Lord's Prayer as a Rule of Life: Temptations

 As we close out this study of the Lord’s Prayer, we come full circle to remember that even in our temptations and amid the evils of the world, God really does hold the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory! Our final part of this journey brings us to the place where we attempt to use the way we live to “point to the reality of the kingdom (the peaceable reign) of God, and we seek to embody the beloved community, where each person strives for and celebrates the dignity and flourishing of every beloved child of God as much as we do for ourselves.” (A Church That Looks and Acts Like Jesus – The Episcopal Church) Living the entirety of the Lord's Prayer helps us embody this community where we celebrate the dignity and rights of all.

In the Lord's Prayer we ask to be saved from temptation and delivered from evil. You can download the slides from this week. 

Prayers of the Cosmos notes that ‘lead us not into temptation’ could and should be more fully translated as ‘don’t let us enter’ or ‘be seduced by the appearance of’ [what seems good]. “The prayer reminds us not to forget our origins in creation and the divine Breath, nor to “burn out” over all that needs to be done.” (pg. 35) In other words, “don’t let us be deluded by the surface of life, but neither let us become so inward and self-absorbed that we cannot act simply and humanly at the right time.”

Prayers of the Cosmos notes that ‘lead us not into temptation’ could and should be more fully translated as ‘don’t let us enter’ or ‘be seduced by the appearance of’ [what seems good]. “The prayer reminds us not to forget our origins in creation and the divine Breath, nor to “burn out” over all that needs to be done.” (pg. 35) In other words, “don’t let us be deluded by the surface of life, but neither let us become so inward and self-absorbed that we cannot act simply and humanly at the right time.”

Living the entirety of the Lord’s prayer helps us embody this community where we celebrate the dignity of all.

In the Lord’s Prayer we ask to be saved from temptation and delivered from evil. Slides for this week are here.

Prayers of the Cosmos notes that ‘lead us not into temptation’ could and should be more fully translated as ‘don’t let us enter’ or ‘be seduced by the appearance of’ [what seems good]. “The prayer reminds us not to forget our origins in creation and the divine Breath, nor to “burn out” over all that needs to be done.” (pg. 35) In other words, “don’t let us be deluded by the surface of life, but neither let us become so inward and self-absorbed that we cannot act simply and humanly at the right time.”

Jesus, as we know was, tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) In thinking about Jesus’ time of temptation I am struck by how his three temptations mirror some of the ways we are tempted (Matthew 4:1-11). They are about taking the seemingly easy way or the way the proves we are special. They are about assuming the Kingdom, Power, and Glory the ‘easy way’.

In Matthew’s Gospel we hear that Satan suggested Jesus Turn stones to bread as a way to show the Kingdom of God by feeding himself and everyone. How often am I tempted to convince myself that something earthly is really feeding me? Jesus’ reply is to point to the One who really controls the Kingdom. He says, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

How often am I tempted to do something grand, or to prove I’m special or ‘powerful’ by something I do?

How often am I tempted to do something grand, or to prove I’m special or ‘powerful’ by something I do?

Then Satan suggested a way for Jesus to show his Power: Throw yourself off the temple. Jesus responds sternly, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. How often am I tempted to do something grand to prove my 'power'?

Finally Satan shows Jesus All the Kingdoms of the world, with the offer to give them to Jesus. How often am I tempted to think that one more possession or one more activity will give me the peace, affirmation, love, and joy (the GLORY) that really are ONLY found in God. Jesus points to the only way to really find the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.

We are all tempted by desires and needs. How do we get past those temptations? We must do that by tending the fire of faith. Deborah Smith Douglas says that as humans, our response to a weak fire of faith is to “shrug and let the tiresome thing go out…a “temptation as a kind of irritable weariness.” (pg. 89-90) She notes, “Isaiah reminds us that God deals tenderly with those who are struggling [and] a dimly burning wick he will not quench (Isaiah 42:3) In the Second Letter to Timothy, Paul admonishes Timothy to rekindle the gift of God that is within you…God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:6) God tends to our flickering faith when we allow God to be in control.

The second part of the phrase pleads deliver us from evil. We look at the news and see the evils of war, school shootings, injustice, oppression, climate change, starvation, etc., etc. We think we are surrounded by evil and there is no way out. We can fall into the trap of thinking evil has won. However, NT Wright says the Lord’s Prayer “keeps the proper balance. Jesus intends his followers to recognize not only the reality of evil but the reality of his victory over it.” (pg. 71) As the Easter hymn says “Christ has won the victory!”

But we easily forget that truth when we see the turmoil around us. We can fall into despair. We are tempted to give up and we forget to trust God who numbers the hairs of our head. Wright claims, “By giving us this prayer…Jesus invites us to walk ahead into the darkness and discover that it, too, belongs to God…God will triumph over fear, will deliver us from evil, and will bring his Kingdom at last.” (pg. 76) The truth is, God is with us in the darkness!

