July 29, 2007              The Hungry Feast           By Pastor Laird Duran

Luke 11:9-10 <Jesus said>, “I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

There’s a huge, beautiful painting hanging in the narthex of our church, a treasure from our history of 102 years. It used to hang right behind the altar in our first location in downtown Fort Worth. It’s a picture of Jesus praying on a rock. He’s in the Garden of Gethsemane at night, a few hours before he was arrested. He knew that he had to go to the cross because people did not expect God’s savior to be like him. They thought he would make it easier for them to get what they wanted.

Instead, he did what God wanted. He proclaimed God’s reign for all people. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, he lifted up the lowly and challenged those in power. In the Thursday night before he was arrested, Jesus prayed, “Not my will but thy will be done.” He was asking for strength from his heavenly Father to face his brutal and painful death on the cross. On Friday he endured the revilement and pain of his execution, and prayed, “Father, forgive them for them know not what they do.” And on the third day, God gave him and us the resurrection.

Now we know that the day will come that he will come again and eradicate sin, evil, and death forever! We know that evil and death are finished. Prayer is the way that God can strengthen our faith in all the times of our life. Through prayer, our relationship to Jesus grows in the good times and the bad times. Prayer is one of the marks of following Christ that helps us remain faithful. It allows God’s power and love to come into our minds, our hearts and our soul.

Jesus was always praying, often going off alone to pray. His followers asked him to teach them to pray like he prayed. Prayer is the key to a deeper faith. Prayer is both listening to God’s Word speaking to us, and speaking to our living God who listens to us. Jesus gave them the Lord’s prayer, one that we memorize as a model for all prayer. The prayer we use in worship is the version found in Matthew’s gospel. Today we read Luke’s version.

People who have little faith try to pray, but they only do it when they want something from God, and only for a few minutes. Then they give up when they don’t hear an immediate answer. The truth is, God always answers prayer. It’s just that sometimes the answer is no, and other times the answer is wait, maybe in a little while.

Once there was a young woman I’ll call Christine who really wanted to go out with a handsome young man in her science class. She prayed that God would give her the strength to help her get his attention, so that he might ask her out. She prayed for days, but God didn’t seem to hear her prayer. Even though she was rather attractive, he never even talked to her. She told her friends she liked him, but still no response. She was angry that God didn’t answer her prayer. Finally, she prayed that God would send her a nice man, a good husband.

Years later, she met her future husband, and they had a very happy marriage. She said, “I give thanks that God didn’t grant my prayer request, or I might never have met my husband.”

In the process of these prayers, Christine learned the value of persistence. Persistence in prayer is what Jesus showed his disciples. It sometimes takes hours in prayer, even days weeks or years. But eventually, God will give you the best answer.

Jesus compared it to a friend who needed food for people who were hungry. He came in the middle of the night, and pounded on the door. At first he told him to go away, but he persisted again and again. Eventually, he gave him the food he wanted.

Most of us of have food in our homes all the time, but sometimes there are hungry people in our own neighborhood. Once a young seven-year-old child came to his church office door. He had been in one of the church’s children’s ministries, and knew the pastor and the secretary, and asked them for food. He said my Mom went to a party last night, and is still at her friend’s house. There’s no food in our house. Come with me and see. The pastor walked with him to his house where he lived with two sisters. The boy opened the door and said, “Look in here Pastor, no food.”

The pastor gave him some food for him and his sisters. Later he talked to his mother, who had many issues with men, alcohol and drugs. She said she would do better, get into a program for her children, but gave up. The children were often neglected and hungry. The pastor prayed for the family for years. Finally, after a year or two, the children’s father was given custody of the children, and the prayer was answered.

Persistence in prayer is necessary for churches. Once there was a little congregation that had a proud history, but the numbers of members were declining and those that were left were mostly grandparents more than 70 year’s old. They contacted their bishop’s office, and the bishop sent one of his assistants to help them.

The assistant came and met with them. After hearing their long history, and the story of a dying church, she asked them, “What would it take to make the church grow. They said, “We want a youth program.”

The assistant said, “What would you like God to do to give you that. I want you to pray, study scriptures and ask God for your youth program.”

They met every week for prayer and Bible study. They studied this scripture, and said it reminded them of the big meals they served when their children came home, and sat down to dinner together. They prayed for a year, and the one word that came to them in prayer was “home.” Still, no youth program.

Finally, their pastor was working at Starbucks doing his sermon research with his laptop over a cup of Java. A young man came to him. He had rings through his ears, mouth and nose, dressed in baggy shorts and tee shirt. He struck up a conversation with the pastor, and asked, “Do you do memorial services?” “Yes,” said the pastor, “We do lots of funerals and memorial services at our church.”

The young man said, “One of our friends died in a car accident. His parents had a funeral for him back home, but it was four hundred miles away, and we couldn’t go. Could you do a memorial service for him?”

Yes we could. He talked to the leaders of the congregation, and they asked if they should have a funeral supper for them about an hour before the service. The young man said his friends would like that would be great.

The ladies of the church got the funeral supper ready with all the trimmings. They put little decorations on the tables, called all the members to bring food for them. It was a light supper, just some sandwiches and finger food. But they really didn’t think too many of them would come, maybe forty young people. After all they said, most of the young people who hang out at Starbucks who never go to church.

When the day of the funeral arrived, about eighty young people showed up for the dinner and the service. The ladies told the pastor, we have to have more food. The pastor went to the store and bout lunch meat bread, and canned chicken soup. It was obvious that most of them had never been in a church before. They asked about all the symbols and pictures in the narthex and the nave, and that big table in the chancel we call an altar. They stayed around for hours after the service, visiting and talking together.

The congregation said it felt like the times their own children were coming home. They decided to ask them to come back every week for a dinner. Their prayers for a youth group were answered.

I can tell you, people are hungry. Many people are hungry for food. All people long for a place where they can be with friends in community. They want a place where the can come and be at home with a loving and caring God.

At the center of our worship in big table. It’s the Lord’s table where we celebrate the Lord’s supper. It’s our church and our home. Our mission is to feed people with food, and to feed them with the word of God. I’m praying that our congregation will continue to do that, to invite others to come to this table and come home for this meal. Will you join me in prayer. Let’s sing that prayer by singing, “We come to the Hungry Feast.” Amen

Amen