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For the last three weeks we have been looking at the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples – the Lord's Prayer as we call it.
Some refer to it as "The prayer you received at your Baptism…"
Your spiritual baptism certificate – the prayer of Christian community.
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In summary –
The Lord's prayer begins with 'Our' – we say it together, even if we are alone.
It is addressed to a Father – the special and privileged conversation between parent and child. Parents have special ears – they know a child's tone of voice / urgent / important / whining sounds… they know when to listen.
This Father is not just any father – but a heavenly Father.
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It begins with whose we are and who we are and then goes on to speak about what our Father is doing in the world…
Hallowed be your name – we want God's name to be famous, and we want that name to refer to God and God alone – the God who is made known to us in Jesus – the very image of who God is.
Your Kingdom come, your will be done – we want to be good Kingdom citizens; we want to see God's kind of justice here in this world.
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Give us our daily bread brings us down to the nitty gritty of life in the Kingdom of God. Bread – that which we need to eat, a network of circumstances that exist to make life possible.
Bread is also 'food for the journey' – padkos that will sustain us as we journey towards the Kingdom of God.
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We ask God to forgive us conditionally – on condition that we forgive others.
Forgive us as we forgive others…
Tied into God's generous provision of bread / of grace to us – God gives us something for nothing, why shouldn't we give others something for nothing?
Because we have enough bread – we can forgive those indebted to us.
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And today: 'Do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.'
Or:
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
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Temptation
Steve Turner – a Christian poet has a poem called One More Time.
It begins with the line:
"Lead me into temptation just one more time…"
Just one more time…
Most of us struggle with temptation – some of us – not as much as we should.
Temptation covers a lot of issues… the temptation to do naughty things, to yield to our addictions:
Money, drugs, alcohol, pornography, sex, power, abuse… and the list goes on.
And we know that our minds are clever – they know how to justify the things we do – its easy to say its OK to steal – the boss doesn't pay me enough as it is.
I need the alcohol to cope…
We make a fuss about our vices.
But if we're honest – we realise that we surrender to them on purpose - we actively pursue them.
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An interesting thing about temptation: Martin Luther said you can allow a bird to land on your head – but if you let it make a nest there you've got a problem.
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Most of us have allowed our temptations to nest in our hairdos.
Just like it is our nature to pray 'my Kingdom, my will, my name, give me all the bread in the world', it is also our nature to pray: 'lead us into temptation'.
But Jesus teaches us to pray the oposite:
'Your Kingdom, your will, your name, the bread we need for tomorrow, and lead us not into temptation.'
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This prayer that we receive at our baptism reflects a whole different set of priorities by which we as Christians live – and we make these priorities the language of our hearts.
Those baptised today will be brought up with Kingdom of God priorities – not the priorities that would suit our natural inclinations.
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But temptation is not just avoiding doing evil – it is also the temptation not to do what we should do.
So far the prayer has been about changing the world…
Kingdom come.
Name hallowed.
Give us the bread we need.
- Positive difference making ideas.
Why should the momentum suddenly change?
We fool ourselves when we begin to think that Christianity is more about the don'ts than it is about the do's.
The commandments are summed up in the command to (positively) love God and love your neighbour.
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I think this line of the prayer is more about the temptation not to do that which is good.
The Greek word for temptation is peirasmos – trial – Jesus' experiences peirasmos in the desert with the devil.
Tempted to take the easy way out Jesus is tested and chooses positive obedience to the father.
Jesus is tempted again in the garden of Gethsemane – moments of struggle – "Take this cup away from me…" his time of trial.
The choice to be obedient to the Father to go to the cross; to actively live out his vocation – that is the real moment of temptation.
A moment of chrisis.
Choosing to do the positive and heroic – rather than simply choosing not to do what is wrong.
Choosing to take the action in which we sacrifice ourselves. And that moment is only a 'time of trial' when we have second thoughts…
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ICE AGE CLIP 1
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In this clip Manfred the Mammoth, Sid the Sloth and Diego the Sabre Toothed Tiger are confronted by a terrible Crisis. (They're trying to return 'Pinky' the human baby to his tribe.)
Diego is a typical cat who looks after himself.
Sid is a Sloth – he has a good heart – but his first response is to run like the wind.
Manfred the Mammoth is our hero – a big heart and the courage to match it.
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When each animal could choose to save their own skin, Manfred chooses to risk his life for the sake of the others.
The time of trial is the moment at which we have to choose to do what is right – even though it may be at terrible cost.
For Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane the cost would be his life, his pain, his suffering – the cross.
For the early disciples it would be persecution for loving the wrong sort of people and worshipping the wrong sort of God.
For us today the time of trial is those moments on a Sunday morning when we decide whether or not to go to church… on a Thursday when we think about Bible study… when we decide whether or not we will go to that meeting or do that thing.
The time of trial is sometimes mundane – but sometimes terrifying… to do the right thing at work / or not.
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Lead us not into the time of trial.
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Let difficult times not be trials at all – but let us choose immediately to do what is right.
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The good news about Manfred…
ICE AGE CLIP 2
Is that he survives his decision to do what is right. And when Diego the self centred cat says: "Why did you do that?"
Mannie responds – "That's what you do in a herd."
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For Christians the line is not so much: "That's what you do in a herd… but that's what you do in the Kingdom of God."
Deliver us from the evil one…
Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God as 'among us' as 'here'.
And the Kingdom of God is literally the place where God's way has sway in us… Where we are obedient to God and God alone.
And I believe that every moment of trial is a moment when we choose which Kingdom to live in.
'Lead us not into the time of trial… but deliver us from the evil one.'
Help me to make the decisions moment by moment that destroy the Kingdom of the Devil – selfishness, arrogance and pride, and build up the Kingdom of Yahweh – the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Self giving love.
Conclusion
When we pray with sincerity lead us from the time of trial – those moments of indecision, of temptation when we weigh up the way of the Kingdom of God against the way of the Kingdom of Evil… when we are delivered and it is no longer a matter of choice, but rather of positive decision. Then I believe we will begin to see the Kingdom of God here in this place.
AMEN
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