Whatever you Ask
John 14: 6-14
May 6, 1990
G, K, Chesterton once said, “You can look at a thing ninety-nine times and be perfectly sure. But if you look at it the one-hundredth time, you are in danger of seeing it. ”
So let’s look at our text once again. It’s so very common, so used by preachers, so overworked that we tend to dismiss it (or even worse, tend to disbelieve it! ) . Listen to Jesus’ words, “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it. ” Can this possibly be the ninety-ninth time we have seen these words?
“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it. ” These words are addressed to the early Church. They are a promise made to the community. But they were elicited by Saint Philip
Let me set the stage: it was soon after Easter. And you might recall that most of the disciples believed the message of Mary and the others who had visited the empty tomb. They believed in the Resurrection, yet, as in any group, there were stages of belief. Some believed unquestionably. Some, like Thomas, were looking for concrete physical evidence. Some, like Philip, were trying to fit the experience in with other beliefs.
Jesus appeared to the twelve. He came to them where they were–indoors, keeping a low profile, hiding, still fearful lest they end up like their leader, staked out on a cross.
Jesus showed himself , and Philip , our Patron Saint , began to raise questions . It is not that Philip did not believe. It is merely that he wanted to clarify his doubts, to place all his questions in some context, to connect the rising-from-the-dead with his belief in a just God.
It is really quite wonderful to have Philip as our Patron Saint . Every time we hear of Philip in Holy Scripture he is always involved in a human situation that we can all readily identify. Philip acts like we might, pressing Jesus for reality, for meaning, for more information. He’s like us in that he sees only half the picture, and usually that’s focusing on the problems rather than on the solutions :
How can we feed 5000 people with a few fish and a small amount of bread?
How are you and the Father one ?
How can the impossible possibilities happen?
And each time Jesus patiently replies, acts out–reveals to Philip and the rest of the community the amazing possibility that whatever you ask in his name, he will do it.
Good people, the great religious challenge facing the Church is not as commonly thought–keeping people moral, straight, or in ethical balance, making sure we don’t stray from the straight and narrow. The great religious challenge is to induce people to expand their horizon, to go beyond the negative, to learn to expect great things, to believe in miracles.
Good people, we ask for too little. When we ask things of God, we settle for a thimbleful of grace when we could have a whole river full of miracles.
The crucial issue in life, the penetrating question that God raises is: “How much or how little will we settle for? ” The great enemy is not evil or temptation or lack of resources, The great enemy is our narrow, negative, fearful, shortsighted thinking.
A friend of mine told of an experience, in picture language, describes our predicament. It happened last year at the beginning of the fishing season. He was up in the mountains fishing for trout. After a few hours of frustration, my friend noticed another fisherman downstream. He was having phenomenal luck, yet he seemed to be doing a very strange thing,
Each time he caught a trout–and he was reeling them in one after another-each time he would measure the fish. It seemed as if he threw back all the large ones. Finally, my friend could stand it no longer. He went up to the man and said, “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help noticing you threw back the really good fish and stuck the little ones in your pail. Have you caught your limit? ”
“No , ” replied the fisherman, “it’s just that I’m going to cook them and I only have a six-inch pan”.
My friend, who told me this story, said that to him, up in the mountains, there was revealed a parable of life. He suddenly understood why all of us in the church act like we have only _ six-inch frying pans. We forget that Jesus has assured us that whatever–whatever we ask for in His Name will be provided.
Maybe we have to be willing to throw away our small frying pans!
Maybe we have to learn to trust in God’s promises!
Maybe we can’t settle for inches when God would have us go for miles!
Maybe that is what keeps us indoors, survival-oriented, fearful, small!
Thirteen years ago in my first sermon as a part of this community, I shared a dream. It was taken from some writings of Dick Shepherd. Dick Shepherd was the Vicar of one of the great parishes in England. At the beginning of Dick Shepherd’s ministry, he spelled out his vision in these words :
One night in my dreams I saw one of the greatest churches standing in a great square in a great city. There passed into the church’s warm inside hundreds and hundreds of all sorts of people, going up to the temple of their Lord with all their difficulties, trials, and sorrows. And I said to them as they passed, “Where are you going? ” And they said only one thing, ‘This is our home. This is where we are going to hear of the love of Jesus Christ. ”
Thirteen years later, I still have that vision. And I am convinced that we haven’t come close to reaching our potential as a community. We haven’t come close to becoming the greatest parish in the Episcopal Church. We are twelfth in size nationally, but what number are we spiritually? What is our size in terms of our shared ministry? How many small churches within our large church do we have where intimacy, participation, and ministry are the marks of our life together?
Maybe we haven’t dreamt enough, envisioned enough, thought in great enough terms!
Maybe we don’t see what God would have us do!
Maybe we concentrate too much on the problems!
St Philip, as nearly as I can discern, was a negative thinker. He usually counted the cost, looked at the obstacles, focused on the problems, and had what we would call “tunnel vision. ” But Jesus never stopped with St Philip’s assessment. Jesus stretched him, turned him around, urged him to greater visions for God’s sake.
And to all of you out there, you who bear the mark of Philip, who call yourselves by his name, I invite you on his patronal day to be stretched by God.
I invite you to allow God to do great things with us, and through us, I urge you to be open to God’s leading.
in a small chapel cut out of rock on Lookout Mountain in Alabama, a legend appears over the front of the chancel, it reads :
God has always been as good to me as I would allow
On this St Philip’s Day, let us allow God to do great things for His Kingdom.
Let us go with confidence,
pray for greatness–
–for remember,—remember . .
Whatever we ask in His Name, He will do it!
Amen