September 11, 2021

Dear Road Church Family,

Last week I delivered the first in a series of reflections on the Our Father.” The Lord’s Prayer is the most recited and beloved prayer in the Bible because it takes us into the heart of our Christian faith. It is a simple guide to our daily Christian faith and practice. Every phrase informs our understanding of God and the art of holy living. It’s first petition “Hallowed be Thy Name,” is our pledge of allegiance to a righteous God who insists on having first place in our hearts and minds. It is also a promise that we will be holy as God is holy. Jesus teaches that we must be holy without being “holier than thou.” Holiness means “different from the rest,” not “better than the rest.” The Sunday sermon is a closer look at what it means to be holy as Our Father in heaven is holy.

SCRIPTURE:  1 Peter 1:14-17                    SERMON: “Hallowed Be Thy Name

Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those base desires you had when you were still ignorant about God. “Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy. The scripture says, “Be holy because I am holy.”

You call him Father, when you pray to God, who judges all people by the same standard, according to what each one has done; so then, spend the rest of your lives in reverence for him.

BREAD OF BROTHERS

The course of each life must vary

As the flight of each falling leaf.

For some the journey is lengthened,

For some the journey is brief.

But praise to the one who travels

With eyes on the fields of good,

Who makes from each storm-wracked harvest

The bread of brotherhood.

by Lucia Trent

May the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.

Pastor Norm

Due to technical difficulties we were not able to provide a video of this sermon.

This is a copy of the sermon:

HALLOWED BE THY NAME

Matthew 6:9

September 12, 2021

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is the greatest of all Presidential political speeches. It is also the shortest. It says more about American’s founding values in 272 words more than a two hour political oration. In fact, Lincoln's short speech, listed in the Program as  “Dedicatory Remarks,” was preceded by a two-hour oration entitled, “The Battles of Gettysburg.” It was an account of the three day battle, told in 13,607 words. The Oration was the main event of the Dedication of the new Gettysburg National Cemetery. It was long, but soon forgotten. Lincoln’s speech was only two minutes, but has been long remembered as one of the greatest speeches in American history. In it he said, “we cannot hallow this ground.” That is the work of God and those who gave their lives. Our obligation is to recognize and respect the holy.

The Lord’s Prayer is the greatest of all Christian prayers. It is only 66 words. Yet, it says says more about God and the essentials of the Christian life than any long sermon or lecture on the same topics. Its opening lines tell us to respect God’s hallowed name. Its opening words, “Our Father in heaven,” speak of two basic truths about God. God’s “our Father” describes God’s love for us, and “in heaven” signifies God’s otherness and holiness.

There is a great paradox here: on the one hand God loves us more than words can tell. On the other hand God is holy and we are not. How can a holy God love unholy sinners? Who has ever heard of such a thing? The Apostle Paul can’t explain it, but he marvels at it.

“While we were still weak,…Christ died for the ungodly. Rarely will anyone die for a righteous person. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Jesus died for us…So, imagine this, if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely will we be saved by his life!”

This verse was the inspiration for the hymn, Amazing Grace: Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saves a wretch like me, I once was blind but now I am found, was blind but now I see.

When we pray, “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” we are affirming God’s holiness in contrast to our sinfulness. In our sinfulness we want to flee from a holy God just as Adam and Eve hid from God after their transgression. The Lord’s Prayer assures us that we have no reason to fear God’s holy presence.

“Hallowed be thy name” is not merely something we believe, it is also something we do. Hallowing God’s name is a command to prove to the world that God is holy by being holy ourselves. Believing that God is holy is also an obligation to be holy as God is holy. Today’s scripture reading says, “do not give in to the desires and whims that you followed while you were ignorant of God. Instead, as God who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” God’s holiness is a model for us. Whatever holiness we have is a reflection of God’s holy character just as the moon’s light is really a reflection of the sun’s light. 

To pray, “let your name be held holy” is a promise to give God a unique place in our affections. It means we have no other gods in our life. There may be many so-called gods in the world, but only our Heavenly Father is holy. Holy character means God is just, loving, merciful, and kind. That is exactly what God expects of us, as the prophet said, “You have been told what is good; and what the LORD requires of you: stand for justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.

So, when we pray “holy be thy name,” we are pledging to live lives that reflect the character of our Father in heaven, and to see the world through the lens of justice, love, and kindness for all. Holy humility tells us that the line that defines what is good from bad goes through each of us, not between us and them.

God’s holiness calls us to show hospitality to strangers who do not look like us, or believe the same as ourselves. The best response to fear and hatred is loving God and neighbor. God’s name is hallowed as long as we have the courage to love strangers, the least among us, even our enemies. The good news of the gospel is that holiness transcends race, religion, or gender. God’s holiness is transformative by creating out of our sinful selves a new humanity.

May God hasten the day!

Blessings to all.

Pastor Norm