Catechesis Warm-Up Songs, Part 3

For Part 3 of this group of youth catechesis ditties, we move on to the third chief part of Luther's Small Catechism: The Lord's Prayer, a.k.a. the Our Father, which Luther analyzes as seven petitions plus an introduction (what it means to pray to God as "our Father") and the meaning of the word "Amen." So, it's a part with nine subparts, and at the risk of having more warm-up songs than actual lessons, here's a song for each of them. Art: The Lord's Prayer by James Tissot, †1902, public domain.

572. Praying to Our Father
Tune: NUN DANKET ALL by Johann Crüger, 1656
(cf. "Come, let us join our cheerful songs," etc.)

Our Father! Oh, how wondrous dear
It is that name to say
And know the Lord is sure to hear,
Since so He bids us pray!

Disciples, see what steadfast love
Our Father to us shows,
That He who dwells in heav'n above
Stoops down to hold us close.

See with what love He holds us now
To be His children dear,
His charge to pray a very vow
Our heart's desire to hear.

Christ is our advocate; indeed,
The Spirit bids us cry
"Our Father! Abba!" in our need:
Who are we to deny?

Our Father! So our prayer shall flow
From faith as fragrant sap.
Oh, grant that when no words we know,
Your love will fill the gap!

573. Hallowing God's Name (1st Petition)
Tune: LOBT DEN HERRN, DIE MORGENSONNE, Halle, 1829
(cf. "Hark! the Church proclaims her honor")

Holy is Your name, dear Father;
Be it likewise in our midst.
Let our hearts and lips no other
Name in creed or prayer enlist.

Yea, with Christ and with the Spirit
We confess You Three in One:
Would we call on You in fear, it
Cannot otherwise be done.

Set aside Your name among us
By the witness we have heard:
For the serpent's tooth had stung us
Ere You sent the living Word.

He it is whose blood and dying,
Yea, whose victory makes clean.
Every other rock denying,
On the name of Christ we lean.

Through the Word Your name possessing,
We find mercy, peace, and light.
Lord, secure to us this blessing:
Keep our doctrine pure and right!

Frustrate them whose faithless teaching
Would Your holy name disgrace!
Seal us with Your truth, till reaching
Paradise, we see Your face.

574. The Kingdom of God (2nd Petition)
Tune: GOTT SEI DANK, Halle, 1704
(cf. "Jesus! Name of wondrous love," etc.)

Lord, Your kingdom surely comes
Everywhere, without delay,
Though our generation plumbs
Depths of wickedness each day.

Bring Your kingdom even now,
Even here by us, we plead:
Reign in bosom, reign in brow,
Reign in word and silent deed!

Build with us as living stones
Such a house as suits Your word;
Quicken our dry, useless bones,
For Your saving purpose spurred.

Move our hands and stir our feet;
Open mouths to testify,
Leading to Your kingly seat
Those who now in bondage lie.

Not in highest heav'n alone,
Far removed from man or beast,
But among us bring Your throne,
Savior of the lost and least!

575. The Will of God (3rd Petition)
Tune: LUTHER SEMINARY by John Dahle, 1911
(cf. "Lord of the everlasting light," etc.)

As in the heavens, so on earth
Be Your will done, O Lord,
Who our salvation brought to birth
And still rich gifts afford!

It lies in You, not us, to judge
What best supplies our need.
While through hard passages we trudge,
Help us good news to heed.

All counsels break that will not let
Your name be glorified,
Your kingdom come—that rather set
What pleases You aside.

But strengthen us against our foes
Within, around, below;
Preserve us through their raging throes
While You Your purpose show.

And when our pilgrimage is past,
The curtain swiftly draw:
Reveal Your mysteries at last
To our devout "Aha!"

576. Daily Bread (4th Petition)
Tune: FESTAL SONG by William Henry Walter, †1893
(cf. "For all your saints, O Lord," etc.)

For daily bread, O God,
Our eyes on You are set.
All needs at home and those abroad
You perfectly have met.

Not only for our food,
Lord, are we in Your debt:
For You supply us every good,
Ne'er slumber, ne'er forget.

We thank You for our toils
That hunger often whet,
And for our labor's honest spoils,
The fruit borne of our sweat.

Yea, all the means You use
To blunt dread famine's threat
We take as gifts and not as dues,
Spurn worry and regret.

And should our prayer, O Lord,
Be answered with "Not yet,"
Fix eye and heart on our reward
Before all ages set.

577. The Forgiveness of Sins (5th Petition)
Tune: LLEF by Griffith Hugh Jones, †1919
(cf. "That day of wrath, that dreadful day")

Father, forgive our daily sins!
We know full well what we have done:
Our prayer, our worship scarce begins
When into vanity we run!

