Post 128 The Lord’s Prayer

Today it’s from the ridiculous to the sublime.  Well, actually the last two posts were not on ridiculous topics, though unusual to be sure and about topics not everyone enjoys talking or reading , let alone writing about!  But in spite of the negative vibes that last subject tends to generate, it was a subject of immense importance, for mismanaging it or, worse and perhaps the most frequent when you take into consideration the entire world, simply not managing it, usually creates chaotic public health conditions. But in contrast to today’s topic, that of yesterday can definitely be described as ridiculous. 

Today’s topic is the most famous prayer in all of human history, the most famous Christian prayer. I admit I have no statistics to support that claim, but if you check it out on the Internet you’ll almost certainly find such statistics. It’s just that statistics are not my concern today. Perhaps another time. But that prayer? If you’re a Christian you must by now have named it: The Lord’s Prayer that Jesus Christ Himself taught his disciples to pray in the New Testament book of Matthew 6:9-13.  In the words of the translation by Eugene Peterson known as The Message, it goes like this:

^7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

Peterson’s translation is a loose one, conveying the core of the prayer as he understands it in contemporary language.

Another person who writes about the Lord’s Prayer is Father Ronald Rolheiser He is a Roman Catholic priest, a lecturer and writer with a weekly column that is carried in more than 50 newspapers worldwide. He is the author of numerous books as well. He has been a priest for 28 years. He also writes a lot about prayer and social justice. One of his titles on the subject is Living God’s Justice. You can find out all about him by just calling him up on the Internet and you’ll get plenty about him. A major URL about him and his major subject is:

                             <  http://corpuschristiparish.net/wp-                 

                  content/uploads/2011/07/Social-Justice-prayers.pdf >

Rolheiser has nicely summarize the Prayer for us as far as its meaning for social justice is concerned, but using its more traditional formulation. In the material below, the bold sections represent the words of the Prayer itself, which are then followed by succinct social justice statements. I think they are clear enough for you to enjoy—yes, prayers may be enjoyed!—to edify and be edified and, yes, to pray. I don’t think additional comments from me are necessary for you to get the thrust. If you need further enlargement, look online for the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 45-52 or Question & Answer 116-129.  While Rolheiser is a Catholic priest, the “Heidelberger” as it is fondly known, is a Protestant document forged during the heat of the Reformation a few centuries ago.  Here goes:

Our Father… who always stands with the weak, the powerless, the poor, the abandoned, the sick, the aged, the very young, the unborn, and those who, by victim of circumstance, beat the heat of the day. 

          Who art in heaven…where everything will be reversed, where the                first will be last and the last will be first, but where all will be well and every manner of being, will be well. 

         Hallowed be thy name…may we always acknowledge your holiness,  

       respecting that your ways are not our ways, your standards are not our

          standards. May the reverence we give your name pull us out of the selfishness that prevents us from seeing the pain of our neighbor.

        Your will be done…open our freedom to let you in, so that the complete mutuality that characterizes your life might flow through our veins, and

                            thus the life that we help generate may radiate your equal love for all, and your special love for the poor. 

         On earth as in heaven…may the work of our hands, the temples and structures we build in this world, reflect the temple and the structure of your

glory so that the joy, graciousness, tenderness, and justice of heaven will show forth within all of our structures on Earth. 

  Give…life and love to us and help us to always see everything as a gift. Help us to know that nothing comes to us by right and that we must give        

                    because we have been given to. Help us realize that we must give to the poor, not because they need it, but because our own health

                            depends upon our giving to them. 

       Us…the truly plural us…Give not just to our own but to everyone, including those who are very different than the narrow us. Give your gifts to all

                            of us equally. 

     This day…not tomorrow…Do not let us push things off into some indefinite future so that we can continue to live justified lives in the face of injustice

                            because we can make good excuses for our inactivity.

   Our daily bread…so that each person in the world may have enough food, enough clean water, enough clean air, adequate health care, and

                           sufficient access to education, so as to have the sustenance for a healthy life. Teach us to give from our sustenance and not just from our

                           surplus. 

