Our Father
Our Father - Part 1
Sunday, March 6, 2022
Matthew 6:9
“Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.Matthew 6:9
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
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Erma Bombeck paints a portrait of herself as a little girl who dearly loved her dad but wasn't sure what dads do:
One morning my father didn't get up and go to work. He went to the hospital and died the next day. I hadn't thought that much about him before. He was just someone who left and came home and seemed glad to see everyone at night. He opened the jar of pickles when no one else could. He was the only one in the house who wasn't afraid to go into the basement by himself.
He cut himself shaving, but no one kissed it or got excited about it. It was understood when it rained, he got the car and brought it around to the door. When anyone was sick, he went out to get the prescription filled. He took lots of pictures . . . but he was never in them.
Whenever I played house, the mother doll had a lot to do. I never knew what to do with the daddy doll, so I had him say, "I'm going off to work now," and threw him under the bed. The funeral was in our living room and a lot of people came and brought all kinds of good food and cakes. We had never had so much company before. I went to my room and felt under the bed for the daddy doll. When I found him, I dusted him off and put him on my bed. He never did anything. I didn't know his leaving would hurt so much.
- Erma Bombeck. Family--The Ties that Bind . . . And Gag!
Jesus invites us to pray not to some distant God, but to God, Our Father. Sometimes though, God Our Father feels a lot more like the father in Erma’s story. We know God loves us, but when it comes to our everyday lives, we’re not always sure what Our Father actually does.
To make matters worse, not everyone’s experience with their earthly fathers are positive. Some are outright painful or even abusive. For better or worse, our image of father will always fall short of who God is. Nevertheless, Jesus invites us into a shared relationship with “Our Father.” Instead of creating God in the image of earthly fathers, he essentially says, “My father is your father too. My father in heaven, who loves me, sent me to tell you that he loves you too. You are my brothers and sisters, and my beloved father is Our Father.”
Perhaps Pope Francis puts it best when he says, “When we address God as ‘Our Father’, we are invited to remember that, regardless of whether our human fathers loved us deeply or abandoned us entirely, or whether our fathers died or were simply absentee, we are not orphans.” Jesus’ Father is your father... my father… OUR FATHER.
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An Invitation to a Lenten Breath Prayer Practice -
As we sit with the “Our Father” Prayer Jesus taught us, I invite you to take one line each week and use it as a breath prayer throughout your day. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by difficulty or by gratitude, by pain or by joy, take a moment to breath a line of this sacred prayer. You may want to set a silent alarm on your watch or phone to remind you to pause and pray at least 3 times each day. Regardless of when you do it, be sure to let the prayer truly fill the depths of your soul. Repeat it, sit with it, meditate on it, until it becomes part of you. Allow the Spirit to transform your heart and mind as you pray.
Week 1: Breath Prayer Exercise
Breathe in: “Our Father in heaven…”
Breathe out: “Hallowed be your name.”
Amen.