“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” Matthew 6:5-13

“Break a Leg!”

How many times have we heard someone shout, “Break a leg!” to someone going onstage? This is a phrase that seems to be counter intuitive. Certainly, you don’t want someone to actually break their leg during a performance. So, what is going on here?

Eric Partridge in his Dictionary of Catchphrases suggests that the term originated as a translation of a similar expression used by German actors: Hals- und Beinbruch (literally, “a broken neck and a broken leg.”) The German phrase traces back to early aviators, possibly during World War I. So, how did this “wish for dreadful injury” turn into one for good luck? It is suggested that it is a reverse psychology of sorts. Popular folklore is full of warnings against wishing your friends good luck. To do so was thought to tempt the fates – actually thought of superstitiously that it might tempt evil spirits to do someone harm. Instead, they would wish their friend bad fortune.

The Greek word “Hypokrites” comes from the world of acting – where a “Hypokrite” was someone who “put on the face of another” or was a “pretender”. Jesus accused the Pharisees of being hypocrites, people who acted one way, but lived their lives in another way – usually in the opposite way of how they pretended to the world.

Jesus wants us to live our lives the same way all of the time – to be genuine and honest and humble – whether people see us or not. If we say we are Christians, then that should define how we live, what we say, and whom we love. As the song says, “They will know we are Christians by our love…..” There is no way to fake that kind of love and Grace.

Pastor Dave

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8

“Red Tape”

This is a very common idiom in our 21st century world – especially since if you have ever tried to deal with the government, you soon see how overly-complicated some processes have become. We use the term “red tape” to denote anything that may delay us, hold us up, like extra, meaningless paperwork, or whatever the process may be, or the unnecessary bureaucracy we encounter. It appears that this term originated from the fact that legal and official documents were tied up or bound with actual, red tape since the 16th century. By doing so, it was often difficult to access them. Hence, the term “red tape.”

The parable of the “Unjust Judge” is a parable Jesus tells about our need to not give up or lose heart when it comes to our relationship with G-d – especially our use of prayer.

Persistence is the key. What happens to most people is this: the red tape of life gets in the way of our prayer life and our study of scripture. What do I mean? Well, we always start off a “prayer schedule” or a “bible reading plan” with all of the best intentions. But then one day we are too tired. The next day we don’t feel well. And soon we realize we are so far behind we just give up.

Jesus says to all of us – do not give up. Be persistent with your prayer life and do not lose heart with your faith. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart….” the writer of Proverbs 3 says. It is our trust in the faith we have that will get us through the red tape of life.

Pastor Dave