Sermon - July 28, 2013

Three Wishes

Sermon by Stephen Ricketts

Providence-Fort Washington United Methodist Church

Luke 11:1-13

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – July 28, 2013

 

I am sure you all have heard of the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp. Today the story is best known in the Disney version that features Robin Williams as the genie. The story first appeared in a French version of the Arabian Nights and tells the story of a poor boy who was tricked by an evil sorcerer into entering a magic cave to retrieve a magic lamp. Aladdin retrieves the lamp and discovers the genie of the lamp. And with the genie’s magical help, Aladdin is able to defeat the evil sorcerer and also marry the emperor’s daughter. One plot element from the Aladdin story that has passed into our popular culture is the restriction that the genie can only grant three wishes. This requires the owner of the lamp to think carefully before actually making a wish. Today it is common for children, after hearing the story of Aladdin, to dream about having three wishes.

Now, I think we all know that genies do not come from magic lamps, but that has not stopped us from making wishes. Today, the lottery ticket has replaced the genie as the grantor of our wishes. Every time some lottery reaches a really big number (usually a couple hundred million dollars) lottery fever sets in as people line up to purchase at least one ticket. And, once they have their ticket, people begin to fantasize about what they will do if their ticket is the winning ticket. Depending on the amount, fantasies range from buying a mansion to buying a major league sports team. Some people are more altruistic and their fantasies involve endowing a chair at a university or funding important medical research. My own personal fantasy is to purchase some books that are currently out of my price range. It seems that we all dream about having the resources to fulfill our wildest wishes; and, we all have “three wishes” at the ready should that magic lamp or winning lottery ticket fall into our lap.

So, after all this talk about genies granting wishes and holding the winning lottery ticket, what are we to make of Jesus’ words in today’s gospel reading? “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. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)” On the face of it, it seems we have found our genie in the person of Jesus. After all, he says “ask and it will be given to you” – sounds pretty much like genie-talk, right? Well, anyone who has ever asked God for a new Rolls Royce can tell you, Jesus is not in the wish granting business. So, what exactly is Jesus saying? Is he giving us unfulfillable and unrealistic expectations? Is he setting us up for a major disappointment when our wishes are not granted? Is he simply lying to us? Or, is there truth and power in these verses just waiting to be discovered?

Today, I want to look closely at these two verses and especially the three verbs in them: Ask, Seek, and Knock. I want to claim Jesus’ promise in these words and see how we can use them in our lives today. I want to take the words in a slightly different order today; I want to start with “seek” because I believe that we must seek God before we can ask something from God.

“Seek and you will find” is God’s promise to every person who wants to know more about God. The promise is given before we have any faith in God; the promise is given before we even acknowledge God’s existence. All that is required is that we seek God with an open mind; that we seek God open to the possibility of God’s existence. Some people claim they cannot find God when in reality they are seeking a god of their own creation, then when they discover that their god does not exist they deny the existence of the true Lord of Heaven. If we seek a god who hunts down and destroys our enemies then we will not find God. If we seek a god who rewards the wealthy and punishes the poor then we will not find God. If we seek a god who maintains order through fear and enjoys punishing people for even the smallest infraction then we will not find God. But, when we lay aside our pre-conceived notions of who God is and how God works in the world and simply listen then Jesus promises that we will hear God’s voice speaking to our hearts. I believe that when we seek we will find God in the grandeur of a stellar explosion and in the wonder of a single living cell. I believe that when we seek we will find that God loves all creation and cares for our enemies with the same passion that he cares for us. I believe that when we seek we will discover that God chooses to cast his lot with the poor and that God is present with them in a special way. I believe that when we seek we will discover that God wants to forgive us, embrace us, and bring us to everlasting life. God also reveals himself to those who have found God and want to learn more about God and how God works in the world. When we seek God with a faith-filled heart we find that God is always beside us; ready to walk with us through the darkest valleys and stay with us on the longest nights. When we seek God with a faith-filled heart, we find that God is present – ready to fill our lives with meaning and joy. When we seek God with a faith-filled heart, we discover God has given us the chance to grow and develop in his love and grace. Our task is to continuously seek God – to continue to study and learn more about God. And, as we seek and study, God reveals more and more of himself to us. There is always something new to discover about God because it is impossible to exhaust the infinite reality that is God. Seek and you will find. Seek and God will reveal himself to you.

