2008.06.22 Where the World and the Devil are Attacking

Scripture: John 7:53 – 8:11

There is a quote from the church reformer Martin Luther that I would like to share with you today:

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point that the world and the devil are at the moment, attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages is where the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is merely flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.
(Luther's Works. Weimar Edition. Briefwechsel [Correspondence], vol. 3, pp. 81f.)

I read this quote in a magazine back in January 2003. I was struck deeply by its accusation—that no matter how faithful I was in teaching and preaching—or in other words, professing Christ—I was failing miserably at confessing Christ—meaning, having my words and actions of faith address the hard issues, the places where the world and the devil are attacking.

I cut this quote out and posted it in my office, where it has been for the last five and a half years. I have thought about it on occasion, but this week more so—because this is the week that, for the second time, gays and lesbians across our state have been granted permission to marry. I have heard the arguments in favor of this action, and I do not dispute them legally, but that’s b/c I do not know law. Socially, however, I believe that there are some far-reaching implications to the decision that will adversely affect our society as a whole, the church and my children.

Yet somewhere in the back of my mind, there was one question that kept popping up. It is a question of doubt. The question is: what if God thinks it is okay?

In our own denomination, we do not officially allow same-gender marriages, nor do we allow the ordination of gays or lesbians—either as deacons, elders or ministers. We do, however, allow same-sex unions. I know a whole lot of wonderful pastors who fiercely believe that our denomination should allow for more rights; some of these pastors even practice open defiance of our denominational rules. They are great people, sincere and faithful. So sometimes, and particularly this week, I’ve wondered, what if God thinks it is okay?

However, this message is not about my struggle with this question—or even God’s answer to the question. Instead, I want to address the bigger picture. Regardless of which “side” of the debate I may ultimately fall, the reality is that I have not engaged this particular issue, although it is one of the points where the world and the devil are attacking our faith, dividing churches, families and friends. I have failed to confess, to take a stand, to be bold. I have failed to be a witness—one who testifies of God’s work in this world.

And in that sense, my failure is not only in the area of the role of gays and lesbians in our society, but my failure can extend to other issues as well. I don’t like to rock the boat. I grew up as one of very few Asians at an all-white public school in the Atlanta suburbs. I have distinct memories of kids teasing me for being Asian; many could not understand why I said I was from Korea when they knew for sure that I must be Chinese; my friend’s mom once asked me why my parents couldn’t get me clothes “like the other (white) kids.” Taking a stand is not something that comes easily for me.

However, I did not choose the life of faith because it is easy—the truth is, it is not. In Matthew 10:32, Jesus says:

10:32 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

My failures—and perhaps your failures—to take a stand at the times and places where the world and the devil are at the moment attacking.. these failures need to be taken seriously.

So today we are going to look at a passage that addresses failure. It comes from John 7:53 to 8:11. In nearly every Bible where you find this passage, there will be a footnote that says something similar to this:

[The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.]

The reason for this notation is that, although this passage is found in the Gospel of John, it stands apart from the rest of that book. The style, syntax and vocabulary of these 12 verses match much better with the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) than with John. It is certain that John did not write this passage. However, regardless of its placement, there is no dispute that this passage is authentic and belongs in the Bible.

There are three parties in this narrative from John: Jesus, the teachers & Pharisees, and a woman. As each of the latter two interact with Jesus, we gain understanding about how our Lord deals with failure:

7:53 Then each went to his own home.
8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6a They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

Jesus is in the Temple courts teaching. He is surrounded by a group of people who are listening to him speak. Their learning is interrupted—or perhaps it is given a real-life application—when some teachers of the law and the Pharisees bring over a woman. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees are folks who are known for their understanding of God’s law. If anyone was “perfect” according to the letter of the law, it was these guys.

They bring over a woman—but not just any woman. They bring one who has broken the law, one who “was caught in the act of adultery.” I once read a book called Really Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs. She has an entire chapter devoted to the story of this particular woman, and here is a summary of how she describes this opening scene:

At dawn, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees tarried by a nameless woman's door, itching to drag her out of bed and into the temple, where Jesus was teaching. Moments later, half-dressed at best, the woman was forced to "stand before the group" (John 8:3), like Hester Prynne wearing her scarlet letter, cheeks stained with shame.

