March 2012: Give us this day
The first of two on the Lord's Prayer...
Welcome/introduction
This evening is the first in a series of three which will look at the Lord’s Prayer – We’ve been prompted to do this by some German visitors who asked a couple of us, Dean and Steve, how we used the Lord’s Prayer? Hmm – there wasn’t a very good answer to that one we wracked our brains a bit and realised that we didn’t really do much at all apart from occasionally putting the Lord’s Prayer into a service.
Grace’s response to a question that niggles or interests is to try and explore it in a service – so the next three services are our response to the German visitors – so thank you to them.
Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, the Paternoster – has been part of Christian worship since the earliest times –in the gospels it is a lesson, a template given by Jesus on how we should pray – focussing on our relationship with God and with others. Today we are focussing on the phrase ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ – but we will start by praying together.
Slow Reading of the Lord’s Prayer
Start with a slow reading of the whole of the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
Our Father in heaven (pause)
Hallowed be your name,
Hallowed be your name, (pause)
Your kingdom come,
Your kingdom come (pause)
Your will be done,
Your will be done, (pause)
On earth as in heaven.
On earth as in heaven. (pause)
Give us today our daily bread.
Give us today our daily bread (pause)
Forgive us our sins
Forgive us our sins (pause)
As we forgive those who sin against us.
As we forgive those who sin against us. (pause)
Lead us not into temptation
Lead us not into temptation (pause)
But deliver us from evil.
But deliver us from evil. (pause)
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours (pause)
Now and for ever.
Now and for ever. (pause)
Amen.
Amen (pause)
Relying on God
Dean to begin with some of the theological background.
Sarah intro about trust versus control spectrum.
20 questions around the church with a stack of pennies beneath each – a picture for each one. People have to pick up pennies for areas where they feel they have to keep control and keep them in their hands.
Gifts and the Kingdom
[Images of presents, wrapping paper, balloons, parties]
In the prayer we ask that God give us this day our daily bread – not sell, provide but give – our daily bread is a gift from God. How do we feel about gifts, about giving and receiving?
Get into twos and threes – and discuss the following questions:
- What’s the best present or surprise you have ever received?
- Have you ever received anything you consider to be a gift from God?
- And how did you feel about it?
The original Greek of the Lord’s Prayer conveys the sense that we are praying not only for our bread today – but also our bread for tomorrow, and the day after and the day after, until the end of time. We need to pray aware that the bread we eat now is a foretaste of a time when we and others will sit down to the banquet prepared by God, a time when all will be fed and all injustices will be righted.
So in again in your groups spend some time discussing the following questions.
- What are the injustices you long to see righted?
- Who are the people who suffer so that we can live our daily lives?
- What will it cost us to right these injustices?
- What will you do now to make today more like the future kingdom?
Share responses.
Think about finishing quoting from Isaiah 25, 6-8:
On this mountain the Lord of Hosts will make for all peoples
A feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines
And he will destroy on this mountain
The shroud over all people;
He will swallow up death for ever.
He will wipe away the tears from all faces,
And the disgrace of his people
He will take away from all earth.
Confession
On the night before Jesus died, at supper with his friends, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said to his disciples, “this is my body, given for you. Do this in memory of me.” And they took out their packed lunches and said, “Lord, we’ve brought out own food that is much tastier. What do we need your bread for?”
Voice 1
Let us confess our sins to God.
Bread is cheap, and we seldom need for the basics of life. In our material prosperity we undervalue the gifts that you give us each day of our lives.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
(pause)
Voice 2
We fool ourselves in believing that everything we need, we provide for in our own strength and abilities. We deny our dependence on human beings in every corner of the planet. We deny our dependence on God, who gives us life itself.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
(pause)
Voice 1
We share the bread and wine in anticipation of the heavenly banquet when all will be fed and no-one will go hungry. And yet we participate in systems that enslave the poor to keep us in luxury goods. We sleep easy in our beds, shutting our ears to the cries of the hungry.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent...
Place the coins on the altar
Introduce the collection for Oxfam
The Peace
The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Eucharistic Prayer
(adapted from the evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
It is right to give unceasing thanks and boundless praise to you,
Holy God, ruler of the universe and giver of life.
You brought the world into being and declared it good;
You made humanity in your image,
and entrusted to us the stewardship of all creation.
Despite our failings you showed us mercy.
Through your law and the voices of prophets and poets,
you called us to faithfulness and justice.
You commanded us to remember the poor and the needy,
the orphan and the stranger.
With infinite generosity you forgave us
as we followed selfish goals and ignored your words of love.
Never abandoning us to our sinfulness,
you came among us and showed us the path of life.
Therefore we praise you,
joining the saints and angels in proclaiming your glory,
as we say,
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Living among us, Jesus loved us.
He broke bread with outcasts and sinners,
healed the sick, and proclaimed good news to the poor.
He pronounced the blessedness of peacemakers,
Jesus yearned to draw all the world to himself,
yet we were heedless of his call to walk in love.
We returned violence for his friendship,
crucifixion for his self-offering.
Yet even this you turned to blessing,
and transformed his unjust death into the means of salvation.
He feeds us in this holy meal,
His broken body become the bread that sustains us in the journey of faith
On the night before he died for us,
our Saviour Jesus Christ took bread,
and when he had given thanks to you,
he broke it, and gave it to his friends,
and said:
“Take, eat: This is my Body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”
As supper was ending,
Jesus took the cup of wine,
and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said:
“Drink this, all of you:
This is my blood of the new Covenant,
which is poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
Do this for the remembrance of me.”
Send your Holy Spirit, that this bread and wine may be for us
the body and blood of Christ.
As we eat this bread,
Remind us of our utter dependence on you.
Give us a vision of your kingdom where everyone is fed,
And righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne.
Inspire us by your Spirit to live lives that anticipate your kingdom,
bringing healing to the sick,
food to the hungry,
and naming injustice wherever we find it.
All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ.
By him, and with him, and in him,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit
all honour and glory is yours,
Almighty Father, now and for ever.
Amen
As Jesus taught us, so we pray,
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
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