so familiar
Jesus Christ was devoted to prayer and gave his disciples (us too) a model when they said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6, Luke 11) is a prayer we’ve known from childhood and say regularly, maybe in worship. But the familiar can lose its impact and can usefully be reexamined. Do we love a person less because that face is so familiar? Probably not, but when a thing becomes so much a part of life that we dismiss it, it’s time to look again. Jesus said, “When you pray, say . . .” and gave the specific words. This is a prayer, not an outline for a teaching on the general topic of prayer. It is very brief.
our Father
Jesus says to begin: “Our Father, in heaven . . ..” Our first act in prayer is to acknowledge God, the One we address. The writer of Hebrews says, “whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb 11: 6b). Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson, sometimes referred to as “a rock star” (best-selling books, global and Internet fame) claims no religion, but he cannot talk about belief in God without tears. He calls the idea of such belief “terrifying.” When we pray, we address the Creator, whom Jesus invites us to call “Our Father.” Stunning, when you think about it.
your Name
The antique pronoun is the version we’ve been taught, so we continue: “Hallowed be Thy name” The verb, “hallowed,” means “treated as holy” or “reverenced.” An aorist passive imperative (!) taken with the forward-looking next line gives us: “Your name will one day be completely set aside for holiness. Let that day come” (https://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/). Peterson, the non-believer, seems to get it. We have to wonder: When did the English word we honor with a capital become a mere interjection? What’s happened to the reverence?
“Thy kingdom come”
We continue: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” RJM and Rob Myallis contributors on lectionarygreek.blogspot (linked above), comment: “It is worth noting that whatever intimacy and presence one wishes to ascribe to the idea of “hallowed is your name” one must ascribe to “your kingdom come.” The Greek is the same; God’s name is hallowed in the same time-dimension as the kingdom coming.” We’re asking God to manifest his kingdom– a request we Americans should pause and consider. A kingdom is ruled by a sovereign. It isn’t a democracy. Kings aren’t elected. New Testament writers regularly refer to themselves as slaves or bond-servants of God (Rom 1: 1; Titus 1: 1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1: 1; Jude 1:1). It’s also useful to remember that Jesus said, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8: 36). That should be enough for anybody.
love
Now for the prayer that God’s will be done. I’ve read no better explanation of the paradox of prayer than this from Hal Lane, discussing God’s will and our request. So, here is a word from the lesson book used in our Sunday school class June 13 as we considered the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane, “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22: 41): “The purpose of prayer is not to compel God to do our will but to submit our requests to a wise God who answers according to His best purposes. We know what we desire, but our desires do not always coincide with God’s purposes or timing. This does not mean prayer is meaningless in a predetermined divine plan that cannot be overruled. Our obtaining certain blessings from God is dependent on our asking” (Lane, Hal. Explore the Bible: Commentary, Luke 10-12. Lifeway, Spring 2021). Jesus told us to ask, seek, and knock. In his parable of the persistent widow who persuaded the unjust judge, Jesus exhorts us to continue to ask. In this context, God’s will, done on earth as it is in heaven, seems something we can enthusiastically request. John declares, “God is love” (I John 4: 8b). A kingdom founded on such terms is a kingdom to be longed and pled for, to be anticipated as speedily as the Father wills to bring it in. As the old song puts it, “All you need is love.”
from the Edgefield Advertiser, oldest newspaper in South Carolina
June 16, 2021
with thanks for the great image: deb-dowd-IaCswSJ__uc-unsplash-scaled.jpg
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