Wednesday of Lent 1 Hallowed Be Thy Name
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen! In tonight’s Gospel, Jesus hallows the name of God—that is, Jesus keeps God’s name holy. Jesus keeps the name of God for us because we are completely unable to keep God’s name holy by ourselves. Jesus keeps God’s name holy—Jesus hallows the name of God—by saying to His tempter, “It is written.” Dear Christian friends, There are seven petitions—that is, seven parts or seven requests—in the Lord’s Prayer. We call “Hallowed by Thy name” the first petition (or request); “Thy kingdom come” is the second petition; “Thy will be done,” the third; and so on. The word “petition” is certainly not a bad way to describe each of the seven parts of the Lord’s Prayer. However, “petition” might not say quite enough about all the benefits and blessings God has loaded into His Lord’s Prayer for you. Each petition of the Lord’s Prayer is much more than a request! In addition to being a request, each petition of the Lord’s Prayer will also serve you powerfully as • a confession of your sin and failure; • a classroom, in which we hear the Good News concerning our Lord and Christ’s great, all-encompassing love for us; • an expression of thanks and praise to God for all His goodness and benefits; Tonight’s Gospel shows your Lord Jesus in action for you, hallowing God’s name in the face of great trial and temptation. God’s name is kept holy when His word is taught in truth and purity—and in tonight’s Gospel Jesus clings to the truth and the purity of God’s Word. The devil’s dearest desire is to introduce doubt, to raise the question, “Did God actually say?” (Genesis 3:1) Jesus will have nothing to do with such truck! Jesus will not even offer an argument or a reasoned explanation (apologia). Jesus ONLY places His finger upon the page of the Scripture and He repeats: “It is written… it is written… it is written.” God’s name is kept holy when we, the children of God, lead holy lives according to God’s Word—and in tonight’s Gospel Jesus places His own life under the rule and pattern of God’s Word. The devil appealed to Jesus’ creature comforts, suggesting that the needs of the moment might be more important than the will and desire of God. Jesus does not second-guess what God has said! Jesus does not say, “I know what the Bible says, BUT…” Jesus submits because “it is written.” In this way—both with what He teaches and with how He behaves—Jesus faithfully keeps God’s name holy among us. • Jesus does NOT perfectly hallow God’s name in order to accuse us, even though we each carry plenty of guilt for dishonoring the name of God among us. Our guilt under the first petition oozes out of every pore of tonight’s Gospel, if for no other reason than for the fact that Jesus does so well everything we do so poorly. When was the last time you resisted temptation by saying, “It is written”? How well do you buffet and beat your body into submission under the Scriptures, so that it will do nothing to dishonor the name of God among us? Jesus’ perfection in hallowing God’s name casts a spotlight upon our miserable and paltry efforts to do the same. That is why the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer may be used as a confession of sin: Forgive me, Lord, for how Your name as suffered dishonor by means of my words and deeds! • Jesus does NOT perfectly hallow God’s name in order to accuse us. Jesus keeps God’s name holy in order to cover us and to hide for all eternity our profanity and our dishonor of God’s name. You might say that, Jesus clings to the truth and the purity of God’s Word with one hand, and He clings to us with the other, so that we may have the truth and purity of God’s Word in our lives, complete with its life-giving power. In tonight’s Gospel Jesus places His finger upon the page of the Scriptures for us, because He wants to give us the forgiveness and life and peace and freedom that is contained on every page of the Scriptures. Jesus submits His body and life to what is written, despite our rebellion and unwillingness to submit. Jesus submits so that He may draw us in and cover us with His submission. That is why the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer may be used as classroom, in which we hear the Good News concerning our Lord and Christ’s great, all-encompassing love for us: For us, Jesus hallows God’s name in the desert! • Where we learn mercy of Christ toward us, how can we not feel deep thanks and hearty praise for all His benefits? That is why the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer may be used as an expression of thanks and praise to God: Thank You, Lord, that Your name is kept holy in my life, despite all my dishonorable words and shameful deeds! Thank You, Lord, that Your name is hallowed because of YOU—Your holiness, Your faithfulness, Your strength, Your endurance, Your submission, Your devotion. • And the word “petition” still means “prayer” or “request.” Jesus gave us the petition “Hallowed be Thy Name” because Jesus wants us to ask God to act for us, keeping His name holy among us. Petitions and requests are the stuff of Lent: As it was for Jesus, let it be also for me, dear Father in heaven! Give me His faithfulness, His courage, His willingness to listen and to follow. By Your powerful, life-giving, ever-cleansing, perpetually-restoring Word, keep Your name forever holy in My life. Amen. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
