Bamford 29 July 2007
Luke 11:1-13
Hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come.
hallowed = 1. To make or set apart as holy. 2. To respect or honour greatly; revere.
Colossians 2:6-19
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Jesus Christ and the Life-giving Hallows
Harry Potter fever has been upon us - the must read book - battle good and evil at the centre The Deathly Hallows - 3 objects made sacred by story and use, 7 objects or people who hold one persons soul but bring death to others - they could be used to bring life - but they have been used as Deathly Hallows
Hallow God’s name - hallow Jesus Christ - and live life
to keep God’s name holy, sacred is to make God the centre of our lives - to continue your lives in Christ Jesus - rooted and built up - gives life - the the whole community - the purpose is to live out the prayer “Your kingdom come”
All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
Is this the Jesus we see in the gospel?
Majesty, worship his majesty;
Unto Jesus be all glory, honour, and praise.
Is this the Jesus we see in John 6? - Jesus walks away when the people want to make him King- when Jesus talks about the kingdom it is with mustard seeds and children, and the poor and the persecuted - the powerless, the unmajestic, the unexalted - his only throne is a cross, his palace is the grave.
Kate commented:-
About kingdom - the way we sometimes speak of it at St. Marks URC is 'the kind of community God is working out' or 'the kind of ways God is involved in which are about good news'. This is not always easy since we have learnt to sing songs of power & majesty with more empire-like gusto than war songs.... Our experience in the last 18 months is that when we step away from our comfortable church spaces then 'kingdom' things happen - risk-taking and relationships are different because the context of church is different. The kingdom of God exists without the church but the church cannot exist without the kingdom; although it is not the fullness of it.
Look further on in the gospel passage this kingdom is inclusive - hospitable- life-giving - and that is going to involve risk-taking, vulnerability, openness, - which is where the church gets uncomfortable - we like the idea of power and authority - control and certainty yet it has been our downfall
About kingdom - the way we sometimes speak of it at St. Marks URC is 'the kind of community God is working out' or 'the kind of ways God is involved in which are about good news'. This is not always easy since we have learnt to sing songs of power & majesty with more empire-like gusto than war songs.... Our experience in the last 18 months is that when we step away from our comfortable church spaces then 'kingdom' things happen - risk-taking and relationships are different because the context of church is different. The kingdom of God exists without the church but the church cannot exist without the kingdom; although it is not the fullness of it.
Look further on in the gospel passage this kingdom is inclusive - hospitable- life-giving - and that is going to involve risk-taking, vulnerability, openness, - which is where the church gets uncomfortable - we like the idea of power and authority - control and certainty yet it has been our downfall
Reflect again on the statement:-
Kingdom people seek first the Kingdom of God and its justice; church people often put church work above concerns of justice, mercy and truth. Church people think about how to get people into the church; Kingdom people think about how to get the church into the world. Church people worry that the world might change the church; Kingdom people work to see the church change the world. (Howard Snyder Liberating the Church)
When we pray hallowed be your name - we place ourselves before God ready for God’s holiness to flow into our lives.
When we pray Your kingdom come - we open ourselves to being part of the community that God is working out - a community of the vulnerable, the uncertain, the poor in spirit, the persecuted, the mournful, the childlike, the unwanted, the unclean,
we open ourselves to be part of community that knows God’s life-giving, all-inclusive good news - and celebrates
Sing for God's glory
that colours the dawn of creation,
Sing for God's power
that shatters the chains that would bind us,
Sing for God's justice
disturbing each easy illusion,
Sing for God's saints who have
travelled faith's journey before us,
(Kathy Galloway)