Running with perseverance

Hebrews 11:29-12:2, the 2nd Reading appointed for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke, is the rhetorical climax of a sermon which has been gathering momentum since the beginning of Chapter 11.  I love how Tom Long in his commentary imagines a traditional African-American call-and-response style sermon here whereby the preacher is asking rhetorical questions and the people are responding with responses like, "Tell it all, brother, tell it all!"  (Interpretation series, Hebrews, p. 124)  It will be the preacher's challenge to emulate that pattern once again and strike the celebratory note that is in this text.

(The following questions have been developed as a way of answering some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers, especially concerns about the way the Word functions.  To learn more about this unique genre of preaching, see my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock. com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text? There is no doubt that this text has a gospel feel to it.  It celebrates the faith of our spiritual ancestors who endured unspeakable suffering for the sake of the gospel and now are part of that "great cloud of witnesses"  that cheer us on as we run the race that is set before us.  Finally, entering chapter 12, we hear the gospel proclaimed loud and clear:  "Jesus,... who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross."

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is little word of Law in this text.  A hint of our need for a Savior comes in 12:1 as we are exhorted to "lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely."  The word translated "weight" is a rare word (ogkos) which can also be translated "impediment"; many translations go that way, translating this "hindrance" or "encumbrance."  Certainly it is true that there are many hindrances that would cause us to slow or give up our journey of  faith, and our sins are foremost amongst those.  Yet, this text offers no word of judgement.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are those whom the Word addresses here.  We are running the race of faith, and it is we who need encouragement to look to Jesus, the founder and end goal of our faith.  We also need to be reminded that there are many who have died in faith, who now give us inspiration to run our race well.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The exhortation in 12:1 is pure call to obedience: "Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us."  The call to obedience is always the Word functioning to invite us to live in a certain way in response to God's work in Christ, and here that invitation has everything to do with God's faithfulness that creates faith in us.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Since this is not a complete Law/Gospel text, we shall have to use some of the language in the text and then add to it to produce our couplets.  Some suggestions:  weighed down/liberated; sin clinging closely/Jesus clinging closely.

6.  Exegetical work:  As in the Hebrews 11 text appointed for Pentecost 9, it is important to note the way the term "faith" is used throughout this passage.  That term is not to be understood here in the way that St. Paul most often uses the term, in relation to faith in Christ.  Here the word is used much more in the manner of the OT, where the emphasis is not on what God has done, but what God will do.  Kittel's extensive discussion of the term pistis makes this very clear.  (Theological Dictionary of the NT, vol. VI, p. 205f)  So we see in the examples of faith which the writer lifts up:  the Israelites at the Red Sea must trust in what God will do; the armies of Israel who march around Jericho must trust in what God will do; Rahab, the prostitute who helps the spies of Israel must trust what God will do.  As Tom Long says in his commentary, "Faith is a response to the trustworthiness of God." (Interpretation series, Hebrews, p. 113) Long goes on:  "When we see the disciplined, loving, strong, merciful, and faithful way that Jesus ran the race, we are motivated to lace up our running shoes, to grasp the baton, and to sprint for the finish line." (Ibid., p. 129)

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Henry Mitchell, the dean of celebratory preaching, would have had a field day with this text.  Just as Tom Long describes, this text is a sermon in itself, waiting to be preached.  So preach it!  Let the celebration of God's faithfulness, the witness of the great cloud of our forebearers,and the supreme example of Christ commence!

Blessings on your proclamation!

Hope Vs. Nostalgia

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, the 2nd Reading appointed for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke, contains perhaps the best known verse on faith in the Bible:  "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  As we read the entire text we realize that "things hoped for" have nothing to do with nostalgia - a longing for a golden age - but rather they have to do with God's promises for the future.  It will be the task of the preacher to lift up these promises.

