4 May 2010
Psalm 61, 62; Lev. 16:20-34; 1 Thess. 5:1-11; Matt. 6:7-15

We see here the instructions for the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Aaron is to bring two goats, one sacrificed for the sin of the people and the other released into the wilderness. If the goat returned to the camp it was a sign that the Lord had not accepted their offering and their guilt remained. This one day a year the high priest entered the holy of holies to throw blood onto the ark of the covenant, keeping the judgments of God on the sin of the people covered. This statue was and is binding in perpetuity for the Jews. Today, with no temple, the day is kept as a complete Sabbath of mourning for sin.

Jesus teaches His disciples to pray. Do we pray this prayer earnestly? If Jesus taught us to pray, should we not believe that this is a prayer that blesses the Lord, a prayer He will hear if it comes from our heart? The prayer begins with hallowing or setting apart the Name of God, continues with a plea for the coming of God’s kingdom and the establishment of His will on earth as it is established in heaven. Do we yearn for the coming of the kingdom because we see the effects of sin in this life, a despoiled creation, enmity and violence abounding? Moving on, in this life we need Him to provide our daily bread and it should be a time of thanksgiving every time we place a morsel of food into our mouths, all I have needed thy hand hath provided, great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. From contemplating the effect of sin on the perfect creation we are moved to consider our own sinfulness and compelled to ask forgiveness for our sins and in recognition of our sinfulness moved also to forgive others who are simply, like us. Finally, the prayer asks to be spared the day of trial and delivery from the evil one, not generically evil. It recognizes we have an enemy from whom we need deliverance and protection.

The petitions that begin and end the Lord’s Prayer are in view here in this passage from 1 Thessalonians. Paul speaks of the coming of the kingdom of God as a day of great dread but a day also to be welcomed by Christians. We should pray for the coming of the kingdom but also do all we can to prepare both ourselves and the world to welcome that day. We should grieve over the judgment of others, friends and enemies alike in that day, and seek to proclaim the Good News of salvation with all that is within us. We should also look forward to that day with great anticipation as all of creation is liberated forever from the bondage of sin. Our prayer for deliverance from evil and spared from the time of trial is met in Jesus. We know that those petitions have been answered in the death and resurrection of Jesus and yet we still must struggle with temptation and the continuing assaults of the enemy, confident in both our salvation and in the power of the Holy Spirit in us to resist temptation.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from you.
You only are my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.