“Ask and it will be given to you” is more challenging for us to understand because God’s response does not always come in the way we are expecting. We may ask for God to destroy our enemy and when our enemy survives some people claim God has not given us what we asked for. We may ask God to give us something that is destructive or harmful and when we do not receive it some people claim God has not given us what we asked for. I believe that when we ask for what we need then the Lord gives us what we ask for. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tells us to ask for our “daily bread,” trusting that God will give us what we ask for. When we ask for those things that will bring us fulfillment and joy then God is quick to give us what we ask for. But, God wisely refuses to give us those things that will only bring us sorrow and pain, even when we ask for them. As we seek after God and learn more about God then we begin to understand the difference between what we need and what we want; we learn to distinguish between those things that bring us temporary pleasure and those things that bring us eternal joy. When we ask for the “good gifts” then God is surely delighted to give us what we ask for.

“Knock and the door will be opened to you.” I believe we have a very conflicted relationship with doors. We hate them when they are closed and we want to get through them. But, we are overjoyed when a door is open and we experience new possibilities. I believe that our challenge with this verse may come from the fact that we tend to focus on the door; and the door then becomes an obstacle to be overcome. However, Jesus’ focus is on our action; Jesus calls us to knock whenever we encounter a closed door. Think about it. The door may be unlocked, the door may be ready to swing open at the lightest touch; but, we will never know until we knock. It is only when we knock that we discover that the door is open.

All three of these verbs, Seek, Ask, and Knock call us to action. God can be found, but only by those who seek his presence. God will shower us with gifts, but only when we ask. God will open the doors that seem to block our path but only when we knock. God is not a genie we summon to do our bidding; rather God responds with his presence when we seek; responds with his blessings when we ask; responds with his power when we knock.

Today God stands ready to respond. When we seek God, we will find him. When we ask, God will provide. And, when we knock, God will open the door.

So, what are you seeking today? What am I seeking today? What are we, as Providence-Fort Washington, seeking today? Today, I want us to claim Jesus’ promise that as we honestly seek God, and his will for us, then we will find. I want to suggest that we, as a church, seek for ways that we can make an impact in our community. I want us to seek for the needs that are going unmet. Seek for the hurt that cries out for comfort. Seek for the joy that is left unexpressed. One place where I have sensed that need is in the children of our Vacation Bible School. Last week helped me see that we need to be in ministry to the children and youth of our community. We can use our resources of time and space and talent to minister to this community. You may be sensing that God is leading us in this or another direction; that is part of our ongoing conversation about being Christ’s disciples here in Fort Washington. Today, will you join me in seeking, trusting Christ’s promise that when we seek we will find?

Next, what are you asking for today? What am I asking for? What are we, as Providence-Fort Washington, asking God to give us today? Today, I want us to claim Jesus’ promise that when we ask then God will give us what we need. I want us to ask for those things, those resources, that we need in order to minister effectively in Fort Washington. Today I am asking God to enlarge our congregation. We are a small congregation and we do not need to get bigger just so we can boast about our numbers. But, a larger congregation will allow us to tackle new challenges in new ways. Again, you may agree with my prayer or you may be hearing God calling us to ask for other resources. The point is to trust that when we ask that God will give us what we need to prosper and flourish.

Finally, where are the doors that you need to knock on? Where are the doors that I should be knocking on? What doors should we, as the people of God, be knocking on today? Today, I want us to claim Jesus’ promise that when we knock the door will be open. This year at Annual Conference, Bishop Matthews called on all the churches of the Baltimore-Washington Conference to form a partnership with a neighborhood school. Bishop Matthews was not specific about the form this partnership should take, but it would seem that the school door is one we should be knocking on. I am not sure what will happen when we knock except I do know a door will be opened for us to be in ministry. Today, will you join me in knocking on the doors of our community? Christ has promised that when we knock the door will be opened.

I am not sure that seeking, asking, and knocking count as wishes, but I know God will not let us fail when we trust his promises. I know that “everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Amen.