Whatchagot Prayer

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

from Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells a parable about two men praying

• What's the most important ingredient when you get dressed?
(singing from the musical Annie)
Your clothes may be Beau Brummely, they stand out a mile,
but brother, you're never fully dressed without a smile.

• I made a “whatchagot chili” the other day...
(get out beans, beans, tomato, beans, meat)
what's the most important ingredient?

• What's the most important ingredient in prayer?
Jesus talks about two prayers today,
and when I say prayers I don't mean the words, I mean the people praying.

It is tempting to pick the Pharisee's prayer apart, but the thing wrong with his prayer is its focus (himself) and his attitude (check me out). The content of his prayer isn't inherently bad. I'm grateful to live in a house. I'm grateful to be married. I'm grateful that I have a job (which I love, by the way). I'm thankful I'm not a robber or evildoer or adulterer. I'm not *better* than those people, and those people are as worthy of God's grace as I am (which, by the way, is not at all. No one is worthy of God's grace; it is an unmerited gift freely given).

• It is possible to give thanks for righteousness in one's own life without presuming self-rightousness, and earned exemption from mercy, and without self-elevation. You just have to have the proper ingredients in prayer, and you can't have a good prayer without humility. Jesus lays it out in the end of the parable: whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 18:14)

Who is Jesus telling this parable to? To self-righteous people who looked on others with disgust. He says, “Hey, if you want righteousness, if you want to be right with God, there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. The way to get right with God is to admit that you don't have it together, to admit that real righteousness comes only from God, you can't achieve it on your own. The thing you need for righteousness is humility, and the thing God gives you is grace. You wanna get right with God, let God know that there's only one Number One and it isn't you, it's Him.

• So what ingredients will you put in your prayers? Whatchagot?
Humility, thanks, honor & praise, an occasional dash of confession, a plea for forgiveness.

• There's another side to this, too, which is to use what God has given you for God's glory. I believe God had gifted that Pharisee with certain things, and God had gifted that tax collector with certain things, and God is pleased when we use the gifts we're given in service and in praise. You can be a terrific musician or athlete, and you can pray Thank you, God, for giving me this talent; I say thank you in how I use it. I believe God would want that Pharisee and that tax collector to be the best Pharisee and tax collector they could be, just as God wants you to be fully you, the you He created and gifted you to be.

So in addition to humility, thanks, honor, praise, those ingredients of prayer, include who you are, your gifts and your resources, as gifts to God.

• There's a picture that's been making its way around Facebook this past week, a picture of an actor I'm somewhat impressed with, Sir Patrick Stewart holding a sign that says “Defend rights for women and girls – Amnesty International”. The picture has a caption: “People won't listen to you or take you seriously unless you're an old, white man, and since I'm an old, white man I'm going to use that to help the people who need it.” - Sir Patrick Stewart (73). Sir Patrick has what I would say is a good balance of humility and responsibility... he's using what he has – fame (and he's an old white man) – to elevate others. I'd say that's the sort of thing pleases God.

So. Whatchagot?

• Turn to #8 in your hymnals and let us make our confession together