Pardon the injuries we deal
Our neighbor both in word and deed—
Even at heart, wrongs just as real:
Each crooked thought, each unfelt need.

Pardon the virtues we presume
Before Your righteous eyes to flaunt:
The pride itself that merits doom,
The half-obedience we vaunt.

On their account, almighty God,
You rightly could reject our prayer;
Only because of Jesus' blood
We beg and trust You to forbear.

Therefore we pray, for Jesus' sake,
Forgive our faults; erase our debt!
With Your help, we will undertake
Our neighbor's trespass to forget.

578. Delivered from Temptation (6th Petition)
Tune: PICARDY, French, 17th century
(cf. "Let all mortal flesh keep silence")

Lead us not into temptation!
Lord, You know our weakness well,
And from Eden's desolation
Fought right to the gates of hell:
Only You the foe's frustration
Have fulfilled since Adam fell.

Be our strength when Satan's guises
Blur our view of what You will;
When the flesh's lure surprises,
Bent on luxury or thrill;
When the world dins what it prizes
All around us, never still.

Jesus, Adam's greater scion,
Watch with us another day!
Keep from us the roaring lion,
Prowling for unguarded prey,
That we may at last to Zion
Muster safely from the fray.

579. Delivered from Evil (7th Petition)
Tune: WEM IN LEIDENSTAGEN by Friedrich Filitz, 1847
(cf. "Glory be to Jesus")

Jesus, see what evils
Threaten us today!
Errors and upheavals
Press in on our way.

From ills of the body—
Famine, plague, and sword,
Vices gross and gaudy—
Save us, holy Lord!

From ills of the spirit
Likewise be our Guard,
Lest we, drawing near it,
From Your feast be barred.

Yea, we dare implore You,
Guard our goods and fame
Till we stand before You
Safe from earthly shame.

Never, Lord, forsake us
In our woes and fears,
Hastening to take us
From this vale of tears.

580. Saying Amen
Tune: LOBT GOTT, IHR CHRISTEN by Nikolaus Herman, 1554
(cf. "Praise God the Lord, ye sons of men")

Lord, Yours the kingdom, Yours the pow'r
And glory without end
From all eternity, this hour,
And evermore, Amen!
Again we say, Amen!

This word Amen, confessing truth,
Befits believing prayer;
For You have taught us from our youth
To trust Your promise fair
And witness to it bear.

We learned the very words we pray
From You, Immanuel.
With certainty Amen we say,
For no lie can You tell,
Who in our Father dwell.

How to Pray in Public and Not Sound Like an Ass

In a recent conversation with my pastor, I recalled an event I attended as a journalist where a civic organization's chaplain, not a clergyman, said grace before barbecue was served. It was a painful memory. The poor man rambled at length, frequently repeating the phrases "Father God" and "we just want" and really not asking for much in particular. At times he seemed to get stuck in a kind of verbal thicket and had to mouth sweet nothings in order to keep up a semblance of saying something while he clearly didn't have a thought in his head.

It made me realize once again what a disservice some church groups do to themselves and the larger community by refusing to countenance written or memorized prayers. In American Protestantism there is a widespread sensibility that prayer, to be genuine, must come "from the heart," or perhaps by a direct intervention of the Holy Spirit, and so must not have been prepared ahead of time.

Apart from an argument from Scripture, and indeed the words of Jesus, that could readily demolish this thinking in him who has ears to hear, the main problem with this is that most people are so very, very bad at ex corde prayer. The thought of being asked to say grace in front of a group of people must, and should, give them cold sweats. The experience of having to listen to them trying, regardless of their inadequacy to the task, should school us not to ask that of them. It's hard on the rest of us, and it makes a hash of the Golden Rule. We wouldn't want to be put in their position; why do we do it to them?

Now I can say all this with righteous detachment, because I do in fact know how to pray off-script, and how to sound good doing it. And though I don't accept it as given that such prayers are any better than, say, the prayer the Lord Himself taught us, I'm not above sharing a few pointers that, with a bit of practice, should be able to help anybody pray in public without the benefit of notes or rote memory, and without making a pitiful fist of it.

In short, here are a few tips on how you, too, can pray in public without sounding like a complete ass.

1. Stop and think. Even if you must pray without a net, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have some preparation. Take a moment to prepare yourself mentally. Insist on having a good five minutes to think, without someone talking at you and without being expected to talk. Excuse yourself from the room, say, to freshen up in the bathroom, and enjoy a moment of privacy with your own thoughts. Or just close your eyes and take a time out.

