Sermon- Oct. 16- Knocking on Heaven's Door

Luke 18:1-8

            One of my favorite TV shows today is “The Big Bang Theory.” Like all sit-coms, the show has several running gags, one of which is the way Sheldon knocks on peoples’ doors—esp. his neighbor Penny’s. He doesn’t just go to the door, knock, then wait for Penny to answer. No, Sheldon goes to the door & knocks--hard & fast--several times; & then he says “Penny!” Then he knocks some more: Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny!” Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny!” Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny!” On & on & on until Penny wearily answers the door. Penny doesn’t answer the door because she wants to see Sheldon. Far from it. Penny answers the door so that he will stop knocking.

            In our Gospel today, Jesus tells a parable about a poor, helpless widow who has nowhere else to turn but to a judge; but the judge doesn’t seem to care about her. The only one who can help her is totally unwilling. She has no money to bribe him, no power to coerce him, & no important relatives to influence him; so, what is she to do?

            Well, she has two choices: 1) she can quit, give up, crawl away in despair & frustration; or 2) she can continue to beat on his door, stand in his yard with a sign demanding justice, & tell her neighbors & friends about his unwillingness to help--in short, she can refuse to go away. Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny!” Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny!” Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny!”

            And that is exactly what she does—she bugs him. And it worked. Finally, the judge says “. . .because this widow keeps bothering me, I’ll grant her justice, so that she won’t wear me out by continually coming.” The judge gives her what she wants so she’ll go away.

            But why does Jesus say that this is like our need to pray always & not lose heart? Does God “grant us justice,” simply to get rid of us? Or because we disturb the divine repose? Or to avoid embarrassment? How is God like the unfair judge?

            I think Jesus’ point is tied to the fact God works on a different time schedule than we do; & therefore it’s easy for us to get discouraged if our prayers never seem to be answered. This story isn’t really about courtrooms and judges and poor widows; it is about persistence in prayer and faithfulness in living. This a story about not losing faith in the face of difficult times.

             For most of us, there does come a time when it feels as though our prayers are ascending no higher than the ceiling. C.S. Lewis, the author of “The Chronicles of Narnia,” wrote eloquently & honestly about his feeling abandoned & left alone by God after the death of his wife: “Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, if you turn to Him with gratitude & praise, you will be — or so it feels — welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, & what do you find? A door slammed in your face, & a sound of bolting & double bolting on the inside. Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity & so very absent a help in time of trouble?”

            Yet, despite feeling abandoned by the Holy One, somehow Lewis persisted in praying & believing, trusting & relying on God. Eventually, he came to be at peace with God & with the loss of his wife – not pleased, but at peace. And eventually he could say about prayer, “I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking & sleeping. Prayer doesn’t change God- it changes me.”

            That running joke on “The Big Bang” theory doesn’t always turn out the same way because the reason Sheldon is banging on Penny’s door is always different. In the midst of the humor there is the underlying fact that Penny genuinely cares about Sheldon, despite how annoying he can be. She listens to his request, which is usually somewhat bizarre, tells him no & closes the door. But Sheldon doesn’t give up. Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny!” “No, Sheldon!” Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny.” “NO!” Knock! Knock! Knock! “Penny!” Somewhere along the way, Penny finds a way to help Sheldon with his problem, to help him resolve whatever dilemma is driving him--& her--to distraction. And most of the time – the answer comes from Sheldon, not from her.

            So it is with us. As Lewis said. “Prayer doesn’t change God – it changes me.” We are called to persist in prayer, “whether the time is favorable or unfavorable;” we are encouraged to struggle with our needs & with our God, employing “the utmost patience.”

            It is in those moments of deepest need & darkest difficulty that our illusions about our self-sufficiency & our presumed ability to make it through life unscathed & on our own are wiped away; & we discover our need, our trust—indeed, our faith--in the love God shown to us in the cross of Christ. We won’t always come through such times unhurt & unafraid, but we will emerge from them with a deeper faith, with a kinder heart, & with arms opened wide to embrace a hurting world with a gentler, more Christ-like love. Amen.