The other day we were at our kitchen table and I asked who wanted to pray before breakfast on Sabbath. My son, Keating, said, “I will”. He then launched into The Lord’s Prayer. The whole thing…
“Our Father…Thy Kingdom come, they will be done…Forgive us our trespassesas we forgive those who trespass against us…”
He ended and we all said, “Amen.”
He then started again…
“Our Father…Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done…Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors…”
My son, prayed The Lord’s Prayer twice, so that he could include two of the predominant ways people say that prayer in the Christian tradition. How ecumenical and welcoming he is.
As you likely know, Sarah and I love movies. We really love great storytelling, great characters, great dialogue, and a movie that really stirs you. When Braveheart came out, the epic cinematic fictionalized historical drama that portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the war of Scottish independence against England, the powerful line shouted by William Wallace that got repeated over and over again,
“They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!”
Then just a year later, a very similar movie, Independence Day, the epic cinematic fictionalized drama that portrays an eclectic group of people who assemble in Nevada in the war of independence against extraterrestrials, the oddly similar line shouted by the president Thomas Whitmore,
“We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”
A movie about aliens doesn’t hit quite the same way…but no matter, those lines are meant to pump people up, to get them excited, to lead the audience and the characters in the movie to fight with power.
Years ago I was a youth pastor in Kansas City and I had a commercial drivers license…yep…hard to believe. We were taking a group of students to a retreat weekend at a conference in Nebraska and as I was pulling into Omaha there was a strange sound from the engine. The bus didn’t stop, but there was a slight change in the power and a check engine light came on. I pulled up to the event, dropped off the students and leaders, and then parked the bus. I was sure when I would get back after the opening session it wouldn’t start…but to my surprise it started up just fine.
That night, I didn’t sleep because I was busy trying to diagnose what was the problem online. Now, I know I look like a mechanic…this may come as a shocker…but I am not.
In this month’s tower you will read about our new podcast, get a new recommended reading, get new dates of fun things coming up and read about our success with one of our outreach partners.
My kids have a friend that we will call “Hank”. After hanging out with “Hank” they will come home and tell us some outlandish story that is obviously not true. We’ll ask some clarifying questions about where they heard this, and they’ll often say,
“‘Hank’ told us”.
We all know a “Hank”
We all grew up with a “Hank”.
We may have been “Hank”.
We may be “Hank”.
I don’t think “Hank” is trying to tell lies or lead people astray intentionally…I think he wants to fit in, he wants to be accepted, he wants to prove a point, or appear a certain way. As we all know, even if it is unintentional, telling lies, misleading others, and manipulating things so we appear in the best light will take a toll on us.
