"The Lord's Prayer: Our Father Who Art in Heaven"

Pastor Laura Guy

January 11, 2009

Here's an instant replay of what happened in worship:

We talked about why it's important to know the Lord's Prayer. It is prayed by billions of Christians around the world, and it is the template, the example that Jesus gave us for our own prayers.
We acknowledged that one of the most difficult words in the prayer is "Father." It reinforces a false image of God as male, making women wonder if they, too, are created in the image of God. And for people who did not have good fathers, calling God "Father" can cause them to project the faults of the their own fathers onto God. Why did Jesus pick that word to address God?
We learned that in most other religions, the way you approach the deity is to grovel on the floor, praying for mercy, hoping you won't be struck down for daring to be in the presence of the deity. Jesus wanted us to know that God isn't like that. God is our perfect parent, ready to embrace us whenever we approach. God is not like our earthly fathers. God is a perfect, heavenly parent who will never fail us or hurt us. In Jesus' time, it was the father who provided for the family's needs and who protected them from harm. Jesus wanted us to know that God is like that, too.
We also looked at the word "our." Jesus did not teach us an individual prayer, but a communal one. Jesus' example of the way we should pray is a prayer that is meant to be prayed with others. We cannot follow him on our own and pray this prayer. "Our" also means that God is the parent of all of us, and that makes us brothers and sisters. God intends for us to care for our brothers and sisters. We heard a beautiful example of that in a story of a school who cheered for the opposing football team.
We also thought about what it means to say "who art in heaven." The word for heaven can also mean atmosphere, the very air we breathe. God is not watching us from far away. God is as close as the air we breathe, even within us.
We prayed the Lord's Prayer together.
We celebrated communion at the table of love and reconciliation.