And then we worship…
Series: Abentüür Gebät | Bible text: Matthew 6:13b
At the very end of the Our Father prayer, it moves into adoration. «For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever.«This is not only the case in this prayer, but also in many other places in the Bible – and it could become a habit of life.
Today is 30 December. If you still have open New Year’s resolutions from last January, you have about 30 hours left. If your resolution was to stop procrastinating, it’s a little late.
Today is 30 December. Have you ever thought about what the word December means? Probably not. I know I spend far too much time thinking about such things. December comes from the Latin «decumo-mensris» and means roughly «of the tenth month». And since December is the twelfth month, that makes perfect sense. But not.
Like so many things, we have the ancient Romans to thank for our calendar. Originally, March (Mensis Martius) was the first month. In March, proconsuls were appointed and legions moved out. In those days the year had only ten months and there were no winter months. That would certainly be interesting, although I doubt that only sports holidays took place between December and March. I also don’t know how birthdays were treated between 31 December and 1 March.
Over time, January and February were added and January became the first month. But to this day, the 12th month is still called «of the tenth month». As the Gallic philosopher Obelix says, «They’re crazy, the Romans!
Whatever the months are called, there are good reasons to celebrate the day after tomorrow and especially to praise God. We read the following in Luke’s Gospel chapter 2:
«When the child was circumcised eight days later, he was given the name Jesus – just as the angel had already named him before Mary became pregnant»(Luke 2:21, NL).
For the Jews, the name and the naming had great significance for the life of a child. It was like a prophecy about him. On the eighth day after his birth, Joseph and Mary brought their newborn child to the temple. There he was circumcised according to the law. And there his name was pronounced: Jesus – in Hebrew, Yeshua. Yeshua means «Yahweh saves». We can also translate Yahweh as «I am who I am» or «I will be who I will be» or «I am there». This Yahweh saves. And that was the name, that was the destiny, and that was the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
As I calculate it, 1 January would be the eighth day after Christmas. On 1 January, the Gospel was proclaimed with a name. The Anno Domini, the year of our Lord was proclaimed and a new age began. Instead of a reason to binge, 1 January is a reason to thank and praise our God – to worship him.
Worship is the theme for this morning. This concludes our annual theme and sermon series on the Our Father prayer. Today is about worship – with a look back and a look forward. We will look at some Bible texts together.
The Doxology of Our Father
«For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.»
What do we do after a play or a concert or a sporting event? If we enjoyed it, it is customary to clap our hands together, for example. Clapping hands is an expression of our gratitude and appreciation. Maybe we do other things: exactly what and how depends a lot on our personality and culture.
What do we do after a prayer? I think it’s similar. Not with the clapping (but why not actually), but that much depends on our personality, habit, and culture. At the end we often say «Amen» – the Aramaic word for «so be it» («et voila» in Bärndütsch). I need Amen too but sometimes I wonder why. Do we use Amen like a magic word, or like a send button for an email or text message? Or is Amen a signal word that God doesn’t need to listen to us afterwards? In the Bible and in ancient Christian liturgies, it often happens that a prayer ends with praise or worship. I find it interesting anyway how closely related the German words prayer and worship are. Both come from the word Bitten and the words show us that prayer and worship have less to do with what we bring and more to do with what we want to receive. Does that make sense?
The last section of Our Father we are looking at this morning is called the doxology. The word doxology is made up of two Greek words: doxa and logia. Doxa means «belief» or «opinion» and is the root of the words «orthodox» and «paradox». Doxa is also used to translate the Hebrew kavod (בוד) or «glory». Logia means a verbal or written expression. So a doxology is a word about glory or a word that expresses the glory of something. A doxology is an expression of praise and glorification – an expression of worship.
The doxology of Our Father is the only part of the prayer that is not found directly in Matthew 6. It is completely consistent with the theology and tenor of the rest of the prayer, but it is not part of our canonical scripture. As Bernhard mentioned last Sunday, Christians used this word of worship very early. There are manuscripts from the 2nd century with the doxology as part of the Our Father.
The doxology underlines the importance of the Kingdom of Heaven for Jesus: Thine is the kingdom, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. When we perceive and live out the Our Father, we bring the Kingdom of Heaven in and around us. It is a kingdom where we honour God. It is a kingdom where God’s will comes first. It is a kingdom where we expect and trust God’s care. It is a kingdom where grace and forgiveness reign. It is a realm of clarity where we realise that there is more going on than what we can see with our eyes. It is a kingdom that requires our total faithfulness and complete dependence.
Is this how I live a life of the kingdom of heaven? No, I fall again and again. And again and again I land in the loving and forgiving embrace of my Father and your Father – my King and yours. To Him belongs all glory. Amen.
A Doxology of David
The theology of the kingdom of heaven and the language of doxology, are not new in the New Testament. They are also found in the worship of King David. We read the following text in the book of 1 Chronicles 29. David had called the people of Israel to gather money and treasures for the building of the temple. The people came together and brought a huge amount. The people rejoiced at the generosity and David worshipped his God.
