“The Lord requires you to do justice, to love kindness and
to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8
This week we are taking time to be thoughtful about the
first request in the Lord’s Prayer – “Hallowed be thy name”.
I have been thinking a lot about this first petition. At first glance it seems a bit odd when you
think about it. Asking God that God’s
name be holy. Are we making a request? Making a statement of fact? Expressing a belief? And if any of those are the case, how does
this prayer change us, or our way of thinking?
It makes me think about how we use language – and how we are
shaped by the way we use language. For
example – (and I know Pastor Dave uses this one), when we say we are going to
“try” something, the word “try” suggests that we already think that we might
fail. Or as Yoda says – “Do or do not, there is not try”.
We use phrases when we are working out, or making our way
through tasks that help us to move forward and get stronger… “We can do this”,
“it’s a good day to have a good day”, “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose”, “I
choose Happiness”, “it’s not a race” (unless is it a race then…get moving).
Perhaps we can use “Hallowed be thy name” to remember who it
is that leads us in life. Maybe we can
use this phrase to remind us that God is ever present. Maybe we can use it to give us courage when
we are working together to actually be the presence of the body of Christ in
the world. When we “do justice, love
kindness and walk humbly”.
I wonder how different we would move through our days if we
used this as a breath prayer for the next 7-10 days. Would we be more open to see God working in
us and through us? Would we recognize
when we belittle God in our lives? Would
we reach out more to our neighbor? Or at
the very least be more open to seeing the needs?
I invite you to take the time to breathe this prayer as a
regular part of your day. Let me know
how it goes…and ask me to share my experiences.
(that way we can keep each other accountable.)
Peace and Light
Pastor Erin
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