Proper 12
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Lectionary C
Remember the comic “Peanuts”?
Linus kneeling by his bed has an epiphany! He can’t wait to tell Lucy: “I think I’ve made a theological discovery! … If you hold your hands upside down, you get the opposite of what you pray for.”
Look, prayer is not a magic lamp to rub in a crisis. Prayers of self-centered demands on God are rarely answered. If you think prayer is difficult, you’re in very good company. Even the disciples were clueless, “Jesus, teach us to pray!”
And He did with the Lord’s Prayer.
In Italian, they say: “Padre nostro, che sei nei cieli, sia antificato il tuo nome.”
In Japanese, “Ten ni orareru watashi-tachi no Chichi yo, minna ga sei to saremasu yo ni.”
In Swahili, “Baba yetu uliye mbiguni, jina lako litukuzwe.”
And in English, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”
We memorize the words, recite them without thought, until the words become meaningless. But when we are desperate, and we try to pray, and don’t know how, we cry out like the disciples: “Teach us to pray!”
So how do we use this ancient teaching in the 21st century? A personal translation might help. Why not write it now? Go ahead. Get a pen and paper. I’ll wait.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
How could you say that in your own words?
Gracious God in glory, You are magnificent.
Heavenly father in the Kingdom, You surpass everything I can imagine.
My Creator who lives in perfection, flawless, complete.
I once led a bunch of teenagers in this exercise, and one student wrote:
“Yo, Daddy, chillin’ in your crib … You da man!”
Write down your version.
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Bring us Your glory, change the world, bring us to perfection.
What does this say to you? Write it down.
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
What do you need? Today? What do you need to survive? To flourish? Tell what you need. Write it down.
“And forgive us our debts …”
What keeps you up at night? What festers your guilt? What needs to be purged from your soul? Write it down.
“… as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Does somebody owe you something? Are you carrying resentment? Do you realize that they experience none of your anxiety? Why poison your own soul for something someone else did? Write it down.
Goodridge
“And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one”
Avoiding sin is so much easier when we’re not tempted! What trials would you like God to remove? What temptations are too much for you to bear? How do you want God to protect you? Write it down.
Read your personal Lord’s Prayer again. Now all you need to do is pray it!
– Fr. Rob Goodridge is rector of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Titusville.