The Lord's Prayer: Our Father... Matthew 6:7-13

My brothers and sisters, let me begin by acknowledging that over the next several weeks these sermons may seem somewhat familiar to some of you.  For the first time since I have been here, I am repeating a sermon series that some of you have heard.  In various Bible Studies we have talked about The Lord’s Prayer, and some in the study have asked that I repeat the sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer that I offered here in 2005.  Because it is a prayer that we offer up each week, and it is the prayer that Jesus offered to teach His disciples, and us, how to pray, I have decided it is important enough to repeat.  Besides, as a beloved friend and church member of a former church told me one time (and please don’t ever say this to a pastor), “I could preach a sermon from six months ago and no one would remember it.”

The Lord's Prayer, A Mini Drama

Author Unknown

 Chris:  (Walking up to Pastor Lee): Excuse me Pastor Lee.  I just need a moment at the altar, I might have to leave early.

(Pastor Lee backs away as Chris proceeds to kneel at the altar.)

Chris:  “Our Father which art in heaven…”

Paul, as the Voice of God: Yes?

Chris:  Don’t interrupt me. I’m praying.

Paul, as the Voice of God: But you called me.

Chris:  Called you? I didn’t call you. I’m praying. “Our Father which art in heaven…”

Paul, as the Voice of God: There, you did it again.

Chris:  Did what?

Paul, as the Voice of God: Called me. You said, “Our Father which are in heaven.” Here I am… What’s on your mind?

Chris:  But I didn’t mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord’s Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done.

Paul, as the Voice of God: All right, go on.

Chris:  “Hallowed be thy name”

Paul, as the Voice of God: Hold it. What do you mean by that?

Chris:  It means… it means… Good grief, I don’t know what it means. How should I know? It’s just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?

Paul, as the Voice of God: It means honored, holy, wonderful.

Chris:  Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what “hallowed” meant before.  “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Paul, as the Voice of God: Do you really mean that?

Chris:  Sure, why not?

Paul, as the Voice of God: What are you doing about it?

Chris:  Doing? Nothing I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Have I got control of you?

Chris:  Well, I go to church.

Paul, as the Voice of God: That isn’t what I asked you. What about your bad temper? You’ve really got a bad problem there you know. And then there’s the way you spend your money - all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?

Chris:  Stop picking on me! I’m just as good as some of the rest of those people at church.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you, for example. 

Chris:  Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others.

Paul, as the Voice of God: So could I.

Chris:  I haven’t thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free. 

Paul, as the Voice of God: Good. Now we’re getting somewhere. We’ll work together, you and I. Some victories can truly be won. I’m proud of you.

Chris:  Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Paul, as the Voice of God: You need to cut out the bread. You’re overweight as it is.

Chris:  Hey, wait a minute! What is this, “Criticize me day?” Here I was, doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That’s what I’m trying to get across to you. You called me, and here I am. It’s too late to stop now. Keep praying, I’m interested in the next part of your prayer… (pause) Well, go on.

Chris:  I’m scared to.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Scared? Of what?

Chris:  I know what you’ll say.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Try me and see.

Chris:  “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Paul, as the Voice of God: What about Brad?

Chris:  See? I knew it! I knew you would bring him up! Why Lord, he’s told lies about me, spread stories about my family. He never paid back the money he owes me. I’ve sworn to get even with him!

Paul, as the Voice of God: But your prayer? What about your prayer?

Chris:  I didn’t mean it.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Well, at least you’re honest. But it’s not much fun carrying that load of bitterness around inside, is it?

Chris:  No. But I’ll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for that man. He’ll wish he had never moved into this neighborhood.

Paul, as the Voice of God: You won’t feel any better. You’ll feel worse. Revenge isn’t sweet. Think of how unhappy you already are. But I can change all that.

Chris:  You can? How?

Paul, as the Voice of God: Forgive Brad. Then I’ll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Brad’s problem and not yours. You will have settled your heart.

Chris:  Oh, you’re right. You always are. And more than I want revenge on Brad, I want to be right with you. … (pause)… (sigh).  All right. All right. I forgive him. Help him to find the right road in life, Lord.   He’s bound to be awfully miserable now that I think of it. Anybody who goes around doing the things he does to others has to be out of it. Some way, somehow, show him the right way.

