Friends, I am tired. I am tried of seeing shooting after shooting, and knowing that a majority of Americans support better gun control laws, and yet money and greed win out to leave guns that are way more gun than anyone needs, too easy to acquire. I am tired from knowing that no one is safe anywhere - not at the movies, or at school, or at the mall, or at a holiday work party, or even at church - and the thought that what will fix this safety issue is more guns in the hands of more people. I am tired from the lack of care and compassion for Syrian neighbors who are fleeing violence and seeking refuge. And, oh my, I am tired of hateful speech, always present in presidential elections, but never quite so scary as it has been this season.
Yes, it is scary. I am scared - scared about the future of this country, scared that a good number of my fellow Americans actually agree with and support the very same fascist rhetoric that caused the greatest human tragedy of modern history, and is the very model of evil.
In the midst of all of this, I admit, I struggled this year to get into the holiday spirit. I read texts like from Advent 2, "The dawn from on high shall break upon us... and guide our feet into the way of peace," and all I can think is, "Really, God? Prove it."
The only peace I can seem to find these days is putting my Grace to sleep. Those moments when her breathing slows, and her eyes become slits are some of the very best and most peaceful moments on earth. As we have developed a bedtime routine, I have started, when I see this coming, to sing to her the Lord's Prayer. A chanted setting that has been written on my heart since before I can name, singing this is a sacred time for both of us, and one I look forward to each night no matter how tired I am.
And so with Grace and the future of this world into which she was born in mind, I needed to reflect on this Lord's Prayer in light of what is going on. May we all find the strength, even in this tired season, to lift our prayers...
Our Father in heaven
When I pray to my Father/Mother/Parent/Creator in heaven, I believe that indeed this is Jesus' Father, but I also believe that this same God is the God of all creation. It is the very same God to which Jews pray, and Muslims - all those of the Abrahamic faiths. Now, if we all share one God and Father of all creation, what else might we share? Our Father in heaven, teach us to find in each other not what separates, but what we share.
Hallowed be your name.
I know my God to be a God of love. I also know my God is already holy. As Luther suggests, when we pray this petition we acknowledge that while God's name is holy without us praying for it to be, when we pray, we pray that this name would be holy also among us. Because ours is a God of love, I believe this hallowing happens when we treat one another with love. Holy God, make your name holy among us by teaching us to love.
Your kingdom come
Similar to hallowing God's name, we know the God's kingdom is "already" but also "not yet," and by praying this, I believe we name our role in making it more "already" than "not yet." Any time we actively love and serve one another, we are bringing about God's kingdom. God our Ruler, move us toward living into your kingdom through acts of love and service.
Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Everyone seems to know what is right - whether the conversation is about guns, abortion, how to handle refugees, gay marriage, birth control, the economy, climate change, minimum wage... Of course I have my own (what I consider thoughtful and informed) opinions about all of these things, but I cannot claim to know God's will. What I do know is that God's will is what will bring peace on earth. And so this line, I pray fervently. Wise God, guide our hearts toward your will, and not toward what will best serve our own agendas or desires.
Give us today our daily bread
I have all the prayers in the world for people who are hungry, and want them to have the food they need. But when I pray this prayer, my thoughts are more generally about people being provided with what they most need for sustenance. For too many, this is food. But there are also many people who don't have love, or compassion, or self-awareness, or a spiritual life, or any number of things that leave them feeling empty inside. This emptiness, too often, is what leads people to act out of fear instead of love. I have also taken to singing to Grace a beloved Taize chant at night: "Come and fill our hearts with your peace. You alone, O Lord, are holy." Sustaining God, fill us with what we need the most.
and forgive us our sins
Oh, the humility that this requires. The self-reflection. The self-awareness. To recognize that we might fall short sometimes, that we might have done something to hurt someone else, that we might have done something to hurt God and our relationship with God. In today's climate, the humility to pray this prayer could go a long way. Everyone has an opinion about how things should be, but we think admitting that we might not have gotten things quite right makes us look too weak. People often attack politicians for "flip-flopping," but I deeply admire a politician who can say their views have evolved over time. It is admitting they are human. With this prayer, we must also pray for the humility to recognize the need to pray it. Merciful God, grant us the ability to recognize when we have failed, and the humility to admit it to you, and help us to grow to a place where we don't do it again.
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Perhaps it seems easier just to hold a grudge. Anger and resentment can indeed feel very satisfying - at first. But as it eats away at you. It does not allow us peace. And this, too, is what can lead people to act out of pain, fear, and hate instead of love, peace, and grace. Forgiveness is for the wrong-doing, to be sure, but I think even more it is for the one who putting down the load they have been carrying. Gracious God, teach us how to put down our burdens, and give us the courage to do it.
Save us from the time of trial
O Lord, this is the prayer of those of us who fear! Brene Brown, shame and vulnerability researcher, talks about how sometimes she is filled with such joy looking at her children, and then the fear of something going terribly wrong snatches that joy away and replaces it with dread. I never understood this as well as I do when I close the door to the nursery and go to sleep, knowing how much can go wrong with Grace while I am unconscious in the next room. When I find her in the morning, snoring away through her dear, stuffed up little nose, my heart fills up once again with joy. When I pray to be saved from the time of trial, my prayer is to be saved from the fear and dread that snatches away my joy. Saving God, because of you, we need not fear. Help us to remember that.
and deliver us from evil.
A recurring theme in this reflection - I see over and over again that evil happens when people act out of fear instead of love. Fear builds walls instead of bridges. Fear draws lines in the sand. Fear tears down the other. When I pray to be delivered from evil, I pray that we would be delivered from the fear that guides so many of our actions. God of life, you defeated the fear of death in Jesus Christ. Defeat fear again and again in our hearts, and banish evil from our ways.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
When we speak this line, especially when we do it in unison, we don't say it with nearly enough attention to what we are saying. We are declaring God as omnipotent, powerful, glorious! All this for all eternity! It is a good way to keep things in perspective, a good way to remember that at the end of the day and the end of the age, God is in charge. Omnipotent, glorious God: THANK YOU that we are not in charge.
Amen.
Let it be, Lord, let it be!
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