Rev elations

As part of the service last Sunday (28 th July 2013) we looked at Jesus’ teaching on how to pray (Luke 11:11-13 and Matthew 6: 9-13). In so doing, I asked congregation members to re-write the Our Father to explore its nature more fully. Once you start, you realise how hard it is! How will you name God; how will you express your desire for the world to be a better place; how do you understand the offer of forgiveness and God’s command that we forgive in turn?  At the end of the prayers reproduced below is an analysis of the structure of the Lord's Prayer to help you write your own. Matthew 6:9-13 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,   your kingdom come, your will be done,      on earth as it is in heaven.   Give us today our daily bread.   And forgive us our debts,      as we also have forgiven our debtors.   And lead us not into temptation,  ...

The Archbishop’s embarrassment concerning the Church Commissioner’s investment indirectly in Wonga helps to clarify ideas about sin, purity and holiness. In particular it reveals the extent to which sin is communal and interconnected. The Archbishop talks about a complex world which we all have to live in. He is right, but it can be put more theologically than that. The in-depth discussion around the Charity Commissioner’s investment portfolio and its tolerance of say up to 3% in companies (perhaps a hotel chain) that sell pornography reveals the way in which it is probably impossible to exist in perfect holy isolation. Nobody is perfect in and of themselves because we exist inter-dependently of one another. That is why sin is so corrupting - the wide effect of the pornographic industry not just on those who make it and buy it can be charted. That is why, when God made Himself known to the Jewish people as YHWH, that he started a covenantal relationship not just with a few individuals ...