Max Lucado reminds us that the evil that Satan tries to do, backfires throughout the Bible. He mentions Sarah’s childlessness (and the temptation to take matters into their own hands). There is Daniel in captivity, yet counseling the king. There is Peter’s denial which simply became an example of grace, and Paul’s letters from prison that still inspire us. “Over and over the Bible makes it clear who really runs the earth. Satan may strut and prance, but it’s God who calls the shots.” (pg. 146)

When we pray lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil, we are reminded that God is God, God is love, God is in ALL even (esp.?) suffering. We can respond to evil, as PB Curry says, with the Way of Love. Evil is defeated when we as in loving solidarity with the face of God in each other. In her March 2022 Newsletter Joyce Rupp quotes St. Aelred of Rievaulx, a 12^th century writer: “In a single act of love hold the entire world in your heart. There consider all the good people together and rejoice. There look upon the evil and lament. Gaze upon those in trouble and oppressed and share their suffering.” She goes on to say, “While we ought not to absorb another’s suffering—this just adds to the sorrow or pain—we can connect to the love within us, deliberately send it forth to support and strengthen those who hurt, and then engage in some action to help alleviate that suffering. How much good can happen if we make an effort to be truly compassionate.” (Rupp 3/1 Newsletter)

The entire Lord’s Prayer is encouragement live a rule of life that impacts your corner of the world for good, as the Talmud and Jane Goodall both point out. 

We end the prayer as we began by remembering that Yours is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever and ever. Amen. We are called to live into that Kingdom, that Beloved Community and to bear witness to it. Yet it is only in the giving up of ourselves and centering on Jesus way of Love that we have any hope of succeeding.

Lucado brings us back to how we are being tempted to take the power and glory and kingdom for ourselves when he reminds us “there are certain mountains only God can climb… Mt. Messiah…Mt. Self-Sufficient…Mt. Applause…as you confess God is in charge you admit that you aren’t. As you proclaim that God has power, you admit that you don’t. As you give God all the applause, there is none left to dizzy your brain.” (pg. 166-7)

In my book, The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love, I say, “Through the Lord’s Prayer we ask for help to forgive, to find strength, and to live so that ‘your will [is] be done on earth as in heaven.’ God is with us and God will not leave us. God will love us even if we sometimes slip into temptations or fear. God is the loving Father we address in the Lord’s Prayer. God is fully and totally love. Our response as the Beloved Community, as Kingdom people, is to hold the pain and fear of the world in and to God’s love.”(Davis, pg. 78)

Elizabeth Gilbert writes on Episcopal Café, “what if you are the light? What if you are the very agent of illumination that a dark situation begs for?...When life feels especially grim, or when I feel particularly powerless in the face of the world’s troubles, I ask myself, What can I do, right now, to be the light? Of course, I can’t personally end all wars, or solve global warming, or transform vexing people into entirely different creatures. I definitely can’t control traffic. But I do have some influence on everyone I brush up against, even if we never speak or learn each other’s name. No matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated, one bright act of grace at a time…”

May you have a Blessed Holy Week and Easter. See you on the 24th for a new series.

Lord's Prayer as a Rule of Life: Forgive

 During Lent we’re working through the Lord’s Prayer and how it can be used to inform our Rule of Life. We’ve seen that when you truly hear the words and think about them, they are a call to much deeper action, and a fuller Christian life. We’ve seen that praying Our Father is linked to centering on Jesus and God as Holy Love. Your Kingdom Come makes us aware that we need to let go of “my way” for God’s way. Last week we discerned that the Daily Bread we pray for is a way of being in solidarity with all creation. The slides for this week can be downloaded. 

The Lord’s Prayer is, as NT Wright says, a subversive prayer. We are asked to share our bread, to let go of our way for God’s way. We are called to honor the Holy in one another. Becoming a Church says, “We must break free of the church’s identification with domination systems, empire, establishment, privilege, and social and cultural traditions that have held us captive—and get back in touch with the risk-taking, liberating ways of Jesus.” That’s pretty counter-cultural, and indeed subversive.

This week we think about what we mean when we pray Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. . NT Wright calls the disciples (us), the “new Exodus people, the forgiveness of sins people…were to live, in each village or town, as a cell of kingdom-people…loyal to Jesus and his kingdom-vision.” (pg. 54) 

Jesus had a lot to say about forgiving. He warns, whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. (Mark 11:25) and in Matthew: But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:15) St. Paul reminds us that we are to Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Eph 4:32) Paul continues, in chapter five. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Forgiving like that is easier said than done. Only in the power of the God of love can we really forgive those who wrong us. And only in the grace of God can we hope to be forgiven for the multiple times we, knowingly or not, oppress or hurt others.