The words of the Pharisees were harsh, accusatory: "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery" (John 8:4). This woman? Look, she wasn't alone in that bed. Where was her partner in crime? Sleeping in? Reading the Mount Olives Times? Since Mosaic Law insisted "both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death" (Leviticus 20:10), how come they weren't both hauled into the temple?

Listen, the Pharisees weren't interested in punishing the man or the woman. They were after Jesus. And so they threw words at him, sharper than any rocks: "In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" (John 8:5).

-Liz Curtis Higgs

At the beginning of verse 6, we are told that “they were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing” Jesus. What was the trap?According to Mosaic law (the law given by Moses as the Hebrews became the nation of Israel)—according to Mosaic law, both the man and the woman who were caught in adultery must be stoned and there should be witnesses to corroborate the charges. However, there are no witnesses brought, and it is only the woman who stands there, humiliated. It is an obvious trap, particularly b/c it is the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees—whose who knew that the law required these things..

If Jesus said, “Let her go,” the teachers and Pharisees could accuse him of breaking Moses’ Law. On the other hand, if Jesus gave them permission to stone her, he would be breaking Roman law, which did not allow death for anyone without the government’s approval.

So what does Jesus do?

6b But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

There is this build-up of tension—the arrival of the teachers and Pharisees at the Temple courtyard, along with the woman who had been caught. The group strides purposefully toward Jesus; the crowd makes room for them to come closer to their target; the case is presented with boldness and perhaps not a little bit of arrogance. The question is posed: “Now what do you say?”

And Jesus refuses to walk into the trap. He brings the drama to a screeching halt by simply bending down and starting to write on the ground. In the Mediterranean world at that time, and even now, Jesus’ non verbal actions are recognized as an act of refusal and disengagement with the drama as it has been presented.

The teachers and the Pharisees, however, persisted because they recognized Jesus’ refusal, which was a non-answer. They wanted an answer.

7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

With one simple sentence, Jesus takes the teachers and the Pharisees—and the crowd that he was teaching—straight to the heart of the matter. The Greek phrase for “the one without sin” is about sin that is linked to actions. Jesus is calling these men to accountability for their past actions and how they have obeyed (or not obeyed) the Law—the same law that they have been willing to distort in order to entrap Jesus. The superficial cause of the situation was a legal issue; Jesus shows them that the real situation is a moral one.

By making his statement, Jesus puts the teachers and the Pharisees on equal ground with the woman who was caught in adultery.

In our Sunday Bible study time, we have been working on a Christian discussion guide titled “Don’t All Religions Lead to God?” It is an interesting study that challenges us to consider perspectives held by non-Christians. What I have noticed in each of our weekly meetings is that, because our entire group is Christian, our conversation can easily become “us and them.” Whether “them” may be atheists, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses or some other non-Christian group, it is easier to depersonalize and label a group as “them” than it is to wrestle with real faces, real friendships, real people.

Jesus reveals to us that there is no “us” and “them” when it comes to matters of the law, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” When we behave as the teachers and the Pharisees, we are deceiving ourselves, for we are no better than the people whom we denigrate.

When I was a senior in college, I took a seminar called “Racism and Darwin.” The material and discussions revolved around the biological reasons humankind has used in the past to justify racism. One observation that my Caucasian professor shared with us was that, it was not unusual for him to hear Caucasian colleagues speak condescendingly about other races when the company was homogenous. Although in mixed company, my professor would observe these same people speaking and behaving very graciously to people of other races.

We need to recognize that the ground is level at the foot of the cross—none of us are better than the other, although we would like to believe it is so. Jesus, however, knows the truth and tell the truth.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

“The older ones first”—those men who have lived more of life and can recognize the truth. The older teachers and Pharisees would have been the most senior and the most respected members of the community, and even they are not without sin.

As each of the teachers and Pharisees walk away, they leave the woman, who thus far has been only an object in this drama. The scripture does not mention the observing crowd, but it is a pretty good assumption that they too, remain, waiting to see what will happen. For there has only been one person who could rightfully throw that first stone (let he who is without sin cast the first stone), and he was stooped down, writing on the ground.

