The Lord's Prayer

11/10/10

This past week Wilma and I were in the Washington D.C. area.  I had a board meeting and we saw a number of our friends ( all over the geographical map - so lots of driving ).

Last Sunday we attended the church we attended over 50 years ago, with good friends.  This morning I woke with my mind racing.  This blog will be an attempt to capture the feelings that I am still processing.

This great church, still with a beautifully robed choir, great singing, a gifted preacher, at least 3 morning services, an expanded building, (neighborhood parking plus bus service from a local mall)  i.e. lots of people, and yet ---I came away with the feeling that I had sat through a service of 50 or more years ago. Every part of the service was the same with a different preacher, different people in the choir, different choir director, different support young pastor, different men taking up the collection etc. etc.

At then end of the preaching we were led to the communion portion of the service - only this time the elements were broken wafers and grape juice in plastic rather than glass cups. Everything was the same, I guess most of that must be good, but in the end the pastor led the congregation to say  the Lord's Prayer. What struck me, was that I, and those around me, seemed to "mumbled" the prayer! At least is what it feels like right now. Why didn't someone stand up and yell out don't mumble this prayer.  Why don't we yell out to Jesus that we want his name to be honor in our lives?  Why don't we yell out to Jesus that we want what he is thinking and dreaming about to happen here on earth as it is in heaven?  What he is thinking about to truly happen in DC or Ann Arbor or anywhere else in the world.?

Fifty years ago at that great old church the people mumbled their way  through the same prayer. ; And, now fifty years later I mumbled my way through the prayer again because I didn't have the guts to stand up and really lay  my heart before Jesus - and apparently neither did anyone else in the congregation. My trip to Ethiopia has apparently changed something inside of me.  When the kids at the school "mumbled" the same prayer and I was able to think with them about the prayer, to think with them about what it really means to pray, "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and they began to tap their chests in a gesture of "speaking to their hearts" I too changed
; I can't "mumble" the Lord's Prayer any longer.  Jesus do I really want what you are thinking about to become reality here on earth? Jesus do I really want your name to honored here on earth as it is honored in heaven? Jesus may your will, your thinking, your dreaming, really be done in my home, my country, in other countries, etc.

Today, I'm back in the days of the old church in DC hearing the people "mumble" their way through the prayer and I wonder what it takes to gets people to ask, "Jesus, will you teach us how to pray?" Are people all over the world "mumbling" their way through the prayer as we seem to be doing and as the kids in Ethiopia seemed to be doing also. Did the disciples of Jesus quickly begin to mumble the prayer? Jesus, please teach us to pray!