Singing the Catechism: The Lord's Prayer

Part of the wonder of the incarnation, the Word made flesh, is that through Jesus, we are invited to join in the conversation which is of the essence of God.

What an awesome privilege!

It is a little like a small child trying to participate in a conversation with adults.

Just as the expression of a child may not be grammatically correct or with full understanding, nevertheless the adults pay attention, interpret the misshapen language, and deal gently and appropriately with the child.

That is like our work of prayer, our conversation with God.

It is not perfect, but God desires it from us anyway.

The clue is in the first word that Jesus teaches us to use when we pray.

The Lord's Prayer begins with Our Father in heaven.

We make it sound very formal, but the scholars say that the original languages have a different approach.

The word they use is abba, which may translate more like “daddy” than “father.”

It is profoundly more intimate and personal than “father.”

We can talk about anything with “daddy”,and he will listen and respond appropriately.

The response may not be what we think we want, but there will be a response in his good time; we are not ignored by God, he promises.

Jesus says that we may ask for “daily bread,” and Luther explains that this means every possible thing that we need for daily life and work.

To make sure that we got the point, Luther appends that long list of persons and things that might be included.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Jesus bids us to pray.

Luther wants us to understand that we are not somehow forcing God to do something he does not want to do otherwise, but rather that the things that we want to see happen are brought into line with what God intends to happen, in us as well as all around us.

It is a hard lesson, because we are enticed all the time by Satan to focus our lives differently, on what we want for ourselves, and Satan is very persuasive.

Luther shares the same sort of interpretation as he works through all the other petitions in the Lord's Prayer as well.

How is it that these things are done in us, and not just somewhere by someone else?

The beloved abba,...”daddy”... will see to it;

the heavenly abba will indeed do far better than any of our earthly fathers could ever do.

He does not have our weaknesses, sinfulness, or distractions to get in his way!

He is the model for the caring conversations which earthly fathers should be having.

As with other parts of the catechism, Luther set the Lord's Prayer to music so that it could be learned more deeply.

His original has 9 stanzas; one for each of the 7 petitions, an introduction, and one about the Amen.

Each stanza has both the text of the petition and also a poetic summary of the catechism's explanation of that petition.

The one English translation I have seen could only charitably be called “awkward;” it just would not work to actually sing it.

Others have struggled over the years with the problem.

Martin Franzmann was a Missouri Synod pastor and seminary professor who prepared the version we sang a bit ago.

He foregoes the attempt to work in much of the explanations, and focuses on the Prayer text itself, and completes his work in only three stanzas.

We sing this text to one of the two melodies which Luther wrote or adapted for this hymn.

It has been used widely by various composers from the Reformation era until now, including organ settings by Bach and a number of other composers, used in three of Bach's cantatas, and used as the ground for Mendelssohn's sixth organ sonata.

Some of these uses of the melody have a confident, bold spirit, reflecting the knowledge that God asks us to pray.

Some may be more tender and reflective, since we trust that abba will listen to even our anguished and heart-broken pleas.

That wide range of approaches to the melody reflects the knowledge that we may pray when it is mostly thanks-giving or mostly pleas from the depths of despair, and all of the life-situations in between.

Whatever is on our mind is appropriate to engage the Lord in conversation.

And conversation means that both sides are talking and both sides are listening!

Isn't that great news?!The question often pops up: where do we hear God speaking?

It happens when we listen to scripture attentively,

when we engage faithful pastors, teachers, and friends in serious conversation,

and when we receive the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion reverently.

I'm not so sure that I would volunteer to be one of those few who receive God's answers directly.

That is too fearsome a thing for us to handle, but God surrounds us with other ways that we can hear, receive, learn his word and will, and respond in prayer.

Thanks be to God that the conversation which God began within the Trinity continues, and we are invited in!

Isaiah reports: The Lord says: In a time of favor I have answered you; on a day of salvation I have helped you,....

The Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

I will not forget you.

And so we are encouraged to pray, to join the conversation of God. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.