10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11 "No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Jesus does not treat the woman like an object. She is a human being, created in the image of God. Jesus addresses her directly and allows her to have voice, to speak for herself. To her credit, she did not run off when the teachers and Pharisees melted away. She did not come up with a litany of excuses, and neither did she try to push some of the guilt on the missing male partner-in-crime. She stated the simple, truthful answer to Jesus question: “No one, sir.”

Jesus then pronounces her acquittal—he does not condemn her. Yet he also does not minimize her sin, nor does he cover it up. Instead, he shows her mercy by giving her the opportunity for a new beginning: to go and leave her life of sin. He does not say to modify her sin, lessen it, make it more manageable or to forget it. He tells her to GO now and LEAVE her life of sin. Recognize that it is wrong and leave it. Go and live a new path.

As we walk the journey of our faith, we will fail in many times and places. We will fail in big ways and we will fail in small ways. When I began this message, I talked about one particular type of failure—a sin of omission, if you will—which is not taking a stand in the places where the world and the devil are at the moment attacking.

The headline example of this is the issue of same sex marriages, but there are many other places where God’s word is being attacked. There is the idol of money and the security it claims to provide. There is the pursuit of success, defined by the world’s standards. There is the self-centered ethos that pervades our consumer culture. There is abject poverty. Children are abused. Entire ethnicities are targeted for annihilation. In countless ways, God’s word is undermined, ignored and violated every day of our lives. We can be the teachers and the Pharisees, pointing fingers at “them,” not recognizing that we too are complicit in the state of our society today. Or we can be the woman caught in adultery, recognizing our sin, overwhelmed with fear by what our wrongdoing will bring.

In either case, Jesus demonstrates grace. For both the teachers and Pharisees as well as the woman, Jesus offers us the truth and gives us a way to move forward.

Does this mean that I am now going to become the “caped crusader” for marriage between a man and woman in the state of California? Well, don’t look for me in the papers. J What this week—and this scripture—have taught me is that I need to walk as Jesus walked—with compassion, recognizing that no person or group is an object but that all are loved and created by God. At the same time, Jesus does not condone sin. Instead, he offers grace liberally, showing us that grace opens new doors for new opportunities.

This week, I encourage you to consider the ways in which you have failed, whether as a Pharisee or as the woman or perhaps in some other way. Meditate—think upon—this passage in John and ask Jesus what he has to say (or not to say) to you regarding your failures. For it is clear that Jesus is the one who has the authority to forgive us for our failures, and it is only from him that we may receive the blessing of grace to “go and sin no more.”

2008.06.15 Prayer: How should we pray? (Part 3)

Scripture: Matthew 6: 11-13

Last week, as we looked at the first half of the Lord’s prayer, I began by mentioning how we communicate in different ways for different purposes. And I raised the question of how does one properly communicate with the God Almighty? What we started to see last week, and what will become more evident today, is that prayer to God is confession. Not confession in the sense of admitting wrongdoing, but confession in the sense of saying what it is that you believe—to confess is to affirm something or to claim something.

For example, if we ask God to give us peace, we are also stating that we believe that God is able to give that peace.
This may seem to be a simple observation, but consider that we do not often confess in our daily lives, particularly when they may be things that go against the grain. If you do not support the legal decision to allow gays and lesbians to marry (which starts tomorrow), how often have your voiced that opinion in the workplace or some other group where it is the minority opinion? The same goes for other controversial issues, like abortion and capital punishment. It can also apply to the simple act of expressing your faith.

Here in the Bay Area, where there is probably more hostility than the majority of our country toward Christians and the Christian church, how often do you find yourself stating what it is that you believe, or “confessing”? I would venture to guess not very often, but there could be exceptions.

In that perspective, the Lord’s Prayer, which is a confession of what we believe, is a radical thing. The longer that you are in the church, the more that the Lord’s Prayer may become part of the furniture—available, comfortable and not given much notice or thought. When we recite it, we often recite it from memory, going through the phrases like it is a routine.

