Ninth Pentecost

              July 29, 2007

     The young preacher had accepted a call to a small town parish.  He had not yet taken a wife, so loneliness became a bit of a concern for him.  The preacher mentioned this to his Senior Warden who just happened to run a pet store in the community.

     He went down one Monday morning to look around and settled on a parrot.  “Are you sure it doesn’t scream, yell, or swear?” asked the young preacher.

     “Oh, absolutely not,” said the Senior Warden pet store owner.  “This is, after all, a small town and this is a religious parrot I took in as a trade-in, having been well-trained by a maiden lady who decided she would rather have a cat.”

     The pet store owner went on to explain.  “Do you see those strings on his legs?  When you pull the right one, he recites the Lord’s Prayer, and when you pull the left he recites the 23^rd Psalm.”

     “Wonderful!” said the preacher, “but what happens if I pulled both strings at once?”

     “I fall off my perch, you idiot!” screeched the parrot.

      I suppose the Lord’s Prayer is one of the most often-repeated prayers in the history of written devotions.  We repeat it many, many times in the course of our lives.  We probably don’t need a string around our leg, or even a finger, to remind us to say the “Our Father.” 

     It was the custom for a rabbi to teach his students a particular prayer so that others, when they heard the prayer being said, would know whose students those reciting the prayer were.  It was kind of like an insignia, a brand that would provide a distinctive mark for that group of disciples. 

     One day Rabbi Jesus had been “praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’”  This need had no doubt been a topic of discussion among the twelve.  They wanted to be able to let others hear their distinctive prayer so the others would know whom they followed.  The details of this interaction are found in the Gospel for today.  What the disciples were given that day is called the “Lord’s Prayer.”  It would be more proper to call it the “Disciple’s Prayer.”  Rabbi Jesus gave it to those who would follow him then, as well as those who would follow him now.     

     The prayer Rabbi Jesus taught his followers is startling in its simplicity.  But, it is precisely that simplicity that makes it the greatest prayer ever uttered.  Rabbi Jesus said, “When you pray, say: ‘Father’…”  The Aramaic word used here is “Abba.”  It is the familial term for father.  It has roughly the same meaning as our words “Daddy” or “Poppa.”  The meaning that Rabbi Jesus intends, as reported by Dr. Luke, is that God is not some far-distant, aloof, and detached deity, but a loving, involved, and protective Father; one who is closer to us than our next breath and more precious.

     “Hallowed be thy name…”  God’s name is special, holy, and set apart.  It is not to be given to any other.  It is not to be said in jest or invoked in vain or malice.  It is a prayer name and should be spoken only in prayer, praise, and conversation with a loving Father.

     “Thy Kingdom come…”  It is God’s Kingdom we are to work to establish on earth, not some utopia of human design and imagination.  God’s Kingdom will not be established by political means of liberal or conservative leanings; not through some “ism” that a majority imposes.  God’s Kingdom is best identified with the word LOVE.  Wherever love is the measure of things, the Kingdom is advanced.

     “Give us each day our daily bread…”  God is the provider of all.  Disciples are to trust that God will provide bread sufficient for this day.  We are not to hoard, to stockpile, to play politics with our abundance.  We are to ask for this day’s bread, offer our prayerful thanks that it is set before us, and give out of our blessings to those who do not have this day’s bread.  Our problem is not whether we have enough bread, but getting it to those who truly need it.  When the will to do so is established, the delivery system will quickly follow.

     “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us…”  When we truly think about the things we have done for which we need forgiveness we become forgivers.  Sin deals with attitude and behavior.  Sin always has some specificity, some particularity to it.  Forgiveness needs to have the same focus.  To ask forgiveness in some general, nebulous way never lifts the burden from our shoulders, just as seeking God is some general way means we run the risk of never finding God.  Yes, God can be found on the ninth green at the country club, but few are looking for God there.  It is true that we see what we wish to see.  It is even truer that we see what we have prepared ourselves to see. 

     “And do not bring us to the time of trial…”  Rabbi Jesus knew that the disciples would undergo severe persecutions and torture.  Such has been the case in Christian history, even into our own day.  When faced with the decision of recanting ones faith in Jesus the Christ in order to live or remaining faithful and being killed, Jesus knew that most would choose to live.  I know I would.  So, this petition asks that the time never comes when that choice must be made.  I pray it never comes my way.  I deny the Lord Jesus often enough without the need for threats and torture.

     So, that is the prayer Jesus taught his students.  The version of the prayer we pray contains some additions made by translators during the first few centuries.  Those additions are important because they give the glory and honor and power to God.

     In a few minutes, when you pray this prayer, remember that you are a student of Rabbi Jesus and you have been given a precious gift.  Handle it with care and pray it with sincerity.  It will help you deal with loneliness far better than a parrot with strings on his legs.  Amen.   

  ~The Rev. G. Thomas Mustard