The disciples struggled with the concept of forgiveness. The Pharisees said that you should forgive a person three times. Peter asks Jesus about this in the Gospel of Matthew “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22) On March 22,2022 Canon Rose Duncan of Washington National Cathedral offered a homily on forgiveness based on this citation. Duncan defines forgiveness as a process, but not a ‘get out of jail free’ card that eliminates responsibility or consequences. (It's about 5 1/2 minutes into the Morning Prayer.)

Last Sunday many of us heard sermons on the extravagant forgiveness of the father of the Prodigal Son. NT Wright talks about this story. He says, “If the father in the story had intended to merely tolerate the son, he would not have been running down the road to meet him. Forgiveness is richer and higher and harder and more shocking than we usually think.” (pg. 51) CS Lewis notes, “We agree that forgiveness is a beautiful idea until we have to practice it.”

Max Lucado remarks that unforgiveness is like a prison in which you put yourself. (pg. 123) Tapping into the Love of God, running to meet the one who wronged us, asking forgiveness when we do wrong…all ways to be imitators of Christ.

In my book, The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love I use other translations of the Lord’s Prayer to help give insights. “The New Zealand Prayer Book says, ‘In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.’ Using the word “hurt” reminds us that we are either physically, or emotionally, harming another who, like us, is an image of God. Realizing that we owe one another reconciliation and forgiveness, the Syrian Aramaic translation asks that we ‘loose the cords of mistakes binding us as we release the strands we hold of others’ faults.’ This notes that we are bound together even when we sin against one another. It is only in letting go of the way(s) we have hurt or wronged others that we can be truly free. It is in offering reconciliation (restoring relationship) that we free ourselves to move forward. The word itself is rooted in the Latin reconciliare, meaning to bring back together.” (Davis, pg 54)

It can be hard to forgive. Even remembering that forgiveness doesn’t excuse the fault but simply releases us, it is difficult. There are examples of those who forgive even after great atrocities. Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian woman who, along with her family, was imprisoned by the Nazis because they had been hiding Jews from the Nazis. Corrie witnessed the death of her beloved family members [in concentration camp] and, therefore, had an understandable hatred for the guards who treated them so terribly. Yet, after the war, when facing one of those guards, Corrie remembered how Christ had forgiven her and asked for help to forgive the guard. As she extended her hand to this man in obedience to God, she felt overwhelming love. Writing about this experience in her book, The Hiding Place, she says, “And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on [Christ’s]. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.” (p. 247).

We can allow unforgiveness to keep us in prison and tied down. Or we can practice offering God’s love by becoming the “new Exodus people…loyal to Jesus and his kingdom-vision.” We can reclaim our identity as those “in touch with the risk-taking, liberating ways of Jesus.” We can forgive seventy-seven times and be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love…a sacrifice to God.

A prayer exercise you may want to try: Tie knots in a rope or piece of heavy twine. Make one knot for each hurt or trespass you need to forgive or be forgiven for. Pray over each knot, and as you are able to let go of that issue, untie the knot.

(Notice that a basic knot starts out as a heart-and remember that God’s will is love not punishment.)

 

Lord's Prayer as a Rule of Life: Daily Bread and Community

 We continue looking at the Lord’s Prayer as a model for a Rule of Life. So far, we have looked at how our Christian journey is most fulfilling when we Center on Jesus. By being Centered, we find ourselves called into self-less, self-giving, cruciform love. Our Rule of Life reflects that desire as we consider ways to live in a way that gives up our will and fully offers our gifts back to God. It can require that “our will be undone.”

This week we move onto the seemingly simple phrase "Give us this day our daily bread." In light our our responsibility as members of the Body of Christ, this is not quite so easy. The slides from the class can be downloaded. 

Using the Lord’s Prayer as a blueprint for a Rule of Life we discover that we are called into community. Like the early church, Becoming a Church calls for us to “Unite around the practice of a rule of life in small gathered communities. These kinds of groups—small circles of people who support each other in following Jesus with intention and accountability—are necessary for cultivating Christ-centered life.” Acts 2:44-45 tells us that after Pentecost, all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.

What might it mean in our culture? We think we need more and more to prove that we are successful and happy. Max Lucado notes that “God is committed to caring for our needs…we pray, only to find our prayer already answered!” (Great House of God, pg. 100-101) Lucado goes on to remind us that “we simply take our place at the table and gladly trust God to ‘give us this day our daily bread.’”

The Lord’s Prayer tells us that we are to ask for our daily bread, an acknowledgement that we must have food to survive. Like the manna given to the Israelites in the wilderness, God gives us what we need. Because our God is a God of abundance, we can freely share our bread with the less fortunate and not risk losing out ourselves. However, we might ask ourselves, “How much do I really need?” Can I simply rest and trust that God will indeed supply what I need?”

Sometimes different translations give us new insights into the words of a familiar prayer. The New Zealand Prayer Book version uses the phrase, “With the bread we need for today, feed us,” while a translation from Syrian Aramaic expands the request to be, “Grant what we need each day in bread and insight.” Leslie Leyland Fields wrote her own version of the Lord’s Prayer including the line, “we ask, would you give us each day the food we need (but no more, no less, so we live by trust more than food)?” Alan Redpath translates the words “Give us this day bread suited to our need.” (Victorious Praying)

How would you paraphrase the familiar words?