However, if we can stop and consider that prayer is confession—that prayer is stating what it is that we believe, then when we look at the Lord’s prayer, we can see that it is a powerful affirmation of God’s presence and power.

How, then, should we pray? Jesus gives us this prayer as model.

6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
" `Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
6:10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
6:12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
6:13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'

Our Father in heaven:
You are Abba/Daddy/Papa: one who knows us and loves us, one with whom we are safe.

Hallowed be your name.
As one scholar described it, “The [Lord’s] prayer is intimate and direct, but not chummy. It preserves the awesome holiness of God.” You are holy.

Your kingdom come.
What we want is for you, God, to reign here.

Your will be done.
We ask that it is your will, and not ours that takes precedence. And may it be done here as it is in heaven.

These are things that we asking God and at same time, they are bold theological statements, about what it is that we believe and what we want.

Today we look at the second half of the prayer and its three “We” petitions:
Give US this day our daily bread
Forgive US our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors
And lead US not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one

Again, as we look at these we will find that they ask God for something and simultaneously are declaring a truth about God that we claiming and even committing to living out.

Give us this day our daily bread.

The common understanding of daily bread here is our physical needs—the things that we require to function each day. There was a quote that I put into the newsletter this week about the movement to live a more simple life. The focus of the main article was a man who is working to reduce his personal possessions to 100 things. This doesn’t even include the basics of water, food, shelter. He’s just trying to pare down to 100 possessions, and he is finding that it is a really difficult task.
When we pray, “give us this day our daily bread,” what do you consider your daily bread to be? What are the essentials that you are asking God to provide for your day? Jesus lived and worked among the poor. When he taught this prayer, the poor understood what it meant to ask for daily bread. What is it that you are asking for when you pray this line?

Part of the challenge when we pray this part of the prayer is to reflect on what it is that we are truly asking for. The other part of the challenge is to recognize that when we utter these words, we are confessing that we believe that it is God, and not our own efforts that will provide whatever it is that our daily bread may be. Again—it is not our efforts, our work, our time, our energy, but it is God, through his grace, who provides.

Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors

Consistent with the rest of the Bible, an assumption that Jesus makes here is that every person who comes before God is guilty and needs forgiveness. This simple assumption is anathema to many today, who believe that they are innately good and only screw up from time to time. Here, Jesus teaches that all of us are to pray for forgiveness from the holy one. We do not pray this presuming forgiveness, but we do pray it with confidence—just like when you need to apologize to a trusted friend. With genuine repentance, you do not presume that your friend will forgive you, but you do apologize with confidence, trusting in the strength of your bond together. So we pray “forgive us our debts,” followed by “as we also have forgiven others.”

In claiming that God is the one who forgives us, we recognize that it would be tremendously hypocritical to then turn around and not forgive others. There are multiple places in the Bible where it is made clear that the extent to which we forgive others is the extent to which we will be forgiven. I find this sobering—it means that I should forgive generously and freely because that is what I want and need for myself.

Lastly, And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one

We have confessed that it is God upon whom we depend for our daily bread, and it is God who is able to forgive. In this last petition, we are acknowledging that it is God who is more powerful than the evil one, and it is by God’s power, through God’s help, that we will be able to turn away from temptation and be delivered from the evil one.

So from these three WE petitions, we declare that it is God who is the source of our daily bread. It is God to whom we have to ask forgiveness and from whom we may receive that forgiveness. It is also God who can help us overcome temptation. Again, just like the first half of the prayer, we are making some strong assertions about the character of God as well as our position before God.

Additionally, the WE petitions—the phrases where we are asking for something—give us some important questions to think about. What are we asking for when we ask for daily bread? What are the debts for which we are asking forgiveness? To what extent have I forgiven those who have done wrong toward me? What are the temptations for which I am asking for help?

There is a LOT in this prayer that gives challenge. As in the prior weeks, I’m going to close this time by giving us the opportunity to pray. I want to ask you to take a moment first to consider the 3 WE petitions—is there something there that you can pray about with God? Daily bread, forgiveness for yourself or toward others or temptations?

