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Pentecost 8
25 July 2004
Hosea 1:2-10; Ps 85; Col 2:6-15, (16-19); Lk 11:1-13
At a very difficult and painful time in my life, Michael Jackson Campbell came to visit. He was a good friend and a wise man and so was able to address my situation honestly and without platitudes. As he was going he said: “Always remember, God is good, God is love and God is faithful.” I have never forgotten.
Hosea 1:2-10
There are a number of quite complex textual questions here — and no room here to address them adequately. There is a very helpful discussion of them in “The Old Testament in Aotearoa New Zealand” by Maurice Andrew pp 539-41
Maybe the parable is that Hosea’s action was more corrupt in that he took Gomer as a prostitute without marrying her. So God’s relationship with Israel has been corrupted almost beyond recognition. The children born to them are, therefore, “God sows”, “Not Fitted”, and “Not My People”.
Nevertheless, the passage is about sin, judgment and redemption. There is a sense of “And yet..........yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are my people”, it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And see next week!
Psalm 85
When things are bad, or even just dubious, and you can’t seem to get into contact with God, it’s important to remember those peak times when you could. The times when you were clearly in touch are the times that hold us. They may not be many, but they are there. The psalm is “perpetually appropriate for the people of God”. Our own shortsightedness, as well as the difficulties of living faithfully in a world pervaded by the results of faithlessness, mean that it will always be necessary for us, like Israel, to pray “Restore us again”. At least every Sunday as the people of God meet together! Loren Mead uses an illustration of the people of God meeting for worship on Sunday, moving out into the world from Monday to Saturday experiencing all the drama of “everyday life” and being stained by it, so needing to gather again within sound of the gospel of Jesus. The focus of the psalm is clearly on God, on steadfast love and faithfulness. God will set things right.
Col 2:6-15 (16-19)
The first verse sets the scene. “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” (NRSV). “You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught.” (The Message) This is no static understanding. It isn’t an argument you have to accept or refute. Instead it is a relationship God has instituted through Jesus. It is a question of entering into the fullness of that relationship and not allowing anyone to pull you aside from it by “big words and intellectual double talk.” I like the way Peterson concludes this reading.
“So then, if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourself be bullied by it? ‘Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this! Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they’re just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.”
How do you apply this? One thing that has come to notice recently is that, while people in congregations, Presbyteries, and (dare I say it) in Assembly — while individuals people are great, faithful, open and ready to engage, corporately, especially when they’re divided into ‘parties’, they become difficult, querulous and stubborn. I think it’s because recognised leaders make statements or stands, speaking in a deep enough voice, and others are not willing to challenge them. What think you?
Luke 11:1-13
Of all the gospel writers, Luke has the most extensive accent on prayer which puts people in touch with the incredible generosity of God. So, to his question, the lawyer gets first a model prayer and then a story.
“Prayer is the means of establishing agreement between God’s will and (our) desires: and it may well be that the best way of educating our desires is to express them to God in prayer. It may be that it is only by telling God frankly what we want that we can learn what we truly need.” (The Sayings of Jesus. T.W.Manson)
Is it ‘persistence’ or ‘shamelessness’? The word means both. There is no hint in the story that the man pounded on his neighbour’s door until he gave in. Perhaps the neighbour finally responded because he didn’t want to be shamed by a refusal which went against the absolute requirement of his time.
In case you haven’t a copy of Manson’s marvelous book, first published in 1937(!), here is how he ends his discussion of this parable”
“The conclusion is not explicitly drawn; but it is sufficiently obvious. If a human friend, who is a prey to moods and tempers, can be persuaded even against his inclination to get up and oblige you, how much more will God your Father and your perfect friend be ready to supply all your needs. The disciple who has this confidence will be able to open his heart freely before God. He will also be able to accept whatever God sends him. He will know how to say, ’I have learned in whatsoever state I am , therein to be content. I know how to be abased and how to abound: in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want. I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.’”
So, “Ask and it will be given you...search...knock...Would any of you who are parents give your child a weta when asked for a fish?” (NZ Prayer Book)
Prayer
God
when we tread a path to your door
we find it open and welcoming.
When we make requests of you,
even the most difficult,
selfish or presumptuous,
you give according to your grace and goodness.
Forgive what is twisted or dangerous in us
when we make our requests and demands.
Restore us with the surprise
of your willingness.
Teach us to offer ourselves in return
to those who make requests of us. Amen.