In my book, The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love, I say, “We long to be fed by God, as a child is fed, or as a lover enjoys the company of her beloved. This phrase of the Lord’s Prayer is much more than a request for food. It is the desire of our heart reaching out to God…Praying for our daily bread is much more than a request for food. It is, if we allow it to be, an offering of ourselves to sit with God as our beloved and be filled with the simplest of joys and love.”

That relationship of lover and beloved between us and God leads us into transformed inter-personal relationships. Deborah Smith Douglas calls this the “pastoral function of friendship, stretching out our hands to each other, bearing each other’s burdens…a ministry to which we are all called as part of our membership in the Body of Christ and for which we are all gifted.” (The Praying Life, pg. 75) Douglas quotes Alan Jones (Dean Emeritus of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco)  who notes, “one of the purposes of the spiritual life is that we hold up mirrors for each other that we may better see ourselves as we really are.” (pg. 74)

NT Wright says that “this clause [in the Lord’s Prayer] reminds us that God intends us to pray for specific needs…once we put the prayer for daily bread within the whole kingdom-prayer where it belongs, to turn then to the specific things we honestly need right now is not trivial. It is precisely what children do when they love and trust the one they call ‘father’.” (The Lord & His Prayer, pg. 44-45)

Wright goes on to say the clause makes it “impossible truly to pray for our daily bread…without being horribly aware of the millions who didn’t have bread yesterday, don’t have any today, and in human terms are unlikely to have any tomorrow either. But what can we do about this, as we pray this prayer in church and go home to our Sunday lunch?” (pg 45) Then Wright brings us back to the need for community by saying that not only should we give, as best we can…become more politically sensitive, [etc.]…we should be praying this prayer not just for the hungry, but with the hungry, and all who are desperate from whatever deep need. We should see ourselves, as we pray the Lord’s Prayer, as part of the wider Christian family, the human family, standing alongside the hungry, and praying, in that sense, on their behalf.” (pg. 47)

As you work on our Rule of life this week, ask these questions:

What if praying for Daily Bread is linked to the next clause about forgiveness and not misusing all that God provides, and allowing enough for all?

What action of community might you be urged toward?

You may want to take time to meditate on these images and ask what they say about community. One is by a 13-year-old and the other by an adult. 

What can we say about these lines in our Rule of Life?

What do they say about being part of a community and our need for community and sharing of daily bread?

Next week we’ll move on to Forgive as we are forgiven.

Lord's Prayer as a Rule of Life: Intro

 Welcome to this Lenten study of the Lord’s Prayer as a Rule of Life, based on The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love by Cynthia Davis, and a few other resources. During Lent this blog will give an overview of the Zoom study several of us are engaged in. You can download the slides from the Thursday evening sessions here. If you want to join the weekly study, email Cindy.

Each week we’ll open with prayer, sharing of our inspiration, reflect on the book(s) and scripture and close in prayer. This week our opening prayer was the Lord’s Prayer sung in Ukranian.

As part of the study, we covenant together to pray the Lord’s Prayer at least once a day and to really listen to the words. Sometimes when a prayer is very familiar, we speed through it without thinking about the words. You may want to pray through different versions of the Prayer. Some are found in The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love and online.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church invites us to “Become a church that looks and acts like Jesus.” Our goal in this study is to participate in the Becoming a Church model that says, “We are becoming a new and re-formed church…individuals, small, gathered communities and congregations whose way of life is the way of Jesus and his way of love, no longer centered on empire and establishment, no longer fixated on preserving institutions, no longer shoring up white supremacy or anything else that hurts or harms any child of God. By God’s grace—WE ARE BECOMING A CHURCH THAT LOOKS AND ACTS LIKE JESUS.”

We’ll use the Lord’s Prayer as a blueprint for ways to:

•          Center on Jesus Christ
•          Practice the selfless, self-giving way of the cross
•          Unite around the practice of a rule of life in small, gathered communities
•         Reclaim our Christian identity as a Spirit-driven, countercultural, underground movement
•         Live and bear bold witness to the vision and values of Jesus

Recently I’ve begun reading Canon Stephanie Spellers book The Church Cracked Open. In the introduction, Spellers notes, “Like our forebearers, we have to embrace uncertainty and loss, humbly recenter our lives with the margins, and fundamentally redefine what is holy, what is worship, and what makes us a follower of Jesus.” She refers to the woman who breaks the alabaster jar of ointment for Jesus noting, she “takes something precious and breaks it... [because Jesus] was the holy one, the center of her world, and she had reoriented her life around him as her focus…[we need] to recenter away from empire and onto God and God’s dream…live more like children made in the image of our unselfishly, extravagantly loving God…we seek to triumph over fear and muster the courage to break the jar…or let God break and disrupt us.”  

