Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Nadia Bolz-Weber

Home
Progressive Christian
The Lord’s Prayer – Extended Dance Mix (A sermon)

The Lord’s Prayer – Extended Dance Mix (A sermon)

Last updated on: July 25, 2016 at 11:39 pm by Nadia Bolz Weber

The Lord’s Prayer – Extended Dance Mix (A sermon) 2016-07-25T23:39:47+00:00 Nadia Bolz Weber

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/files/2016/07/2016-7-24-NBW-sermon.mp3

click above to listen along…sorry but I forgot to turn my mic on so the recording is not great…might have to use earbuds 🙁

One of Jesus’ disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray” Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.

Let your dominion come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

And do not bring us to the time of trial But deliver us from evil

So here we go.

Let us pray,

Our Father, Our Mother, Our Holy Parent, Source of All Being from whom we came and to whom we return, God whose goodness and love transcends the complexity and perhaps even the pain of our relationship with our own parents, God who transcends and perhaps even heals the failings we ourselves have as parents. You, who knit us together in our own mother’s wombs. God who knows us better than we know ourselves. Jesus called you Abba and so shall we, even as we may have an ambiguous relationship with parenthood – Be to us our Holy Parent, the one who loves without condition. **Our Father who art in heaven….**Our Father who brings a small measure of your heaven to every place your people are. Our Father who art in everything. Every place we say we can feel your awesomeness and every place we claim that you have forsaken. Our Father who art in orphanages and neonatal units, who art in jail cells and luxury high-rises, who art in law offices and adult book stores, who art in rooms alone with suicidal people and who art in the midst of wedding reception dance floors.

Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Holy is your name. Ever since Adam blamed (not his own sin) but blamed you for giving him the woman who “made him sin”, ever since Jacob claimed it was your goodness and not his deceit that allowed him to steal his brother’s blessing. Ever since the beginning we have attributed our own sin and ego and wishful thinking and malice and racism and manipulations of others and ambition to you and your name – and yet your name remains holy. When others or ourselves have claimed that you “laid it on our heart” to shame someone – even then when we have used your name in vain, your name remains holy. Your holiness has withstood generations of humans using your name as some sort of “get out of responsibility free card” like if we say you are blessing it or you are willing it or you are co-signing on it then our sin then it is anything other than sin and yet your name remains holy.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, may thy undoing of our ways and the in-breaking of your ways – the way things really are—appear before our eyes. Brother Martin Luther reminds us that your kingdom comes with or without our asking for it but it in this prayer we ask that your dominion, your kingdom come among us. But right now, God, right now we think we might just skip over the asking for it and move right to the begging for it if that’s ok with you. We beg you to bring more than just a small measure of heaven to earth because this place is a mess. Lord, your people are killing each other and the vulnerable are even more vulnerable and the wealthy are even more wealthy and we’ve developed weapons that do unspeakable things and we’ve developed economic systems than rely on those weapons continuing to be made and protected and it’s hard to see a way out, Lord. So, we need your Kingdom to speed the hell up. And if that’s not possible then open our eyes to where your kingdom already is taking root and growing among us, turn our eyes from our despair to any amount of light your kingdom is spreading, however small.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Show us that your thoughts are not our thoughts and that our thoughts are not your thoughts. God, I’m so guilty of trying to align your will with mine rather than praying to align my will with yours that it is almost ridiculous, but you are God and I am not. Yet have mercy on us Lord when it starts to feel to us like you aren’t paying attention. Forgive us when we use prayer as a self-help technique by which we can get all the cash and prizes we want out of your divine vending machine if we just kind of bug you to death through ceaseless prayer, because when it comes down to it, we know better. You are our Father whose name is holy and whose love is boundless and who wants as our holy Parent to hear our prayers – to hear what troubles us, you want to know the longing in our hearts and the hurt in our lives and the thankfulness in our being.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Give us this day our daily touch, our daily laughter, our daily kindness our daily humility, our daily freedom.

Give your children their daily bread, their daily naan, their daily tortillas, their daily rice,

Lord, give us real bread, even when we keep reaching for those literal and metaphorical Twinkies, cannoli and Krispy Kremes.

As you did with your people who you freed from slavery, grant us that which we need for just this day. Help us to be in this day Lord and to know that all we have comes from you. Give us the gift of enough-ness. When we long for more than what is enough, soften our hearts and teach us to give more. May our response to perceived scarcity always be increased generosity for we are your children and from you we receive everything. It all belongs to you and you let us have so much.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins. As we forgive those who sin against us.

Forgive us when we hate what you love.

Forgive us when we would rather anesthetize ourselves than feel anything.

Forgive us when we squander the grace and freedom you have given us

Forgive us for our self-centered lives

Forgive us for the pride we exhibit in our political life together

Forgive us for how much we resent in others the same things we hate in ourselves

Forgive us for the terrible things we think about our own bodies, bodies you have made in your image.

God we praise you that your grace and mercy and forgiveness toward us is our one true source of our forgiveness toward others. Forgiven people forgive people and God we thank you for guiding the way toward this kind of freedom. You who perfected enemy love have given us your own heart. May we more and more become what we receive.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins. As we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

Deliver us from the inclination that we too do not have evil in our hearts. Deliver us from religious and national and sexual and gender exceptionalism. Deliver us from addiction and depression. Deliver us from self-loathing. Deliver us from high fructose corn syrup. Deliver us from western individualism. Deliver us from fear. Deliver us from a complete lack of imagination about where you are in our lives and how you might already be showing up. Deliver us from complacency. Deliver us from Complicity.

As Jesus taught us, we are throwing this bag of prayers [1]at your door.. We are not asking nicely, Lord. We are your children and we are claiming your promises as our own tonight. Some of us are holding your feet to the fire, some of us don’t know if we believe in you, some of us are distracted and just going through the motions, some are desperately in love with you….but all of us are your children.

Use these prayers to hammer us all into vessels that can accept the answer when it comes[2]. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

And the children of God say,

AMEN.

[1] Yep, Luther.

[2] That’s a Fred Craddock line, not sure from where originally though.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 13, 2016

Accidental Saints (Paperback) Book Tour!

Next Post

August 9, 2016 Yeah. ANOTHER Sermon On Fear

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent baptism Uncategorized

Select a Month January 2018 August 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 August 2011 July 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How did Nehemiah show concern for the poor in Jerusalem's community?

Select your answer to see how you score.

He gave up rebuilding He expelled foreigners He canceled debts and returned land He doubled taxes