The Lord's Prayer Sermon Series: The Kingdom, Power & Glory...Amen

“The Lord’s Prayer: Kingdom, Power, & Glory Forever, Amen”
A Lenten Sermon Series 6/6
1 Chronicles 29: 11-13; Matthew 6: 9-13
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
March 25, 2018
Palm Sunday


Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.
1 Chronicles 29: 11-13

Jesus said, Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one. - Mathew 6: 6-9

We just read Matthew’s account of the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus taught his disciples. And I wonder if you caught it.

We heard Jesus praise God for the gift of their relationship, petitions for seeking God’s will, provision, forgiveness, and being led into deeper obedience as we renounce evil and trust God’s complete deliverance from it.

So what about the closing of the prayer? For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen?

It’s not there. And it’s not in Luke’s Gospel account either.

The doxology or the final words of the Lord’s Prayer actually comes from King David in 1 Chronicles 29: 11-13. These words were added much later after Matthew’s Gospel was written. And Matthew’s Gospel was written about 80 or even 90 years after Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Interpreting Jesus’ life and ministry through the Jewish tradition is so very important to Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Torah (first five books of the Bible) and the prophets. Jesus is the Son of God from the line of King David. Jesus is the new Moses leading God’s people into God’s kingdom and eternal promised land. And as we conclude our series on the Lord’s Prayer, it is worth noting that it is in keeping with the ancient Jewish tradition of prayer.

The basic form of Jewish prayer begins with the words of blessing, “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe...” The body of the prayer moves into praise for who God is and also in petitions to request God to act. The prayer closes with a seal repeating the opening words of blessing.[1]

That seal binds the prayer as authentic testimony to God’s character and promises. The overall movement of the Jewish prayer and the Lord’s Prayer become a faith confession as an individual or the community lifts up their voices in gratitude and full assurance that God will fulfill these petitions because of who God is.

The Lord’s Prayer was integral to the life of the early church, therefore the doxology was added to seal the prayer with a resolute hope that God is on the move to fully reveal God’s kingdom, power, and glory. These very words trained the early church’s spiritual conviction of God’s faithfulness which transcends time. [2]

Theologian Karl Barth says:
“The kingdom has already come through Jesus Christ. And the kingdom is the final victory over sin. It is the reconciliation of the world to God which will bear a new aeon, a new heaven, and a new earth because they are surrounded by the peace of God… The coming kingdom is totally independent of our powers therefore, God’s kingdom, power, and glory are the object of prayer. God alone, who created the world, can and will complete it in this act of accomplishment, in this justification of himself and of his cross. It concerns the peace and the justice of the world which is brought to its perfection; and that can only be the result of God’s work.” [3]

Palm Sunday shapes our perspective of God’s power to completely dismantle the kingdom of this world and also to bring the kingdom of God to completion. God’s power revealed in Jesus Christ looks quite different than worldly power.

Worldly power has long been demonstrated as gaining honor and might at the expense of shaming others.

God’s power is revealed in the weakness of an infant born in a manger who grew in the humility of God’s wisdom.

Jesus Christ knew his God given purpose was to preach, teach, and heal in the name of God who reaches out to those who are poor in spirit, mourning, meek, those who hunger & thirst for right relationships, those who are merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and the persecuted (Matthew 5: 1-11).

Today we celebrate the power of our coming King who rode into Jerusalem not on a mighty war horse but on a donkey.

Our King was not armed with military might but was armed in God’s self-giving love and compassion. Christ our King reveals a power that did not look down on people but looked into the eyes of his sisters and brothers.

The eyes of Christ empowered us to see our true humanity through his; we are created in God’s image to do nothing less than love God and neighbor.

And because sin disrupts our highest calling, Jesus Christ suffered the shame of the cross to free us and demonstrate God’s power of salvation. That kind of self-giving power is what God is harnessing to transform the world.

We cannot help but pray, proclaim, and affirm God’s glory; it is the divine quality of God’s Easter splendor that we will once again celebrate next Sunday. Glory is a visible sign of God’s goodness and mysterious presence. It bears the weight of God’s awesome steadfast love, mercy, and grace. And yet we only see glimpses of God’s glory since Moses’ time because we cannot possibly take it all in (Exodus 33: 17-19).

The truth of God’s glory is that God chooses to live in relationship with us and to shine his glory through you and me.

