Friday thoughts on the Lord's Prayer

 *** Der deutsche Originaltext wurde gestern gepostet.
Our Father in Heaven. What does that mean?
Two weeks ago, I posted Luther's Small Catechism on the Lord's Prayer on the blog. Starting this week, I would like to share some of thoughts on single lines in the Lord’s Prayer. For inspiration I turned to a sermon by Rev. Wolfgang Gerlach. Und leihe mir dazu als Anregung eine Predigt aus dem Internet. The passages in bold print are quotes either by Rev. Gerlach or Martin Luther.
When Luther explains that we may call God our father, this also means that we may turn to him in any case, under any circumstance, no matter what pains us. And as we may have experienced at children with our biological parents: more often than not, our father or mother know what the problem is even before we “confess”.  Just like God, your father knows, what you need before you even ask. But God wants us to ask.
Here I stumbled. Does God really need my prayers? Isn’t it rather the other ay around? Don’t I need the prayer? Before God help me, he guides me to find words for my desires, questions or fears. Language clears things. The Words holds me, gives me form.  I am convinced that in praying, pious but wordless feelings won’t do. To pray means to put into words what may not have found words before. In prayer i express what oppresses me and what makes me happy. (…) I don’t lie in my prayers. I don’t fool myself, because I know: I cannot fool God.
Just like we, as small children, had a feeling that we would not be able to keep up pretenses in front of our parents. But of course, that might change over the years. Eventually, we realize that our parents are not clairvoyant, that we may be able to get away with our little white lies.
When I say the Lord’s Prayer, don’t I sometimes stumble over some words? Or is the address our Father in Heaven already  a secret hope that God is quite far away and won’t really listen at all, like when I promise to forgive those who trespassed against me? Like a ture father or a true mother, God lets us be free, even to move away from him. Might God be the mother or father who waits for a call?  And are we  - when we have been so very busy that we didn’t get around to say our prayers – like those children or grandchildren: having delayed the call for so long, that we now don’t know how to begin and so we delay the call again? Are we not sure how to begin, lacking the words to explain why we have been silent so long? Do we only call when we are unhappy, or when we are bursting with joy? And how do I express my gratitude for all they did for me to make me the person that I am today?
When I cannot find the words, I can seek refuge in what has served so well: in psalms, in the prayers of those before my time. The Lord’s Prayer can offer such refuge, because all that matters in human life is summed up in these ancient words. It is neither miracle nor coincidence that even those who have turned their backs to the church who might have lost their faith, often remember this prayer in times of need.
For our call to parents or grandparent, for questions, lamentation or gratitude, one day, it will be too late. And we have to find the words. God, on the other hand, remains as our father, or mother in Heaven, far enough away to let us roam free and close enough to turn to – anytime - in prayer. And the Lord’s Prayer gives me the words.