March 2015 – Pastor Eric’s Letter

When Jesus began to teach the disciples how to pray he told them not to heap up empty phrases and use lots of words because God their father knows what they need. Then he taught them what we now call the ‘Lord’s Prayer’.

The phrases are short and simple. They are utilitarian. This prayer is not a fancy sports car or a large RV, it is a pickup. It gets you where you need to go with the stuff you need to take with you.

The first half is about God…God is our Dad, God is not just in this world, God is holy (different) and we ask that God’s world and will may be done in and around us. The second half is about us, our daily need for bread, our need for forgiveness, our need to forgive, our need to be helped in times of temptation and when evil is near.

It is interesting that the first in the list of our needs is, “Give us today our daily bread”. It is about the mundane everyday needs of our bodies. Martin Luther explains that daily bread means everything we need for this life such as food, clothing, home, property, work, income, a devoted family, orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace, health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors. This is almost like the hinge between the two subjects of the prayer, the hinge between God and us.

I think it is at the center because when we pray for these things, we think about those who don’t have them. I think it is at the center because we learn that they are gifts from God. I think it is in the center because we learn to trust God as we receive these things. I think it is at the center because through these gifts we learn to be thankful to God and our neighbors. And that is the hinge between us and God…trust, thanksgiving and care for others.

Pastor Eric

Eric Midthun

Associate pastor, Circle of Faith Parish