Parables
“The Friend at Midnight”
The Friend at Midnight
One night very late I travelled very late.
And when I arrived at my destination I discovered I could not sleep at the house I had planned to.
No room at the inn as it were.
It was well after 11pm.
And so what to do?
I had three options.
The first was to go to a nearby relative’s place.
But by the time I would have arrived it would have been like this parable – midnight.
And the relative works especially hard and I didn’t want to wake him up.
The second option was to go to a nearby friend’s place.
Again though – it would have been midnight by the time I arrived.
And he and his wife are elderly and I didn’t want to impose.
The third option was to turn around and return home.
And wake my wife.
So that’s what I did.
Later when my relatives and friends heard that I had opted not to trouble them at midnight they were not happy!
At all!
From that, I know with full confidence several people who would not be bothered if I troubled them at midnight.
I wonder if you could name people who you could call on in the middle of the night.
I wonder if you are the kind of person who others could call on in the middle of the night?
This is not the situation in the parable before us.
Often the parables begin with “The Kingdom of God is like…”
This one is “The Kingdom of God is not like…”
This is a parable of contrast (God is not like) rather than comparison (God is like).
A night visitor arrives.
And in such a situation, hospitality must be shown to the late guest.
It was unthinkable to not wash his feet and provide a meal.
Unthinkable.
So on this particular night, there is a guest who arrives and it would have been long after the evening meal and there was obviously no food to spare.
He has nothing to put before his guest. This is a crisis.
So saying – as maybe we might today – “Sorry. There’s nothing in the cupboard. I haven’t had time to shop this week. Anyway – how are things? It’s so good to see you!” was not an option.
And having a local Countdown open 24 hours a day was not a luxury in 1st Century Palestine.
So there was only one thing left to do.
Go to a neighbour.
A friend.
It’s at this point that the story describes a situation, a person, who is the opposite of God.
This “friend” responds to the friend at the door and his desperate request with “no”.
And it is not just one “no” – it is four!
i. “Don’t bother me”
ii. “The door is already locked”
iii. “My children are with me in bed”
iv. “I can’t get up and give you anything”
This man, this so called friend, has no intention of attending to this inconvenience.
This major annoyance.
Jesus describes it like this…
“I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend…” (v 8)
Let’s just pause there.
A friend in desperate need, confronted with a humiliating situation comes for help in the middle of the night.
And the one who is being asked for help is not going to respond “just because we are friends”.
Something more powerful needs to motivate him out of bed, disturbing the whole family in the process in their one room house.
The reason is in the second half of verse 8.
“"yet because of the man’s boldness/persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs." (Luke 11:8)
Why did the sleeping friend finally get up and give the man what he needed?
We read here because of boldness or persistence.
Some more definition of what is being conveyed here might help.
It wasn’t persistence as such; not determination as such – but “shamelessness”.
He was showing a “lot of nerve” pounding on his sleeping friend’s door at midnight.
But it was similar forces which compelled the sleepy and protesting friend to get up.
The thing was the community’s honour was at stake.
The late night guest was not simply a guest of one family – he was the guest of the village.
For the sleeping friend to not respond was outrageous.
The motivating forces were issues of shame and honour.
The next morning would have been terrible if the sleeping friend had sent the other away empty handed.
He would have been the object of deep anger and shame.
In one sense – it was already bad enough that the man needed convincing about having to get up.
Some say that the “shamelessness” refers to the one at the door; others say it refers to the one in bed.
One thing is clear – what was present was a force that compelled one person to go and wake a neighbour in the dead of the night; and one person to respond even though he despised having to do so.
All round – it was a sorry saga.
It has a happy ending (in a way) but what an effort to get there!
It was wrong that it took that much effort for something which was such a natural and important part of everyday life.
The point of all this?
In your desperation you will discover that God is not like this.
This is a parable about “how much more…”
If such a crummy neighbour can do the right thing; if we (though we are sinful) can do the right thing – how much more will God.
If forces of honour and shame; and self-preservation and face-saving will motivate someone to get out of bed – how much more will a Good God motivated by love respond to you!
The parable centres on non-negotiable yet everyday responsibilities.
The friend at the door was not there being unreasonable; extravagant; lazy; disorganised or anything like that.
He was desperate and in a desperate situation.
This story is to encourage you and invite you to approach God.
He is not shameless.
He is not asleep.
He does not take convincing about your desperation and need.
The verses following are an extended invitation and encouragement from Jesus to continue in your approach and prayer to God.
I love how one writer puts it with reference to this parable:
“When you go to this kind of a neighbour everything is against you. It is night. He is asleep in bed. The door is locked. His children are asleep. He does not like you and yet you will receive even more than you ask. This is because your neighbour is a man of integrity and he will not violate that quality. The God to whom you pray also has integrity and he will not violate; and beyond this, he loves you”.
“If you are confident of having your needs met when you go to such a neighbour in the night, how much more can you rest assured when you take your requests to a loving Father?”
Maybe you are thinking – “But I have been praying!! I have been standing at the door in the dead of night, dead on my feet and faced with humiliation! And you are telling me to keep praying! Seriously?!”
No I’m not telling you to keep on praying.
Jesus is.
He is inviting you again. Through this parable.
He knows.
And for whatever reason He has arranged it that we should be considering this story at this time, in this place, at this point in your life.
Maybe it is something like this.
A landmark article for the US publication, “Leadership” was written by a businessman concerning his long and painful addiction to pornography. He was finally liberated from it and he writes this at the end of the article:
“I cannot tell you why a prayer that has been prayed for ten years is answered on the 1,000th request when God has met the first 999 with silence. I cannot tell you why I had to endure ten years of near-possession before being ready for deliverance.”
This parable is for you this morning.
Get up and go to your God.
Ask.
It is in the spirit of Habbukkuk – who cries out and the start and finish of his book is – I suppose – akin to this parable:
"The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgment comes forth perverted." (Habakkuk 1:1-4)
"I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at the sound. Rottenness enters into my bones, and my steps tremble beneath me. I wait quietly for the day of calamity to come upon the people who attack us. Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights. To the leader: with stringed instruments." (Habakkuk 3:16-19)
Presented By: Rev. Geoff New