Pentecost 21, Proper 25, 2004:

The newly retired Episcopal priest decided to take up golf. He took a few lessons from the club pro and was invited to join a group looking for a forth player for their regular Monday foursome. The priest was only three shots over par when the group came to the fourth hole, a long par 4 with a severe dogleg to the right. The priest’s tee shot ended up in the tall rough. It would take a good shot to make it to the green. He said to his playing partners, "I guess I’ll just have to swing hard and pray." He took a mighty swing and the ball landed in the pond to the right of the green.

"I guess the Lord didn’t hear me," the priest said.

The older man in the foursome responded, "Could be, but in my church we always pray with our heads down."

Kind of like the folks watching the baseball playoffs. One said, "That No. 21 always crosses himself before he steps to the plate."

"Wonder if that helps him," another asked?

A third member of the group said, "It does if he’s a good hitter."

Last Sunday the Gospel told the story about Jesus instructing his followers that they should always pray and not lose heart. The teaching parable about the insistent widow and the indifferent, impatient judge was used by the Lord of life to help his followers remember that practice was necessary for prayer to have the potential for personal living. He also said that persistence was needed in order to learn that before it appeared that God was working for us God must work in us. Finally, Jesus reminded his disciples, then and now, that God was the source of all power and prayer was the one thing that opened access to that universal power.

This Sunday the Gospel from Luke gives another parable about prayer. This time the emphasis is not so much on why we are to pray, but on how we are to pray.

Prayer must be an exercise in humility. "Hear our humble prayer," we say. That’s where we must begin. Proud people have difficulty with prayer. They tend to bang their heads on the Gate of Heaven because they forget that the gate is so low that only those on their knees may enter. Forgetting to keep ones head down probably causes more bad prayers than anything else does. The Pharisee, standing off by himself, didn’t have his head down. He was looking around at the thieves, rogues, adulterers, and tax collectors. He reminded God that he even went further than the rabbis instructed. He fasted twice a week. Once was all the law required. He gave a tenth of his income. Using the worldly standard of measuring goodness, this was a good man. We are very often reminded; God’s measuring stick is vastly different from the one so used by the world. The pride of the Pharisee had locked his head with his nose pointed skyward. The audience to whom the parable was directed, those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt, probably had trouble understanding what Jesus said. How could such a good man not be the one after whom to model ones life? Apparently, being humble has to be the starting point for prayer.

The second point of this teaching parable is that prayer must be selfless. Prayer cannot be our attempt to inform God how good we are. Like the tax collector we must begin by asking God to be merciful to us as sinners. We cannot rank ourselves with other people. We cannot pray very effectively if we harbor hate and resentment. The Pharisee couldn’t bear the thought that he had anything in common with a tax collector, so he stood off by himself. Selfless praying helps us move ego aside and helps us see ourselves as one member of a great mob of sinning, suffering, sorrowing humanity, all kneeling before the throne of God’s mercy, love, and forgiveness. Attempting to stand off by ourselves means we will probably bang our heads on that low-hung gate.

Finally, this teaching parable reminds us that our prayers must begin in thanksgiving. Placing before God in prayer even our deepest needs must be prefaced with thanksgiving for all the blessings God has given. We are to model our life after the "pioneer and perfector of our faith." When we do that we see in stark relief how shallow any claim of merit on our part really is. The life of the one called Jesus the Christ can only be seen as God’s incredible gift to us. For that gift we can only be thankful. Honest confession, sincere contrition, and a deep commitment to amendment of life must lead to thanksgiving. Otherwise, we die in our sins and have no way back to the Father who is the source of all. That we do not have to die eternally and that we do not have to suffer eternal alienation from God must issue in deep thanksgiving.

So, dear friends, keep your head down, keep your eye on the prize, and pray. Pray humbly, selflessly, and with profound thanksgiving. God is merciful and will hear our prayers. Amen.