizing our need. He answers us, not because we keep pounding on the door, not because we are annoying, not because we are persistent. In fact, that isn't in this passage. He answers us because we are "unashamed." Actually, that isn't quite the right English word for it. I can't come up with just the right English word for this Greek word we see translated as "impudence." I don't think "impudence" is quite right either. The term Jesus uses to describe the friend is that he has put down his shame an done that which would normally ashame himself but is now necessary. He has humbled himself and asked for help because he can't help himself. He has put aside normal societal customs and is calling on his friend at the time when his friend normally wouldn't receive guests and at the time when he would normally not ask for anything. That's what the friend is doing.
So let's take another look at this passage in that light. What do we see first? We see a prayer, the rather abbreviated form of a prayer many of us pray one or more times a day. And what do we do in this prayer? We humble ourselves. We ask for that which we would normally like to think we provide ourselves. We ask that our Lord will be the one who is proclaimed as holy, not that we be exalted. We ask that God provide what we need, though we would like to be recognized as self-made men and women. We ask for forgiveness, that which we would like to earn but know deep down that we can't. We ask for protection from temptation, again, something that we would like to think we didn't need. Jesus teaches us to humble ourselves in our prayer. He is the one who meets our needs. We don't do it ourselves. We can't. But our Lord is ready, willing, and able to care for all we need.
What happens next in the passage? We have the parable, reminding us that a friend will do for us what we admit we can't do for ourselves, even though it may require something of that friend. He does it because he is a friend, not because we deserve it, not because it is what he planned to do when he went to bed that night, not because it is the most convenient thing in the world. He does it because we are friends.
What do we see next? We are told to ask, seek, and knock. We are not to wait until our moment of desperation. We are not to wait until we are as low as low can be. We do not try to conceal our need from our Lord. What do you want prayer for? Maybe you came to worship today carrying a burden. Is it something which troubles you? Let us pray for you. Is there something you need to confess to the Lord? There's no time like the present. Do you need God's wisdom for something you are going to do? Pray for it. We are called to be people who lay down our shame, who ask things of our Lord, as a child asks his dear father, knowing that the Lord delights in caring for us. After the sermon we have a time for the prayers of the church. That time should be filled with prayers of petition and thanksgiving alike.
What do we see at the end of our passage today? Did you ever wonder if your parents knew what was good for you? Did you ever wonder if your friends would really help you? Did you ever have doubt about whether you could truly confess your sins before your husband or wife and receive forgiveness rather than condemnation? How about a child asking for a piece of food? Is the parent going to give the child something that is dangerous and that is definitely not food? We have to admit that there are some sick and cruel parents in this world. The sad reality is that there are some people who would harm their children. Maybe even some of you have been harmed. Maybe some of you would be people who would harm your children. It's a sad reality. But we proclaim the Church is a hospital for sinners to receive the cure they need. Come, sinners, repent of your sin, receive the forgiveness of your Lord and Savior, who died for your sin. And the rest of us, who are called "evil" in this passage, those of us who give our children good gifts - how much greater is the true gift our Lord gives, the Holy Spirit?
Yes, for those who believe, for those who repent of their self-security, for those who act shamelessly and come to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and grace, our Lord doesn't give them the kind of good gifts they would give their children. He gives the greatest gift of all. He gives the Holy Spirit. Here is life, here is forgiveness, here is provision, here is the sure and certain hope of redemption in eternity. Because the Holy Spirit draws us, brings us to repentance, and points us to Jesus Christ, who died for all the sin and evil that we would or could ever commit. It is God the Spirit who came not to glorify himself but to glorify Jesus. It is God the Holy Spirit who is that Lord and giver of life. Yes, our Lord gives the Holy Spirit to us as we turn to him, humbling ourselves, and asking for his mercy.
So now we have come full circle. We come to our Lord, like my college friends came to me. We come at the time we have realized our need. We come now. We come sheepishly because we thought we could handle things on our own. We come realizing that we are evil. We come realizing that we need the kind of good gifts our Lord can give us. We come knowing that it doesn't fit in with our society, that it doesn't make us look cool, that it doesn't ingratiate us to our culture. We come, smelling of all the trouble we have gotten ourselves into. We knock on the door. And we know that the door will be opened to us.
Thanks be to God.
Who's there?
No, this isn't a joke. The next line isn't "Barbie." We read today about a knock at the door, a knock that requires a decision, a sound that impels us into action. Maybe you've been in this situation. Your children have gone to bed. You've gotten yourself ready to go to bed and are just settling in. Or maybe it's even later at night and someone comes pounding on the door. What are you going to do?
Maybe if you ignore it the person will go away. Has that ever gone through your mind? I remember once when this happened to me and that very thought went through my mind. I rolled over and tried to ignore it. I was living in a kind of rowdy part of town. And it was about two in the morning. But the knocking continued.
So what do you do? You get out of bed, grumble a bit, and go to the door, like I did. Drowsy, sleepy, out of sorts. The knocking continued. Who would be on the other side of the door? Maybe the police? Maybe some vagrant? Who knows? So I opened the door. It seemed the only way to get the noise to stop. By this time I figured the rest of the apartment building was probably awake.
Now let's picture a couple of scenarios. What if the police came and needed to let me know someone in my family was sick or dying and they couldn't reach me by phone? I'd be shocked but thankful. They were there doing me a service that I needed. What if it was some drunk who thought he was trying to get into his own apartment and didn't know where he was going? Would it be a perfectly appropriate reaction to tell the guy to shove off and figure out where he was really intending to go? His wife wouldn't have such a friendly reception for him. Maybe the building is on fire and the fire alarms are not working? A wake-up knock would be a very good thing. So who could be on the other side of the door? Depending on who it is I'd probably react quite differently.