           And forgive us our trespasses…forgive us our blindness toward our neighbor, our self-preoccupation, our racism, and our incurable propensity

                           to worry only about ourselves and our own. Forgive us our capacity to watch the evening news and do nothing about it.

         And do not put us to the test…do not judge us only by whether we have fed the hungry, given clothing to the naked, visited the sick, or tried to

                          mend the systems that victimized the poor. Spare us this test for none of us can stand before your gospel scrutiny. Give us, instead, more

                          days to mend our ways, our selfishness, and our systems. 

NOTE:  I apologize for the irregular formatting above. My computer has been stubborn the past few days when it comes to formatting. Not being much of a techy, I chose to proceed as is and hope for your mercy. In desperation I decided the world is better off with a good prayer but poor formatting than with nothing!  After all, these words are straight from our Saviour's mouth! I hope you agree.... Pray and be blessed anyway!

         And deliver us from evil…that is, from the blindness that let us continue to participate in anonymous systems within which we need not see who                       gets less as we get more.

Post 101--Messages of Hope (Isaiah 56-57:2)--

This morning I was reading from Isaiah 56 in the Old Testament (OT) and found it such a beautiful chapter that I decided to share it with you without a lot of comment. Isaiah, you might know, is an OT prophet who is such a pleasure to read, especially in a modern translation. This passage is from the translation by Eugene H. Peterson called The Message. 

This post is an intrusion in the current discussion, but it's also an extra one. This being Holy Week 2016, I thought it well to direct your attention to the Hope that the Bible gives to this crazy and oppressive world. Read these words slowly, savour them and meditate on them.

Salvation Is Just Around the Corner

56 1-3 God’s Message:

“Guard my common good:
    Do what’s right and do it in the right way,
For salvation is just around the corner,
    my setting-things-right is about to go into action.
How blessed are you who enter into these things,
    you men and women who embrace them,
Who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
    who watch your step and don’t do anything evil!
Make sure no outsider who now follows God
    ever has occasion to say, ‘God put me in second-class.
    I don’t really belong.’
And make sure no physically mutilated person
    is ever made to think, ‘I’m damaged goods.
    I don’t really belong.’”

4-5 For God says:

“To the mutilated who keep my Sabbaths
    and choose what delights me
    and keep a firm grip on my covenant,
I’ll provide them an honored place
    in my family and within my city,
    even more honored than that of sons and daughters.
I’ll confer permanent honors on them
    that will never be revoked.

6-8 “And as for the outsiders who now follow me,
    working for me, loving my name,
    and wanting to be my servants—
All who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
    holding fast to my covenant—
I’ll bring them to my holy mountain
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
They’ll be welcome to worship the same as the ‘insiders,’
    to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to my altar.
Oh yes, my house of worship
    will be known as a house of prayer for all people.”
The Decree of the Master, God himself,
    who gathers in the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather others also,
    gather them in with those already gathered.”

While the above speaks to the common man, the next few verses address the leaders of the day, specifically the religious leaders. No compliments there, let alone messages of hope; mostly insults for having led the people astray. 

9-12 A call to the savage beasts: Come on the run.
    Come, devour, beast barbarians!
For Israel’s watchmen are blind, the whole lot of them.
    They have no idea what’s going on.
They’re dogs without sense enough to bark,
    lazy dogs, dreaming in the sun—
But hungry dogs, they do know how to eat,
    voracious dogs, with never enough.
And these are Israel’s shepherds!
    They know nothing, understand nothing.
They all look after themselves,
    grabbing whatever’s not nailed down.
“Come,” they say, “let’s have a party.
    Let’s go out and get drunk!”
And tomorrow, more of the same:
    “Let’s live it up!”

Never Tired of Trying New Religions

57 1-2 Meanwhile, right-living people die
    and no one gives them a thought.
God-fearing people are carted off
    and no one even notices.
The right-living people are out of their misery,
    they’re finally at rest.
They lived well and with dignity
    and now they’re finally at peace.