“Me, Too!”

Luke 11:1-13 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." 2 And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation." 5 And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

1 If only this prayer began in some other way. “Lord, teach us to pray,” the disciples asked Jesus. But before you follow this model of prayer, be sure you want to approach the Heavenly Father, the Creator of all things, at all. Who is this Father? He is the One, after all, in whose presence sinners fall down in fear. He is the One, after all, at whose face even Moses could not look without dying. He is the One, after all, whose presence on Mt. Sinai made the mountain deadly to touch. He is the One, after all, whose glory filled the temple and before whom Isaiah fell on his face and cried out, “Woe is me. I am undone!” He is the One, after all, whose very presence strikes fear into the hearts of sinners. And rightly so. He is holy and wants nothing to do with sinners except to punish them.

2 So if only this prayer didn’t begin by calling on the Creator of all things as “Father.” Don’t approach this Holy Lord in prayer without considering the consequences. You are not worthy to speak those words of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven.” You who by your actions rebel against the Lord daily, even hourly, may not call Him Father. So repent of thinking yourself holy and righteous enough to pray this prayer. This cannot be your prayer unless you may call the Lord of the universe “Father.” And if you are a sinner, you cannot.

3 One may, however. The eternal Father, God the Father, has one Son, the Only-begotten Son of the Father, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of light, very God of very God. This One, the Divine Word of God, became flesh. He took human flesh and was born of a Virgin. He alone may call God Father. And He did. On the cross, Jesus Christ, who left His dwelling with His Father so that He could bear the sins of the whole world, called upon His Father. “Father, into your hands, I commend my Spirit.” And so He died. He called upon His Father as the Son rejected and despised by the Father. There on the cross, the Son was forsaken by the Father. This is not because the Heavenly Father is a wicked father like earthly fathers who reject their children, but because He is the perfect Father. Because Jesus was rejected, punished in your place, St. Paul says, you have received the adoption as sons and daughters.

4 So may you pray, “Our Father.” The Son Himself gives you His prayer, bids you call upon His Father as your own. You, too, are a beloved child of this Heavenly Father. You, too, are an heir of eternal life and salvation. You, too, get included in the Lord’s salvation. So the prayer the Lord gives you to pray is likewise a prayer to be included. “Me, too,” you pray.

5 God’s name is certainly holy in itself, but you pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among you also. God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in truth and purity, and you, as children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without your prayer, but you pray in this petition that it may come to you also. God’s kingdom comes when your heavenly Father gives you His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace, you believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. The good and gracious will of God is done even without your prayer, but you pray in this petition that it may be done among you also. God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and your sinful nature…and when He strengthens and keeps you firm in His Word and faith until you die. God certainly gives daily bread—everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body—to everyone, even to all evil people, but you pray in this petition that God would lead you to realize this and to receive your daily bread with thanksgiving. “Me, too,” you pray in the Lord’s Prayer.

6 This is not a selfish “Me, too,” but a humble “Me, too,” knowing that you are neither worthy of the things for which you pray, nor have you deserved them, but you ask that He would give them all to you by grace, for you daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment. So you pray that God would guard and keep you so that the devil, the world, and your sinful nature may not deceive you or lead you into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. And you pray that your Father in heaven would rescue you from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when your last hour comes, give you a blessed end, and graciously take you from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.

7 There is nothing you could need that is not included in this prayer given to you by your Lord. And you may be certain that these petitions are pleasing to your Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He himself has commanded you to pray in this way and has promised to hear you. He has promised to give good gifts to you, His dear children, to give the Holy Spirit to you, who creates faith and guards that faith when the devil would cause you to doubt your sonship or daughtership of the heavenly Father. What a treasure! Your Lord has given you words to pray that He has promised to hear and answer.

Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor Jeff Hemmer
Hope, Jerseyville
Wednesday after the Second Sunday of Lent, AD 2008