Scripture texts: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, John 9:1-7
Last week, we talked about the Apostles’ Creed and how it is a statement of identity for God. It tells us who God is, what God does, and what God is about. It is, as I stated, a summary of all the Scriptures teach us about God.
Now if you were to summarize the summary, you might say something like this: “God provides.” That pithy bit of bumper sticker theology proves true however. God does provide. He gives us life, salvation, his presence in the form of the spirit. He gives food, health, good government, family, friends, love, happiness, joy, physical possessions, or at least he tries to give these while sin often conspires to rob us of the same. Life is often a tug of war between the two, but there’s no question which side God is on. He loves us and wants us to have his joy and peace in this life and he does all in his power to see that happen.
God provides.
Our Scripture lessons today drive this home. Israel needs a good and just king after the failure of King Saul. So what does God do? He provides such a king in David, the least likely of all his brothers to be that one, surprising the prophet Samuel who has come to anoint him. Good lesson for us in that; the provision God gives does not always look like what we expect. Things are not always what they appear to be.
Our Gospel lesson drives that idea home. Jesus and his disciples encounter a man born blind and a question is asked. Recognizing the presence of sin, the disciples wonder whose sin caused this blindness. Jesus turns their question on its head. It’s not about fixing blame, but about revealing how God will provide an answer to this sin. As I’ve often argued, sin is not just simply our own wrongdoing, but it is also the wrong that is done to us by others and by life itself. It doesn’t matter who is at fault for this man’s blindness; in fact, it’s likely there is nothing to blame but the whimsies of the frail human condition. But what does matter is how God will provide for this man and then Jesus reaches down and heals him.
John the Evangelist is very keen to call miracles such as this one “signs,” a word that only he really uses in his telling of the Gospel story. Signs point out things, and in this case, he get a glimpse of who God is and what he is about. God provides. God loves. God heals. God saves. God grants his presence to us. All of those things are here present in this story. The miracle reveals God and his nature to us.
So what does all this have to do with the Lord’s Prayer, which is the focus of today’s proclamation? It’s quite obvious actually. Consider the image of God we receive from these two stories. Evidence of God’s unwavering care for his people when they are in need. God provides a king to Israel. He provides healing and salvation to a man ruined by a debilitating condition. He provides an out for those who need one.
And what is prayer but our asking for the same for ourselves?
Are we in need? Absolutely. As I pointed out early in this sermon, this tug of war that plagues our life here on Earth. The good gifts God provides for this life are often intercepted or ruined by the whimsies of the powerful or our own ill fortunes. But we have a loving God who wants nothing but the best for us. And he asks us to call on him in every need.
Down on your luck? Talk to God. Sick and laid up? Talk to God. Life got you down? Talk to God. Regardless of what sin has done to you and yours, God is still out there, still loves you, and still promises the best for you. The Lord’s Prayer is essentially our call out to God to intervene directly in our lives.
“God! You promised! You love me! Fix this!”
How many times do you suppose that was prayed by those under the thumb of King Saul’s tyranny? How many times did the man born blind pray that? The answers God gave weren’t quite what they were expecting, but God did answer. It’s the same with us. We pray for the Kingdom to come, for God to bring all his promises to fulfillment. We pray for daily bread, for all that can and does sustain us in this life. And God gives and gives and gives. Maybe not in the way we’re expecting, but he does provide.
It’s interesting how Luther approaches the prayer. In most of his explanations, he says essentially, this happens whether we ask or not. The kingdom comes even without our asking. God’s will is done without our asking. Our daily bread arrives even without our asking. God’s generosity is not conditional. But the prayer focuses us on seeing that truth, that God’s provision is always and ever present in our lives. God is faithful to his people. His promises are sure.
“God! You promised! You love me! Fix this!”
Yeah, even when we don’t pray it, it’s happening. Illness got you down? God is at work. Struggling with the bills? God is at work. Fearful of the future? God is at work. He never stops loving us, never stops providing for us. He is there and always will be. Our loving father, caring for his children. Call on him in ever need. Amen.
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