We see God’s glory pass by when we notice God’s presence in the trials of life. We see God’s glory shining brightly when the gift of faith moves us to carry our cross to follow Christ; to be good stewards of creation, to let the children come without hindrance, to care for the least, to welcome the stranger, to forgive, to ethically work for God’s peace and justice.

And yet on our best days, we catch a vision of God’s dream when the Spirit moves us to shine the light into the darkness.

Karl Barth likens the veil of God’s glory to a wooden table fully covered by a table cloth. We knock on the table and know it is there. And if we pull up the cloth up we will be able to truly see the table. And so we pray in bold assurance that when the complete comes in God’s good timing, the veil will be completely removed and we will behold the fullness of God’s glory.

Jesus teaches us to pray with a bold trust in God to fulfill our petitions. The Lord’s Prayer is training our spiritual eyes to be on the lookout for God’s kingdom, power, and glory to reign.

We let go and give it all to God saying, “Amen.”

In Hebrew and Greek “Amen” means “Let it be,’ or “Truly.” To say “Amen” is a holy action of trust in the certainty that God hears our prayers. And that certainty is greater than what we desire and what we have prayed for (Heidelberg Catechism question and answer 129).

It takes guts to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Karl Barth says, “To clasp our hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”

The Lord’s Prayer shapes our identity as God’s beloved community. It connects us to our spiritual ancestors who have also prayed as Jesus taught.

Just think about all the generations whom have prayed these very words of Jesus Christ over and over again. And now our youngest children are learning the prayer to join the refrain.

We are truly blessed by a tie that binds us in Christian love. That love which has been tried and is true strengthens our confidence that the One who began a good work among us will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

The Lord’s Prayer transcends chronological time as we follow Jesus to join God in this holy work of reconciling, recreating and renewing all of creation and humanity.

One day the work of Easter will be complete and all creation and humanity will abound in Hallelujah.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] Dan Juster, “Jewish Roots: Understanding Your Jewish Faith” (Shippensburg :Destiny Image Publishers, 2013).
[2] New Interpreter's Bible Commentary, "Matthew" (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), p. 133.
[3] Karl Barth, “Prayer” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), pp. 35-36.

The Lord's Prayer Sermon Series: Lead Us Not Into Temptation

“The Lord’s Prayer: Lead Us Not into Temptation”
A Lenten Sermon Series 5/6
Matthew 6: 9-13
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
March 18, 2018

The season of Lent helps us to prepare for the ultimate claim of the Christian faith which we celebrate on Easter Sunday: Jesus’ death on the cross and his rising to new life changes the world and changes us. Jesus’ demonstration of God’s unconditional love is a climactic moment revealing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

The past five weeks we have sat at Jesus’ feet to learn the prayer he taught his disciples. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us the words to pray for God’s kingdom to come and invites us to join God in this holy work of changing the world. The Lord’s Prayer hinges upon right relationships with God and one another.

The Lord’s Prayer builds up in bold intensity with each petition. Jesus instructs us to pray by his lived example.

The baseline of any relationship is trust. Therefore, Jesus begins his prayer with a foundational relationship of great intimacy and trust with God as a divine parent Matthew 6:9).

Jesus gives up his will for God’s purposes in his life and requires us to do the same as a cost of discipleship (Mathew 6:10).

Jesus proclaims as we trust God to provide our daily bread then God also moves us to be generous to empower all of God’s children to flourish (Matthew 6:11).

Jesus requires our relationships to bear the weight of God’s mercy and grace by forgiving others as we have already been forgiven (Matthew 6:12, 14-15).

And today Jesus’ sixth petition reaches the most intense point, the climactic moment, of his prayer. Listen to Matthew’s account in chapter 6, verse 13: “And do not bring us to the time of trial but rescue us form the evil one.”

We hear Jesus’ petition, and some ask, “If God is loving and trustworthy, then why should we have to pray for God to NOT lead us into trials or temptations?” It’s a real question, isn’t it?

I want for you to remember that Jesus’ prayer comes through his lived experience.

As soon as Jesus was anointed for his ministry in baptism and claimed in God’s purposes for salvation, Matthew says, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1).

That word tempted also means tested. The devil or the advocate tempted Jesus to not rely upon God. God tested Jesus’ human obedience. And yet Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited (Philippians 2:6).

Jesus was tempted to be self-reliant, to put God to the test, and to trust his own pride to rule the kingdom of this world, thereby forsaking God and God’s purposes (Matthew 4: 4,7, 10).

Jesus was tested to be faithful to God. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and strengthened to fully obey God by affirming we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God; we do not test God but trust God’s presence and covenant love; we worship God alone.