(The following questions have been developed to answer some basic questions for Law and Gospel preachers.  They are not meant to stand alone, but to be used in conjunction with other questions which seek to answer other concerns.  For more on Law and Gospel preaching, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  Without being explicit, this text has a "gospel feel" to it.  It sounds like good news.  Finally in the last verse, we receive the promise which has only been hinted at earlier:  "God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them."  This is a gospel word, that God is not ashamed to be our God, and has prepared a dwelling place for us.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  It is hard to find a word of Law in this text.  There is little evidence here of our need for a  Savior.  One little piece could be used to describe our state apart from Christ: "good as dead" (vs. 12).  That is, of course, how St. Paul describes us apart from Christ.  But here that verse is clearly not talking about our present state, but Abraham's.  We may have to look at other texts to announce our need for a Savior.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are those who are "seeking a homeland."  We are the ones desiring "a better country, that is, a heavenly one" even if we cannot claim to have the faith of Abraham and Sarah.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  This entire text could be understood as a call to obedience, but particularly in verse 8 and following, we hear this call.  When the writer lifts up Abraham and Sarah, and says they "obeyed" when called them to set out for a new land even though they did not know where they were going, that is the call to obedience.  Faith is also being lifted up, of course, but in this usage, obedience follows.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Because this is not a full Law/Gospel text, we shall have to use our imaginations to come up with couplets.  Some possibilities:  as good as dead/alive as can be; homeless/having found a home; living in the far country/finding a better country.

6.  Exegetical Work:  Kittel has a very important discussion regarding 'pistis' which we translate 'faith.'  When we hear the word 'faith', we are very likely to immediately jump to St. Paul's understanding of the word, especially the idea of "faith in Christ."  Kittel makes it clear that there is a different usage in Hebrews that is significant.  He says that St. Paul's use of the term "looks primarily to what God has done, not to what He will do." (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. VI, p. 209).  In other words, faith, according to Paul, is primarily a looking back, while faith as used in Hebrews is primarily a looking forward.  According to Kittel this is a continuation of the Old Testament usage of this term and thus "to believe" is "to obey." (Ibid., p. 205)  Also, "In the OT and Judaism the sense of 'trust' is combined with faith." (Ibid., p. 206).  Finally, "Trust in God is very closely related to hope... This is indeed the predominant sense in Hb. 11. It explains why the heroes of the OT can be examples for Christians, whose faith is also directed to the future which God has promised, and who also know that they are 'strangers and pilgrims on the earth.'" (Ibid., p. 207).  It is well worth reading the entire article in Kittel's TDNT to a get a good sense of how this term is used.  Suffice it to say, faith is not related to nostalgia, but hope.

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Michael Hoy picks up on the homeland theme in his analysis of this text.  He talks about our trust in the visible lands  around us, and our skepticism about any heavenly city.  The turn of the Gospel is indeed when God gives us the better country as our inheritance in Christ.  Go to crossings.org/text-study for the whole analysis.

8.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  Charles Rice emphasized the preacher's task of helping listeners recognize their shared story in the text.  This text might be an excellent vehicle for helping listeners identify their dead end nostalgia, and then lifting up the hope of a better country which God promises.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Seeking the Things That Are Above

The first two chapters of Colossians have centered on what it means to die with Christ, to be buried with him in baptism.  Now, as we begin the second half of this letter, Paul turns to what it means to live as one who has also been raised with Christ.  Now in this text, Colossians 3:1-11, appointed for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke, instead of centering on our life before Christ, and the overpowering event of Christ's death and resurrection, Paul centers on what life is going forward.  How then does one live? is the question.  The question for the preacher will be how to preach a law and gospel sermon, when this text is primarily a call to obedience.