I opened the door. This really happened. I am not kidding. Who did I find on the other side of the door? Oops, excuse me. Whom did I find on the other side of the door? I was greeted with the strong smell of cigarette smoke, then two young ladies stumbled into the apartment, giggling. Now you might think in those days as a single undergraduate student I'd think a middle-of-the-night visit by two young ladies would be quite the opportunity, right? No, in fact, Linda and Kim were dropping in on me, not sure I'd be asleep yet, but fairly intoxicated, and in need of help. Oddly enough, when I was awake and they were sober, they tended to look to me for some big brothering from time to time, though they were both graduate students and I was not. But they needed a little big brothering.
What did I do? Give them the heave ho? You can imagine I was tempted to. But I didn't. This is not to my praise or to my blame. It's just the situation. I cared for their needs and then gave them the heave ho. Yes, they were sheepish and apologetic the next day, and rightly so. Why did I help them? They were my friends. They had humbled themselves, realized their need, and come to me for help. They were not able to take care of their need by themselves.
Is this like our relationship with our heavenly Father? We come to him realizing our need. He answers us, not because we keep pounding on the door, not because we are annoying, not because we are persistent. In fact, that isn't in this passage. He answers us because we are "unashamed." Actually, that isn't quite the right English word for it. I can't come up with just the right English word for this Greek word we see translated as "impudence." I don't think "impudence" is quite right either. The term Jesus uses to describe the friend is that he has put down his shame an done that which would normally ashame himself but is now necessary. He has humbled himself and asked for help because he can't help himself. He has put aside normal societal customs and is calling on his friend at the time when his friend normally wouldn't receive guests and at the time when he would normally not ask for anything. That's what the friend is doing.
So let's take another look at this passage in that light. What do we see first? We see a prayer, the rather abbreviated form of a prayer many of us pray one or more times a day. And what do we do in this prayer? We humble ourselves. We ask for that which we would normally like to think we provide ourselves. We ask that our Lord will be the one who is proclaimed as holy, not that we be exalted. We ask that God provide what we need, though we would like to be recognized as self-made men and women. We ask for forgiveness, that which we would like to earn but know deep down that we can't. We ask for protection from temptation, again, something that we would like to think we didn't need. Jesus teaches us to humble ourselves in our prayer. He is the one who meets our needs. We don't do it ourselves. We can't. But our Lord is ready, willing, and able to care for all we need.
What happens next in the passage? We have the parable, reminding us that a friend will do for us what we admit we can't do for ourselves, even though it may require something of that friend. He does it because he is a friend, not because we deserve it, not because it is what he planned to do when he went to bed that night, not because it is the most convenient thing in the world. He does it because we are friends.
What do we see next? We are told to ask, seek, and knock. We are not to wait until our moment of desperation. We are not to wait until we are as low as low can be. We do not try to conceal our need from our Lord. What do you want prayer for? Maybe you came to worship today carrying a burden. Is it something which troubles you? Let us pray for you. Is there something you need to confess to the Lord? There's no time like the present. Do you need God's wisdom for something you are going to do? Pray for it. We are called to be people who lay down our shame, who ask things of our Lord, as a child asks his dear father, knowing that the Lord delights in caring for us. After the sermon we have a time for the prayers of the church. That time should be filled with prayers of petition and thanksgiving alike.
What do we see at the end of our passage today? Did you ever wonder if your parents knew what was good for you? Did you ever wonder if your friends would really help you? Did you ever have doubt about whether you could truly confess your sins before your husband or wife and receive forgiveness rather than condemnation? How about a child asking for a piece of food? Is the parent going to give the child something that is dangerous and that is definitely not food? We have to admit that there are some sick and cruel parents in this world. The sad reality is that there are some people who would harm their children. Maybe even some of you have been harmed. Maybe some of you would be people who would harm your children. It's a sad reality. But we proclaim the Church is a hospital for sinners to receive the cure they need. Come, sinners, repent of your sin, receive the forgiveness of your Lord and Savior, who died for your sin. And the rest of us, who are called "evil" in this passage, those of us who give our children good gifts - how much greater is the true gift our Lord gives, the Holy Spirit?
Yes, for those who believe, for those who repent of their self-security, for those who act shamelessly and come to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and grace, our Lord doesn't give them the kind of good gifts they would give their children. He gives the greatest gift of all. He gives the Holy Spirit. Here is life, here is forgiveness, here is provision, here is the sure and certain hope of redemption in eternity. Because the Holy Spirit draws us, brings us to repentance, and points us to Jesus Christ, who died for all the sin and evil that we would or could ever commit. It is God the Spirit who came not to glorify himself but to glorify Jesus. It is God the Holy Spirit who is that Lord and giver of life. Yes, our Lord gives the Holy Spirit to us as we turn to him, humbling ourselves, and asking for his mercy.
So now we have come full circle. We come to our Lord, like my college friends came to me. We come at the time we have realized our need. We come now. We come sheepishly because we thought we could handle things on our own. We come realizing that we are evil. We come realizing that we need the kind of good gifts our Lord can give us. We come knowing that it doesn't fit in with our society, that it doesn't make us look cool, that it doesn't ingratiate us to our culture. We come, smelling of all the trouble we have gotten ourselves into. We knock on the door. And we know that the door will be opened to us.
Thanks be to God.
--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com
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