The Becoming a Church website tells us “Transformation and re-formation like this requires intention, wisdom, community and the Spirit…a Rule of Life….an intentional commitment to a set of habits and practices that provide guidance, rhythm and inspiration for living a beautiful, holy life…” All Christians pray the words. By looking at them intentionally we can see ways the Lord’s Prayer can be a basis for a Rule of Life which is Jesus-centered. 

Prayer is an important part of any Rule of Life. RichardRohr notes, “Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts. It is, rather, a life stance. It’s a way of living in the Presence…” Others have noted the same thing:

•       Prayer is time when you are ‘real with God’….time to ‘stop and listen’ to God. The Lord’s prayer incorporates the basics of all prayer: Praise or Adoration, Confession of faults, Thanks for needs being met, and Supplication or Intercession for our needs and those of others. (Bible.org)

•       Living a praying life will make us instruments of God’s peace, agents of God’s love…this is our vocation as Christians, our response to the call of God. (The Praying Life, Deborah Smith Douglas, pg. x)

•       [Lord’s Prayer] sums up…the way [Jesus] read and responded to the signs of the times, the way in which he understood his own vocation and mission and invited his followers to share it. (The Lord and His Prayer, NT Wright, pg. 2)

•       God wants to be your dwelling place. He has no interest in being a weekend getaway or a Sunday bungalow or a summer cottage…he wants to be your home. [Jesus said] “My father will love them and we will come and make our home with them (John 14:23). (The Great House of God, Max Lucado, pg. 4)

The Lord’s Prayer is introduced to us in Matthew 6:5-15 and Luke 11:1-11. Read these scripture references, and the verses preceding and following to get a picture of what was happening with Jesus and his disciples at that time.

To use the Lord’s Prayer as our Rule of Life for this Lent journey, we can follow the five suggested steps from the Becoming a Church site for establishing or recommitting to a Rule of Life. As we intentionally use the Lord’s Prayer as the basis for our Lent rule, we can use the steps in this way:

1.       Start by praying the Lord’s Prayer with the intention of using the words to form your mind toward God and orient your life toward Christ.

How do the familiar words of the Lord’s Prayer transform our thoughts and actions toward Christ and God? You may want to pray using different versions to listen for differences that might inspire you to respond to the familiar words in a new way.

2.       Pray the Lord’s Prayer with intention to hear what the words of the prayer can teach you about living and acting more like Jesus.

Are there words or phrases in the Prayer that jump out as ways to be more Christ-like? Sit with these words or phrases and consider how they can help you become a part of the Body that “looks and acts like Jesus” throughout Lent.

3.       Identify spiritual habits that will help you live a Way of Love toward one another and all creation based on the Lord’s Prayer.

Think about what spiritual habits you might continue, resume, and/or begin that will help you live a vision of Beloved Community as outlined in the Lord’s Prayer.

4.       The weekly study will give us a chance to share ways to build the words and demands of the Lord’s Prayer into our individual Rule of Life.

How do you think using the Lord’s Prayer daily will impact your daily interactions?

5.       Being a community during Lent will help us be accountable and deepen our intention to continue using the Lord’s Prayer to direct our lives even beyond Lent. 

As we embark on this journey, ask yourself:

How might praying the Lord’s Prayer intentionally and daily impact my Lenten journey?

How might using the Lord’s Prayer as a Rule of Life give new insight and direction?

Next week we’ll dive into the first line of the prayer. This week, start formulating your Rule of Life for Lent.

Lent Zoom Study on the Lord's Prayer as a Rule of Life

 In Lent you are invited to join a weekly Zoom study on the Lord's Prayer. We are using that as a starting point for discussions about "Becoming a Church that Looks and Acts like Jesus". This is an ongoing initiative by the Episcopal Church to look at ways of living, being and worshipping to 'reclaim our Christian identity as a Spirit-driven countercultural, underground movement'. 

We'll use The Lord's Prayer: Walk in Love by Cynthia Davis as well as other resources about the Lord's Prayer (see below). 

Contact Cindy Davis for the link. 

Books (which you don't have to have in hand, but which are available on Amazon) include:
The Lord's Prayer, Walk in Love (Cynthia Davis)- available from Cindy Davis and Amazon
The Praying Life (Deborah Smith Douglas) - Amazon
Prayers of the Cosmos (Neil Douglas-Klotz) - Amazon
The Lord & His Prayer (N.T. Wright) - Amazon
The Great House of God (Max Lucado) - Amazon

A Litany for the World

 I pause in the imagined stories of past traumas to offer prayers for those affected by current world events, using the Great Litany from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. Often this prayer is used during Lent, but can be used at any time. 

