Sermon 27th January 2008
Today, Sophie Corlett, a member of St Saviour's congregation (and former Churchwarden), looks at The Lord's Prayer
Give us this day our daily bread
Just recently Paris Hilton was disinherited by her grandfather – who saw that story? – no need to be shy, it was in the financial pages as well as the celeb gossip! Paris Hilton will not now be inheriting the $51m (£25m) she was due to see on the death of her grandfather. I gather that her comment when she heard this was that it didn’t really matter to her – ‘I’ve always earned my own money’.
Is that our attitude to prayer? Do we really believe that God has a role to play in our lives? Do we look on God as a good back up but essentially, not central to our day to day survival, because, like Paris Hilton we can say ‘I’ve always earned my own money’ - I work, I save, I’ve got my children into the right schools, I’ve put money away so they will be able to go to university, I’ve a house, health insurance, buildings insurance, contents insurance, car insurance, holiday insurance, pet insurance, a pension, an ISA, an education, good health, good taste – if I’m doing ok in my life, isn’t it down to me?
And it’s good to work hard and save sensibly and plan for the future. It’s good to look after ourselves and our families. But if this cushions us from realising our real dependence on God, these things become a distraction, a barrier.
We are a mixed congregation here. Some of us will know what it is to have experienced real poverty, or to be dependent on the kindness of others for food or for freedom. Others of us will never have known what it is to feel powerless; will never have been truly dependent since we were children, may not really understand what it is to know our future is in the hands of others. And as a society, we see dependence as something shameful; we use the term dependence culture as a way of disparaging people on benefits.
I don’t know enough about Paris Hilton to say how much she owes to her grandfather. But I do know that we owe everything to God. Despite appearances, we are not in control of our own destinies. The things we build up to protect us are not foolproof – even banks can collapse, our health will decline (unless we die first), our children can turn out bad despite all our efforts. We are frail, human, ephemeral, small and, at root helpless within a big wide universe that all our science hasn’t really understood. Although we are overwhelmingly fortunate to live in the century, continent and country we do, and many of us overwhelmingly fortunate to have the things we have, that fortune is in God’s gift. And we remain reliant on God every day for it.
And the first few lines of the Lord’s Prayer help us to remember this – they put us in the right attitude – they are bowing down before God. They remind us that we are not God’s equal, very far from it – we do not approach him as a casual friend, or even a millionaire grandfather, who might be able to help out with a favour, or worse, like an assertive customer approaching a shop assistant. We come on our knees, with an understanding of our complete dependence on God – even for our daily bread.
So – give us this day our daily bread.
That’s all it says. It doesn’t even expand on the bread much – just raises the request and moves on.
So why so short? Perhaps, because it keeps to the necessary. Bread - not steak, just bread – that would have been the most basic food in Jesus’ day. And today’s bread - not even enough for this week – just today’s.
Do we really need to be so Spartan in our requests? Surely if God cares for us, shouldn’t we be able to pray for all the things on our hearts? And we are so caught up with desires, and fears and anxieties, lots of different emotions. We may have debts to worry about, or family difficulties. Or we really want a better job or a new coat. We are worried about the state of the world, famine, terrorism. Huge global things and tiny things that in more rational moments we would admit are trivial. I don’t know about you, but when I pray, I usually get to the asking bits much earlier proportionately, than the Lord’s Prayer does. My requests just come tumbling out in a mass - or a mess! How could we begin to untangle them all anyway?
Well, I’m sure we shouldn’t be censoring our prayers to the things we think we ‘ought’ to pray for. But I do believe that if we spend some time bowing down before God, praying to see His Kingdom come on earth as in heaven, perhaps we can get our requests more into perspective. Jesus’ pattern in this prayer helps us focus on what is important; the less important things begin to drop away. I think this is what prayer is essentially about – as we spend time with God and we see things more and more from his point of view, our prayers become more in-line with what He wants, and as well we become more like Him.
I think the other reason that this request is so short is because it just doesn’t need to be longer. If you look back at the passage that immediately precedes this one there is a reminder that ‘your father knows what you need before you ask him’. We need only to lay our earnest request at his feet and leave it there.
So why do so many people not have what they need? Why does God still not seem to answer prayers that he can’t help but think are good? I can’t answer that – but I will say two things
First, God’s Kingdom hasn’t come yet – the world and the people who inhabit it are twisted out of shape. Bad things happen and they happen to good people.
And the second is, in praying for God’s Kingdom to come and for people to have what they need, we commit ourselves to action to help these things come about. Prayers are answered by God through people – that means me, you.
