Your Kingdom Come

Oh, did you hear about the beating, that ended in murder here in Summit on July 17? Well, by all accounts it was a most disturbing event. The agreed upon facts are that after his shift at Dabbawalla, a local Indian restaurant, a Hispanic man who has lived in this country for 13 years and has worked in this community for at least three years went to the Promenade right across the street from the restaurant on Springfield Ave and sat down on a bench there. At about 8 or 9 p.m. a group of teens came by one of them put a shirt over the father of four’s face another began to hit him while still another video taped the incident.

Jesus teaches us to pray: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come

The most disturbing thing is that one internet news article revealed that while this terrible beating was taking place more than a dozen people walked by, How could this be in Summit in a community where everyone and their child has a cell phone? Didn’t anyone think to call the police? I am astonished that while a man was being beaten to death citizens of this community turned the other way.

Turn the other way,that’s what the the men of the city wanted Lot to do as they came to his home demanding him to send out the men that were staying with him. Perhaps the ones being demanded are the men who, “turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD.”

There is no good intended as all the men of the city demand.“Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.”  Lot refuses. I am not going to tell you what he offers them. You will have to read that for yourself. Just know that what happens to Lot is the conclusion of the story that we heard this morning in the 18th chapter of Genesis.

There Abraham stands before God asking God to spare the people of what we have come to know as an infamous city. What we know from scripture is that the people of Sodom participate in a wide range of bad behaviour, from neglect of the poor and needy to lies, greed and living in excess luxury, sexual abuse, and in hospitality to strangers. Sodom was a place of careless living and indifference.

Yet, Abraham stands before God asking him not to destroy this city to spare the inhabitants for the sake of those who have not done wrong. We overhear Abraham as he challenges God: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’

Abraham understands that God’s very nature is violated in the destruction of the good with the evil, to ignore the innocent in the carrying out of justice would be against the very mercy of God.” And so Abraham stands boldly before God counting on a relationship that is close and intimate. “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city?” Abraham seems courageous enough, and sure enough in the relationship that he is able to ask God not to make good on his threat, not to destroy an entire city of people.

See the lengths that Abraham is willing to go. He bargains “how about fifty,” and God considers Abraham’s plea on behalf of his neighbors, on behalf of those he barely knows. How about 45 or 40 or 30 or 20 or 10? “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” God tells Abraham.

It shows us that while God has expectations of humanity to live in good and right relationship with one another Abraham has expectations of God. He has expectations as we all do. When we fold our hands, get on our knees, open our hearts, or stand in a posture of prayer, we want God to be God--big enough,

righteous enough, loving enough to grant our petitions.

Abraham is persistent in his pleas that God have mercy. Abraham’s care for the unjust suffering people is a reflection of God’s concern for those who are vulnerable. It is Abraham’s bargaining that reminds 

God of God’s commitment to justice. In this way Abraham is an example for us and challenges us to seek and pray for justice.

This story also helps us to know that we too are heard, that God’s ears are open to us as we pray.

This we count on as we look around in our world and see so much that needs our attention in prayer

just this week we have seen violence in our local community, racial tension in our country and wars all over our world. There is so much to pray for,

As Abraham’s bargaining with God moves to as little as ten righteous we read the incident of Lot and the behavior of the men of the city and we see that not even ten righteous could be found. Not even ten people of the city would repent and turn from their wicked ways. So, the city is destroyed.

It is hard for us to look and see a God who destroys. And yet despite the destruction we see the picture of a God who hears Abraham’s pleas, checks to see what the truth is--a God who is willing to consider our pleas.

Ask and it will be given you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened 

These are radical words--words that have the power to turn the world upside down--if only we understood them. Yet this is what Jesus tells his disciples after “ one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord teach us to pray.” Jesus begins, when you pray say; ‘Father, hallowed be your name,’ 

he is saying to them to speak in the most familiar and intimate terms calling God Abba as he does. 

This word translated from the aramaic means more than Father but denotes an intimate relationship.

Like Abraham and Jesus we are to count on a relationship with God that is strong and intimate.

But as close as we are to God, we are also to reverence and hollow God’s name. It is so reverent to the people of Israel that even in writing the name was not spelled out and was never spoken. It was a name that evoked awe and power.

 And then Jesus says as we pray we are to say, ‘your kingdom come.’ And here is where I will stop because of course we think this is about asking for our daily bread, for the forgiveness of our sin, for our protection from the time of trial. And it is but not exclusively. We are to pray, not because when we pray we will get every little thing we ask for. All diseases are not miraculously cured but healing always takes place. The world doesn’t become instantly a better place and all problems will not with a snap be solved.

No even Abraham did not receive his preferred outcome. Yet, he dared to ask. 

Jesus says, ask, knock, seek, and tells us a parable of being persistent in prayer.

The prayers we are to offer with what one commentator calls ‘shameless persistence’ are requests for God to provide us with hope in a future that is here and not yet-- for promised eternal life, for equity, for peace, and for justice in the present and the perseverance we need to work through it all for a world that reflects the goodness and grace of God. We are to pray that we are able to work toward the reign of God to be able to do what little we can for God’s kingdom to come.

For what shall we pray 

certainly for racial reconciliation in our country

certainly for all those lost in combat

certainly for the family of Abelino Mazaniego who was 

so brutally killed in Summit

certainly for our community

and certainly for justice, reconciliation and peace everywhere

 with shameless persistence

we are to pray the words that Jesus taught us

Even if we don’t know exactly what they mean, we pray trusting through the promised Holy Spirit that a God who would send God’s very own son to die on a cross for our sins, and be raised so that we obtain eternal life would consider even our pleas---

Lord to all those who are suffering for this entire world, we pray, may your kingdom come.