«Then David praised the Lord in front of all those gathered: «O Lord God of our progenitor Israel, blessed be you forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, are greatness, power, glory, fame and majesty. Everything in heaven and on earth is yours; the kingdom is yours, Lord. We worship you as Lord over all. Wealth and honour come from you alone, for you are Lord over all. Power and strength you give to him whom you will make great and mighty. God, we thank you and praise your glorious name».» (1 Chronicles 29:10–13; NL).
Did you notice the similarities? David uses the language of our doxology in his worship prayer. «Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom.» «Yours, Lord, is the power.» «Thine, Lord, is the glory.» «Blessed are you for ever and ever!» Probably the first Christians were very familiar with this text, Jesus certainly was. David’s worshipping heart shapes us to this day.
A Doxology of Paul
«Glory and honour belong to God alone, the Eternal King, the Invisible One, who never dies and who alone is God, for ever and ever. Amen.» (1 Timothy 1:17, NL).
The New Testament is filled with doxologies. Since the Apostle Paul wrote a large part of the New Testament, many doxologies come from him. One example is this one from 1 Timothy. I imagine that as Paul wrote his letters and reflected on the amazing gospel and our wonderful God, he was overwhelmed and filled with praise and worship. It is the same for a friend of mine when he talks about God.
In this example, Paul has just expressed his gratitude for God’s grace and call on his life. He probably wept when he wrote this doxology.
Do we know this fullness of emotion and gratitude? I personally wish for much more of it. How deeply has the truth of the Gospel grown in our hearts? A doxology is not a confession, it is a passion.
By the way, Paul also needs «Amen»; it is biblical.
Doxologies in Revelation
Finally, I would like to look at the doxologies in the Book of Revelation.
Maybe you wondered why we had last year’s trailer this morning. Maybe you didn’t even notice and that’s perfectly fine. I don’t notice everything either, for example new hairstyles, shoes, glasses, birthdays. For me, it’s cool if you haven’t noticed. We deliberately showed last year’s trailer this morning. Last year our theme was «Foresight» and we did a sermon journey through the book of Revelation. Today I am trying to bring the last 2 years together. In February it will be 24 years since I came to Switzerland to marry a Bärnermeitschi. I feel comfortable in my adopted country, except when there is high fog. I’m not particularly sensitive to light, but I feel quite disoriented when I can’t see my surroundings. During the sports holidays that year we were in Sörenberg. I took the cable car up to Brienzer Rothorn and found myself completely surrounded by grey fog. Joy reigned! Suddenly there was a bright light and a square window broke through the wall of fog. Through the window I could see the blue sky, the mountains and Lake Brienz. They were always there. I just didn’t notice them because of the wall of fog. I needed a window.
Such a window is the book of Revelation and this realisation I had on the mountain top was our theme in 2017. We often live surrounded by spiritual fog and do not realise what is going on around us. God’s word and revelation shows us what is true. And what do we find in the book of Revelation? Doxology and worship:
«In the middle and around the throne are four living beings, full of eyes in front and behind. The first of these living beings looks like a lion, the second like a young bull. The third living being has a face like a man and the fourth resembles a flying eagle. Each of these living creatures has six wings that were full of eyes inside and out. Day after day and night after night they do not cease to cry, «Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who always was, who is, and who is yet to come.» » (Revelation 4:6–8; NL).
«Whenever the living creatures bring glory and honour and thanks to him who sits on the throne and lives for ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever. And they lay their crowns before the throne and say: «You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power. For you created all things; because you willed it, they are here and were created».» (Revelation 4:9–11; NL).
«Then I saw again thousands upon thousands of angels around the throne and around the living creatures and the elders, and I heard their singing. And they sang in a mighty chorus: «Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. It is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise».» (Revelation 5:11–12; NL).
«And then I heard all the creatures in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea singing: «Praise and honour and glory and power are due to him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever». And the four living creatures said, «Amen!» And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped» (Revelation 5:13–14; NL).
«And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the elders, and the four living creatures. And they fell down before the throne and worshipped God. They cried out, «Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God for ever and ever. Amen!» » (Revelation 7:11–12; NL).
In conclusion
The Our Father is an adventure. It is the best known prayer on earth and has accompanied humanity for two millennia. This prayer is an example of how we can pray. And yet it is much more. The Our Father shows us how to live the Kingdom of Heaven. It shows us how to treat our fellow human beings. It shows us how to deal with ourselves. And it shows us how to deal with our God.
Prayer points us to the Gospel and the Father of the Gospel. He is the Father who has given us everything we have. He is the Father who allows us to turn our backs on him and walk away. He is the Father who longs to welcome us and bring us home. He is the Father who gave everything so that we could come to Him. It was His idea to send His Son as a child in this world. It was his idea that Jesus took our guilt upon himself and died for us on the cross. He is the Father whose embrace restores us and makes us pure.
I want to encourage you and all of us to make 2019 the year of our Lord (Anno Domini). To come and live in God and His embrace. I want to encourage you and all of us to make 2019 a year of prayer and worship. Amen.