Awi Tong, a woman I met in Burma who runs an informal children’s home is an example of prayer at work. She looks after 25 children in her own house. Every morning the children and she get up and pray for an hour. Then they set about their day. And every day they have enough to feed the household – sometimes food they have grown, sometimes food they have bought, sometimes food that has been left on the doorstep. That’s how prayer should be; her and the children’s prayers, and the prayers of those who act to bring her food.
Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
There is no way around this, this is hard. God asks us to forgive those who have wronged us. And he doesn’t just mean people who wind us up. He means people who have really wronged us, hurt us. And forgiveness is not just about ignoring, or setting to one side, but it’s rubbing out the wrong and welcoming back the person who has hurt us. To quote a book I was reading forgiveness is ‘rich, hard, shocking, even reckless’, like the forgiveness that the father offered to his wayward son when he ran down the road to meet him.
Why and how can we do this? Why, because God says we must, or we won’t receive his forgiveness. How? Where does the strength come from to do this? From realising how little we can afford to be self-righteous. From knowing that God ran down the hill to meet us, from being so sure of God’s generosity to us that we can afford to be generous to others.
This may not be something that we ever achieve fully. And I think it’s probably a bit of a virtuous circle – the more we know we are forgiven, the more we forgive. And if the hurt and damage is very deep, it may take many years, and you may need to talk it through with someone who can help you.
I also want quickly to say, forgiveness does not mean returning to an abusive relationship or leaving yourself open to unnecessary exploitation. But it may mean giving a person some scope to wrong you again – the Sermon on the Mount is really uncompromising about this. We are called to be open, and sometimes vulnerable, to other people. Forgiveness is hard, shocking and reckless. But the rewards are rich – for God does heal hurts, and can mend some of the twisted aspects of our relationships and our world when we have the courage and love to forgive.
Our prayers, Cameron said at the beginning, reflect our beliefs. I think too, our prayers can affect our beliefs. The way the Lord’s Prayer is structured, the way it focuses on who God is, what he has done for us, changes our understand of our dependence on God and it puts our needs and ours and others’ wrongs into perspective. It brings us round to God’s way of thinking
And our prayers should also affect our actions. A big message of the Sermon on the Mount, which Jesus’ teaching on the Lord’s Prayer is a part of, is that what you do practically and what you do spiritually are part and parcel; either without the other is hollow. As we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, it should lead us to action – to help feed those who don’t have bread or the other essentials for a good life. As we remember God’s forgiveness to us we take practical steps to forgive others – by letting go of grudges, being open hearted to people. As we pray we change. And as we change, God’s Kingdom comes..
Give us this day our daily bread
Just recently Paris Hilton was disinherited by her grandfather – who saw that story? – no need to be shy, it was in the financial pages as well as the celeb gossip! Paris Hilton will not now be inheriting the $51m (£25m) she was due to see on the death of her grandfather. I gather that her comment when she heard this was that it didn’t really matter to her – ‘I’ve always earned my own money’.
Is that our attitude to prayer? Do we really believe that God has a role to play in our lives? Do we look on God as a good back up but essentially, not central to our day to day survival, because, like Paris Hilton we can say ‘I’ve always earned my own money’ - I work, I save, I’ve got my children into the right schools, I’ve put money away so they will be able to go to university, I’ve a house, health insurance, buildings insurance, contents insurance, car insurance, holiday insurance, pet insurance, a pension, an ISA, an education, good health, good taste – if I’m doing ok in my life, isn’t it down to me?
And it’s good to work hard and save sensibly and plan for the future. It’s good to look after ourselves and our families. But if this cushions us from realising our real dependence on God, these things become a distraction, a barrier.
We are a mixed congregation here. Some of us will know what it is to have experienced real poverty, or to be dependent on the kindness of others for food or for freedom. Others of us will never have known what it is to feel powerless; will never have been truly dependent since we were children, may not really understand what it is to know our future is in the hands of others. And as a society, we see dependence as something shameful; we use the term dependence culture as a way of disparaging people on benefits.
I don’t know enough about Paris Hilton to say how much she owes to her grandfather. But I do know that we owe everything to God. Despite appearances, we are not in control of our own destinies. The things we build up to protect us are not foolproof – even banks can collapse, our health will decline (unless we die first), our children can turn out bad despite all our efforts. We are frail, human, ephemeral, small and, at root helpless within a big wide universe that all our science hasn’t really understood. Although we are overwhelmingly fortunate to live in the century, continent and country we do, and many of us overwhelmingly fortunate to have the things we have, that fortune is in God’s gift. And we remain reliant on God every day for it.
And the first few lines of the Lord’s Prayer help us to remember this – they put us in the right attitude – they are bowing down before God. They remind us that we are not God’s equal, very far from it – we do not approach him as a casual friend, or even a millionaire grandfather, who might be able to help out with a favour, or worse, like an assertive customer approaching a shop assistant. We come on our knees, with an understanding of our complete dependence on God – even for our daily bread.
