April 22, 2016
The Lord’s Prayer — “Thy kingdom come.”

“What does this mean?–Answer.
The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself; but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.

How is this done?–Answer.
When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life here in time and yonder in eternity.” ( Martin Luther’s explanation of The Lord’s Prayer – Small Catechism)

“For the coming of God’s Kingdom to us occurs in two ways; first, here in time through the Word and faith; and secondly, in eternity forever through revelation. Now we pray for both these things, that it may come to those who are not yet in it, and, by daily increase, to us who have received the same, and hereafter in eternal life.” (Martin Luther’s explanation of The Lord’s Prayer – Large Catechism)

Luther is very clear that the kingdom of G-d comes in two ways: through the Word of G-d and Faith, the relationship of which has been spoken to in the third article of the Apostle’s Creed – and through revelation, or how the kingdom, how the presence of G-d is revealed to us on the earth. To pray “Thy Kingdom Come” is to pray that we look for the kingdom of G-d to come soon – either speedily or in time. The more that we honor the name of G-d, and honor G-d through the teachings of Jesus, the more speedily the kingdom of G-d might come. The problem for the followers of Jesus, they would have seen the kingdom of G-d arrived in Jesus, as they came to see him as the Messiah. So, we could say that they, like us, would pray for Jesus to return speedily after the ascension.

Of course, as Luther teaches in the Small Catechism, the kingdom of G-d comes whether we pray for it to come or not. So, we might pray that, while the kingdom of G-d comes no matter if we pray for it or not, we might pray that the kingdom might come to us, and through us.

Pastor Dave