Paul, as the Voice of God: There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?

Chris:  Hmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don’t think I’ll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won’t be so tired from now on because I’m not getting enough rest.

Paul, as the Voice of God: You’re not through with your prayer. Go on.

Chris:  Oh, all right. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Paul, as the Voice of God: Good! Good! I’ll do that. Just don’t put yourself in a place where you can tempted.

Chris:  What do you mean by that?

Paul, as the Voice of God: Don’t turn on the TV when you know the work needs to be done and the room needs to be picked up and chores need to be done. Also, about the time you spend posting on Facebook, if you can’t influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should rethink the value of those friendships. Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn’t be your standard for “keeping up”.  And please don’t use me for an escape hatch.

Chris:  I don’t understand that last part.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Sure you do. You’ve done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get into trouble and then you come running to me, “Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise you I’ll never do it again.” You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?

Chris:  Yes, and I’m ashamed, Lord. I really am.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Which bargain are you remembering?

Chris:  Well there was the night that my parents were gone and Susan and I were home alone. The wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, “Oh God, if you spare us, I’ll never skip youth group again.”

Paul, as the Voice of God: I protected you, but you didn’t keep your promise, did you?

Chris:  I’m sorry, Lord, I really am. Up until now, I thought that if I just prayed the Lord’s Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I didn’t even expect anything to happen like it did.

Paul, as the Voice of God: Go ahead and finish your prayer.

Chris:  For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the Glory forever. Amen”

Paul, as the Voice of God: Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?

Chris:  No, but I’d like to know. I want now to please you. I can see what a mess I’ve made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers.

Paul, as the Voice of God: You just answered the question.

Chris:  I did?

Paul, as the Voice of God: Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do together.

Chris:  Lord, let’s see what we can make of me, OK?

Paul, as the Voice of God: Yes, let’s see…

(Chris rises from the altar and returns to his seat.)

The Lord’s Prayer is one of this most common prayers that we pray and as I said, it is the one that Jesus taught when questioned about how to pray.  This morning’s drama gives us pause to think…just what are we doing when we pray The Lord’s Prayer.  When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, do we actually understand and mean what we are praying, or are we simply reciting something from memory and saying it without thinking of its importance?  Too often, I believe, we say these words without actually thinking about what we are saying.  My brothers and sisters, we cannot afford to do that.  The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and this is the prayer that Jesus, Son of God, taught them—and what amazing power is contained in this prayer!  Within this simple prayer Jesus taught, there is the power to change our relationship with God, the power to change our relationship with each other, and the power to change our relationship with the world.  Those changes will be the focus of the next several weeks as we explore together the Lord’s Prayer, breaking it down, almost line by line, so that we may come to grasp the power of this prayer that we offer each week—and so that we can seek to know exactly what we are praying.

This week, we begin where the prayer begins, “Our Father, who art in heaven….”  I we think of prayer as conversation, we begin this prayer by calling the Name of the one we are talking with..  While we may think that this line of the prayer is no more important that when we start a letter, “Dear Mary,” or “Dear Roger,” the address “Our Father” is reason to pause.  How many of us have ever considered the power in just those two words?  Those words, “Our Father,” offer to us a key picture into our relationship with God and what it means to be the Church.

Most religions in the time of Jesus, and some still now, offer a picture of a god that is far off in the heavens or up on Mount Olympus or some other distant place, far from the people.  If the gods were not in some far-off place, they were gods that had to be feared lest they turn their horrible wrath down upon the people….

The opening words of the Lord’s Prayer offers us a very different picture of the God that we come to worship.  While the word “Father” in our day and time seems very formal almost distant, that is by no means what Jesus meant when he offered up this prayer.  Jesus and Paul both used the Aramaic word, “Abba.”  It is a word of deep intimacy of relationship.  It is much the same as saying “Daddy,” “Dad,” or “Pop.”  It let the disciples (and in turn each of us) know that the relationship we enter into with God through our Baptism and through the Church is not one of some god that we cower in fear of or a distant god that is far off and only watches like an overseer. Praying “Our Father” signifies that it is a deep relationship with a love and caring God.  The relationship we have is familial, a relationship seen in a parent loving a child and a child loving the parent.  It is a very personal relationship that we enter into when we go to God in prayer.

