Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Sermon - Do Not Lose Heart

Atheist Christopher Hitchens, who was the main speaker at the Freedom From Religion national conference last week here in Madison, has come to great prominence in this country with a book entitled, "God Is Not Great." One of the charges he levels against believers is that they are dangerously certain about what they believe.

This theme of Hitchens was also a centerpiece of a book he wrote about Mother Teresa, entitled: The Missionary Position. In the book the little nun is portrayed as a self-satisfied dogmatist who has never entertained a single doubt. She was, he wrote, a "true believer" of the fanatical type, as dangerous as the Islamic terrorists. Believers are not just extremists they are persons who claim to know what can’t be known.

The problem with Mr. Hitchens’ theory was, like much of his other opinions, he didn’t know what he was talking about. In a new book, "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light," the little saint confesses with great anguish that not only has she lived with serious doubts about her faith, but she has even wondered whether she has any faith at all. She is quoted as saying, "So many unanswered questions live within me that I am afraid to uncover them—because of the blasphemy—If there be a God—please forgive me…I am told that God loves me, and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul."

When Mr. Hitchens read this he did a complete 180 and then declared that Mother Teresa was a secret unbeliever who knew that "religion is a human fabrication." With that absurd statement Mr. Hitchens was 0-2.

For centuries believers have struggled with what St. John of the Cross has called, "The Dark Night of the Soul." By this he meant that soon after a person comes to faith they frequently feel as if God has left them, that faith is slipping away, and that the soul seems to be perishing.

Mr. Hitchens either doesn’t understand Christians or is deliberately misrepresenting us. We have always called ourselves believers, not knowers. To be a believer means that we live without full knowledge. We live by faith. No believer, however devout, experiences God fully at all times. For openers, we couldn’t stand it. When Moses was in the presence of God he had to shield his face. The glory was too bright. This side of the grave we are unable to handle the fullness of God.

The major reason we don’t live with full knowledge is that God is so far beyond us that we are not in the same game. He exists at a transcendent level. We don’t. We are separated from God not just because we are creatures and God is the creator, but because we continue to widen the gap between us by what to do and what we fail to do. We call it sin.

Mother Teresa is just like we are, only more. She risked her entire existence on God, and following God. The more we invest the more apt we are to wonder if we made the right choice. Mother Teresa began to ask, "Is all of this for nothing?" She probably wondered whether she should have remained a school teacher.

And yet, (please note—"and yet" is key to the life of all believers) and yet, she lived the life of faith even when faith was as thin as airplane soup. To be a believer is to say, "Even though I don’t know, I have faith." Mother Teresa went about her tasks of caring for the sick, binding up the wounds of street people, walking along side unwed mothers even when faith was less than a slam dunk.

This past week in the Wisconsin State Journal Jonah Goldberg wrote that he is pro life not because he is absolutely sure when human life is formed but because he isn’t. Since he doesn’t have certainty, he writes, he would prefer to error on the side of protecting life, rather than taking it.

Believers, who don’t have total certainty, make a similar choice. When we are unclear we choose to go with God rather than against God. We act on faith even when faith is weak. One of the things we do is to pray. We pray even when we aren’t 100% certain. There are even times we pray when things seem hollow. Even dark. We pray even when we aren’t sure anyone is listening.

Jesus not only encourages us to pray, he encourages us to be persistent. "Don’t give up until God changes you," he seems to say.

Yes, you heard correctly – until God changes you. When I grew up my aunt had a saying above her kitchen sink, "Prayer Changes Things." At the time I thought it meant that prayer changes God. Now I’m not so sure it is God who is changed by prayer. What I am sure about is that prayer changes the one who prays. In order for change to take place we need to pray over and over again. We need to keep changing until we become the person that God created us to be.