Christ sympathizes with our weaknesses because he has been tempted as we are, yet without sin – he lived in perfect relationship with God and with humanity (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus’ ministry came to a close with temptation and testing too. As he knew his hour had come, he threw himself on the ground to pray three times in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup (of bitter suffering) pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want” (Matthew 26:39).

And as Jesus’ wrestled and prayed to be centered upon God’s will and not his own, his disciples were not filled with the same vigor; in their confusion and misunderstanding of what Jesus was doing, they fell asleep. And Jesus says, “Could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial” (Matthew 26:41).

The Christian faith does not remove temptation and testing from the journey of life; rather it is our spiritual compass to navigate through it. To follow God’s direction with this compass, we need to cultivate time for prayer and steeping our spirits in God’s Word.

Jesus teaches us to pray for our obedience to God to mature daily so that we may not fall into temptation to trust ourselves over and against God’s will and God’s purposes. Sin deceives us to think we do not need God.

However, when we do fall short of God’s glory because of the condition of human sin, we pray that Christ’s redemption will raise us up, reconcile what is broken, and free us. Christ frees us to live in the mercy of God’s forgiveness and to live into the wisdom that our true sense of humanity is found in Christ’s example.

Jesus teaches us to pray for testing to develop our faith daily in positive ways. God tested Israel in the wilderness to reveal their weakness would only be made strong by fully relying on God. God tests our faith too in the hope that we will do the right thing, especially when no one is looking.

I am deeply reminded of the Psalmist’s prayer about this: “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 138: 23-24).

Jesus also teaches us to pray for God’s deliverance to lead us into complete victory when his kingdom fully comes. “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, or the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

Scripture does not tell us where evil comes from.

But Scripture does say that God created all things and humanity good (Genesis 1:31). When humanity was tempted by the serpent to reach beyond the boundaries of God’s will in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world and tainted humanity’s thoughts and actions. Even as humanity was exiled from the Garden, God’s grace claimed us. And God’s grace will always have the ultimate claim upon all of creation and humanity overcoming evil once and for all at the end of time when the new heaven and new earth are created (Revelation 20:10; 21: 1-5).

Shirley Guthrie, Jr. was the Professor Emeritus of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary. He says, “Evil, by definition, is what God does not will and does not do.”[1] There are two kinds of evil: natural evil and moral evil.

Natural evil is the destruction we see from natural disaster. This is part of the natural order of the world. It bears evidence of the brokenness in which we live – the groaning pains of creation – as it too waits to be set free from its bondage to decay (Romans 8:20).

Moral evil is what humanity does to each other when we deny being our brothers’ keeper (Genesis 4: 8-10). Guthrie says, “The evil we do to each other has three dimensions. It is always rebellion against God and the order of God’s good creation. It is always indifference or enmity toward our fellow human beings. And it is always the self-destructive contradiction of what we ourselves were created to be.” [2]

Moral evil is all too real when we think about the human violence that killed Jesus on the cross, the horrors of the Holocaust and even the mass shootings of today.

Let me be clear that humanity is not evil.

We are created in God’s image and we have all fallen short of God’s glory. Nevertheless, we indeed struggle to understand our capacity to inflict physical, emotional, and spiritual harm upon one another.

The Reformed tradition takes evil seriously. It is a threat against God’s kingdom and to our faith. It is a serious force of darkness that we cannot fully explain. It is an enigma that will not win.

Our tradition warns us to not consider the forces of evil to be equal to the power of God. Guthrie says, “Whenever Satan (the Adversary) or his demons appear in Scripture, it is always the story of God’s power over them and of their defeat and destruction. The devil and his demons are by definition those powers that God in Jesus Christ has already opposed and defeated (Matthew 12:28; Mark 3:22; Luke 10:18; John 12:31; Colossians 1:13).” [3]

Our tradition warns us about personifying Satan or the devil. When we hear the phrase, “The devil made me do it,” we may giggle about it, but in reality a personal concept of the devil can easily become a theological scapegoat denying our condition of human sin.

Evil is not just the utter violence we do to one another, an oppositional force to God and our faith, but also the power of greed, fear, prejudice, and hatred within you and me which threatens the integrity of our faith and the coming kingdom of God.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

Jesus is saying:

Lead us into deeper obedience to die to sin and rise to new life in Christ.

Lord, turn our tests into triumphs that give you glory!

Deliver us from the agony of evil around us and even that we do to one another and bring us ever closer into your presence, O God.

