The
Scripture Luke 11:2-411
One day
Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his
disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his
disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone
who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Here ends this reading of the word
of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Let us pray...
The Message The Holiness
This Sunday is the second of our four week focus on the
Lord’s Prayer. Last week, we were focused on the opening of the prayer, the
greeting where we say: “Our Father.” This week, we are still looking at the
first part of the prayer, as we say: “Hallowed by your name.”
When little children memorize poetry and prayers,
sometimes they say what they hear and not what we want them to learn. I have
heard kids ask about the Halloween part of the Lord’s prayer in reference to
this section.
The version of the prayer we most often memorize is in
Shakespearean or King James English. So, the words we memorize are not words we
otherwise use – we do not say “thy” or “art” or “hallowed” when we speak to our
friends or family members. Since we do not typically speak using the language
of the Lord’s prayer, sometimes we do not really think deeply about what we are
saying.
When we say “hallowed,” we mean holy or respected. “Be
thy” means yours. And, “name” means what we call you. So, “Hallowed be thy
name” means “God, we respect you, and you are holy.”
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we immediately say to
God that God is the source of all holiness. We desire to speak to God and
approach God with joyful reverence and love. Think about how you interacted
with your school principal in kindergarten or first grade...with reverence and
love. When Lucia was little, the students, teachers, and moms acted like the
elementary school principal was like a movie star or a senator in how they
revered him and treated him like a celebrity. We should joyfully approach God
with love and respect, with reverence and adoration. Hallowed be God’s name!
Throughout the Bible, we read many prayers and praises
to God. Often, as a portion of the prayer, God is revered and celebrated as the
source of all holiness in the universe. When Jesus’ mother Mary was pregnant,
she visited her very pregnant cousin Elizabeth. Both women were amazed by their
unexpected pregnancies. Mary broke into song after she met Elizabeth. While she
was singing, she exclaimed: “...for the Mighty One has done great
things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.” We revere God and respect God because God has
done wonderful things for us and for generations of humanity.
In parts of the New Testament, the Greek word
translated as “hallowed” in the Lord’s Prayer is translated as “sanctified.” To
sanctify something is to make it holy. God is holy, and God makes us holy
because God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. A few weeks ago on Pentecost
Sunday, we were reminded that we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
God loves us so much that a part of God is with us all of the time. We are
never separate from God because God’s Holy Spirit is with us.
When I was a child, I felt like this was a little
creepy. God was like the song about Santa Claus – “He sees you when you are
sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good so be
good for goodness sake.” The idea of God watching over me made me feel like
every mistake I made was going to be marked down on God’s naughty list.
But, this simplistic vision of God is not what we mean
when we say God is with us. God is with us, and God’s Holy Spirit is within us,
to bring us comfort and to assure us in times of stress. God knows we make
mistakes, that goes hand in hand with being born as humans. God wants us to
take comfort and strength from God’s presence. God wants us to know we are
never alone and we are never cut off or separated from God.
God is the source of what is holy. God is the source of
love. God is the source of compassion.
Jesus wanted his followers to bring to God our joys and
our concerns, our pains and our delights. When we talk to God in prayer, we
appreciate that God is the source of all that is holy. Yet, God is approachable
and God choses to be present with us to guide and assure us as we face the joys
and challenges of this life and as we transition to eternal life with God.
WE thank God for being both sanctified and holy and yet
present and approachable.
Amen.
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