Posts Tagged: the Lord’s Prayer

“Hallowing God’s Name is God’s Business. Our Business is to Pray”

On July 31, 2022 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Is our business as Christians to make God’s name holy?

No and yes. And the “No” needs to come first.

Here is a long quote from Karl Barth that sets out what we must be doing. Barth is discussing the words addressed to God “hallowed by your name” in the Lord’s Prayer.

“It is clear that we pray in the midst of our present in which God’s name is not hallowed but is desecrated in the world and even in the church and our own lives as Christians by the division which dominates all things. But now we are not abandoned to the scandal and evil of this division nor thrown back on our own resources. We are not directed either to sink into a hopeless silence or assault the clouded and covered heavens with hysterical cries of protest and distress and appeals for help. Jesus Christ lived once, but not only once. As the one who lived once, he also lives today, even in this confused present of ours. As he forbids us to come to terms with our confusion, he does not leave us stuck in our impasse in relation to it, but shows us the way out by ordering us to turn to God with the request that he himself will take in hand the sanctifying of his name.” (Karl Barth, The Christian Life, translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley (New York: Bloomsbury, 2017), p. 237. Italics mine.)

I don’t always (ever?) entirely understand Barth, but I think what he is saying is this: Only God can make God’s name holy. The world won’t and the church can’t. In fact, the church can and does frequently bring shame on the name of God. We do so by our inconsistent behavior—as well as by venting our spleen and calling it speaking the truth.

So, if God’s name is to be holy, it must be God who does it. However, we are given the task of praying that God will do precisely that. And as we take the posture of humility and pray, perhaps we will also find that we do a better job of living holier, more consistent lives—even in this confused present.

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THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF “WE”

On January 10, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

One of the topics this morning in my twelve-step addiction recovery meeting was the importance of “we.”  It is the first word of step 1.  “We admitted that we were powerless . . . and that our lives had become unmanageable.”

One brother in the struggle commented that “we” is not only the first word.  It is also the most important word.

The word “we” is important for a number of reasons.

First, the word “we” is important because it strikes at two of the taproots of addiction: secrecy and isolation.  When we give our bottom lines or give a lead (tell our story), we are placing a dynamite charge at the base of the secret aspect of our addiction.  To change the analogy, I am told that certain bacteria cannot survive in the sunlight.  Neither can active addictions.

The second deep root of addiction is isolation.  If secrecy is our choice to hide our behavior, isolation is our feeling that we are alone in our very existence.  When we come together in meetings, we realize that there are others—many others, in fact—who are very different from us, and yet just like us.  Such togetherness (with accountability, but without judgment) is incredibly healing.

Third, when we come together, we learn from one another.  Those who have had a slip or a relapse teach us that we also are vulnerable, and that we need to be careful rather than complacent.  We learn from the stories of others what has worked for them.  We may try some of their ideas.  Some of the things that worked for them may also work for us.  Some do not.  We have a saying in meetings: “Take what you like and leave the rest.”

Fourth, when people share, we often see ourselves in them.  We hear their rationalizations as to why it is “okay” for them to act out on their addiction, and we suddenly recognize that we have been reasoning in the same non-rational manner.

Fifth, we receive encouragement.  Even the most helpful insights in the world are not enough to keep an addict from being an active addict.  Without encouragement, insights are like my weights: useful, except for the fact that I rarely pick them up.  Encouragement gives us the strength, courage, and hope to make use of the insights we receive in meetings, in conversations with our sponsor, or in informal conversations with other recovering addicts.

Of course, for those of us who are Christ-followers, the word “we” is very important, too.  “Jesus and me!”  Yes, that is very important!  But we also need the motto “Jesus and us!”  As has often been pointed out, the first word in the Lord’s Prayer is “our.”

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