If we take into consideration, as well, Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we realize that it is also something more.  As we pray to God as Father, we are confessing our belief that we have been joined to Christ and are now children of God.  We have faith that through our Baptism, we are now promised the same resurrection that Christ received and that we, like Christ, are now heirs of the kingdom.

I will admit, and we all need to consider this, that people struggle with the idea of calling God, Father.  They may have had an abusive father, neglectful, or absent father.  We cannot deny the reality of those horrible situations, my friends, or the emotional and spiritual impact they have on those who experience that evil behavior.  When we come across those folks in our lives, it is our responsibility to lovingly, kindly, and carefully help them.  The key to remember is that we are not supposed to look at our earthly fathers to get an idea of what our heavenly Father looks like or how our heavenly Father acts.  This is a place, and all of us men especially need to make note, (especially those who are, or soon will be, dads), where we look to our Heavenly Father to see how earthly fathers are supposed to act.

The importance, as it pertains to this prayer, though, is to realize that in calling God, “Father,” we are acknowledging an intimate and personal relationship with God.  We have a personal relationship with God, who loves and cares for us.

However, there were two words with which we opened up the prayer…we didn’t just say, “Father,” but began it by saying “Our Father.”  We cannot simply get to caught up in the ecstasy of this one on one, personal intimate relationship with God and stop there.  How many of you have ever realized, that even when you are by yourself praying this prayer, you begin by saying “Our Father”?  The “Our” is just as important as the “Father.”  This prayer reminds us that not only do we have a personal relationship with God, but that we are also called into relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  All too often, we forget this aspect of living a Christian life.  We focus on the personal relationship we have with God through Christ, and forget that we are also to be in close relationship with other Christians. 

In our baptism, as we are joined to Christ and made a child of God, we have to remember that we are not made an only child.  We are made part of the family of God that includes every single one person that has received the waters of baptism.  We are given more brothers and sisters than we could ever imagine…those of you who even had six, seven, or even twelve siblings in your biological families, think of that number multiplied indefinitely; and those of you who grew up or currently consider yourself an only child, realize that you can’t count high enough to number all of the brothers and sisters you actually have.  As we come into the church we are made part of the largest family anyone could ever imagine.

All too often I have heard the argument that, “You know Preacher, I am a Christian (or he or she is a Christian), but I (or they) just don’t go to church.”  I offer up to you that if we are not part of a church, and I mean an active part of the Church—not simply someone with our names on the roles—if we are not an active part of the Church, then we are not being fully Christian.

We are called to be in a faithful relationship with one another, at all times, and, especially in worship.  We are not praying “My Father, who art in heaven…,” but, “Our Father, who art in heaven,” and that is also why one person doesn’t offer it up alone when we are together in worship, but we offer it up in unison.  And when we offer up this prayer when we are by ourselves, we are reminded that we are not alone, that we offer this prayer up with all of our brothers and sisters—we cannot be Christians alone. 

Plain and simple, we cannot be solo Christians.  There is no such thing.  We are called to live in a faithful relationship with one another, in the same way that God the Father, lives in a faithful relationship with us.  We are called to practice the same love with each other that God offers to us.  We must, as Christians, be in fellowship with one another, if we are to live faithfully, because this is the family that we have to spend eternity with…

“But Preacher,” someone will argue (as they have with me over the years), “what about the sick and the shut ins and others that cannot get out to Church?”  Am I suggesting that they cannot be fully Christian because they are not in worship with us?  No!  When it comes to those who cannot get to Church, then it is the place of those of us who are in Church (not just the pastor) to take Church to them, and when we visit them, to take time to join together in prayer, praise, and the reading or sharing of God’s Word.

My friends, there is power in those two words.  In “Our Father” we are reminded of our intimate personal relationship with God and of the importance of our relationship with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Here we begin to see the impact of this prayer that Jesus taught…a prayer that is not about changing God, but a prayer that is about opening ourselves up to the power of a God that will change us.

Let us now join together, remembering both the personal and the communal relationship that God calls us into, in the prayer which Jesus taught us, saying, “Our Father….”