Prayers are needed for all the disasters of earthquake, fire, and flood across the globe due to climate change; the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan; the world-wide on-going COVID 19 Pandemic; the racial, social, economic, medical inequities facing so many; the misinformation feeding fears and divisions; and the multitude of other trauma we are assailed with from our news feed and all media. 

We can too often forget the power of prayer. The bad news can make us feel that we are in a wasteland. However, we are promised For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. God does hear and honor prayer offered in sincerity and love. I invite you join in a week of prayer.   

Let us Pray

O God, Creator of heaven and earth,
Have mercy on us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful,
Have mercy on us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.

Remember not, Lord Christ, our offenses, nor the offenses of our forefathers; neither reward us according to our sins. Spare us, good Lord, spare your people, whom you have redeemed with your most precious blood, and by your mercy preserve us, for ever. 
Spare us, good Lord.

From all evil and wickedness; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; and from everlasting damnation,
Good Lord, deliver us.

From all blindness of heart; from pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice; and from all want of charity,  [esp. teach us to hear one another's stories and work for healing and reconciliation]
Good Lord, deliver us.

From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
From all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of your Word and commandment,
Good Lord, deliver us.

From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood; from plague, pestilence, and famine, [remembering esp. those who are suffering loss of life and property due to these events across the world]
Good Lord, deliver us.

From all oppression, conspiracy, and rebellion; from violence, battle, and murder; and from dying suddenly and unprepared, [praying esp. for those who are caught in the midst of violence, at home and abroad]
Good Lord, deliver us.

By the mystery of your holy Incarnation; by your holy Nativity and submission to the Law; by your Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation, By thine Agony and Bloody Sweat; by your Cross and Passion; by your precious Death and Burial; by your glorious Resurrection and Ascension; and by the Coming of the Holy Ghost,
Good Lord, deliver us.

In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, [and help us to remember those less fortunate at all times]
Good Lord, deliver us.

We sinners pray that you will hear us, O Lord God; and that it may please you to rule and govern your holy Church Universal in the right way,
That it may please you to illumine all bishops, priests, and deacons, with true knowledge and understanding of your Word; and that both by their preaching and living, they may set it forth, and show it accordingly,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to bless and keep all your people,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to send forth laborers into your harvest, and to draw all mankind into your kingdom,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to give to all people increase of grace to hear and receive your Word, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to bring into the way of truth all such as have erred, and are deceived,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to give us a heart to love and fear you, and diligently to live after your commandments, 
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you so to rule the hearts of your servants, the President of the United States, the leaders of all nations, and all others in authority, that they may do justice, and love mercy, and walk in the ways of truth,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to make wars to cease in all the world; to give to all nations unity, peace, and concord; and to bestow freedom upon all peoples, [praying esp. for those in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and other places where war is the norm]
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to show your pity upon all prisoners and captives, the homeless and the hungry, and all who are desolate and oppressed, [esp. those inordinately afflicted and affected by inequities of food, medical care, jobs, racism, and other injustices in our nation and around the world]
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to give and preserve to our use the bountiful fruits of the earth, so that in due time all may enjoy them,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to inspire us, in our several callings, to do the work which you give us to do with singleness of heart as your servants, and for the common good,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to preserve all who are in danger by reason of their labor or their travel,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to preserve, and provide for, all women in childbirth, young children and orphans, the widowed, and all whose homes are broken or torn by strife,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to visit the lonely; to strengthen all who suffer in mind, body, and spirit; and to comfort with your presence those who are failing and infirm,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to support, help, and comfort all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation, [esp. those in Haiti, those affected by floods, wildfires, and drought and all those in places wracked by devastation brought on by war]
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to have mercy upon all mankind,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to give us true repentance; to forgive us all our sins, negligence, and ignorance; and to fill us with the grace of your Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to your holy Word,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts, [and help us to forgive as you have taught]
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to strengthen those who stand; to comfort and help the weak-hearted; to raise up those who fall; and finally to beat down Satan under our feet,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to grant to all the faithful departed eternal life and peace, [esp. the millions lost to COVID 19]
We pray you will hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to grant that, in the fellowship of all the saints, we may attain to your heavenly kingdom,
We pray you will hear us, good Lord. Son of God, we pray you to hear us.

O Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
Grant us your peace.

Amen and Amen

You may want to conclude with the Lord’s Prayer.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, also offers this prayer:

Eternal God, hear our prayer for the peoples of Afghanistan. There is a profound humanitarian crisis. Countless people, mostly women and children, are now fleeing and vulnerable. The lives of many are now endangered. The hopes of many are forgone. Send your Spirit, Lord, to rally the resolve of the nations of the earth to find pathways to save human lives, protect human rights, and to resolve the hardships of those seeking refuge, asylum, and safety. Hear our prayer for the peoples of Afghanistan. This we pray as followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen

Lord's Prayer: The Kingdom, The Power, The Glory Forever

 Our final discussion of The Lord's Prayer: Walk in Love was, as all have been, inspiring. 

