When Jesus taught the disciples to pray he gave them a simple outline to follow. In Luke’s version, the prayer consists of only five petitions. What strikes me as extremely powerful is the gist of the first two petitions.
First, we are to pray for God’s name to be sanctified. In the Old Testament, the sanctification of God’s name is connected to the holiness of the community of Israel. By being a contrast-society, Israel would sanctify—make holy (hallow)—the name of God (Leviticus 22.32-33; Ezekiel 36.23). Jesus invites us to pray in the same vein. We are to pray that God’s name would be sanctified through us. Next, we are to pray that God’s kingdom would come. When Jesus walked on this earth he announced the coming kingdom. He was saying, in essence, that God has not forgotten his dream of reclaiming this entire creation with and for his glory. With that big picture in mind, he teaches us to pray for the kingdom of God to come. He wants us to pray that God’s dream would come true through us.
These two petitions teach us something—it’s not about us; it’s about God: His-story. Together, we are being enlisted, by God, to live and witness in such a way that God’s name would be sanctified, and that through us, the world will receive a glimpse of God’s coming kingdom.
I recognize this prayer offers a challenge. Many of you might not be interested. You might be thinking, this is not what I signed up for--I want a little pick-me-up message; I want to serve Jesus alone; I prefer my own kingdom; I don’t want to take holiness, community, or the Kingdom of God too seriously. Your sentiment is probably shared by many. Personally, I can relate. My desires are not always godly. That’s why we need to pray this prayer with persistence. Notice after Jesus teaches us to pray this prayer, he give us two lessons on praying with persistence. And then notice what happens--we receive the Spirit of God who will transform our desires and empower to accomplish what he wants to accomplish in our lives.
I challenge you to keep praying this prayer, regularly, with persistence and let’s see what God will do in our midst as he continues to form us into a community that is relevant to what he wants to accomplish. Peace!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Urgent or Important: You Choose
Last Sunday we compared Martha and Mary (Luke 10.38-42). Martha is frustrated and anxious, trying to fix a meal; while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus, listening.
I argued that Martha mistakes the urgent for the important. It’s something that can easily happen to us. After all, we live in a very noisy world which clamors for our attention, telling us what to believe, buy, and eat. And of course, the demands are always urgent, but very rarely important—for we are not to live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deut. 8.3). To me, Martha represents the temptation to believe the urgent is also the important.
But Mary gets it. Though we should not set up false dichotomy between Martha and Mary, separating the spiritual from the practical, assuming (wrongly) that prayer is all that matters and has little to do with this life, we have to acknowledge what’s really important: God’s call to know and serve him. It would do us well to follow in the footsteps of Mary, who takes time for soul therapy. In the text, she assumes the role of a student and listens to Jesus. Though Martha's activity would be praised in another context, Mary, at this moment, makes the right choice and is praised for it (I assume because Jesus is on the way to the cross). The point is still the same: Her action calls us to a life of listening prayer. She creates space in her life for the Other.
To do this, we need to learn to embrace solitude. We need to create space in our life—a space that enables us to be attentive to God. Listen to Henri Nouwen: “Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self” (The Way of the Heart, 13). What he says is true. The world with its urgent demands continually creates illusions that keep us in bondage. But in prayer, we can let the light drive out the darkness and gain a renewed clarity to live our life with a godly focus. I invite all of you to consider weaving into the fabric of your life a time to be attentive to the God who is calling you and who wants to transform you into the likeness of Christ. Peace!
I argued that Martha mistakes the urgent for the important. It’s something that can easily happen to us. After all, we live in a very noisy world which clamors for our attention, telling us what to believe, buy, and eat. And of course, the demands are always urgent, but very rarely important—for we are not to live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deut. 8.3). To me, Martha represents the temptation to believe the urgent is also the important.
But Mary gets it. Though we should not set up false dichotomy between Martha and Mary, separating the spiritual from the practical, assuming (wrongly) that prayer is all that matters and has little to do with this life, we have to acknowledge what’s really important: God’s call to know and serve him. It would do us well to follow in the footsteps of Mary, who takes time for soul therapy. In the text, she assumes the role of a student and listens to Jesus. Though Martha's activity would be praised in another context, Mary, at this moment, makes the right choice and is praised for it (I assume because Jesus is on the way to the cross). The point is still the same: Her action calls us to a life of listening prayer. She creates space in her life for the Other.
To do this, we need to learn to embrace solitude. We need to create space in our life—a space that enables us to be attentive to God. Listen to Henri Nouwen: “Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self” (The Way of the Heart, 13). What he says is true. The world with its urgent demands continually creates illusions that keep us in bondage. But in prayer, we can let the light drive out the darkness and gain a renewed clarity to live our life with a godly focus. I invite all of you to consider weaving into the fabric of your life a time to be attentive to the God who is calling you and who wants to transform you into the likeness of Christ. Peace!
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Christ and His Cause: Our First Commitment
I’m writing this before a little time off. I’ll try to be brief.
It seems that the greatest challenge we face from yesterday’s text (Luke 9.51-62) is Christ’s demand to put him even above our family. Many might think Jesus is a little rude here. He should have been more understanding. Isn’t a commitment to family a noble one? Two would-be disciples in this text are committed to their family. But Jesus calls them to his cause first and foremost.
Not that I have to explain Jesus’ action, but it does seem to make some sense to me. Permit me to give a less obvious and psychological explanation for Jesus’ words. I believe we need a center, a foundation, from which to live. No doubt Christ gives us that foundation. We are called to be a part of this great adventure of glorifying God as we pursue his kingdom. That commitment comes before family. And in making that commitment we receive the necessary distance that makes true love a possibility. Think about it: so often our love is tainted with a need to be needed; we end up loving ourselves but using other people. But if we love God first, love of neighbor becomes a possibility. Another way to say this is to say that you need to have a self before you can give yourself away. Christ can give us a self worth giving, as we follow the call to participate in his kingdom.
Outside of that psychological explanation, which still doesn’t explain everything and probably takes us away from the intention of the text, is Jesus who asks for an amazing commitment. It’s simple: our first commitment is always to Christ and his cause. Most of the time, our family will go with us; sometimes they won’t. It’s the latter that makes following Christ so hard at times. Peace.
It seems that the greatest challenge we face from yesterday’s text (Luke 9.51-62) is Christ’s demand to put him even above our family. Many might think Jesus is a little rude here. He should have been more understanding. Isn’t a commitment to family a noble one? Two would-be disciples in this text are committed to their family. But Jesus calls them to his cause first and foremost.
Not that I have to explain Jesus’ action, but it does seem to make some sense to me. Permit me to give a less obvious and psychological explanation for Jesus’ words. I believe we need a center, a foundation, from which to live. No doubt Christ gives us that foundation. We are called to be a part of this great adventure of glorifying God as we pursue his kingdom. That commitment comes before family. And in making that commitment we receive the necessary distance that makes true love a possibility. Think about it: so often our love is tainted with a need to be needed; we end up loving ourselves but using other people. But if we love God first, love of neighbor becomes a possibility. Another way to say this is to say that you need to have a self before you can give yourself away. Christ can give us a self worth giving, as we follow the call to participate in his kingdom.
Outside of that psychological explanation, which still doesn’t explain everything and probably takes us away from the intention of the text, is Jesus who asks for an amazing commitment. It’s simple: our first commitment is always to Christ and his cause. Most of the time, our family will go with us; sometimes they won’t. It’s the latter that makes following Christ so hard at times. Peace.
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