The Lord’s prayer 5 - The Holiness of God, Sharing the Father's heart
Let your name be made holy, let your kingdom come, let your will be done, as in heaven so also on earth.
When I was in school I found some subjects very boring and even thought that they were irrelevant.
One such subject was History but I remember my teacher telling us that one day when we are adults we will appreciate history and find it interesting.
Well he was right! I find the history relating to the Romans fascinating especially the occupation of Israel at the time of Jesus and the early church.
Then there are the stories of ancient times, Aeop’s fables – ideal for children in teaching important morals, Greek mythology – this gives us an idea of the way people of that time thought.
When we read Holy Scripture and try to understand God’s Word it is important to put it into context, the context of the whole – chapter, letter, book, testament but also the context of the writer's day - their way of life, their environment, their beliefs, the politics and so on..
Jesus when He taught us to pray – Our Father was introducing a totally new concept about our relationship with God and we can only really appreciate this if we examine the time in which Jesus lived – the context.
The context has to be examine from two angles, from the view of the gentile world – the heathen world and the Jewish.
In the days before we possessed fire, when we ate raw meat and vegetables, when we had no warmth from a fire the Greek god Prometheus took pity at the miserable state we were in.
Prometheus decided to take fire from heaven and give it to us.
But Zeus, the king of the gods was not happy at all with this and in his anger he had Prometheus chained to a rock in the middle of the Adriatic sea.
There he was tortured with the heat of the sun, the thirst of the day and the cold of the night.
But worse than that Zeus had a vulture to tear out Prometheus’ liver, which only grew again and then to be torn out the next day.
A living hell – this is what happened to a god who helped and showed compassion.
The heathen world lived in terror of their gods – they dared not upset one or neglect any in fear of the vengeance they would suffer as a consequence.
In the 60’s there was this popular tv programme called, ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’.
The series was so popular that they made a number of feature length films, one of which was, ‘The life of Bryan’ very loosely connected with the life of Jesus. – looking at the funny side of life.
John Clease played the part of the High Priest and the scene is outside the city walls of Jerusalem where they are about to stone a man for blasphemy.
He has dared to say the Holy Name of God, Jehovah for which the penalty is death by stoning.
In the Monty Python’s type of farce the scene ends with everyone trying to stone the High Priest who we seen running away from the scene.
What impressed me about this scene was its accuracy as it showed so vividly how distant the Jews had become from God that they couldn’t even say His NAME.
In John’s gospel ironically we have a similar scene from the passion narrative which is so detailed and full of meaning.
When the soldiers come to arrest Jesus in the garden He asks them who do they want, "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am he," Jesus said. When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
They fell to the ground in homage because Jesus has uttered the Holy NAME – I AM.
Ironically in Holy Scripture God’s Name seems to evolve and is expressed in many different ways, from Jehovah or Yahweh to I AM to LORD.
God’s name is so Holy and we such sinners that we dare NOT utter God’s Holy Name and come up with alternatives.
So we have a dilemma in the Lord’s prayer, the words ‘Our Father’ giving a very personal and intermit relationship with God but on the other hand never forgetting the holiness of God.
Turning to God as a loving Father but in reverence and godly fear, not terror as in the days of old but giving Him His due respect.
Many prayers we use put it so well: Almighty God our Heavenly Father
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
We are immediately struck by the simplicity and directness of Jesus' language… there is no terror in these words but there is respect as children of God wanting to do His will and to do it in honour of His holy Name.
There is no agonising about unworthiness or sinfulness, no concern over how we pray, or using the right formula; just a straightforward, instinctive response - like a child to his father or mother.
And there is a natural instinct here in being proud to be God’s children and asking that all we do, we do in His Name and for the benefit of His kingdom.
Jesus’ prayer is couched in simple, all-embracing requests for the things of God to become as real on earth as they are in heaven.
But who is the subject of these petitions?
Who is to bring about the hallowing of God's name, the inaugurating of the kingdom and the fulfilment of God's will?
The one who prays or the one who is addressed in prayer?
For Jesus, this would seem an artificial distinction in that God invites his children to co-operate with him.
This insight is at the heart of God’s relationship with His people the Jews, the divine promise in His covenant -'I will take you as my people, and I will be your God' (Exodus 6:7).
God takes the initiative in establishing a relationship so that His creative and redeeming purposes can be fulfilled in His people.
Only in God can their deepest needs and longings be satisfied in Him.
And yet it is an insight for God's people, in Jesus' day as it is today:
We either tend to rely too heavily on our own resources and to forget God
Or, conversely, to rely too heavily on God and to ignore our responsibilities.
The Lord's Prayer puts this right as it invites us to wholehearted engagement, we as children of God rely upon God to reinforce the work that we do in his Name.
We sow the seeds of heaven here on earth but the heavenly waters them and makes them grow. – we work in harmony and work together.
This is clearly shown to us through the life and witness of Jesus.
The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer Jesus not only prayed, but personally embodied as He learnt to trust in God and, through faith, to live out God's promises.
Jesus lived the Lord's Prayer, it was an integral part of His life and ministry, demonstrating what is possible when prayer becomes a way of life in which we are formed in God's image.
John's Gospel spells this out for us:
'My Father is still working, and I am also working' (5:17), and 'Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me' (14;11).
The early church expressed this new way of being-in-relation-to -God exemplified by Jesus as a mutual indwelling where the nature of God becomes intimately woven within the fabric of our humanity.
And it is this quality of life Jesus invites us to share in the Lord's Prayer.
The terror and fear have gone and we are invited to share in the wonder and awe, the joy of being God’s children – what a wonderful invitation – thank God for Jesus!!