Jesus’ prayer emboldens us to claim the victory of the cross.

And as we actively wait for God’s kingdom to fully come…not passively wait but ACTIVELY wait… we renounce evil and work together with God to risk shining the light of Christ into the darkness.

The darkness shall never overcome the light!

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sourced Referenced:
[1] Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr. “Christian Doctrine” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), p. 176.
[2] Guthrie, p. 174.
[3] Guthrie, p. 180.

The Lord's Prayer Sermon Series: Forgive Us As We Forgive

“The Lord’s Prayer: Forgive Us as We Forgive”
A Lenten Sermon Series 4/6
Matthew 6: 9-12, 14-15
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
March 11, 2018

‘Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors...

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. - Matthew 6: 9-12, 14-15

The season of Lent is a time to reflect and examine our commitment to follow Jesus Christ; to look at our spiritual steps in light of the costly grace of the cross and the Easter promise of new life.

Each week we have been breaking down The Lord’s Prayer. Matthew remembers the prayer Jesus taught opens our hearts to God’s vision of the kingdom that is already here and still yet to come. The key of the Lord’s Prayer is that it hinges upon authentic relationships with God and one another.

The example of Jesus’ life and ministry captures a relationship of great intimacy and trust with God as a divine parent. Jesus is bold to lay down his wants for God’s purposes in his life. Jesus proclaims if we trust God to give us our daily bread then God also moves us to be as generous as God. Authentic relationships that receive also give so that all of God’s children may flourish in God’s kingdom.

Today we look at what is essential for our relationships to thrive as we pray for God’s kingdom to come. Jesus prays, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (verse 12).

Each time I think of that word, “forgive,” I pause because I am still learning how to do it. Forgiveness is a complicated thing, isn’t it? It is hard to live as a person of faith in a world that lives at odds with God’s mercy.

Human history says people should get what they deserve; that retributive mindset contradicts Christ’s teachings. Judgement that triumphs over mercy makes forgiveness quite a challenge.

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do in life, no matter how young or old we are. It is not magic. It is a mystery of grace.

Jesus’ prayer holds an important truth. God has already forgiven our sins on the cross. Sin includes our thoughts, actions, and even failure to act which offends God.

Just imagine every possible sin humanity has committed, is committing now, and could commit written on the chalk board. Our sins are not just individual, but they are also collective (corporate); they cause hurt to God and to other people. How many miles would that chalkboard extend?

And yet God does not give us what we deserve. God’s love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5). God erased everything. God let it go and forgives us through Jesus’ Christ (Romans 5:18).

Does that mean that our actions no longer bear consequences? No. But it does mean that on our own we are incapable of making reparations to restore right relationships with God and one another.

John Calvin says, “Jesus calls sins ‘debts,’ because we owe penalty for them and we could in no way satisfy it unless we were released by this forgiveness. This pardon – this letting go – comes of God’s free mercy, by which he generously wipes out these debts, exacting no payment from us. [Christ alone made us right with God] by his own mercy [on the cross].”[1]

As we pray, “Forgive us our debts,” we remember God’s amazing grace – how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Jesus’ forgiveness is a gift of salvation and yet do we sin all the more so that grace may abound? By no means, the Apostle Paul would say (Romans 6:1).

We continue to confess our need to be forgiven for there was only one who lived in perfect relationship with God and with humanity; Jesus Christ.

We confess every week in worship that we need God’s help to live into Christ’s faithfulness. The human condition of sin taints everything we think, say, and do. Just as we pinned our prayers of confession to the cross this morning, we trust the good news that by grace we have been saved through faith, and this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2: 8-9).

Even as we pray with a growing trust to live into the reality of God’s forgiveness, the second part of Jesus’ petition says as we approach the throne of grace we have already forgiven our debtors (Matthew 6:13).

Did you catch that? As we petition God, we have already forgiven someone who has hurt us. Past tense. Now think about that! Is there someone in your life whom you have not ALREADY forgiven even as you ask God to forgive the terrible awful in you? What does this petition mean?

According to Matthew’s Gospel something is at stake for us to live into reality of God’s merciful kingdom.

Matthew’s Gospel is quite sobering about forgiveness. Jesus says, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6: 14-15; 7:12).

Jesus is not saying that God’s forgiveness is conditional. And Jesus is not saying that our forgiveness of another is pinned down to a relative time of action; rather the past tense Jesus uses indicates the KIND of action.