(The following questions have been developed as a way of getting at some of the fundamental concerns for Law and Gospel preachers around the function of the Word.  These questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but meant to be used with other fine sets of questions which lift up other issues.  To learn more about Law and Gospel preaching, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  Right out of the gate, the writer assumes that the Gospel has done its work:  You have been raised with Christ!  So then, says Paul, "Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." This then is purely a call to obedience.  We are exhorted to live in a certain way in response to what God has done for us in Christ.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is really no word of Gospel here, no word which announces what Christ has done; all of that has been thoroughly proclaimed in chapters 1 and 2.  Also there is only a glancing blow from the Law, where Paul reminds his readers that "on account of these [sins] the wrath of God is coming upon those who are disobedient." (vs. 6)  Besides that there is little mention of our need for a Savior.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  Clearly we are those to whom this word is addressed.  In our baptism we have been buried with Christ, and by the power of God we have also been raised with him.  We are the ones being called to seek the things that are above, and not set our minds on the things of the earth.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Since this is almost wholly a call to obedience, we must improvise in coming up with couplets for this text.  Some ideas:  dead/raised; life hidden/life revealed.

5.  Exegetical work:  It is telling that in Luther's extensive commentary on Psalm 51, he refers explicitly to Paul's words here:  "This is the Christian life, as it is marvelously described in Colossians 3:1-3, that we seek the things that are above, as [those] who are dead to the world and whose life is hid in Christ; and in 2 Corinthians 7:1, that we 'cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit.'  He means that in him and in all Christians there remain such defilements of the spirit, that is, evil opinions about God, and defilements of the flesh, that is, vicious lusts; and that it should be our labor and effort to clean these out with the help of the Spirit... You can readily say, 'I believe in Christ.' But it takes the hardest kind of work to keep this faith fixed and sure and permanent in the heart." (Luther's Works, Vol. 12, Selected Psalms, p. 329-330)  It becomes evident in looking at the grammar in this passage that our death and rising in Christ is an accomplished fact, but our ongoing life is a continual struggle.  The present tense imperative instructs us:  "Seek (and keep on seeking) the things that are above."  "Set your minds (and keep setting them) on the things that are above."  The aorist form in verse 5, however, gives us a new command:  "Put to death (once and for all!), therefore, whatever in you is earthly."  Similarly in verses 8 and 9, we have the aorist form:  "You must get rid of all such [evil] things..." (once and for all!) and "seeing you have stripped off the old self with its practices..." (once and for all).  It seems that Paul wants us to be seeking the things above continually, while ridding ourselves of our death-dealing habits, once and for all.

6.  How does the Crossings community model work with this text?  Betty Krafft, in her analysis, raises up one of the issues for Law and Gospel preachers with a text like this, which is primarily a call to obedience:  what if all this text is doing is proving to us the truth of Romans 7?  "The evil that I wish not to do, that I do, and that good which I would do, that I do not."  She suggests that the first half of the equation ends for us in the wrath of God which "is coming on those who are disobedient."  The second half of the equation is that we have died and been raised in Christ.  We will have to decide if this text functions this way for us. See her entire analysis, archived under the reference at crossings.org/text-study.

Blessings on your proclamation!

The Whole Fullness of Deity

Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19), continues the argument that the apostle Paul has been making throughout chapter one.  This text, the 2nd reading appointed for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke, reminds us that "the whole fullness of the deity" dwells bodily in Christ.  We, like the Colossians, are reluctant to believe this, preferring to include other 'deities' in our pantheon of preferred religious personalities.  It will be the preacher's task to make it known that Christ is sufficient.

(The following questions have been developed to help Law and Gospel preachers assess how it is that the Word is functioning: one of the chief concerns of Law and Gospel preachers.  For more on this unique genre of preaching, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  Paul's concern is clearly that these dear Colossians not be taken "captive through philosophy and empty deceit." (vs. 8)  He announces to them again how God has done all that is needed in Christ Crucified.  This is a purely Gospel function, culminating in the grand announcement that "when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with [Christ]."  There is no clearer gospel word than this!  Of course, it is also true that there is no clearer word of Law than this:  "You were dead in [your] trespasses."

2.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  As is usual with these epistles, we must identify with those to whom the letter is written.  We are the ones who are easily led astray and taken captive "through philosophy and empty deceit," we are the ones who were dead in our trespasses before Christ came, and we are those whom God has forgiven in Christ.  Alleluia!

