Many years ago during a Bible class I was teaching an elderly woman spoke of the loss of a loved one—a long period of time when her grief was so deep that she could not bring herself even to pray the Lord’s Prayer. But then she went on to say that, even so, she trusted and was sustained by her confidence that others in the community of faith were praying that prayer on her behalf.

Perhaps one of the most important words of the Lord’s Prayer is the first: “Our.” When we pray that prayer we give testimony that our faith and trust in a gracious God is not only a personal and private matter—though of course it is that. But it is a prayer that with its opening address both reminds us, and binds us, in the community of God’s people.

No matter how much we have been made aware of the need for “social distancing” (or rather “physical distance” as Pastor Sara has recently suggested), this does not mean that we are ever alone. Every time we pray this prayer by our Lord’s instruction we acknowledge that we are indeed a “we.” No matter how much we may be distanced by time and place, gathered or separated, we are still the body of Christ. And even though we may not be physically touching, praying this our Lord’s Prayer is one way in which we claim God’s promises and carry out the work of RLC’s motto and mission to “Love God and Love Your Neighbor.”

PRAYER:

Our Heavenly Father, through Baptism you have called and claimed us as your own. We are your people bound together as a community of grace. In these days keep us mindful, even if physically separated, of the power of your love that sustains us and equips us in care and service of one another. Amen.