We’ll close this time by saying the Lord’s Prayer together.

Pastor SKA

2008.06.08 Prayer: How should we pray? (Part 2)

Scripture: Matthew 6: 9-13

During the course of any given week, we engage in different kinds of communication—written, oral, and non-verbal. We made adjustments depending on what the mode may be—for example, if I want you to stop, in written form, it would be “STOP!!” In oral form, it would be “Stop!” In non-verbal form, it would be (hand held out).

When communicating, we also make adjustments depending on several other factors: is it one-sided or interactive; is it for one person or for many; is it for a child or an adult.

When approaching prayer, I believe that many of us simply take one of our standard ways of communicating and apply it to God. The problem here is that God is not just anyone. God is GOD. That fact alone should cause us to pause and ask, how does one properly communicate with the God of the Universe? Is there a special formula?

Jesus answers this question in our text from Matthew, Chapter 6. Last week we looked at how Jesus emphasized that when we are praying—and it was a WHEN we pray, not IF we pray—when we are praying, we are addressing God and no other, and we should say what we need to say (no babbling necessary).

Because he was the brilliant teacher that he was, Jesus then moves from the negatives (the “don’t do this” stuff) to the positive. In Verse 9: “This, then, is how you should pray.” And he proceeds to teach the disciples and the crowd what we call the Lord’s Prayer. We’re going to look at the first half of this prayer today and then take some time at the end to actually pray.

From Matthew, Chapter 6:

6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
" `Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
6:10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
6:12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
6:13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'

Those of you who are familiar with this prayer will notice that the last line is missing from the Matthew text. Traditionally, we end this prayer with “For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.” That last line comes from a doxology—an expression of praise to God. That doxology can be found in the Old Testament, in First Chronicles 29:11-13.

As the church developed through history, some of the oldest Greek texts of the Bible were lost. Somewhere during the period before the Greek texts were rediscovered, the common English form of the Lord’s Prayer began to include the doxology. Although that last line is not part of Jesus’ original teaching, we in the church continue to include it because it does not alter the meaning of the prayer and it is an appropriate ending.

Back to the text:

Jesus said, “This then, is how you should pray,” and he starts with “our Father in heaven.” It was common in Jesus’ day for both Jews and Greeks to address God as “Father.” The common synagogue invocation was “our Father, our King.” Jesus also addresses God as Father but he does it in a slightly different manner.

First of all, he addresses God as “Father” in Aramaic, which was the common language of the people. In fact, the entire Lord’s Prayer was taught by Jesus in Aramaic. Hebrew was what was used in official synagogue liturgy.

This situation is similar to how, prior to the 1960’s, the Catholic church used only Latin in its liturgies. Imagine—if you were a Catholic before the mid-1960’s, you would go to church and the entire service would be in Latin! How boring is that?

However, after the 2nd Vatican Council concluded in 1965, the Catholic church began to allow the use of the vernacular (or native language) in worship services. The reason for this change was to encourage the people in the pews to actively participate in the worship service. For if they could understand what was being said, they were more likely to be engaged in what was going on.

In that same sense, Jesus taught this prayer in the language of the people. It is meant to be an accessible prayer, something that anyone can engage with.

And because the prayer was in Aramaic, Jesus used his characteristic address to God, which was “Abba.” You may have heard before that “Abba” is similar to “daddy,” a child’s term of endearment, like Papa or Appa. Abba was also used by adult children in addressing their fathers.

Stop and consider this a moment. Imagine calling someone “Daddy” versus “Father.” Both words have the same meaning technically, but the subjective meaning is very different.

Either way, Jesus’ use of Abba communicates the intimate personal connection of Jesus to God. Jesus did not use the word “Father” as a general term for the deity, as did the Greeks and Jews. Rather, he used the word Abba because Abba, for Jesus, means the one who loves, forgives and knows how to give good gifts to his children.

Abba Father. Our Father in heaven.
This opening address is followed by three “Your” petitions:
--hallowed be YOUR name
--YOUR kingdom come
--YOUR will be done

As is fitting, when we pray to God, it is not about us, but about God. So we start there, expressing our honor of him.

