7 Pentecost - Luke 11:1-13

Especially in Luke's gospel, Jesus has been flummoxing preachers and pious theologians

for centuries with his wild, unpredictable images of God.

There's the shepherd who endangers the whole flock to chase one wayward sheep, paired

with the woman frantically sweeping house to find a coin.

There's the shameless old man running out to greet his sorry excuse for a son.

There's the boss who fires his business manager on a rumor and then praises him

for cheating him so cleverly.

There's the judge with no respect for anyone who is browbeaten into helping a widow.

Bible libraries are full of commentators twisting themselves into knots trying to

explain what Jesus really meant because it can't possibly be what it sounds like;

those images don't fit God at all.

Which, of course, is the point.

Jesus is at it again today, answering his disciple who looked over his shoulder at what the

other kids were doing with their teacher and asked, Lord, teach us to pray.

Jesus gives them a very brief, surprising prayer to say:

Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, give us tomorrow's bread,

forgive us because we forgive others, don't sue us.

Christians have since come along to edit, expand, and sanitize this into something that

sounds much more pious and prayerlike.

Jesus, however, keeps moving to more jarring analogies.