Pastor Alecia's
ponderings

 

 
I’ve been pondering The Lord’s Prayer this summer. It’s a prayer that almost everyone knows by heart. It’s the prayer that Jesus taught us. But do we really pay attention to the words? Do we ever consider what the words mean? It’s so easy to run through the prayer without much thought.
 
For some time, I’ve been thinking about exploring the meaning of each phrase. So, for the month of August, I’ll be preaching a sermon series on “The Lord’s Prayer.” We began last week with the first section: “Our Father who art in heaven.”  Even the first two words are significant. It starts with the word “Our.” It’s not just MY Father, but Our Father. We seek God as a community. We are bound together as a family, as children of God. We’re in this together as brothers and sisters in God’s love.
 
The second word, “Father,” is a surprising title for God. In the Old Testament God was called “Almighty,” “Lord,” “King of the Universe,” “Ruler of Heaven.”  Indeed, God is all of those things. Jesus gave us the intimate title of Father; one who cares about us, who cares for us. Our Father listens to us as His children. It’s a title that implies a close relationship as in a family; someone who is near to us. Ancient gods were not portrayed as Father, but as someone powerful who should be feared and appeased. Jesus turned the whole understanding of God on its head by naming God as Father.
 
Those are just a couple thoughts to ponder. This coming Sunday, August 10th we will think about what it means to ask our Father for “Our Daily Bread”, and we will also share Holy Communion together. On August 17th we’ll consider “Forgive us our Debts” and on August 24th we’ll finish with “Lead us not into Temptation.”  Join us each Sunday at the Church or on FaceBook to take a deep dive into “The Lord’s Prayer.”
 
Pastor Alecia