So – give us this day our daily bread.
That’s all it says. It doesn’t even expand on the bread much – just raises the request and moves on.
So why so short? Perhaps, because it keeps to the necessary. Bread - not steak, just bread – that would have been the most basic food in Jesus’ day. And today’s bread - not even enough for this week – just today’s.
Do we really need to be so Spartan in our requests? Surely if God cares for us, shouldn’t we be able to pray for all the things on our hearts? And we are so caught up with desires, and fears and anxieties, lots of different emotions. We may have debts to worry about, or family difficulties. Or we really want a better job or a new coat. We are worried about the state of the world, famine, terrorism. Huge global things and tiny things that in more rational moments we would admit are trivial. I don’t know about you, but when I pray, I usually get to the asking bits much earlier proportionately, than the Lord’s Prayer does. My requests just come tumbling out in a mass - or a mess! How could we begin to untangle them all anyway?
Well, I’m sure we shouldn’t be censoring our prayers to the things we think we ‘ought’ to pray for. But I do believe that if we spend some time bowing down before God, praying to see His Kingdom come on earth as in heaven, perhaps we can get our requests more into perspective. Jesus’ pattern in this prayer helps us focus on what is important; the less important things begin to drop away. I think this is what prayer is essentially about – as we spend time with God and we see things more and more from his point of view, our prayers become more in-line with what He wants, and as well we become more like Him.
I think the other reason that this request is so short is because it just doesn’t need to be longer. If you look back at the passage that immediately precedes this one there is a reminder that ‘your father knows what you need before you ask him’. We need only to lay our earnest request at his feet and leave it there.
So why do so many people not have what they need? Why does God still not seem to answer prayers that he can’t help but think are good? I can’t answer that – but I will say two things
First, God’s Kingdom hasn’t come yet – the world and the people who inhabit it are twisted out of shape. Bad things happen and they happen to good people.
And the second is, in praying for God’s Kingdom to come and for people to have what they need, we commit ourselves to action to help these things come about. Prayers are answered by God through people – that means me, you.
Awi Tong, a woman I met in Burma who runs an informal children’s home is an example of prayer at work. She looks after 25 children in her own house. Every morning the children and she get up and pray for an hour. Then they set about their day. And every day they have enough to feed the household – sometimes food they have grown, sometimes food they have bought, sometimes food that has been left on the doorstep. That’s how prayer should be; her and the children’s prayers, and the prayers of those who act to bring her food.
Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
There is no way around this, this is hard. God asks us to forgive those who have wronged us. And he doesn’t just mean people who wind us up. He means people who have really wronged us, hurt us. And forgiveness is not just about ignoring, or setting to one side, but it’s rubbing out the wrong and welcoming back the person who has hurt us. To quote a book I was reading forgiveness is ‘rich, hard, shocking, even reckless’, like the forgiveness that the father offered to his wayward son when he ran down the road to meet him.
Why and how can we do this? Why, because God says we must, or we won’t receive his forgiveness. How? Where does the strength come from to do this? From realising how little we can afford to be self-righteous. From knowing that God ran down the hill to meet us, from being so sure of God’s generosity to us that we can afford to be generous to others.
This may not be something that we ever achieve fully. And I think it’s probably a bit of a virtuous circle – the more we know we are forgiven, the more we forgive. And if the hurt and damage is very deep, it may take many years, and you may need to talk it through with someone who can help you.
I also want quickly to say, forgiveness does not mean returning to an abusive relationship or leaving yourself open to unnecessary exploitation. But it may mean giving a person some scope to wrong you again – the Sermon on the Mount is really uncompromising about this. We are called to be open, and sometimes vulnerable, to other people. Forgiveness is hard, shocking and reckless. But the rewards are rich – for God does heal hurts, and can mend some of the twisted aspects of our relationships and our world when we have the courage and love to forgive.
Our prayers, Cameron said at the beginning, reflect our beliefs. I think too, our prayers can affect our beliefs. The way the Lord’s Prayer is structured, the way it focuses on who God is, what he has done for us, changes our understand of our dependence on God and it puts our needs and ours and others’ wrongs into perspective. It brings us round to God’s way of thinking
And our prayers should also affect our actions. A big message of the Sermon on the Mount, which Jesus’ teaching on the Lord’s Prayer is a part of, is that what you do practically and what you do spiritually are part and parcel; either without the other is hollow. As we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, it should lead us to action – to help feed those who don’t have bread or the other essentials for a good life. As we remember God’s forgiveness to us we take practical steps to forgive others – by letting go of grudges, being open hearted to people. As we pray we change. And as we change, God’s Kingdom comes..
posted by Parish Administrator at 10:47 am
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