The Lords Prayer. Who can say they fully understand the significance of prayer? I knew a boy named

Transcription

1 The Rev. Kirk Baker Pub. 07/24/2016 The Lords Prayer Who can say they fully understand the significance of prayer? I knew a boy named Johnny whose family didn't attend church, but they took him to the funeral of a greatuncle. The minister began to pray, Lord, we know we all are but dust... and Johnny whispered loudly, Mom... MOM! What is it, Johnny? his embarrassed mother replied. What is butt dust? he asked. Each Sunday we gather and move through familiar rituals. Sometimes these rituals become so familiar we can move through them as if sleep-walking, our minds far, far away. Many newer churches reject the Lord's Prayer, pointing out Jesus said we should pray like He does, not necessarily repeat His words, which is true. Yet if we believe Jesus knew the very mind of God, what does it say if we reject His words? What does it mean if we prefer our words to the ones that proceeded from the only lips that ever said, I am God? When I was a new Christian, immature in my faith, I fidgeted during ceremonies and prayers. Now that I have lived long enough to call desperately on God, I seek these rituals as the spiritual undergirding they are. Like Jonah in the belly of the whale, when life is so terrifying the mind goes blank and bones turn to jelly, it is wellknown rituals that come to us. When students came to me sobbing after the brutal massacre in Tiananmen Square, I was 22 years old and completely out of my depth, yet I silently prayed the Luke 11

2 Lord's Prayer, which calmed me, and gave them the opportunity to share the way their world broke apart. And that was all they needed. When I go to the Wayne County Nursing Home to offer worship, some residents cannot open their eyes, others cannot lift their heads, but when we pray the Lord's Prayer, a light suffuses their faces and their lips move in unison, for they are no longer consumed with the pain of bodies that do not obey their commands, they are worshipers again. Hold fast to the Lord's Prayer, never let anything take it from you, it may be the one thing that stays with you in a time of trial. Some years ago, there was a chain that contained the Lord's Prayer, followed in parentheses by what we might mean in our own minds instead. I enjoyed that and share it with you now, but instead of assuming I know what you're thinking, let's call the way we might pray on our own The Me Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven may seem simple enough. But notice the me Luke 11

3 version - Distant god who doesn't matter. This is the opposite of what Jesus said: a God we call Father, Abba, is very personal. This God knows us intimately, raises us and watches over us, desires to always be in touch with us. We might read heaven and think God is far away but that is not what it means here. Here, heaven is the ultimate Kingdom, the place from which only the most powerful God rules over the earth. Our Lord is so great only heaven is suitable, only heaven can contain this awesome Spiritforce; yet God is our own Father, personal, close, caring. The Me Prayer says, let others admire me for my devotion. Again, this is the opposite direction of Jesus' prayer, hallowed be thy name - hallowed means revered, respected, it is our role to honor God, not the other way around. And of course, this means we must respect God, and live in ways that honor God otherwise Luke 11

4 our very prayer is a lie. Don't change things too soon, and don't interfere with my plans. Sometimes, we understand the Lord's Prayer better just by reading the Me Prayer. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth just as it is in heaven is a completely selfless statement. When we say this, we promise we will not just work for God's Kingdom, but will lay aside our own desires, what we hope for, to help realize God's desires Luke 11

5 Give me what I want, like a nice car, a big year-end bonus, and a luxury vacation! The Me Prayer is all about consumption; the Lord's Prayer only asks God for what we need bread for this day, enough to sustain. God gives life, God nurtures; excess and conspicuous consumption, those are human desires, not Godly Luke 11

6 I'm so glad I'm forgiven, and you know I forgive most people. Here is where things get interesting; we read forgive us our debts, AS we forgive our debtors. Yet Jesus says, forgive us our debts, FOR we forgive our debtors. The word in Greek is gar, which can mean either therefore or because - both work in this prayer! You forgive us all we owe you, God therefore, we forgive the relatively little others owe us, or You forgive us all we owe you only because we forgive the little others owe us! This last one reminds us of the Sermon on the Mount - judge not lest God judge you in the same way! Whatever we hold against others, refusing to forgive them, God will apply to us also. Either way, we recognize a cycle of forgiveness; if we would accept forgiveness in Christ for our many sins against God, we must be forgiving people. Period Luke 11

7 You know I'm not really bad like those other people, versus Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. I find I am easily drawn to hold onto secret si;, I don't want Jen to tell people how harsh I am when I'm angry, things like that. As if keeping it hidden from neighbors is what really matters. This is not about avoiding all sin, but about asking God to help us reject sin rather than act upon our sinful desires Luke 11

8 You are pretty great, but between us, I'm better. No, that's not a campaign slogan, it's the way we humans might approach a god of our own making. If we admit God is greater than us, then we have to listen to what God says, in ALL things! In the Lord's Prayer, we acknowledge that God is not just the most deserving of power, glory, and honor, but that we only gain those things by following God! If God possesses all honor, glory, and power, then the glory and honor we seek in the eyes of men and women is a chimera, fool's gold. Regardless what others think, if we faithfully serve God, if we try to evince the character of God, then we will have real honor, and real power Luke 11

9 I say again, hold onto this prayer; pray it not only on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday, too, pray it aloud with your spouse, your children, your friends. Because it's more than a perfect expression of Who our God is and what our God holds in store for us, it is much, much more. It is a prayer that brings change into our worlds, starting with us. It helps us step outside ourselves, it pushes back against a world that tells us life is all about me, me, me it moves our vision to where it should be, allows us to see the spiritual glow that all things hold simply because all things have been touched by God. Pray the Lord's Prayer it is a wonderful exposition of our Lord, it is a comfort in a time of trouble, and it is a pathway to a brighter, deeper life. And that should not surprise Luke 11

10 us for it was given to us by Christ Himself. Amen. [Slide 10 - blank] Luke 11