Lord's Prayer - part 7

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever

I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons.  All the classics: the Smurfs, the Laugh-Olympics, and of course - Loony Tunes.  Every week Wiley E Coyote would chase the Roadrunner around using some product from the Acme Corporation...which would inevitably fail sending poor Wiley over a cliff or to have a safe come crashing down on his head.  Week after week the plot did not change.  Week after week I laughed at poor Wiley's fate.  It is only now that I realize that part of what makes Wiley such a compelling character is that he has some very human traits.

First, I don't always learn from past mistakes.  I can think to myself, "That was a boneheaded things to say," only to say same equally boneheaded thing the very next time.  Part of the problem is that often today we think we can think our way out of a problem.  Theologian Richard Rohr says, "We cannot think our way into a new way of being, we have to live our way into a new way of thinking."  That is not to suggest that we need to turn off our minds completely, just that maybe living our entire life inside our heads may not always be helpful.  Experiences and emotions can also teach us important insights.

Second, I can turn to the Acme Corporations today and see consuming as a way to solve my problems.  Why not buy that new Ipad mini or new car or television?  Again, the point is not that we should try to go off the grid, start making my own clothes and try to grow my own food.  That is not going to happen.  But I can realize that when I buy something it is an ethical choice and there are consequences.  I can realize that part of the reason why the cartoons I mentioned above are making a "come back" is savvy marketers trying to appeal to my nostalgia and get me to buy Smurfs merch for my kids...just like when I was a kid.  It does not mean we need to eschew all things commercial...but we also need to not be consumed by our own consuming.

This for me is what temptation is about today.  Temptation today is also about our own self-reliance and thinking "I can do this all on my own...thank you very much."  One of the new books coming out is by Anne Lamott called Help, Thanks, Wow Three Essential Prayers. All three of those words are oriented toward that which is beyond us.  We ask for help from someone else.  We thank someone else.  And it is often serendipitous moments outside our expectations or control that amaze ir surprise us joyfully.  As Christian we often utter these three words to God.  This book is on my "to read" list and is set to be released later in November.  But the title itself reminds me that I need let go of my need for constant control or thinking I am completely in charge, I realize there is Someone in whom I can trust.  I open my life to God. 

Jesus said that is what the Kingdom or realm of God is all about.  Jesus taught that there is power in letting go of the world's understanding of power that is too reliant on violence and fear.  Jesus lived a life of joy and love that radiated in glory from Christ's own presence.  God is the One who is the Kingdom/Realm, the power and the glory.

When we pray the Lord's prayer it is inviting us to live in God's realm right here and now.  It is challenging our understandings and our very life.  It is inviting us to remember that God's ways are not like our ways. I hope that next Sunday when you pray this prayer you will let each word and phrase linger.  I hope this last several posts have offered new ways for you to connect with this sacred prayer.  

May the One who is the light to our lives and whose love makes us different continue to offer traces of amazing grace in your life this day and for countless days to come.

Blessings and peace!