Some of us have found new inspiration in the words of the prayer as we have delved into the meaning of each phrase. All agree that we won't be as quick to say it simply by rote any longer. 

Elizabeth shared I Chronicles 29:10-15 as a prayer by King David with similar overtones to the closing line of the Lord's Prayer. 

We closed the evening with a Candle Meditation based on one by Joyce Rupp in her book May I have this Dance. You can watch the video below. One final, additional resource for Continuing Work can be downloaded. 

Next week (Sept. 20), my look at Ecclesiastes 3 will return with the phrase "a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together". We'll continue to look at that chapter this fall. 

Lord's Prayer: Lead us not into temptation

 During out discussion, we considered the phrase "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Sometimes the temptations aren't so much from the outside, as our own wants and desires that may not be in line with God's plan. However, as God assures us in Isaiah (and many other places in the Bible), we are never abandoned or forgotten even when we slip up. God mourns for us until our hearts are at rest in God. We were reminded that we can remember: 

The video of the session is below. 

This week is the final session. We'll consider the last phrase. The between class work can be downloaded. 

Lord's Prayer: Forgive, as we Forgive

 The group had a lively discussion of Forgive us Our Sins/Debts/Trespasses, as we forgive those who Sin against us. Some of us found it helpful to think of Forgiving in terms of Reconciling with the other person. While forgiveness doesn't mean condoning a wrong, it doesn't prohibit a repairing of the breach, and reconciliation.

It can be easy to judge and be unforgiving, sometimes without meaning to. Behind our masks, we may be frowning and thinking unkind thoughts. This video by Pluto the Dog is a cute way of thinking about that. 

We also shared ways we were blessed by sending cards, or visiting with someone. 

On August 28, we'll discuss Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil The between class work is here. 

Another version of the Lord's Prayer was shared by Cathy W., which might be worth pondering, too:

Father of us all,
Who lives in heaven,
Help us to love and honor your name.
Let your great Kingdom of Love spread over all the world,
And help us all to do what pleases you here on earth as it is done in heaven.

Give us all we need for this day.
And forgive us the wrong things we do just as we forgive those who do wrong things to us.
Do not let us go into any place where we might do wrong.
But save us from all harm and danger.

 For yours is the Kingdom of Love, and all power and glory, for ever and ever. Amen

Lord's Prayer: Our Daily Bread

 Last Friday we discussed the phrase "Our Daily Bread". 

Is this more than food? 

How might we respond to someone who asks, "Why don't I have enough daily bread?" Maybe one way is to Cultivate Hope.

This week we'll continue our study of The Lord's Prayer: Walk in Love by considering what it means to be forgiven and to forgive. 

The Between Class work can be downloaded. As a supplement you may want to watch this video from WA National Cathedral

Lord's Prayer: Thy Will Be Done

 The Aug. 7 Zoom discussion of the Lord's Prayer centered on "Thy Will be Done, on earth as in heaven". 

Several participants shared that they had tried the 'between class' exercise of walking their neighborhood and praying for their neighbors. They found this a moving experience. 

We talked a lot about how difficult it can be to say to God, 'Thy Way, not mine'. We also considered ways to allow the Will of God to be part of our lives each day. As we talked, we were reminded that we need to look for the good, for God, in each other. The Way of Love suggests that we 'learn' each day via scripture and worship to be more bent to God's will. 

One suggestion for living God's will now was that we could ask ourselves, "How would my words make me feel if directed at me?"

You can watch the session on the video. 

Our next class will be August 14. The 'between class' work can be downloaded. 

A Time to Weep, A Time to Laugh

We’ve covered a lot of ground in our study of Ecclesiastes 3. From birth and harvest to killing and building. As we continue with verse 4, we are told there is a time to weep, and a time to laugh.

What first comes to mind when you hear that contrast?

I don’t typically leap from weeping to laughing. If I’m sad enough to cry, then I’m not finding much humor in anything. The Hebrew word translated ‘weep’ is deep sorrow. It is bemoaning something, such as a death. The word for laugh can also be translated as ‘to play’. So, in this phrase deep lamentation and child-like joy and play are put in juxtaposition.

Looking to God is a good way to keep from being sucked into a cycle of depression when there is a lot to make us want to weep. The Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande has suggested that balancing news watching with at least as much time spent reading the Bible is one way to combat this. There are many uplifting passages in the Bible. There are also those that affirm that weeping and laughing are normal parts of the human condition.

Psalm 30 reminds us that God can bring joy out of what seems to be only sorrow. It begins by stating, O Lord my God, I cried to you for help. Then goes on to call for praises to the Lord…[because] Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. The Psalm ends by proclaiming, you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus promises Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. He also warns woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. (Luke 6:21-25) Joy and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. We wouldn’t know joy if there was never any sorrow, nor would we know sorrow if we were not sometimes joyful.

