Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Father, hallowed be your name.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, June 2, 2024
by Madison Johnston, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: In prayer, we name holiness as contagious.
Different parts of God’s church have different ideas of what it means to become holy—to experience sanctification—in a life of faith. Certain traditions and denominations claim that you become holy here on earth by choosing to live in the ways that Christ models. Others will say that holiness isn’t actually possible to attain in this realm, but rather, something that will be revealed and understood in the life after this one. Some describe holiness as happening in moments—almost like revelations—but not a permanent state of being here and now.
Whatever we think of holiness, we ask for it when we recite the Lord’s Prayer together. “Forgive us our sins” is another way of saying, “Help us do better. Help us be better. Give us grace today.” In teaching us to pray, Jesus was probably less focused on the soundness of our systematic understanding of holiness, and more concerned with what the request for holiness in our day-to-day life really means.
Asking for forgiveness means asking for a stronger connection with God. This connection is what some theologians and scholars call “vertical” grace—the grace that runs between God and each of us. The point Jesus is trying to drive home in this passage is that “vertical” grace never stands alone. It is automatically and intrinsically tied to “horizontal” grace—the grace that runs between people. The most important thing about a prayer to be holy is that it puts new energy into both those vertical and horizontal channels. It reminds us that grace is exponential.
