Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - Tuesday in the First Week of Lent
[Isaiah 55:10-11 and Matthew 6:7-15]In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
St. Francis is often quoted as having said, "Preach always. If necessary, use words!" With all due respect to Il Poverello, I find it very necessary to use words! And I disagree with the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me." Baloney! Words can break hearts! Words can say, "I do!" Jesus emphasizes hearing the word of God and keeping it! He also notes, as quoted above, that it is not in the quantity of words but in their meaning that prayer is expressed. The American poet, James Dickey, once wrote, "prayer is not in the words but in the breath." But we still need words. In the Old Testament, a word was equivalent to the reality it spoke. That's why the name of God was never spoken except by the High Priest, and only once a year! In the scripture from Isaiah, the effectiveness of God's word (dabar Yahweh in Hebrew) is certain. That word will not echo back in an empty way. We preachers can only hope that will be the case for us! Jesus, in teaching the apostles to pray, uses (in the Greek) a verb form that we don't have in English. It's called "aorist." When used in an "imperative mood" that verb means "let this happen IMMEDIATELY." So, "HALLOWED BE thy name!" "Thy kingdom COME! Thy will be DONE..... GIVE us TODAY our daily bread.... FORGIVE US our trespasses! LEAD US NOT into temptation. I'll bet most of us don't realize the urgency in that prayer since we say it so often. It takes on the character of the familiar and comforting instead of the urgent and needy! Jesus tells us that God knows what we need before we ask, but we need to ask anyhow. Our words can be effective! This Lent might be a good time to take a second look at words we say so often and maybe don't hear well enough. The Lord's Prayer could be the best place to start! AMEN
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