Our companion passage for this week is found in the 32^nd chapter of Genesis. The story is about Jacob, whose name meant, "the heel." Jacob is famous because he took advantage of his brother Esau on two occasions. He not only found a way to finagle the birthright from Esau, his older twin, with the help of his mother he concocted a brilliant if not sneaky way to confuse his blind father into giving him the family blessing. Did he really get away with things? No. The price of this cheating was that he feared his brother’s wrath. To avoid Esau he left the country, and spent 21 years living in exile.

Finally, he decided to go home. On the way he was informed that his brother was coming to meet him, along with 400 armed men. Jacob put his family and livestock in a safe place and then spent the night in prayer asking God for his own blessing, rather than his brother’s stolen blessing. A new blessing would require a change. Change takes time. In this case it took 21 years plus a night of anguished prayer to God. Jacob’s prayer -- "I will not let you go, I will not stop, until you bless me," was answered.

At dawn God gave him what he wanted, his own blessing. With the blessing came a name. No longer would he be called Jacob the heel. He would be known as Israel, the man who wrestled with God. A new Jacob went to meet his brother the next day. This Jacob did not walk with an arrogant gait. He limped. He was wounded, but he was a new and better man. His persistence paid off.

What do you want to be? What blessing have you longed to have? All you need to do is ask. And ask. And ask some more. In most cases we need to pray until we are made ready to receive the gift we have wanted. Prayer changes us.

We are even invited to pray when faith is not clear. We are invited to pray when we are not totally sure what God is up to or what God is like. It worked for Mother Teresa, and it works for thousands of the rest of us.

I am deeply fond of Mother Teresa. I have watched videos of her life. I have read books about her, and I have read a good deal of what she has written. A few years ago I came to the conclusion that I ought not use her as an example in sermons because she was so far above us that people had trouble relating. When people heard about Mother Teresa it didn’t result in inspiration, it resulted in discouragement. They would say, "I can never measure up to her."

With the publication of "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light," and with the article that followed in Time magazine of this person who struggled, it seems to me that for at least one Sunday, we can use her as an example.

A word about stewardship. When they tally our score at the end of our life I believe we will be remembered for not only what we have said, but what we have done. We will be remembered for those things we supported. We will be remembered for how we have given back in this life.

You will be remembered for your commitment to this church, a place, first of all, where people come to worship. It is not only a place for the well over 1,000 regulars who come to pray and sing each week, it is not just a place for those who are members, but it is a wonderful House of God for those who treat Bethel as their second church. I hear this all the time. Last Sunday a husband and wife introduced themselves. I asked if they were members. They said, "No, but we come three to four times a year. We belong to a small church near our home, but we love to visit Bethel."

Three weeks ago I heard something similar in Rockford, Illinois where I was leading a discussion of "In Over Our Heads." Two couples said, "We use Bethel as a get-away worship experience. We come to listen to your choir…to the sermons…to be a part of a vibrant community."

You will be remembered for sustaining a mission house. Because you support your church we are allowed to serve the poor, broadcast worship on six stations in Wisconsin, build houses, assist churches in Puerto Rico, Slovakia, and inner city Milwaukee. We are able to provide a gathering place: for those who grieve, for older citizens each Friday, for people who are divorced or separated, for children struggling to stay out of gangs at Lafollete High School, to children in a poor neighborhood who want to learn to read and write.

You have been generous. Do not weary in well-doing. No one works harder to stretch your dollars than this church staff. We urge your persistence not only in prayer, but in two other things as well. We need you at worship. Even if you think you don’t need the church, please ask yourself if the church needs you. Your presence is vital to this place. What would it be like if you came to worship and you were the only person present. The singing wouldn’t be as enjoyable. Nothing would be as enjoyable. You depend on others to assist you in worship. And they depend on you. We need your voice, your warmth, your bodily presence. You make a difference for others. We need familiar faces when you come to church. Yours is one of the familiar faces we need.

Finally, we need your persistence in giving. This week you will receive a pledge card. Please think and pray about your 2008 gift. To move ahead we need a host of people who increase their giving. Do this knowing that God will bless all your efforts. Amen

 ©2007