Journey through the Small Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer
As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.1
Over the next several blog posts we will walk alongside Luther as he breaks down each petition of the prayer and delves into some deeper meaning. There is also an additional question from the catechism of “How is this done?” This question seeks to answer the more practical everyday application of the prayer. As we continue through this prayer, I hope that you will see something new or think about part of the prayer in a different way. Today we continue with the second petition of the prayer.
The Second Petition.
Thy kingdom come.
What does this mean?
The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself; but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.
How is this done?
When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life here in time and yonder in eternity.2
What Now?
To me, the Kingdom of God broke into our world when Mary learned from Gabriel that she was pregnant.
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.’” (Luke 1:26–32)3.
In God’s Kingdom we hear those same words, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” I think that is what we see all over the gospels with Jesus. Those who we least expect, the lost and forgotten, the poor and mistreated, the sick and the dead, the outcast and despised, are called out and brought into the presence of the Lord. In this kingdom there is mercy beyond measure for our sins, grace abundant for our fears and shame, and love unimaginable for our lives. In this prayer, that is what we are praying comes unto us, and more than that, that it fills our lives breaking down every barrier we have to God and his kingdom that has come through Jesus.
1http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php#lordsprayer
2Ibid.
3https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1&version=NIV