The "New" Lord's Prayer

I’m intrigued by the idea of what kind of men Jesus called to be his disciples. I’ve always assumed they were uneducated backwater fishermen. Most were indeed fishermen but more than that they were businessmen which made them professional fishermen. I thought they would go out every day and catch enough fish to provide food for the family. But some of them had a fleet of fishing boats and would take fish to the market every day to be sold to the public. And apparently they made a pretty good living. This changes how I view these men. Although these guys weren’t described this way they must have been men of character and determination, men who could follow through with commitment, and they all loved God. These men had a tremendous faith in the coming of Messiah and believed without hesitation Messiah would rid Israel of their Roman oppressors. Also, they were certain that Messiah would launch His kingdom and establish Jerusalem as the center of their world. They put all their hope in this belief system that was drilled into their heads, for their entire lives.  They would not even consider an alternative or any kind of change to what they believed. The religious leaders they followed could prove beyond any doubt that what was being taught in synagogue was the absolute truth, which was The Law is God. And anyone who questioned this truth was ostracized, ridiculed, called a false prophet, and sometimes killed.

And then God changed everything by fulfilling the promise He made to Abraham almost two thousand years earlier. He began by sending what appeared to be a crazy man dressed in a camel hair garment with a leather belt around his waist. And his food was locusts and wild honey (Mat 3: 1-4). This man who came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand, accomplishing what Isaiah had prophesied approximately seven hundred years earlier, and wearing exactly what the prophet Elijah was wearing four hundred years earlier. He fulfilled the prophesy of Malachi - who lived centuries after Elijah - that Elijah would return a second time. If you google the locusts and wild honey there are many variations on what they represent but it seems enough to me, to say John's diet was a symbolic expression of his prophetic role, Nazarite lifestyle, and reliance on God's provision, while also potentially referencing the judgment and salvation that he preached. It was believed that John the Baptist was a Nazarite which, if he was, would explain his long hair and diet. The Nazarites practiced abstaining from wine and other grape products, refrained from cutting their hair, and avoiding contact with dead bodies (good advice for all of us).  And Jesus said in Matthew 11:14 And if you will receive it, this is Elijah who is to come.

 It is clear to me that God is never silent about what He is doing. The problem we face is time; we live in a very focused now. History is a shadow that we can record, and the future is covered with an opaque veil that is completely out of our reach. We are trapped in a substance called now. Sometimes we navigate through it easily but sometimes it feels like we are swimming in peanut butter. God has a plan, and it unfolds in the process of time. John the baptizer was revealed in one of those folds. Those who were paying attention saw it and they were delighted because they knew what was coming next. Some saw it and were gripped with fear because of what it would cost them. So here’s John in his camel hair shirt and a leather strap used to hold his pants up, crying in this wilderness (probably more like yelling) “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!” He baptized people, including Jesus, into this life of impending change. He gained disciples and taught them to fast, to strictly keep the laws, to be meticulously disciplined, and how to pray. And in comes the most significant fulfillment of prophecy in all of time. The entirety of the Old Testament pointed to this event. Yes, yes, we celebrate His arrival through His birth as the beginning of the New Testament, and I love Christmas, but that is just how He got here. And we celebrate Easter when the crucifixion ended His life as a human. His death was extremely important, but what sealed the deal was fact that He defeated death with His resurrection. In that moment the law of Moses was, and is, fulfilled. The veil/curtain that separated us from God was ripped from top to bottom, Gods Spirit left the box and the isolated room and made His way into us; and not just some of our sins, not just our past sin, but all of sin was, is, and forever forgiven.  As if sin had never happened. Think about that. All sin.

I want to go back about three years and talk about the reason for this topic. Jesus was baptized, as you know, and was confirmed by God by saying this is My Son in whom I’m well pleased. Jesus began calling His disciples and going around telling parables and healing and stuff. His new disciples were somewhat clueless about what was happening and yet totally committed to the coming of the Kingdom of God. Or what they thought it would be. And one of them noticed that “Hey we are not praying enough, and, and we have this really important job. Shouldn’t we be praying more? Another said yeah John had us praying all the time. And yet another said yeah, he had us praying for the coming of Messiah and we are now walking with Him. What should we be praying for? And the second one said I don’t know. Let’s ask Jesus. And we got, what is affectionately and repetitiously called the Lord’s Prayer. Here’s the good news about “The Lords Prayer.” He answered it. He answered all of it. So why do we keep praying it over and over again? Well, Rick you heretic, you might say, Jesus us told us, in the Bible I might add, here is how we are to pray. Now I know you have said this prayer your whole life. We said it in school before they took prayer out of schools. It looks great on greeting cards, tee shirts and coffee mugs. But I think it’s the repetition of prayers that Jesus warned us about and not to do. It’s almost become a Christian chant. So, let’s make it a prayer of worship, a prayer of celebration for what Christ has done for us. I think it should be like this:

Our Father

Before the cross You were the Father of a people and now You are father to individuals. And we have this precious intimate relationship with You. And as You were to Jesus You are a Father to us.

Who is in heaven

You were, before the cross, separate from us. And now Jesus has caused You to dwell in me. I am God’s temple. Your kingdom is in me.

Hallowed be your name

Because You are holy You have made us, through the blood of Christ, to be holy, and free from all sin

Your Kingdom come

You have brought Your kingdom to us and made us Your kingdom. Your kingdom is not a place but the person of Christ in us.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Your will is to be in relationship with what You have created. To be one with us eternally as if we were already in heaven with You.

Give us this day our daily bread

Jesus said He is the bread of life. He is what sustains us. We are one with Him as You are one with Him.

Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors

You Father through Jesus paid a debt we could never pay. We are not only free from all our sins and because You now live in us we stand in a freedom that is for all so that all are forgiven. Our forgiveness is not conditional on our forgiving others first.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil

Help us to believe the truth that our past is dead, that it was crucified with Christ. That You have given us the freedom of choosing to believe who You say we are.  That the evil we face is believing the lies that would distort the truth by trying to get what You have already given us.

For all that has existed from the beginning is You, all the power is in your Word, and You have glorified me with Your glory forever. Amen.

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