Sermon: The Lord’s Prayer: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
God’s Table Rules
March 31st, 2019 Rev. Betsy Perkins
First Baptist Church, Delavan WI
Scripture passage: Luke 11:1-11
Kitchen Table Rules…
Do you have some kitchen table / dining table rules in your household? Things that you are supposed to do or not to do at the table? (Wash your hands before coming to the table; Elbows off the table; Clean your plate; Clear your dishes; …)
As we enter into the Lord’s Prayer, we might picture that through prayer we have entered into God’s presence, or into God’s house. We have been welcomed at the door by our Father, our Papa, and ushered into the large and impressive entryway and study. We marvel at who God is and what God is doing. Then, Jesus invites us to come into the kitchen and sit down at the table with him and with our Papa. What would the rules of that table be?
Rule #1: Ask – Don’t be shy, Don’t reach, Just Ask.
“Pass the potatoes, please.” “May I have another glass of milk?” “Is there a bit of cool whip for the pie?” The first word of this line of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples shows us that this is how God’s table works. “GIVE …” “Give us,” we are to say. It seems rather abrupt, doesn’t it? No “excuse me, when you have a moment, would you maybe…” No, we are to just ask. I suppose it could be irreverent if that’s where your prayer begins, but remember, we didn’t just dash from ringing the doorbell of prayer and head straight to the kitchen table. We greeted God, “Father”, remembering that God adopted us as children, recalling God’s deep love for us. Then we said, “Hallowed be Your name,” recognizing God’s holiness and separateness. God is the Creator; we are just part of His good creation. We paused, in awe of God’s greatness, God’s faithfulness, God’s power and might, God’s wisdom. We paused for a moment of worship.
Then, as we prayed, “Your kingdom come,” we recognized God’s good plans for this world, plans to bring His kingdom, plans to rescue us from the brokenness and evil of this world, and to establish once again a place where God is in charge, through Jesus, His Son. We long for that Day, but at the same time we are reminded that God is already at work in the world. We are humbled that God invites us to participate in Kingdom come.
So by the time we enter the kitchen and take our seat at the table, we are aware of our place. We are aware that there is beauty to be enjoyed as well as work to be done. We are aware that it isn’t our table we have come to, but that God is the Provider. So we don’t just reach out and grab what we want. We ask.
We’re not to be shy at God’s table. Shyness is usually the result of fears or of anxieties. When Jesus was preaching to a crowd, he told them, “I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or drink.” (Mt.6:25) Don’t be anxious about your daily needs of clothes or shelter, either. For your heavenly Father knows you need these things. God created our bodies, so of course it’s no surprise to Him that our bodies require 3 meals a day, that they need rest, and need to be kept clean and warm and dry. Jesus said, “Seek first God’s kingdom and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Several thousand years ago, God rescued the ancient people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and was leading them toward the land where God would give them a home and be their King. Along the way, they journeyed through some long stretches of barren wilderness. It didn’t take long for the food they brought with them to run out. They worried that Moses hadn’t done a good job planning for all the details of the trip. They got scared that God was going to let them starve to death. They began to complain. Moses, however, had the right idea and basically told them “you need to quit worrying, quit blaming me, and just ask God for food!” So Moses did that, and for the rest of their journey God provided manna for them – each day, enough for their needs of that day.
We are on a journey, too, as God’s people heading to the Day when God will be King over all the earth. On this journey, God knows you have needs each day. It’s not a surprise to God. God knows when you are hungry or thirsty or lonely or hurting. Would God create wheat and corn and broccoli and strawberries and then withhold them from us? Would God invite us to work for the coming of His kingdom and then not provide the things we need to accomplish the tasks we are given? Of course not.
Psalm 37 says, “Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and farm faithfulness. Enjoy the Lord, and He will give you what your heart asks.” (Ps.37:3-4,CEB) … what your heart ASKS! Ask.
Rule #2: Share – Take your fair share, Don’t hog the food
The second rule at God’s table has to do with the second word of the request; “Give US…” There are not two versions of this prayer – one for when we pray it together as a group and one for when we pray it alone. There is no version in which I pray to my Father and ask for my daily bread, or ask forgiveness for my sins, or ask God to deliver me from evil. In God’s house, at God’s table, we speak the words of community: our father, our daily bread, our sins, those who sin against us, deliver us. At God’s table we are reminded that we are part of a larger family. We are to share with all God’s children and consider their needs as well.
