The Lord's Prayer Series: God as Father
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
Matt. 6:9
September 26, 2010

         As I was thinking about this series on the Lord’s Prayer, I was struck by the variety of musical settings of this prayer.  Most of you are familiar with the “traditional” version by Albert Hay Malotte, which he wrote in 1935.  You’ve probably heard it in church, perhaps at a funeral or wedding.  It is slow and stately and similar melodically to Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”  It’s been recorded by classical artists as well as pop artists like Perry Como, Mahalia Jackson, Barbara Streisand, and Ronnie Milsap.  Recently a wonderful recording of it by Andrea Bocelli has become a YouTube sensation.  On the other hand, recordings like Elvis Presley’s version are not so wonderful!  And, contrary to popular opinion, Elvis is not still singing it! 
You might also recall the pop version of the prayer by Sister Janet Meade, recorded in 1973, which was a major hit and won her a Grammy award.  (sing it?)  I’m a little embarrassed to admit that my Christian band sang that one!  But did you know that the Beach Boys also recorded a version of the Lord’s Prayer?  It was on the “B-side” of “Little St. Nick” recorded in 1963.
          At any rate, partially because of these many musical renditions of it, the Lord ’s Prayer is widely known both among followers of Jesus Christ as well as by the general public.  Some churches, like our’s, recite it together in worship each week.  Others recommend it as a model for individual prayer.  It is an amazing prayer, in that it is readily understandable to young people and new believers, but has enough depth to challenge the longest-serving saint of God.  Jesus taught it to his disciples in response to their request to teach them how to pray.  In Matthew’s gospel, it follows Jesus’ instructions not to pray like the hypocrites, who pray in order to impress others, and not to pray like the pagans, who attempt to manipulate God with their many words and great passion.  Instead, Jesus said, pray like this:      “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”  (Matt. 6:9)  We’ll talk just about this first sentence this morning.
          The first phrase, “Our Father,” has been a source of contention in recent years.  When I was a student in seminary in the late 80’s and early 90’s, there was considerable debate about the use of male language for God, and specifically about the use of the image of “Father” for God.  Part of the issue about using the image of “Father” for God was the negative experiences many people had with their own fathers.  Fathers who abandoned them.  Fathers who beat them.  Fathers who were emotionally abusive or distant.  Fathers who repeatedly let them down.  I remember one seminary classmate who was in tears as she talked about how harmful the image of God as Father was to her faith development because of her awful experiences with her own father.
          Therefore some Christians decided to simply abandon this image for God, even abandoning the traditional Trinitarian “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” language for something like “Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.”  Our own hymnal, published in 1990, reflects this trend, as some hymns using father language for God were eliminated and others were changed.  However, other Christians, while acknowledging the problems with using “Father” for God, believe that the image is too rich to simply abandon.  They hope that we can redeem the image of father by properly re-interpreting it.  I follow this approach.
          When Jesus began the prayer with “Our Father,” he was saying something significant about the God we are praying to.  The ancient pagan gods of Jesus’ time were capricious, mean-spirited, and vengeful.  They had no concern or compassion for human beings, whom they regarded with contempt.  Remember the story of the Greek god Prometheus?  During a time when the lives of people on earth were dreary and grim, Prometheus took pity on human beings and gave them the gift of fire, so they could warm themselves against the cold and cook their food.  But Zeus, ruler of the gods, was incensed by this compassionate action.  He chained Prometheus to a rock in the middle of the sea, where he was tortured with heat and thirst by day and chilling cold by night.  If that were not enough, Zeus prepared a vulture to tear out Prometheus’ liver, which always grew back, only to be torn out again.  When ancient people prayed, they were praying to gods like Zeus!
But a God called “Father” was something entirely different!  An ancient father was seen as a trustworthy provider, who had the best interest of his children at heart.  A God who was “Father” was good and gracious and approachable.  An intimate relationship is possible with a God who is “Father.”  Remember Jesus’ parable about the Prodigal Son.  It’s a story about a loving father, who is  understanding, patient, and forgiving of the weaknesses and sins of his son. That’s the kind of Father Jesus is praying to.
A few years back, Mark Ashton-Smith, a 33 year-old lecturer
at Cambridge University, capsized while kayaking off the coast of England.  Clinging to his craft, his first thought was to call his father for help, even though his father was stationed in Dubai, 3500 miles away.  Without delay, the father relayed his son’s position to the Coast Guard station located less than a mile from his son!  Within 12 minutes a helicopter retrieved Mark from the water.  By addressing God as Father, Jesus is teaching us that we can always approach God when we need help.
          And notice that Jesus doesn’t address his prayer to “my” Father, but to “our” Father.  There is a recognition here that all of us stand on equal footing before God, and that our faith is not just a private, “Jesus and me” matter.  Christian faith always has a social and corporate dimension.  “Our Father.”
          The next phrase tells us something else about this Father God we are praying to- “which art in heaven.”  When Jewish people of Jesus’ day spoke of God being in heaven, they were emphasizing the power, majesty, and sovereignty of God.  John Calvin said that this phrase reminds us that God oversees and rules over all things.  This “Father God” is not a doting grandpa, who can be manipulated into doing our bidding.  This is the Creator of the universe- the one who made us and can also unmake us!
Theologians often refer to this as the transcendence of God, the fact that God is far above and beyond and superior to us.  But we also know that God is close to us- like a Father.  We call this the immanence of God.  In this one concise phrase, “Our Father which art in heaven,” Jesus captures both the transcendence and the immanence of God.  This is the God we are addressing our prayers to.
          The prayer continues with its first petition, “Hallowed be thy name.”  The name of God means his character, his essence, the person of God.  We find this way of talking about God several times in the Old Testament.  In Psalm 9:10, the Psalmist says, “Those who know your name put their trust in you.”  Now God did have a special name- Yahweh- in the Old Testament times.  But the verse doesn’t mean that those who know God’s special name put their trust in him.  It means that those who know God himself, put their trust in him.  Or in Psalm 20, the Psalmist says, “Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.”  The Israelites, knowing the character of God, put their confidence in God to protect them, rather than in their military equipment.
But what does “hallowed” mean?  That’s not a word we use much anymore!  To hallow something means to revere it, to venerate it, to recognize it as holy.  In this phrase we are praying that God will be recognized by all as the holy, loving, powerful God that he is.  This reminder that God’s name should be hallowed serves to keep us from becoming overly familiar or sentimental in our understanding of the Father God Jesus talks about.  It reminds us of the gap that exists between the Creator and the created.  “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”
          I like what Presbyterian pastor and translator of “The Message,”  Eugene Peterson, has to say about prayer.  “The plain fact is that we cannot be trusted in prayer.  Left to ourselves we become selfish- preoccupied with our pious feelings, our religious progress, our spiritual standing.  We need guides and masters to refocus our attention on God, to keep us ever mindful of the priority of God’s word to us.” (end quote)  That’s what the first part of this prayer does for us.  It focuses us on the Person to whom we are praying.  A loving Father, who rules the universe and rules us!

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