The Familiar Revisited

A Reflection on the Gospel for July 28th, 2019:
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 11.1-13

​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. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

And Jesus said to the disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And your friend answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

“So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Is there any father among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give the child a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

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The words of the Lord's Prayer are so familiar. I don't remember learning them. I can't help but rattle them off without really thinking about them. Familiarity can be comforting, but it can also be problematic as it can lead to complacency. So I can recite these words from memory without really considering them. I forget that they are profound and that they are foundational for the faith and for my understanding of who God is.


Each line of the Lord's prayer invites us to consider something about God's character and something about our relationship with Him — God as the Father, as the Holy One, as sovereign, as the Provider, as the Forgiver of sins, as the Reconciler, as the Proctector, and as the Deliverer. Each line allows us to enter into a conversation with God about a different part of our lives. The Lord's Prayer is so rich. But more often than I care to admit, I just gloss over it.


Today I can't help but read the Lord's Prayer with conviction. I struggle with prayer. I avoid prayer. I often find myself asking God, as the disciples do in this reading, "Lord, teach [me] to pray". But unlike the disciples when they said this, I already know this prayer. I sometimes ask God to teach me how to pray and then continue to avoid praying. Why? I know how to pray or at least how to start to pray — Jesus taught us with this reading. Truth is — sometimes I just don't want to pray.  


I think I am convicted today because the reason for my avoidance is revealed in the first line Jesus says in Saint Luke's version of the prayer, "Father, hallowed be thy name." It's not just a declaration of God's holiness — to be hallowed is to be recognized and regarded as holy. It's a way of saying 'Father, we know that you are holy, may you be known as the Holy One — in my heart, in my life, in the world around me.' I think I often avoid prayer because deep down I know that prayer is about relinquishing control. And I like control. Or rather, I like to think that I am in control. But I know that life can change in an instant and all sense of control can come crashing down; a phone call with terrible news; an unexpected medical diagnosis; the abrupt end of a relationship; a slip on the ice.  


I can't control my circumstances and I'm not meant to. God's in control and He offers me freedom and peace as I learn to accept and understand this truth. God is faithful, even when I am not. He's patient and He's kind. He's always willing to teach me how to pray if I let Him. As I talk to God and listen to Him I learn more about Him and more about who I am in Him. My circumstances may not always change (though sometimes they certainly do — as God can and does answer prayer in powerful ways), but my perspective often will. Through this process I'm slowly learning to genuinely and honestly say 'Father come into my life and hallowed be thy name.'


Morgan MacKenzie

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