Scripture: Luke 11:1-2
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come…”
Thought for the Day: A week from today, I will begin a study focusing on prayer. In the above passage, we get a little taste of what will become the Lord’s Prayer and the context in which Jesus originally taught these words. One of those words that catches my interest is ‘hallowed.’ It is not a word that makes its way into my daily conversations. I occasionally use it when I’m watching Nebraska football and the camera pulls back to make Memorial Stadium visible. I remember going there as a child, and I thought it was hallowed ground. The word here means to be set apart, and so Jesus is suggesting that when we pray we should place the divine name on a pedestal of sorts. Do we do it because God’s ego needs to be encouraged through our acclamations? I don’t think so. I believe the name of God should be extolled and set apart as a reminder that God is the Holy Other (borrowing from Rudolf Otto). We may claim to have within us the image of God or the divine spark, but we should not confuse ourselves with God. God remains uniquely God and distinctive from humanity. Though humanity has often tried to make God in its image, at the end of the day God remains the Unequaled Other…and this is good for both of us.
Prayer: Holy God, all of creation deserves respect as we are created in your image. At the same time, let us never think of ourselves as equal with you, the One who gave us life. Amen.
2 thoughts on “Ecclesiological Etchings: 08-26-15”
Thoughts that immediately followed reading today’s post:
Hallowed….”set apart”, “on a pedestal of sorts”…..that’s exactly how some friends of mine relate to the word “marriage”. It is why they find themselves unable to accept the idea that it should be applied to gays. They are loving, accepting people, desiring all the “rights” of being married for gay people, but unable to get beyond the hallowed conception of the word “marriage” as a sacrament referring to a man and a woman.
Hmmm…some holy persuasion?
And I am aware that for too many people, nothing is considered “hallowed”. Just thinking . JoAnn
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Thanks, JoAnn!