3.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience is present in this text both at its beginning and at its end.  In the opening verse, Paul exhorts his listeners to "continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith."  There is no clearer call to obedience than this.  Also, at the end of the passage, (vss. 16-18), Paul encourages his listeners to not let anyone condemn or disqualify them in connection with matters of little importance.  This too is a call to obedience.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Since this is a complete law/gospel text, it is not hard to suggest several couplets:  dead/alive; guilty/forgiven; keeping score/erasing the record.

5.  Exegetical Work: When baptism is highlighted as it is in this passage, it is not surprising to find that virtually all the reformers (Calvin, Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, Agricola, etc.) have commented on this passage, as well as the writers of a number of confessions. (e.g., Belgic and Schleitheim Confessions).  (See the fine commentary series on the Reformers available from IV Press, Reformation Commentary on Scripture, for the complete list.)  Martin Luther's concluding remarks in his article regarding Baptism in his Large Catechism will suffice as an example:  "Thus we see what a great and excellent thing Baptism is, which snatches us from the jaws of the devil and makes God our own, overcomes and takes away sin and daily strengthens the new man, always remains until we pass from this present misery to eternal glory.  Therefore let everybody regard his (sic, etc.) Baptism as the daily garment which he is to wear all the time.  Every day he should be found in faith and amid its fruits, every day he should be suppressing the old man and growing up in the new." (Tappert, The Book of Concord, p. 446)

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Marcus Felde does a little play on words to help us understand what is at stake for us in this text.  Playing on the "spiritual circumcision" we receive in Christ and the "uncircumcision of our flesh" in which we lived before Christ, Felde talks about our state as those who go from "circumscribed" (i.e. held captive, bound) to "uncircumscribed" in Christ (i.e. free, without limit).  He also suggests that Paul is raising up Christ as a colossus of sorts, the One who disarms the powers and principalities.  See crossings.org/text-study for the whole analysis, archived under the reference.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Christ: The Firstborn of All Creation

Colossians 1:15-28, the 2nd reading appointed for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke, is certainly one of the most, if not the most Christocentric passage in all of Scripture.  Near the end of this reading, the writer gives us a summary of his intent in writing this letter, and specifically in writing this passage:  "It is he (i.e. Christ) whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ."  There it is:  proclamation, warning, and teaching.  This is the content of this passage.  It will be the preacher's task to do this as well.

(The following questions have been developed to help answer some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers, specifically around the function of the Word.  For more on this method and on this unique genre of preaching, see my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock. com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word functions in all the ways that it can in this passage, albeit overwhelmingly as Gospel.  Especially in the ancient creed-like hymn quoted in vss. 15-20, the Word is functioning as Gospel.  The message is a proclamation of the preeminence of Christ, and the reconciliation achieved through the Cross. 

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  The Law gets only a small role in this passage.  Verse 21 reminds us of our place outside of Christ:  "estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds."  Besides this there is precious little evidence of Law in this text.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We have two choices in this text:  the Colossians, or the writer of this letter.  If we identify with the Colossians, then we will need to claim their identity as previously "estranged, hostile, doing evil."  If we identify with the writer, then we are the proclaimer, the one sounding the alarm, the one whose job it is to "present everyone mature in Christ."

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience is implied in verses 22-23:  "[be] holy and blameless and irreproachable before him...Continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard."  While there is no imperative given in these verses, it is definitely implied, lest the listeners fall prey to the notion that once baptized, one's ongoing life is of no concern to Christ.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  If we borrow the writer's language in verse 21, we can come up with several couplets: estranged/embraced; hostile in mind/welcomed; doing evil/walking in righteousness.

