Thursday, January 29, 2009

A lamentable gap

from The Christian Century:

February 10, 2009 issue, "Reoriented":


"If praying 'thy kingdom come' is to have any integrity, it must start as lament--lament for the gap between God's realm of peace and justice and reality as we know it. The prayer is a cry for a different kind of world. It is an expression of our deepest longings for a time when God's peace and justice and righteousness will prevail.

"The Lord's Prayer is not about us, however, but about God. Thy kingdom come. To pray this prayer is to orient our lives toward God and not ourselves, toward God's will and not our own. The prayer is a way of stating our allegiance to God rather than to the political, economic or cultural powers of this world. We pray for the wisdom to see where God's reign is already breaking into this world and for the courage and strength to align ourselves with it.

"To pray 'thy kingdom come' is finally a confession: we acknowledge that the gap which exists between heaven and earth runs right through our own lives and through the communities of believers who claim to follow Jesus. For this reason, we need the rest of the prayer: 'Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.'"

3 comments:

Andy said...

As much as I enjoyed the info regarding "The Lord's Prayer" I have to say that I like your "New Day" widget even more.
It really is Morning in America. Doesn't the air smell sweeter somehow?

Cynthia said...

Every time I hear the words "President Obama" on NPR, I give a little sigh of satisfaction and relief.

Jan said...

Thanks for posting this. I really liked it when I read it in the magazine yesterday.