The Rector's Reflections

  “As Jesus himself has taught us we courageously pray”

You hear me utter these words just before we begin to pray the Lord's Prayer as our Sunday liturgies. Admittedly I exercise some license with the Prayerbook at this point. The invocations for the Lord's Prayer traditionally, “ And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,…” or “ As our Savior Christ has taught us, we now pray….”

When the disciples asked Jesus to “teach us to pray” he responded with the prayer that has become known as “The Lord's Prayer” (Luke 11)

1 He 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.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

It is a courageous prayer as it calls for us to follow the will of God faithfully and to exercise forgiveness of others as we ask for the forgiveness of our wrongs and our misdeeds. At its very core this prayer calls us to the ministry of reconciliation and conversion.

There is a word in theological/academic circles that has long been a favorite of mine. It is “praxis”. It refers to the coming together of reflection and action. It became a cornerstone concept with the rise of liberation theology in the 70's and 80's. As one reflects one acts. One acts always for the common good, for the buildup of the community. The Lord's Prayer calls us to a live out praxis in our daily lives. We ask for the coming of God's Reign, God's Kingdom. We think about all that means and at the same time we reach out to those who have offended us and ask God for the courage to forgive and reconcile.

This month, June, will bring the General Convention of our Episcopal Church USA. There are contentious issues on the table such as the never ending sexuality debate, the arguments over the orthodoxy of scripture, the ever widening divide with the worldwide Anglican Communion. These are issues that are dividing our lives as brothers and sisters in Christ. At the same time there will be issues for which we should rally around, forget our differences for the moment and discover that we have much in common. The Millennium Development Goals* (see box, Page 2) are again before the General Convention. A call will go out to expand the number of dioceses that will commit .07% of their budget to organizations such as Episcopal Relief and Development to end world wide hunger and poverty.

We are being called by God to live out The Lord's Prayer in a very concrete way. When the first disciples asked “Teach us to Pray” Jesus answered with a prayer that calls for praxis on very deep levels. As we pray so shall we act. While we pray we shall act.

Let us pray for those who will gather in Columbus , Ohio for General Convention. Let us pray that they will exercise the wisdom to pray and act in such a way that the Kingdom comes closer, that daily bread can be shared and that authentic reconciliation occurs . Let us in our daily lives live and act out the call of The Lord's Prayer as well.

“For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen”

In Peace
Fr.Richard

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© 2006 St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, Santa Fe, New Mexico