I’ve never met a famous person—famous in the sense of an entertainment star—what I would do if I did? On TV, people gush when they meet a big star. They talk about whatever movie, show or music that the star was involved with and how much they “loved it!!” They first honor that person for his or her accomplishments. If we can spontaneously do that with folks whose greatest talent is pretending to be someone that they are not, then how much more so should we approach the God who loves us unconditionally?

So we start by focusing on God first, no ourselves, and we give honor to God, which leads us to the first YOUR petition:

Hallowed be your name.
In the Biblical world, a name is not just a label; it represented the reality and presence of that person. So when we say hallowed, or holy, be your name, we are praying that God be honored as who he is, God, the Holy One.

Notice then, that although the prayer is addressed to the Abba Father, we balance that intimacy and that direct access with respect for who God is.

There are children—my youngest being among them—who understand the intimacy of a relationship with a parent but not necessarily the respect. They are comfortable with the parent, they know they are safe and they enjoy being there. However, what they don’t understand is respect. My youngest likes to push me in the mouth and pull my clothes when I am holding him. I was once in a private meeting with our school principal. __ played with his crayons for about 5 minutes before he decided to climb up on my chair and literally crawl all over me, including my head. I was mortified, but the principal was gracious enough to take it all in stride.

__ behaves like this b/c he is close with me but has thus far not learned proper respect. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus shows us that God is our Abba Father—God is close, God is available, God is safe—and at the same time, we pray “hallowed be your name.” Because although God loves us and knows us personally, at the same time God is holy and should be honored as such. It is intimacy with respect.

Your kingdom come

Although the times of castles, knights and kings and queens has long passed, the Church, through the Bible, retains Kingdom language. For a person who was not raised in the church, this vocabulary can sound archaic—Kingdom, King. However, the concept of a king is still easily understood. But what about “kingdom”? I’ve always imagined “your kingdom come” to be something like a grand castle or even a city descending on the clouds from up above. This image was reinforced by the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven,” which is found 32 times in the Gospel of Matthew.

As I did some study, though, I found that the Biblical concept of the kingdom is not a physical place. “Kingdom” is what can be called a verbal noun. A good example of a verbal noun is the word “love” in the phrase “love of God.” Love in that context means God’s acting in love for others. “May the love of God be with you.”

In the same way, “kingdom” means God’s active rule or reign. God’s kingdom is not an abstraction in and of itself but is God’s act—the power of God functioning as a King.

Your kingdom come—may God’s power, God’s rule be in effect. When we pray, “your kingdom come,” we are asking that God may reign here; that God’s power is what is preeminent.

And lastly, Your will be done

This phrase is how the Kingdom is to come—it is by God’s will being done. Just as God’s will is done in heaven, may it be done here where we are.

It is a simple phrase to say—just four words—“your will be done,” but its implications are huge. When we pray this, we are declaring that what we want is for God’s will to be done. That is over and above what we may “will,” or what we wish to do.

The last part of this first half of the Lord’s Prayer is the phrase “on earth as it is in heaven.” In heaven, God’s name is hallowed, or acknowledged as holy. In heaven, God does reign as King. In heaven, God’s will is done.

So as we pray the first part of this prayer, we are asking that what is there in heaven may be done here where we are. And because it was Jesus, the Son of God, who taught us this prayer, we already have caught a glimpse of what heaven looks like when it is here.

It is called the “already not yet” principle: Jesus has come. Through his life, crucifixion and resurrection, we have already seen God’s name be hallowed, God’s kingdom reigning over the earth and God’s will being done. At the same time, this world has not yet been perfected, or in other words, made whole. That will happen at the final coming. “Already..not yet.”

So we pray this prayer with confidence, knowing that what we ask is possible—because it has happened already—and yet still asking b/c there is so much left to be done, including in our own hearts and minds.

So now we’re going to take some time to pray. If you are more comfortable praying with a partner, then find one. But whether you pray with someone or alone, consider meditating upon this first half of the Lord’s Prayer—Our Abba Father in heaven, holy be your name, may you reign as King here and may your will be done here as it is in heaven.

LET US PRAY.

Pastor SKA