“Power And Glory”
During Lent, we’ve been preparing ourselves to celebrate the most important event in the history of creation: the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In doing so, we’ve been reflecting on the Lord’s Prayer. Since this Sunday is Palm Sunday, I will comment on the final phrase of the Lord’s Prayer in my Word on Wednesday:
For Thine Is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
But there’s a problem. The last part of the prayer that we’ll be reflecting on isn’t in the Bible. Well, at least it’s not in our Bibles. It was added by the early church.
In the fifth century, it was even added to the Gospel of Matthew that was used then.
So, why isn’t this phrase in our Bibles today? Our translation of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew chapter 6 is based on Greek manuscripts from the second and third centuries. Which begs the question: If Jesus didn’t teach it, why was this phrase added by early church?
This phrase was added because the first believers who prayed it were filled with a sense of awe and wonder after having had a personal encounter with Almighty God.
When the first Christians prayed the Lord’s Prayer, they began with a sense of anticipation. Then they were filled with wonder as they prayed a prayer that Jesus Himself had taught them to pray. When they finished, they realized that they had just had an encounter with the Lord of the Universe.
The only way they could imagine responding was with the words of their ancestor
King David who prayed in I Chronicles 29:11
Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
So, when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, are we filled with a sense of awe and wonder?
The Lord’s Prayer is a model for prayer that Jesus has given us. It reminds us of who God is. It shows us that we are completely and utterly dependent on God for our physical needs as well as for our spiritual needs. It teaches us that we need forgiveness, and that forgiven people forgive others. As we bow before the Lord God Almighty, truly acknowledging our own mortality, frailty, and total dependence we can’t help but come away saying:
For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor David
