Deuteronomy 4: 15-49, Deuteronomy 5, Luke 11: 1-32, Psalm 52
Luke 11: 2-4 (ESV)
“And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed
be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive
us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead
us not into temptation.””
Verses 2 through 4 from Luke 11 shows Jesus teaching his disciples
to say the Lord’s Prayer. I still remember a sermon I heard about the Lord’s
Prayer when I was in junior high. The catholic priest at my childhood church
was crying as he was talking about the Lord’s Prayer. He told us we should pray
this prayer like we really meant it, and when we did we would feel tears streaming
down our faces as we thought about each line we were saying especially the part
about forgiveness. He said if we really thought about what it mean about God
forgiving our sins and us forgiving everyone, we would cry at the power of God’s
love and its ability to work through us because forgiveness was only possible
with God’s help. The tears of our priest was so shocking to me. I remember my
mother saying she had never seen Father Turgeon cry during a sermon because he
was so moved. I remember him as a very kind, middle-aged man, with a wry sense
of humor who always had a cigarette in hand after church. I remember trying to
cry like he did when I said the Lord’s Prayer in my bedroom and being so proud of
myself when I succeeded. It’s been a long time since I’ve cried saying the Lord’s
Prayer, but I know someday the tears will come again as I recite the words
about forgiveness and ponder on the power of God’s love to work through me.
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