6.  Exegetical work:  According to a number of sources, the main problem in Colossae that was being addressed here was the notion of "the stoicheia" (the 'elemental spirits of the universe'), which it was taught "constituted the pleroma (the 'fulness,' the full complement) of divine powers through whom God ruled the world. These powers were the means whereby divine revelation was given unto [humanity]; they controlled the ways of access whereby [mortals] ascended to their eternal destiny." (Price, Interpreting the New Testament, p. 465)  This heresy is what the writer seeks to address by highlighting the work and preeminence of Christ.  The writer "affirmed that 'all the fullness of God' - the full complement of divine power - dwelt in Christ alone.  The conclusion followed: the stoicheia possessed no power superior to, nor in any way qualifying, the power of the Christian redeemer." (Ibid., p. 468)  "As in no previous situation, [the writer] was led to press beyond the thoughts of Christ's eschatological role in history to a proclamation of his pre-eminence in the order of Creation, to an acknowledgment that Christ's power to reconcile was not restricted to the Church, but was sufficient to reconcile everything that exists in the universe unto God." (Ibid.)  Ralph Martin affirms Price's analysis and also reminds us what is at stake for the Colossians:  "[The writer] has given to the stoicheia (2:8, 20), the elemental forces of the universe, a changed status.  Like his Colossian readers,he believed that such cosmic agents owed their being to the creator Christ, but when they are brought into a cosmological system and treated as rivals to Christ they stand in dualistic tension with the Christ... They take on a demonic character and require him to assume  that they have broken away from their station as 'created orders' by claiming an independent status, demanding human allegiance and veneration.' (Martin, Interpretation Series, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, p. 107)

Blessings on your proclamation!

Thanksgiving and Ongoing Concern

We have all heard of faithful Christians whom we have never met who exemplify the Christian life.  They are people of faith, love, and hope.  The Colossians were such people for the Apostle Paul.  In the opening verses of his letter to them, Colossians 1:1-14, the 2nd lesson appointed for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke, Paul gives thanks for these saints.  He also reminds them of the dangers that surround them.  It will be the preacher's task to lift up both this thanksgiving, and this warning.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but have been formulated to lift up some of the chief concerns of Law and Gospel preachers.  They are meant to be used with other fine sets of questions available to exegetes.  For more on Law and Gospel preaching, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text? The opening is pure thanksgiving, as Paul commends the Colossians for the fruit they are bearing, according to reports from Epaphras.  In the second half of this passage, the verbs are in the subjunctive mode as Paul relates his concerns, praying that they may be filled with knowledge, that they might lead lives worthy of the Lord, and that they might be made strong.  Finally Paul exclaims the Gospel word in all its fullness:  "He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son."

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  I don't hear a clear word of Law here.  That word, which is the Word functioning to say, "You need Jesus", is implied however in Paul's concerns.  He prays that they might be filled with knowledge.  Why?  Because ignorance will lead them astray. He prays that they might lead lives worthy of the Lord.  Why?  Because other paths lead to destruction.  He prays that they might be made strong because they must "be prepared to endure everything."  The Law is present here, but just not obvious.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the Colossians.  We might well be followers of Christ, but we are not yet filled with all the fullness of God.  We are not yet wise or strong or beyond being led astray.  We need this reminder that not merely faith, but faith, hope and love are all needed in equal measure to live lives worthy of the gospel.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience is more implied than commanded.  Behind Paul's prayers is the call to obedience to bear fruit and live lives worthy of the Lord.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Paul's concerns would seem to suggest several possible couplets:  ignorance/wisdom; weakness/strength; despair/hope.

6.  Exegetical work:  Ralph Martin, in his commentary, has an interesting discussion about verses 12-14.  He makes the argument that verse 12 is the beginning of a new section which leads into the hymn which begins in verse 15.  He notes that Ernst Kasemann, in his discussion, argues that "at verse 12 an early Christian baptismal liturgy opens, and we are invited to overhear some of the main sentiments of that service which celebrates the realities of Christian experience."  (Interpretation series, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, p. 104).  Apparently some translators agree with Kasemann:  "And give thanks, with joy, to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people..." (Today's English Version)  The opening verb of verse 12 is a participle, which opens up its translation to many possibilities, but Martin believes it should be translated as an imperative.  I love the sermon preached by Leo the Great on this text: "'Snatched from the powers of darkness' at such a great 'price,' and by so great a 'mystery,' and loosed from the chains of the ancient captivity, make sure, dearly beloved, that the devil does not destroy the integrity of your souls with any strategem." (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, IX, p. 9)

