Finding Faith ... in committing ourselves to an ongoing lifestyle in God

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on July 27, 2022.

This week's gospel: Luke 11:1-13

The Lord’s Prayer

11 He was 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.” 2 So he said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, may your name be revered as holy. May your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Perseverance in Prayer

5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for a fish, would give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion? 13 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

The message:

In tonight’s gospel, we learn about the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer that is so fundamental to our faith … and so dear to us as Christians.

In fact, it’s a prayer we say every week, and maybe with that repetition -- like a lot of things we do so regularly -- it might seem so ordinary.

When in fact, the Lord’s prayer is anything but. … Rather, I would call it extraordinary.

Those of you who have served on our Faith Lutheran Church Council know that we meet one night per month to discuss business and ministry.

And I want to share a secret with you: One of my favorite moments as your pastor each month is during this meeting.

At the close of the council meeting, the 10 of us -- the council and I -- stand and together recite “The Lord’s Prayer.”

And that moment NEVER fails to bring me chills. … Goosebumps every time.

In my humble opinion, I think the Lord’s Prayer is dear to Christians because Jesus, the son of God, teaches us to pray in this fashion.

You heard it here tonight in the Gospel of Luke, and you also can see it in the Gospel of Matthew.

And, yes, while there are variations of the prayer through the various Christian denominations, the prayer has remained fairly consistent in wording for hundreds of years:

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

It has been reported that a Fuller Seminary professor by the name of Clayton Schmit said of the Lord’s Prayer that “there is a sense of solidarity in knowing that Christians around the globe are praying together … and these words always unite us.”

Faith Family … that is why the moment our council utters the prayer together each month at the end of the meeting gives me chills.

For those who have not had the opportunity to be witness to it, it goes like this:

After we adjourn the meeting, we all rise, fold our hands and in unison recite the prayer. Sometimes I am the one who begins first. Sometimes it is the president of the council who does so. Other times, it will be another completely random member of the council who begins first.

There seems to be no discernible pattern other than it’s the Holy Spirit’s work.

And, in that moment that we begin, there is electricity in the air; the space around us grows still; and all the other worldly sounds disappear.

Time gets suspended, and as we pray, the 10 of us inexplicably through God’s will are united with all of the other faithful people in the world … past, present and yet to come!

To hear the various timbres, tones and variations of the prayer spoken of these holy servants … together in one voice, lifting up this ancient and common prayer … asking God to be present among us and to care for the corporate needs of the entire body of Christ … is breathtaking.

Standing in our church library, after having witnessed the council members take time out of hectic schedules to do the work of the church, and then watch this small group reaffirm their faith in an abundant and loving God is … nothing short of holy.

We become as one, and none of our differences matter as much as the fact that we are reaching out together in supplication to our beloved God.

Just as saints before us have for hundreds of years, and the saints after us will for hundreds more!

That moment stirs joy in my heart every single month, no matter how many times I participate in it!

Demonstrated in that moment … the importance of the Lord’s Prayer all comes back to relationships. … Being in right relationship with God, who is always in right relationship with us.

I don’t know if you noticed when I was reading the gospel tonight but as Jesus begins to teach us how to pray, it begins with the Father … our Father in heaven who shall remain sacred to us as his followers.

And the lesson ends later in verse 13 with “... how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Bookends, you see. … Jesus reminds us that everything begins with the Father and ends with the Father.

Begins in relationship with God … so that we can be in relationship with each other.

The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that the God to whom we are praying is holy, faithful, good, dependable. Therefore, as we ask for all of the things we pray … we can know that this good God is going to go beyond our requests.

The trust we learn through the Lord’s Prayer … gives us the confidence that we can keep going back to God in prayer -- for anything -- time and time again … without ever worrying about over extending our grace.

Have you ever noticed, that the deepest, closest relationships we have ... are exactly the trustworthy ones in which you can ask the other person for exactly what you need.

These are the relationships in which it is easiest for us to be at our most vulnerable. … A level of vulnerability that is sacred.

The best relationships are the ones in which we can shamelessly ask and know that we will be cared for.

And so, why wouldn’t our deepest, most trustworthy relationship be with the God … whom we know is so good to us, and to whom we know that we can shamelessly ask for so many things.

There is, of course, reciprocity in this prayer as well. … Note that in this prayer, while we learn that God is indeed good to us, it is also expected that we also are good to those WE are in relationship with … as well.

We are essentially praying that we will let God’s name be sacred, and thus our actions will reflect upon his reputation in this world.

We pray that we will make God’s Kingdom come to reality right here on earth. We pray that we will walk away from temptation. And we pray that we too will forgive others’ debts.

You see, relationship is a two-way street here. … A trust in the bond. … God hears what you are asking for. … And we are committing ourselves to an ongoing lifestyle in God.

Faith Family … that is what is so special about the Lord’s Prayer.

And that is the Good News for this Wednesday, July 27, 2022 … the Seventh Week after Pentecost.