Certainly, there are things that can make us sorrowful now. Loudly expressed rage and hatred spew across our TV and computer screens. We are just entering into the time when we’ll be assaulted by hateful political ads. We are confronted by our own fears and needs as we remain mostly staying at home. We may want to rage and scream, and yes weep, at the unfairness of COVID19. We may want to bemoan the societal inequities that the pandemic has brought into stark view. Maybe we want it all to just ‘go away’ so life can be ‘normal’ again, even as we know that normal will never be quite the same.

If we just look at the world via the news, we might find ourselves in a state of constantly weeping. However, if like Mr. Rogers, we “look for the helpers” we might find things to smile and even laugh about. We hear of children who raise money to buy masks for first responders, of farmers who donate their crops to food pantries, of men, women, and young people reaching out to help those stuck at home by bringing groceries or mowing lawns. We listen to virtual choirs and watch videos of talking dogs or cats drinking cream during Morning Prayer. 

We read the Bible and call each other. We reach out in love and seek common ground rather than division. We remember ‘we are all in this together’. It’s not a USA problem, it’s international. It’s not about being forced to wear a mask it’s about caring enough to wear a mask. It’s not about whether there are good cops, it’s about stopping unnecessary force by any law enforcement. It’s not one sided, it’s humanity sided.

This week, take time to pray about some of the things that make you weep.

Find time to laugh at crazy cat videos or funny stories.

Try balancing your news obsession with Bible reading and prayer. One opportunity is to spend an hour with me for the next 7 Fridays studying my latest book: The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love. Email Cindy to get the Zoom link to participate live, or follow via on Facebook.

Lord's Prayer: Walk in Love Zoom Study Starts July 24

The Lord's Prayer: Walk in Love
Free 7-week study

Friday evenings from 7-8PM 
via Zoom (video or phone) and/or Facebook

July 24-September 4

Based on Cindy Davis’ just released book, The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love, this 7-week study is open to ANYONE interested in finding deeper meaning in the prayer that is so familiar to all Christians. In conversation with the author, and one another, we’ll explore how the Lord’s Prayer can help us live more deeply into our call to walk in love (Ephesians 5:2).

Participate live via Zoom (video or phone) or join on Facebook. Sign up to get weekly downloads and the Zoom link on by emailing Cindy, or join on the Footprints From the Bible Facebook page. 

Copies of the book are available on Amazon.com or below. 
Free drive-by delivery in ABQ. 
Shipping of $2 will be added for sales outside ABQ, or if you prefer your copy mailed. 

Registration and Books Use dropdown menu to add shipping.

Study and Lord's Prayer: Walk in Love book $10.00 USD Shipping, outside ABQ $2.00 USD

Lord's Prayer: Amen

Here we are at the end of the Lord’s Prayer. The final word in this, and nearly every other prayer is ‘Amen’. It simply means “Let it be”. We ask God that all that we have mentioned in the prayer be accomplished. Just as Mary of Nazareth said to Gabriel “Let it be according to your word” (Luke 1:38), we offer our petitions to God asking that they be done.

Recently I saw a special on the Beatles. Many will remember their song Let it Be. Although they always insisted that the ‘Mother Mary’ was not the Virgin, many hearers still hear her words in the lyrics. Whether the group meant to refer to Mary of Nazareth, or not, the words are a fitting end to our study of the Lord’s Prayer. They summarize the requests made in the prayer, and offer them up ‘Let it be’.

In light of a world where people are still at odds with each other, just as they were in the 1960’s, we might indeed echo “And when the broken-hearted people/Living in the world agree/There will be an answer/Let it be”.

Enter the Presence: Read Mary’s encounter with Gabriel in Luke 1. Put yourself in her sandals and say “Let it be according to your word”.

Are there things in your life where God is calling you to step out in faith like Mary? Can you open your hands and heart to say, “Let it be”?

Stand In Awe: It can be hard to say ‘Amen’ to some things that God asks of us. Consider the lives of some of those chosen by God, who didn’t have an easy time. Almost anyone in the Bible will fit that description. There is a saying that "God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies those he calls". Read through the list in this image and remember that God empowers each of us to do what we are called to do. Are you willing to ‘let it be’?

Involve your Heart: Read through the words of the Beatle’s song.  

When I find myself in times of trouble/Mother Mary comes to me/Speaking words of wisdom/Let it be

And in my hour of darkness/She is standing right in front of me/Speaking words of wisdom/Let it be

And when the broken-hearted people/Living in the world agree/There will be an answer/Let it be

For though they may be parted there is/Still a chance that they will see/There will be an answer/Let it be

And when the night is cloudy/There is still a light that shines on me/Shine until tomorrow/Let it be

I wake up to the sound of music/Mother Mary comes to me/Speaking words of wisdom/Let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be/Whisper words of wisdom/Let it be/

Do a ZenTangle of the word ‘Amen’. Include things you are called to do.

Write a song or poem expressing your love for God and new understanding of the Lord’s Prayer*

*From Thy Kingdom Come