Ss Peter & Paul, Kettering
Praying the Lord’s Prayer
There is something striking and special about this moment in the Gospel. Jesus is praying. It is that very action that prompts the disciples to ask, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.' In a very real sense, Jesus' life preaches the sermon of his lips – we all need to learn the lesson that our lives preach a sermon, and what that sermon is.
Jesus responds and gives them what we know as the Lord's Prayer. The perceptive among us, the attentive listeners, will note that the words Jesus gives here are different from what we say, or, rather, pray. There are fewer words, fewer phrases, to get our tongues around, yet in its economy of words we are probably much nearer to the actual words of Jesus. Perhaps there is a case for us to pray this form of the prayer more often. I dare to say this even to those much wedded to the version in the Book of Common Prayer. When we use the words from this Gospel reading, instead of the words tripping off our tongues, almost without our noticing them, we are obliged to be attentive to the words.
Father, we pray. This is the most wonderful start to the prayer, to any prayer. We are using Jesus' word Abba, a word he makes his own, with all the closeness, delight, trust and love of a child to its father. It is more 'daddy' than 'father'. It transforms our approach to God into an intense and intimate experience. It lets us get personal with God, and God with us. We all need such experience. I may date myself if I say Abba is a Murray Mint word – long ago Murray Mints had the slogan ‘the too good to hurry mint.’ Abba is a 'too good to hurry' word.
Hallowed be your name. With these words, we ask God to act, to do something to show forth his holiness and love.' And, at the same time, we dedicate ourselves to do just that, too. These phrases have a double edge, a double action – we need to ponder both, unhurriedly.
Your kingdom come. Here 'kingdom' is not a plot of land, like the United Kingdom. No: kingdom is God's righteousness and love alive and well and living in Kettering, God's ruling active here and now, in our midst. Do we really mean that? Are we prepared for that? But the words are also a promise, a willingness to live out our 'Yes' to God, our faith and obedience, here and no. When we do our Yes, just do it, we 'get the kingdom of God’, and the kingdom comes, and will coming. This shows us as 'Kingdom-people,' a living reality that will draw people into the kingdom, to Jesus, and prompt people to ask, ‘Teach us the kingdom.’
Give us each day our daily bread. This petition reaches far and wide. This is not a 'me' (or an ‘I’) prayer, it is an 'our' prayer. It includes my needs as well as the needs of others, our brothers and sisters in the family of the one Abba Father from, say, the flooded areas of the UK, Darfur, the lives of people torn apart by war and strife, people on our prayer list and intercession board. We pray for 'daily bread' and for 'bread of tomorrow,' and learn how we can be part of God's answer to those in need, who desperately pray these words.
Forgive us our sins – we ask God to pardon us our sin. Sin is our choosing to live without God in our lives, and being separate, apart from God. It is that distance between us and God which shows itself in our wrong thoughts, words and actions. We pray on the understanding, on the condition, that we ourselves forgive those indebted to us. By living forgiving and reconciling lives, we not only the kingdom, but also live the character and being of God. There is action for us to take, in heart and mind, as we pray the words. And we cannot take that on board in a hurry: we need time to bring all of us together in the words.
And do not bring us to the time of trial – save us from anything that proves too much for us, and others, to bear. We do not have to look very far to see others who are up against testing times in this life. Some time this is beyond the bearable.
With these thoughts in mind, – let us look at his words – we have them in your service sheet – find them, read them slowly, carefully, with love, cherishing and caressing them. Pray them in such a way as to give them time and space; to allow them to reveal all that is hidden in them, and time to let us bring into them all who are to be included. We read the word, and pray it in the space to the end of the line. Then together we will find the right time to begin the next phrase. Let us pray them together like that:
Father,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
as we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
Perhaps many of us will feel that we have not got to the end of the prayer. The 'kingdom, power and the glory' words are not there. They are add-ons - we find them in the Book of Common Prayer, the Roman Catholic Mass, and the Jewish Prayer book. Somehow, I am thankful they are missing. They seem to close down the prayer, bring it to an end, especially with that verbal full stop: Amen. That really is a prayer-stopper. Here, Jesus' prayer is open-ended: it continues, flows into, into our living.
But be sure, as we pray the words, to pray them with urgency, from the heart, with deep feeling, compassion, empathy, in-feeling with God and with the needs of other. We can see that in Abraham's prayer, with the friend at midnight. Both are urgent and persistent. That is the message of the parable. Such prayer will have its due response, says Jesus. He adds that we do not ask, seek and knock, in vain. God, the Father in heaven, does not play bad jokes on his children.
It is in the trust and love of children that we pray.
John Tearnan, July 29th, 2007
Office Address:
The Rectory
Church Walk
Kettering
NN16 0DJ