When I attended Bethel Seminary, there were two sisters enrolled in the undergraduate program who shared more than most siblings. Abby and Brittany Hensel were born in 1990 in Minnesota. Their father is a carpenter, their mom is a nurse. Like most twins, they shared the same womb and the same birthday, the same bedroom, the same meals and toys and teachers. But these two also share the same torso – the same body from the chest down. Abby and Brittany have two separate heads and two separate personalities. They have two hearts and two stomachs, but only two arms and two legs. Abby and Brittany had to each get their own driver’s license, but of course each had to help the other pass the driving test. They have different strengths – Brittany is good at math, Abby enjoys writing. Yet to survive, they need to work together, to coordinate their movements, to consider each other’s needs and each other’s preferences.
What lessons these two young women could teach us about sharing and caring. We are not conjoined physically to one another in the Body of Christ, but the Bible speaks several times about members of one church behaving as various parts of one body. We may have different skin colors and speak different languages and have different tastes in clothing but we have the same Father.
Are we paying attention to make sure that everyone at the table is getting what they need? Or are we grabbing for seconds on the dinner rolls before the basket has even gone around once? (I’m sure none of you have ever done that!) None of us are more deserving or more entitled than another. Some people do end up with more and others with less, but that is not because God is playing favorites, but rather it is an opportunity for us to love one another and to practice God’s family rules.
In both the Old Testament and in the New Testament we are told, “give to those in need!” (Ps.112:9,Lk.11:41) We are brothers and sisters around God’s table. Let’s take only our fair share. Let us share with the ones who got less to start with. We have opportunities here to do that by putting food for the Food Pantry wagons, by packing food into backpacks, by hosting the homeless. Giving to the America for Christ offering supports ministries in impoverished areas of our nation.
Rule #3: Trust the Cook – Eat what is served
Did you notice that this prayer is for daily bread, for basic needs? It is not a prayer for pies and pastries. It is not a prayer for luxuries or excess. Max Lucado writes about this rule for God’s table, saying, “The kitchen in God’s house is no restaurant. It’s not owned by a stranger; it’s run by your Father. It’s not a place you visit and leave; it’s a place to linger and chat. It’s not open one hour and closed the next; the kitchen is ever available. You don’t eat and pay; you eat and say thanks. But perhaps the most important difference between a kitchen and a restaurant is the menu. A kitchen doesn’t have one. God’s kitchen doesn’t need one. Things may be different in your house, but in the house of God, the one who provides the food is the one who prepares the meal. We don’t swagger into his presence and demand delicacies. Nor do we sit outside the door and hope for crumbs. We simply take our place at the table and gladly trust him to ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’” (The Great House of God, pg.103) Trust.
Scientists and nutritionists have been studying and researching the daily food needs of our bodies for decades. What they are discovering are the things that the God who created our bodies has known all along. We need a balanced diet; we need certain basic nutrients. We can’t eat only our favorites. Some days what is served is peas and carrots, or celery and spinach. God brings a variety of things into our lives – some give us strength, some help build stamina, some bring wisdom, some give great joy. Some days are dull, hard-working days; others are days to rest and enjoy a special treat. “God prepares for us a plate of experiences…. All are important and all are from God.” (Lucado) As Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom.8:28)
Have you learned the secret that Paul learned? To be content in all circumstances, whether full or hungry, whether having plenty or being poor. The secret is to trust the cook! He wrote,” I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. (Phil.4:13) Trust God.
Rule #4: Be Grateful – Say ‘thank you’
For most of us, trusting God for our daily bread, is not nearly the challenge that it is for our brothers and sisters living in parts of the world where there is food scarcity, or for those on the refugee trail depending on the kindness of strangers. Most of us have cupboards filled with food, whether from a grocery store or a local pantry, we do not wonder day to day where our next meal will come from. In fact, rather than asking God for enough to eat, my guess is that the prayer we say much more often is, “Lord, help me not to eat too much!”
This does not make this line of the Lord’s Prayer unnecessary, however. Just the opposite. We pray, only to find that God has already answered our prayer in abundance. God sent the rain and then parted the clouds to bring sunshine, even before we thought to ask. God prompted the farmer and steadied the trucker so that food is available in our communities, even before we head to the store. God designed plants and animals so that the seed for the next season, for the next generation, are in place even before one season is completed.
God planned for and provided for bread for our bodies and bread for our souls before we ever knew we needed it. Two thousand years ago, Jesus told a hungry crowd, “It is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the One who came down from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the Bread of Life,” Jesus said. “Anyone who eats this bread will never get hungry again. Anyone who eats this bread will never die, but will have life everlasting.”
Thanks be to God who provides the bread we need for life today, and the Bread we need for life tomorrow! (And all God’s people said…) Amen.
Closing Song: “God Is So Good” # 75
(credit for Kitchen rules #1 and #3 to Max Lucado, The Great House of God, chapter 9, “God’s Abundant Table”)
Add Your Comment