Over the next couple of posts about prayer, I want to look at the Lord's Prayer. Many have already commented about, preached about, written books about, and every Sunday in almost every Christian Church this prayer is part of the worship service, so I am trudging into well-known territory. In some ways stepping into such conversation is difficult. Do I really have anything fresh to add to the dialogue? Or I am heaping more words upon a prayer that is relatively short and straight-forward?
My prayer is in these posts you might find something that feels like a breath of fresh air. Maybe at the bare minimum, these posts might cause you to ponder the Lord's Prayer as you said it Sunday after Sunday to think about the words falling from your lips rather than reciting on autopilot. I promise to join you in that and also be open as the church I serve this Sunday says this prayer in our worship service.
The Lord's Prayer is found in two of the four Gospels:
Neither Mark nor John include this prayer. There are some similarities and differences between Matthew and Luke's versions. Luke is very clear that the disciples prompt the prayer by requesting Jesus to 'teach them to pray.' This comes as Jesus himself was in the midst of prayer. You can almost picture the disciples hovering around, trying to eavesdrop as Jesus whispered words to God, and learn by osmosis. I take heart that the disciples, Jesus' closest friends had to ask for wisdom about how to pray. Maybe I can learn from that. Prayer may not come as naturally as everyone likes to assume it should. It can be difficult, even for those who were willing to give up their lives to follow Jesus. Why in the world would we assume that we should know how to pray? Maybe the disciples request could become ours and we might say, "Lord, teach me to pray!"
Matthew's version also is a teachable moment for Jesus. Jesus clearly says, when you pray to God, pray like this... In Chapter 6, Jesus had just been to the temple and seen the way people were praying. I have to admit it is always tempting to glance out of the corner of my eye when praying in public. Is my wife's head bowed? What about the person in front of me? Once your eyes are open, you look at the person praying. Are her eyes open or closed? Is she reading from a printed prayer?
So, let's start by affirming two things: 1). We all need help with prayer and 2). We are curious about how other's pray too.
Both Matthew and Luke start off the Lord's Prayer with the same two words, "Our Father". Perhaps you have already heard before that the word here in the original language is "Abba" and is really more appropriately translated, "Daddy", not that I think people are going to start saying, "Our Daddy". Maybe one day. Daddy is the more informal and initiate word for a relationship. My kids never say, "Father, I would like some ice cream." It is always, "Daaaaaaadddddy...could we please have ice cream," with each word, especially the first, coated in all the love they have. Daddy is about a close connection.
To be sure, not everyone reading this blog has had a great relationship with their biological father. Maybe several reading this have had just God-awful relationships with males in their lives. Assigning a gender to God will do that. When you use intimate words, you awake intimate memories from our experiences.
To say God was close and in a loving relationship with us, Jesus is drawing on the second creation narrative, Genesis 2, we God kneels in the dirt and crafts the first human out of the dust. That is the kind of Creator Jesus points to in saying, "Our Father."
I know there is still tension around how we refer to God. And so, I want you to think about that image. Would it be better for you to say, "Our Father-Mother" so you can get beyond gender? Would it be better for you to say, "Our God" to take gender out of it? Would it be better for you if we took tradition another way? For me, words matter and make a difference. And it is good for me to ponder right now how is my relationship with God? Do I feel the love of a parent intimate and close when I start the Lord's Prayer? Or are the words tripping me up?
May the traces of God's grace be found in your life today as we open ourselves to the One whose love cares for us and sustains us.
Blessings.
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