5 And
he said unto them, Which of you shall have a
friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me
three loaves; 6 For a friend of
mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me
not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise
and give thee. 8 I say unto you,
Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of
his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
(Luke 11:5-8)
The
Collect
Fourth
Sunday after Trinity
|
O
|
GOD, the
protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is
holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy, that, thou being our ruler and
guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the
things eternal. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Amen.
Our
Collect for this week of 4th Sunday after Trinity is one of
the most beloved and oft quoted of all of the traditional prayer Collects of
the church. The Collect posit the danger of being led astray, not only by
adversity, but prosperity as well. We learn from this Collect that, first of
all, God is the particular Protector of those who trust in Him. Apart from God,
we have no strength and nothing is Holy for there are no gods apart from our
God. Passing through things temporal, with the mighty mercies of God means to
be preserved through hard times and prosperity, too, so that we finish strong
the journey with God which we undertook at our first burst of light and faith. Brothers
Karamazoz, by Fyodor Dostoyezky, (a book the great writer, Leo Tolstoy,
kept by his bed and red often in later life) pictures the bitterness of a life
begun aright but that ends in shameful failure. We read in the New Testament
that Paul ran his race well, and he finished his course well. So should we. The
finish is every bit as important as the beginning. Which is more worth, the
temporal or the eternal? No, that is not a trick question. We all know the
answer to that question. Let us live as if we know, and not simply give lip
service to the duty of living a Christ-honoring life.
Just
before teaching today's parable, our Lord had been engaged in prayer, He then
taught the disciples how to pray. Prayer is a primary object of this parable.
Prayer is not simply speaking to God, but conversing with God. God speaks, we
listen. We express the burdens of our hearts to our Heavenly Father, then we
submissively await His providential response. Do we often pray and forget to
listen? Even the silence of God is an answer, but it is an answer that we most
often do not desire to hear. When my children were small, I tried to avoid
saying anything that would dampen their tender spirits, but often they pressed
for an answer to things for which they should not have asked. If forced to
answer, rather than remaining silent, the answer seemed more harsh in its
rejection of their request. Can the same be said of God in His love for us?
Silence is often the most merciful answer if we know that God does all things
well and always for our good – even in rejection of our petitions. Christ
teaches by His life, by His example, and by the common means of life.
5 And
he said unto them, Which of you shall have a
friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me
three loaves. This is a small favor to ask of a friend, is it
not? No friend would ever ask of another such a small favor at such an
inconvenient hour unless there was a desperate need and hunger, would he? The Friend
to whom we may go at the midnight, noonday hour, or any hour in between, is our
Lord Jesus Christ. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is forever ready to hear
our prayers. Jesus in telling us the nature of the prayerful petition He has
just taught the disciples.
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come
to me, and I have nothing to set before him? Such a
circumstance would be cause a great failure and shame to the one who could not
provide hospitality to a friend who comes to our door at a surprising moment.
The man making the petition to his neighbor Friend is asking the benefit for
another friend – not himself. How often do we pray for the benefit of others
and not prayers of selfish interests?
7 And
he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and
my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. What kind of friend would be so callous? Our need
is urgent – the neighbor friend is only desirous to enjoy his leisure if he
responds so. Such a man would NOT be a friend to the man begging bread.
But Christ, though we trouble Him often and at times of deep night, will always
arise and answer our needs, if not our every desire.
8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him,
because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give
him as many as he needeth. God does not give us riches and
opulence simply because we are His friends in Christ. Just because we DESIRE
bread does not necessarily mean that we NEED bread. But God, knowing our dire
NEED, will provide a satisfaction for that NEED. Christ is teaching us that the
things for which we pray must be begged out of a great need of the heart and
not a desire of the flesh. Bread is plain, simple, and necessary for life. We have
a friend that we must feed. Asking bread for such a need is well within the
bounds of what prayer is meant to be. Read the next five verses following this
parable:
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be
given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. God
knows our every need before we ever ask of Him, however, He desires us to
observe the proper Father-son (daughter) relationship by expressing our need to
him. Rather than showering our own children with good things, have we not
desired them to ask us for them first? There is a certain gratitude expressed
even in a petition for some blessing we can provide, is there not?
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father,
will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a
serpent? A child beginning bread from his father will never ask
in vain. The request of a child for plain bread is never as out of a heart of
excess. Will a father ever gives stones for bread, or serpents for fish, to a
child whom he loves dearly? Will God ever bring any object, or circumstance,
into your life which is no wholesome for your soul or body?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he
offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? The
Holy Spirit is your Guide and Comfort – comfort in every situation of life. Can
we ask for more than this? Wicked men usually love their own children. But God
is righteous and able to love His children who often are wicked in their lack
of hospitality, not only to friends, but to strangers.
We have the privilege of communication with God through both prayer and His
Written Word. We have, too, the Holy Ghost to superintend our learning, to call
to remembrance all those things of Christ revealed in the Scriptures that we
have read (IF we have read them). He will guide and direct us into all truth
and He will never fail to point to the object of His Love and Purpose – the
Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray at all times in the things we think, say, and
do. Let us offer our audible, and inaudible, prayers to Him and, then, wait for
the still, small voice to echo in the chambers of our hearts. Have you prayed
today?
