While Jesus was still talking to the
crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone
told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to
you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For
whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and
mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50)
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the
psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they
said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’ Now that our feet are
standing within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may
your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus
loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
We have been covering The Lord’s Prayer
and Martin Luther’s understanding of it in his catechisms. Following the
introduction, we moved into the petitions, and today, we address the Third
Petition – “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
We view these words as a petition in
that the definition of the word is a request, for example, seeking a change in
the law from a government (a signed petition) or a court (a petition for
divorce).
Are we asking God to change something when we make a petition to God with the
words, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”?
Answering the question, “What does
this mean?” Luther states, “The good and gracious will of God is done
even without our prayer.” God accomplishes His will even without our
asking.
Perhaps sometimes we ask God that His
will be ours. A few weeks ago when I talked about Abraham’s conversation with
God, I mentioned how God’s will was done even when Abraham responded to God
with his own bright idea. At this point, Abraham, now 90, and Sarah, not far
behind, petitioned God to “allow Ishmael to live in your favor.” God replied, “Your
wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. I will make an
everlasting covenant with him whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next
year.”
It demonstrates that in Abraham’s time and in ours that God did
not completely entrust the world to us and our bright ideas, but that God’s
will is done even when we think we have a bright idea for God. … Ya think God
needs our bright ideas?
I say that because Luther points out that one of the forces
opposed to God’s will is our sinful nature – the others are Satan and the
world. So, though we are saved, we remain sinners in continual need of grace in
order to do God’s will. Luther reminds us that God's will is
done when God destroys every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and
our sinful nature, which are all opposed to His will.
Easily
we identify the plans of the devil and the world; and sometimes the two work
together – abortion, genocide, human trafficking, slavery and so on. Luther
cites 1 Peter 5:8 and 1 John 2:15-17 as
passages to alert us of how these forces work against God’s will. … Let me read
those passages for you. …
“Be
sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like
a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.”
(1 Pet 5:8)
“Do
not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love
for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from
the Father but from the world. The
world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives
forever.” (1 Jn 2:15-17)
Luther then proceeds to quote
Rom. 7:18 “I know that nothing good lives in me, that
is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot
carry it out.” This passage reminds us that we do not always see how greed
or our good ideas – like Abraham’s – may not be God’s will but simply our
sinful human nature attempting to supplant the will of God. And so, we must
pray for God’s will to be done in our lives even when it is difficult.
Perhaps if we understand petition as asking for change, we see it
as change within ourselves. … A Buddhist
monk goes up to a hot dog vendor and places his order. “Make me one with everything,” says the monk. The vendor happily
hands the monk a hot dog with everything. In return, the monk hands the vendor
a twenty-dollar bill. Vendor shoves it in his apron. After a few minutes, the
monk finally asks for his change. The vendor replies, “Change comes from within.”
But
seriously, do you ever pray for change within yourself? Do you ever ask God for
the grace to change in order that God’s will is accomplished in and through
you?
How
is God’s will done in our lives? When God breaks and hinders the plans of the
devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which try to destroy our faith in
Christ Jesus. God strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith and helps
us lead God pleasing lives; and when we face trouble, God’s will supports us
until He calls us home. In other words, we must pray for God’s will to be done.
This is my mother’s prayer book. She had
it with her when she died seven years ago. In preparing for this evening, I
read a passage in a confirmation teacher’s manual on today’s petition. It
brought up the idea of giving someone a prayer book as a gift. So, I brought
this to remind us that at some point in our lives, someone may have given us a
prayer book or maybe we found one that suits us. In my truck, I carry this Book
of Lutheran Prayer, and on my bookcase, I have several other books of prayer.
Most people do not consider prayer books
when purchasing a gift for one’s baptism, confirmation, wedding, retirement or
graduation. However, prayer, especially the Lord’s Prayer, is how we define
ourselves. Even in tragic situations – sickness, divorce, and death of a loved
one or destruction of one’s property – we need to take time to pray. When I
visit the sick, I take along at least one prayer booklet. When Myrna and I
volunteered in Moore, we gave away prayer books to every tornado victim who
asked for assistance. These books remind us to pray always – when life is
reduced to rubble or when life is created anew. They remind us to pray – pray
that God’s will be done.
As we continue to pray to our Father,
may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7). Amen.
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