I started the Ash Wednesday sermon sharing some history of Lent and how we came to have this season. If you didn’t get to listen to the sermon you can access here One other interesting fact about Lent is that it comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word lenchten, which is where we get our word “lengthen.” Lent is named for the lengthening of the days as spring approaches—even though it feels like a misnomer today!
Now a little about the Lord’s Prayer.
In the introduction to theologian Joachim Jeremias’ small book on the Lord’s Prayer, the writer said, ““no other prayer has wielded as much influence in the history of religious devotions.” Historians trace its roots as an element in worship services all the way back to the first century where it appeared in the oldest copies of the Didache, a catechism, or teaching, of the church. Scholars note, though, that the prayer appears near the communion portion of the service. That’s significant because unbaptized persons were often dismissed from the service before communion was served. While this appears that the Lord’s Prayer was an exclusive right for just baptized members, it says more about the way Christians considered it a special privilege to recite this prayer in worship. That feeling must have continued even beyond the practice of dismissing unbaptized attenders in worship given the way the Lord’s Prayer has remained a part of Christian worship ever since.
The prayer is found in the Gospels of Luke (11:1-4) in which Jesus offers the prayer as instruction in response to the disciples’ request, “Teach us how to pray,” and in Matthew (6:9-13) where Jesus offers the prayer as a corrective to the false piety of “the Gentiles.” You will notice neither version is like the one we say in worship, or most denominations for that fact. Matthew’s is most similar which is why we are using that scripture for this series, but because Luke is briefer, scholars say this is perhaps the more original of the two. Different religious traditions, often corresponding to early translations of the Bible into English, use slightly different wording, such as “trespasses” versus “sins or debts.” Most versions keep to an old English language style using “art, hallowed, thy, thine,” etc. Also, the last line of the prayer (“For thine is the kingdom...”) is not in either gospel version. This is why the Catholic version of the “Our Father” as they call it, does not include this line. I’ll say more about this on Easter Day.
The structure of the prayer in Matthew is as follows:
Address: “Our Father...”
Three “Thou-Petitions” because they all begin with an address to God: “Thy name...Thy kingdom...Thy will...”
Three “We-Petitions” because they address requests for us: “Give us...Forgive us... and Lead us not...”
Closing Doxology: “For thine is...”
It makes for an 8-part series, but we are squeezing into seven weeks--Ash Wednesday, Lent Sundays 1-5 skipping Palm Sunday, and finishing on Easter.
The Lord’s Prayer may not be original with Jesus! There was a Jewish prayer known as the Kaddish said at the end of synagogue services and later used in funeral services. A portion of that prayer shows it similarity to what Jesus offered: Exalted and hallowed be his great name in the world which he created according to his will. May he rule his kingdom in your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the whole house of Israel, speedily and soon. And to this say, Amen. The first words are particularly similar to this Sunday’s sermon, “Hallowed be thy name.” Don’t let the idea that Jesus may have borrowed from the Kaddish lesson the significance of the Lord’s Prayer. It still raises the question why Jesus offered this prayer. Why did he offer this as a model prayer to his disciples and how can it help us beyond being something we often say at the end of the Pastoral Prayer in worship? This is what we are considering this season. I believe these services will bring all new meaning and appreciation for the Lord’s Prayer as well as deepen your connection to God.