Jesus is saying the way we treat one another should bear the weight of God’s grace and mercy. God has already paid the debt we owe because of sin. Therefore, we are to show the same mercy and release the debts others owe us. Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).

Not long after Jesus’ teaching on prayer he says, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get…In everything do to others as you would have them do to you” (Mathew 7:1-2, 12).

If the Lord’s Prayer is about the integrity of our relationships with God and one another, then we are to prayerfully prepare our minds for action to not live for ourselves. The heart of God’s forgiveness and saving grace on the cross is reconciliation that is self-giving.

The Apostle Paul says, “God has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting our debts against us, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are now ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5: 18-20).

Our ongoing commitment to forgive others as God freely forgives us is imperative to our calling to be holy, or set apart for God’s purposes, as God is holy(1 Peter 1:15).

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once preached, “It is of no use for us to confess our faith in Christ if we have not gone first and reconciled ourselves to our brothers and sisters…as a church that calls a nation to faith in Christ must itself be the burning fire of love in this nation, a driving force for reconciliation, the place in which all the fires of hatred are extinguished and prideful, hateful people are turned into people who love. Our Reformation churches have accomplished great things, and yet it seems to me that they have not yet succeeded in doing this greatest of all things.”[2]

Bonhoeffer preached these words 84 years ago and yet they still ring true today.

The prayer Jesus teaches invites us to be builders of God’s kingdom. The petition for forgiveness invites us to join Christ in this holy work of mending the estrangements between each other individually and corporately even as God has already been reconciling the world back to God through Jesus Christ.

As the Apostle Paul says, we are to “work out our own salvation with great reverence for it is God who is at work in us enabling us both to will and to work for God’s good pleasure (Philippians 2:12c-13).

Just imagine what might happen if we acknowledge the hurt we have caused our sisters and brothers by what we have done and also what we have left undone. For on any given day each of us is in need of mercy that we do not deserve.

Just imagine what the world might be like if everyone demonstrated their action to forgive another by pinning a prayer to the cross like we did this morning. Give it to God and let it go.

Even as reconciliation is the godly goal of forgiveness, the hope is that we learn from our mistakes and misgivings.

Our sins are ever before us on that cross. The cross leads us to the freedom of walking in God’s path of wisdom, justice, and self-giving love.

The blessing of God’s forgiveness restores to us the joy of the Lord’s salvation and sustains in us a willing spirit to follow Jesus (Psalm 51:3, 12).

In this fourth week of Lent, may we pray to be ambassadors for Christ to be a driving force of reconciliation.

May God’s Holy Spirit move among us so that we owe no one anything, except to love one another (Romans 13:8).

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] John Calvin, “The Institutes of the Christian Religion” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, Reissued in 2006), p. 910.
[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer "A Testament of Freedom: The Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (New York: Harper One, 1990, 1995), p. 249.

The Lord's Prayer Sermon Series: Our Daily Bread

“The Lord’s Prayer: Our Daily Bread”
A Lenten Sermon Series 3/6
Matthew 6: 9-11
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
March 4, 2018

‘Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. - Matthew 6: 9-11

Today we move into the very center of the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus has opened our hearts to behold the wonder of God’s desire for us to live in authentic relationships with God and one another through our Teacher and Savior. Jesus has painted a gutsy picture of the vision of God’s kingdom that is already among us and not yet fully revealed (Not what I want, but what you want God). And now Jesus opens our spiritual eyes to see what is essential for all human life to thrive within God’s kingdom.

Jesus says, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

Just think about that word, “Bread.” I know there are some “bread-heads” among us today. A little bread and butter can certainly bring some comfort at meal time or anytime. Just the smell of freshly baked bread awakens our senses and triggers our hypothalamus gland to say, “I’m hungry!”

Bread is something so ordinary and basic to satisfy human hunger. It represents food and also basic essentials that are inherent and universal requirement to survive. And yet this symbol of bread is something that many of us so easily take for granted.

When Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread,” the disciples would have immediately remembered that God had given their spiritual ancestors daily bread too.

As Moses led God’s people out of slavery and into God’s freedom, the people complained and grumbled. There was nothing but physical lack in the desert – no food and no water. (Exodus 16:2)

God’s people remembered eating their fill of bread from their fleshpots in Egypt (Exodus 16:3). They had such a bad case of the “hangries” that certainly they would die! And yet how easily they forgot the misery they endured for generations and the power of God’s deliverance! There is not a lot of trust needed when we are fed by the hand of complacency; it yields a false sense of comfort.

