BLOG 5/2/13 AT THE END OF THE LORD’S PRAYER … A WAKE-UP CALL

At the end of the Lord’s Prayer there is an interesting “wake-up call” that doesn’t get much notice. At the beginning of that prayer is the petition that God’s Kingdom (New Creation) may be coming on earth as in heaven … then at the other end of the prayer is the petition that we may not be led into testing but that we may be delivered from the evil one (Matthew 6:9-13).

There is a similar pattern in Paul’s remarkable letter to the Ephesian church in Asia Minor. Paul is totally consumed, at the beginning of that letter, with his awe at the reality that the mystery hidden for the ages has now been revealed in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. But then at the very end he drops the other shoe, namely, that they must be very sober about the context of their presence as the people of God and to be always putting on the whole armor of God because of the subtle schemes of the devil to bring it all down on their heads and to neuter their effectiveness as the people of God.

I say: it is interesting that this gets so little attention in all too many of our Christian communities. It is the ever-present reality. Some of the millennial generation identify themselves as pragmatic idealists, but we Christian folk should not only be pragmatic idealists, but also pragmatic realists who live lives of hope in the thrill of what God has done, but very aware of the presence of a malignant darkness that is so ever present in church, society, politics, environmental degradation, relationships, jurisprudence, art, sexuality, i.e., all of life.

We do sing about it, but often mindlessly. Think of they hymn “This Is My Father’s World” and its words “… but let me ne’er forget, that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” Or the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” which while affirming that God’s Kingdom is forever, also, right away in the first verse states: “For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great; And armed with cruel hate …” Then while acknowledging that on earth there is not this evil one’s equal, goes on to affirm that in Jesus is that word which is above all earthly powers, and that in him is our true defense.

So with this Blog, just to remind my readers that this final petition of the Lord’s Prayer is our wake-up call to the very real warfare in which (whether we acknowledge it or not) we are engaged. It is our sobering reminder that “still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe.” It acknowledges that this present context is not at all neutral and that we are always in peril of the devices of that wicked one, internally, spiritually, and externally. It is a reminder that we can get hurt in this calling that is ours. It seeks divine grace, alertness and protection as we live in the midst of this present (evil and rebellious) world.

The warfare is real. The evil one is malicious and aggressive … but he was ultimately defeated on the Cross: “For this purpose was the Son of God manifested: to destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8).

In case you might be interested, I have attempted to deal with this more thoroughly in my recently released book: The Church and the Relentless Darkness (Wipf and Stock, 2013).

Peace!