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  The analysis by Robin Morgan does a nice job of highlighting what is really at risk in this text, namely faith.  Paul's concern is that the faith of the Colossians will falter.  Morgan's analysis focuses on this nicely.  See the entire analysis, archived under the reference at crossings.org/text-study.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Surprise! Persistence Not Required

Luke 11:1-13, the gospel lesson appointed for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, is a three-part lesson in prayer that has baffled many a preacher.  Part of the confusion is centered around the two parables, one which seems to encourage persistence, and the other which assures us that requests will be answered without delay. Nothing less than the character of God is at stake in this debate. 

(The following questions have been developed as a way of getting at one of the central concerns for Law and Gospel preachers, i.e. how does the Word function?  These questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but to be used with other sets of questions which explore other issues.  For more on Law and Gospel preaching, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text? I hear this text as Gospel:  God will answer prayer; God does answer prayer;  God stands ready to answer prayer.  Verse 9 is the heart of this passage where we are assured that asking, knocking, and seeking will result in good things, specifically the giving of the Holy Spirit. (vs. 13).

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  I do not hear a great deal of Law in this text, reminding us of our need for a Savior.  What seems to be underlying this passage, however, is the tendency we have to doubt God's care for us.  Because our prayers seem at times to go unanswered we easily conclude that God has not heard, does not care, and is not responsive to our prayers.  Perhaps this theme can be explored as a way of preaching the Law.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the disciples who, at the outset of this passage, ask Jesus to teach them to pray.  I suspect that they are not merely asking for technical assistance, but for a heart for prayer, for faith.  This is, indeed, a need we all have.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to be persistent in prayer is certainly part of our call to obedience, but there is reason to think that this is not the point of this passage.  The word that has been translated "persistence" is widely thought to be an inaccurate translation.  Given that, we might need to seek other ways in which God calls us to obedience.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The text centers around faith in God's willingness to answer prayer, therefore some couplets we might explore are:  doubt/faith; despair/hope; lostness/being found.

6.  Exegetical work:  Kenneth Bailey makes a  very strong argument regarding the initial phrase of the first parable:  "Understanding the phrase "tis eks umon" in Luke 11:5 as expecting an emphatic negative answer is crucial to the interpretation of this parable.  Jesus is asking, "Can you imagine going to a neighbor, asking for help to entertain a friend and getting this response?"  The Oriental responsibility for his guest is legendary.  The Oriental listener/reader cannot imagine silly excuses about a closed door and sleeping children when the adequate entertainment of a guest is the issue." (Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes, p. 121)  This is a crucial point for us in the West to understand.  We hear the neighbor's request and we might well think, "How rude.  I wouldn't get out of bed for that guy either!" But the Oriental response is the opposite.  What this makes clear is that Jesus' listeners would have assumed that the neighbor's request was granted, irregardless of the inconvenience.  Bailey then goes on to show how this fits in with the translation of "anaideian" in verse 8, which is often translated "persistence."  He says, "The key to this parable is the definition of the word "anaideian".  This word took on the meaning of "persistence".  It is here more appropriately translated "avoidance of shame," a positive quality. The literary structure of the entire parable makes clear that this quality is to be applied to the sleeper.  Thus the parable tells of a sleeping neighbor who will indeed preserve his honor and grant the host's request and more.  Even so, man before God has much more reason to rest assured that his requests will be granted."  (Ibid., p. 133)   Bailey's work is supported by other writers as well (Scott, Jeremias, etc.) and helps clear up the confusion with the second parable.  Now both parables proclaim the same thing: Since even a sleepy neighbor knows the duties of hospitality, and the loving parent knows what a child needs, how much more will your heavenly Parent give to those who ask.

Blessings on your proclamation!