Don't Get Fancy

Matthew 6:5-15 NRSV

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your

INTRO

Our gospel lesson this morning may sound familiar, because part of the gospel lesson is read on Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, we always read Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-21. The sixth chapter of Matthew’s gospel starts off by cautioning the reader and listener to be careful about practicing piety before other people so that they might be seen. Our lesson this morning begins in the section about prayer.

Jesus begins by cautioning us about ways to not pray. Jesus says that we should not pray like the hypocrites. This cautionary word tends to be very easy for us to understand. We can call to mind those times when someone prayed excessively in public. We can think of those who make a big deal about praying for someone or praising God for something in such a way that everyone knows the person praying is really just boasting. Rather, Jesus cautions us that we should be praying in secret.

Jesus also says we should not pray like the Gentiles who heap up empty phrases. So often when people are struggling with how to pray or what to pray, they get wrapped up in the prayers of others. The petitioner lift up words that they heard before but they have no idea what the words mean. They start saying things for the sake of saying things. And it is no surprise that we are guilty of this. We live in a world that heaps up excess words: advertising, common speech, words that we use to stall while we are trying to figure out what we really want to say.

In both of these areas, we find ourselves guilty. You see, Jesus is cautioning us in these sections about complicated prayer because the more complicated our prayers the more we run the risk of making the prayers about the wrong thing. Rather than pointing fingers at one group or another, Jesus is calling us to examine ourselves, to look at ourselves. Jesus isn’t saying that the prayers of the Gentiles are wrong for them, rather, he is saying that when we try to get too fancy, we run the risk of copying communal practices for the sake of doing so. Instead, Jesus is setting a higher standard for the disciples and for us in how we pray. Rather than worrying about how the community or those around them pray, the disciples, then and now, ought worry about God and how they are lifting up prayers to God.

These cautions on how not to pray also point us to our God who doesn’t need us to be too fancy. So many of the ancient gods required lifting up of certain prayers. As one theologian reminds us, “The ‘many words’ of pagan prayer refers not merely to their length…It may refer to the invocation of many gods; to the ritual repetition of prayer formulas; to empty insincere talk;…All such speaking supposes that one must impress or gain the attention of the deity or use the correct formula in order to ensure the effectiveness of the prayer…” God doesn’t ask us to get God’s attention. God doesn’t require us to do or say certain things. Rather, our God who is relational, already knows us so well that God knows what we need before we even ask.

If God loves us so much that we do not even need to lift up words, how excessive are some of our prayers? Now, this doesn’t mean that we should stop praying in ways that are comfortable to us, so long as they are for lifting up praise, thanksgiving, and concerns to God. However, if we are lifting up all these prayers full of words for the sake of saying words, then all we need to do is keep it simple. Any lifting up of words for the sake of lifting up words distracts us from our mission, fills our lives and the church with useless jabber, and denies the very character of God. God knows us so well; God loves us so much that we don’t even have to give words to our feelings.

So how do we work to keep it simple? One way is to offer up the prayer that Jesus teaches us. For us, this prayer is very familiar. We pray it in one way or another every Sunday. Many of us have the words memorized. Jesus gives this to his disciples as a way to pray when they aren’t sure what else to say. There are so many stories of people who are in tough situations and don’t know what to pray, so they immediately start praying the Lord’s prayer. We don’t even have to use the specific language of the Lord’s prayer. God wants simple language from the heart.

You see, the Lord’s prayer, in fact, gives us a model for how to pray. “Our Father” reminds us of our relationship with God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus refers to God as his father. He invites us to accept this intimate relationship with God. God wants us to embrace the familiarity and intimacy that comes with a parent, child relationship. It reminds us that we begin our prayers by recognizing God. For some, it might be something like “Gracious and Holy God.” For others it may begin as simply as “Hey God” or “Abba.” For others it might be “God our Mother.”

“Hallowed be your name” reminds us to lift up God’s name and reminds us of our call to bring honor to the name of God by living holy lives. In hallowing God’s name, we are to reflect on how our lives, our actions, words, and deeds are to reflect God’s loving presence in the word. In some ways, praying “Gracious God” accomplishes this. In other ways, simple prayers like “Hey God, thank you for who you are and all that you do” accomplish the same. Or “Gracious God God, you who healed the sick and raised the dead.” We acknowledge God and then lift up a means of honoring God.

The second and third petitions in the Lord’s Prayer are somewhat linked together. Scholars consider praying for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth to be separate petitions. Praying for God’s kingdom to come originates from the time of Jesus, as the Jews were looking for the Messiah. In this context, praying for God’s kingdom to come would be realized when all are obedient to God. The third petition, then, is the means by which the second petition is done. If we want the kingdom to come, we want God’s will to be done. God’s will is done when we are perfectly obedient to God. So to add to our own prayer, “Gracious God God, you who healed the sick and raised the dead. We pray for all who are suffering from illnesses and who are hospitalized. May your compassion surround them, and may your love be made known to all who are afflicted.” Again, we aren’t too fancy; we are just keeping it simple.

The fourth petition in the Lord’s prayer asks God to provide. In the Lord’s prayer, it’s the request for daily bread. Daily bread, coming from the manna story in Exodus, is meant to encourage us to rely on God for our needs. As we lift up our simple prayers, this is where we ask God for what we need trusting that God will provide. “Gracious God God, you who healed the sick and raised the dead. We pray for all who are suffering from illnesses and who are hospitalized. May your compassion surround them, and may your love be made known to all who are afflicted. I pray for my surgery tomorrow that all will go well.”

As we prepare to conclude the Lord’s prayer, we ask for our sins to be forgiven as we forgive the sins of others. Jews viewed sins as debts that were owed to God. Forgiveness lets others go of the debt or obligations that are owed in the relationship. It is a requirement that we release the sins of others before our sins can be forgiven. This is coupled with a request that God continues to help us resist further temptation and sin. As one theologian notes, “Jewish prayers often asked God for deliverance from the power of sin, guilt, and temptation.

The temptation mentioned in verse 13 could be any testing of a disciple’s faith by enticement or disobedience. Falling into temptation would bring disrespect to God’s name and be contrary to the first petition of the prayer.” So in our simple prayer, we add that request as we pray, “Gracious God God, you who healed the sick and raised the dead. We pray for all who are suffering from illnesses and who are hospitalized. May your compassion surround them, and may your love be made known to all who are afflicted. I pray for my surgery tomorrow that all will go well. I ask that you forgive me for my desire to shy away from your healing presence and help me to forgive those who have wronged me. Help me, O God, to resist temptation and evil in the world. It is only in your strength that I can do so.”

While not in our text, the phrase we use at the end comes to mind, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” You may be wondering how that came into what we know as the Lord’s prayer and why it belongs in our simple prayers too. This is because in Jewish prayers, there was always a benediction. Matthew didn’t write it in, and Jesus didn’t mention it because it was a given for the disciples.

So in the benediction, we again acknowledge God and all of God’s power and glory. We pray, “Gracious God God, you who healed the sick and raised the dead. We pray for all who are suffering from illnesses and who are hospitalized. May your compassion surround them, and may your love be made known to all who are afflicted. I pray for my surgery tomorrow that all will go well. I ask that you forgive me for my desire to shy away from your healing presence and help me to forgive those who have wronged me. Help me, O God, to resist temptation and evil in the world. It is only in your strength that I can do so. We trust you, O God, and give you all the praise and glory. Amen.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.