Go Ahead! Ask!

Luke 11:5-13

In 1933, when little Emmy was 10 years old, an unusual old man moved into the old two-story house in her Princeton, New Jersey neighborhood. He had a funny accent and he wore his hair differently than anyone else, but she had heard talk that he was very good at math. She was having trouble with her arithmetic at school and so she decided she would ask for help. She did not know if he would be willing, but she decided to ask anyway.

She went to the door, knocked and when the old man answered, she explained her problem. Surprisingly, the man was willing to help and they worked through her problems. She thought he did a very good job of explaining things in ways that she could understand. He was better at it than her teacher at school was.

For the next few weeks, Emmy made regular visits to the old man’s house to get help with her arithmetic. Finally, one of the neighbors told Emmy’s mother that she’d been seen going in and out of the man’s house for weeks. Her mother was horrified! Calling Emmy into the kitchen, she explained that the old man was a Nobel Prize winning physicist, mathematician named Albert Einstein. He was very important and certainly did not have time for a schoolgirl’s arithmetic problems!

With Emmy in tow, the mother rushed over to Einstein’s house and when he came to the door, she began to apologize for her daughter’s being a bother. But Einstein cut her off. “She has not been bothering me,” he said.  “When a child finds such joy in learning, then it is my joy to help her learn! She is welcome in this house anytime.” **

The little girl’s bold request had gotten her instruction from the greatest thinker of her day. Sometimes, a bold request is just what is needed.

Turn with me to the Gospel of Luke. Luke 11:5-13. We will read this morning about Jesus’ instructions on making requests. We hear Jesus, speaking to his disciples.

LK 11:5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’

LK 11:7 “Then the one inside answers, `Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

LK 11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

LK 11:11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

May the Lord add his blessing to this reading of the Word.

Jesus had been teaching his disciples about prayer. It was common for a rabbi or teacher to have unique language that his followers used in prayer. In chapter 11, verse 1, the disciples asked for this type of instruction, citing John the Baptist’s teaching his disciples to pray in specific ways. So, Jesus gave them the prayer structure that we now call the “Lord’s Prayer.” However, he did not leave it at that. He continued to teach them in his favorite form; the parable.

This parable of the nighttime request is unique to Luke’s gospel. In it, a man knocked on his friend’s door in the middle of the night. He had a guest at his house and nothing to feed him; a difficult problem in a culture where hospitality was of utmost importance.

His neighbor, however, was settled in for the night. We are probably talking about a one room house where the room is converted to a sleeping area at night. If the neighbor gets up to “unbar” the door, the whole family will be disturbed. The parable says he got up anyway and fulfilled the request. Why? Not because the man was a friend, but because of the “boldness” of the request!

That word (boldness) in Greek is anaideia and it could be literally translated impudence or, “a disregard of consideration by the on making the request.” Was Jesus teaching impudence? That seems ridiculous! In verse 9, Jesus began to explain the meaning of the parable.

LK 11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Jesus told his disciples to initiate the communication when it comes to prayer. If they wanted the door opened, they would need to knock on it. If they wanted to receive something, they would need to ask for it. If they wanted to find something, you will need to look for it. He told them that “boldness” was reasonable because of their relationship to God. Verses 11-12 are classic hyperbole.

LK 11:11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

Just as it would be ridiculous for a father to give a child a scorpion instead of the asked for egg, so, it was foolish for them to think that God would not give them good things when they asked!

How should we transpose this teaching from the disciples to ourselves? How do we align Jesus’ teaching about boldness with his admonition about humility in Matthew 23:12?

MT 23:12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Consider Matthew 18:4.

MT 18:4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Over the past few years, we have noticed that Jesus made humility a cornerstone of his teaching. How then can we justify anaideia impudence? Jesus taught that his followers could (and should) approach God with “boldness” because of our unique relationship to him.

God loves and provides for us! We can ask boldly because God wants to give us good gifts! Is it impudence if your child asks you for healthy food? Certainly not! Do you consider it impudence if your child asks for something that is not good for them? No! But you do not give it to them either! You recognize that the child needs your guidance. To go to a parent demanding something, however, will not go over well!

What is most important for us to learn here is that we must be actively talking to God! Jesus taught his disciples to ask the Father for what they needed because he wanted to provide it! The same is true for us! Our “father” is in the business of providing the good things that we need. He knows what will benefit you. He knows what will harm you and he gives “good gifts.”

Like the girl asking for help from her neighbor, we are well received when we ask because God finds joy in providing for us! So ask away! Do not be surprised when God provides exactly what you need!

** Adapted from (Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2000, Devotional E-Mail, “It Is His Joy” http://www.geocities.com/palmercog/joydevo.html) (last visited April 22, 2008)).