The wilderness journey was teaching God’s people how to fully rely on God - not just to survive but to thrive and flourish. God provided manna – bread that fell down from heaven. And God instructed Moses that the people were only to gather what they needed each and every day (Exodus 16: 4).

The bread from heaven was a profound demonstration that God knows our needs, hears our cries, and provides for us; a true sign of God’s glory and gift of grace (Providence).

But also, God provided the manna to test the people’s humility; how open were their hearts to trust God alone over the work of their own hands? We do not live on bread alone but by the very word of God (Exodus 16: 4; Deuteronomy 8:16; Mathew 4:4).

John Calvin says, “Jesus’ prayer [moves us to open our hearts and] to give ourselves over to God’s care and entrust ourselves to God’s providence. As our heavenly Father nourishes us today, God will not fail us tomorrow.”[1]

If trust is the common denominator for the success of our relationships, then God has already proven God’s faithfulness beyond measure.

When we say the words Jesus taught, we are united in a confession of faith with our spiritual ancestors saying that against all odds God will provide what we need to thrive in God’s kingdom. That daily provision, that daily bread is a gift of God’s benevolent grace. All that we have and all that we are is a gift from God!

In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “As long as the disciples are on earth, they should not be ashamed of asking their heavenly Father for the things they need for their bodily life. God who created human beings intends to preserve and protect human bodies. God does not intend that God’s own creation become disdained. The disciples pray for bread to be shared. They also pray that God will give daily bread to all of God’s children on the whole earth, for they are our brothers and sisters in the flesh.” [2]

Bonhoeffer is pointing to the cost of discipleship. Scripture reveals receiving these gifts from God also bears responsibility to share God’s grace with others.

As Matthew’s Gospel comes to a close he says that when God’s kingdom comes and is complete:

“The Son of Man will come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…Then the King will say to those at his right hand:

‘Come you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
for I was hungry and you have me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you clothed me,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me… Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’” (Matthew 25: 31-36, 40).

Just as God is faithful to provide daily needs, just as Jesus is faithful to meet people where they are, we have a responsibility to be faithful too.

Saying the words Jesus teaches us to pray affirms that we are called to be kingdom builders. We have the privilege of helping to build the kingdom of God with grace and gratitude. God has filled our hearts with grace so that our hands might be willing and ready to live into God’s kingdom vision for humanity to thrive and flourish.

Jesus prayer is shaping us to be the body of Christ so that we might share the bread of life with others and inherit the kingdom.

The Spirit is on the move to open our eyes to those who are poor in spirit. They are the ones who humbly trust God will provide through the generosity of others.

We get that holy nudge to feed those who hunger and thirst for right relationships through ministries of compassion.

Our hearts soften when we see Christ in the eyes of the refugee; their mourning of displacement is eased by welcoming them as our sisters and brother with hope for a future.

Mercies are new each morning when we see the marginalized who are stripped of their identity and resources and we clothe them with God-given dignity.

When illness strikes our children and our elderly, they see the heart of God pouring out hope through the genuine care of physicians, family, and friends alike.

Those who are incarcerated experience what is essential to human life through visits with cookies and hearing someone call them by name instead of a number (Mathew 25: 34-36; Matthew 5: 3-9).

Give us this day our daily bread. Scripture reveals a hidden truth that captivates my heart and I hope it captivates yours too: the bread of life is received through the gift of relationships with God and one another.

These relationships are essential for all human life to flourish in God’s kingdom. God created us with this holy tethering to remind us that we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper.

A few years ago, research was published that a giving attitude is shaped not just by faith, but also by our olfactory nerves. Would you believe that the smell of bread triggers a positive mood that leads to a greater unconditional concern for the welfare of others?

That is certainly a new motivation to ask God for a portion of bread every day….to let the smell of grace fill your nostrils, your lungs, and every fiber of your being to remember that you and I are blessed to be a blessing.

God holds us accountable to share the gifts of grace. Remember God’s unconditional love revealed in Jesus Christ is the greatest treasure we will ever behold. We cannot earn this treasure. We only receive it as a gift and this gift is only God’s to give.

Jesus is the bread of life – broken for the sake of reconciling our relationships with God and one another.

Give us this day our daily bread so that we may generously give evidence of God’s coming kingdom.

May it be so for you and for me.

In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] John Calvin, “The Institutes of the Christian Religion: Volume 2” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, Reissued in 2006), pp. 908 – 909.
[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The Cost of Discipleship” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), p. 157 (originally published in German in 1937).