Use this time to decide where your prayer is going to begin and where it's going to end, and if you can, try to visualize something like a route between the two points. If the mob is clamoring to hear you pray and they are too inconsiderate to grant you a moment's leave or reprieve, let your fallback strategy be to call on everyone to share with you a moment of silence while they frame their own petitions in their heart; then use that moment to frame yours.

2. Don't be caught without a book. Even if you know the group would frown on being led in a prayer read out of it, you should have it with you. A good first choice is the Bible. A close second, a hymnal or prayer-book. A distant third, a book of sermons, devotions or spiritual exercises. If there's any risk that you will be called forward to pray - say, because the regular chaplain or minister became unavailable on short notice and you're the next best thing - such a book should be as much part of your survival kit as road flares and bottled water.

In the first place, having something to hang onto may help control the panic. In the second place, you can use part of your five minutes of thinking time to rifle through the book in search of a quotation to use as a jumping off place or an organizing metaphor, or even to give you an idea what to pray about. "Lord, you told the prophet Isaiah that the breath of your mouth will slay the wicked. Breathe mercifully on this conference of the Halitosis Sufferers Prayer Circle..."

3. Prepare in advance for even the slight possibility you will be called on to pray in front of a group. You can do this, first of all, by making a habit of praying daily, or even oftener. Pray aloud and listen to yourself. Record yourself praying and listen to the playback. Write down your prayers and read them later. Note ways your praying could be improved and work on those. Second of all, you can prepare for prayer by studying. Be first and foremost a student of Scripture, armed with a wide range of biblical references as well as the theological raw material of prayer. Liturgy, theological literature and the written prayers of previous generations can also be useful models to study.

Observe, for example, the structure of collects, those stylized liturgical prayers that compress so much thought into so few words. If you remember to do all the things a collect does - addressing God by name, asking for something He is sure to give, stating an appropriate precedent or rationale for that assurance, and closing with a doxology - you won't go too far wrong. And if you can manage to tie all these parts together in a unity, as though each part of the prayer were a piece of evidence in a lawsuit, you might even pull it off with real style.

4. If you get stuck, stop talking. Needing to fill every second with blab is a rookie mistake. Some of the most effective prayers can be ones in which each sentence is set off by a pause at least as long as itself. Breathe deeply, stay calm, and think. Use the pause to plan the next sentence or two. And who knows, your hearers may find it makes you sound deep.

If you find that you've run clean out of ideas and can't seem to find a way out of your prayer, head straight for the exit. I don't mean run out of the room; I mean just end the prayer, preferably before the point where everyone else realizes what a hard time you're having and becomes uncomfortable for you. Having a stock outro like, "In your most holy name, Lord Jesus, Amen" could save your bacon. With a little more thought and preparation you could finesse a "Whatever else we should ask, we leave in Your loving hands," or a "Help us to trust you with humble and thankful hearts," etc.

5. Actually pray. I've said this in a previous post on this topic, so I won't belabor it here; but really, if you're going to take the podium to pray on behalf of any group of people, it behooves you to understand just what you're about. Praying is, at the simplest level, asking God for stuff. It can be spiritual stuff; it can be material stuff. But if you don't actually ask God for anything, you haven't prayed. You can put forth petition after petition thanking God for this and praising God for that, and it's all very well; but you haven't hit the target until you actually make a request.

So if you're going to pray in public, and you give yourself the necessary five minutes to order your thoughts, try not to let even one of those minutes pass without thinking of something for which to pray. You're not ready if all you've got to say is, "Father God, we just want to thank you for what an awesome God you are, and for bringing us all here to share this incredible food or to do this excellent work, or whatever, but Father God, gee whiz, Lord, you're just the greatest," and so on and on and on.

6. Earn extra credit by being brief. Speech is silver; silence is golden. While having a single thought in your head may mark an improvement over most impromptu public prayers, holding yourself to just the one, or at most two or three, could save you from becoming annoyingly long-winded. The way of virtue lies not in having much to say, or saying many words, or filling many minutes, but in getting right to the point and making it pointedly.

It isn't enough to sit down and shut up when you've run out of things to say; it is just as important to stop short of saying more than necessary. Those who asked you to stand up probably didn't mean to hear you rattle off a harangue listing all 1,001 sins of spiritual pride; they will thank you for restricting it to a statement of the general topic and a request for help staying humble by the Lord who knows all about that.

7. Fight the cliche. Contend for all you're worth against the besetting sin of triteness. If the whole point of being required to pray off the cuff is to avoid vain repetition of empty formulas, whence comes this wasting illness of constantly repeating the phrases "Father God" and "we just want"? (These are only a couple examples.) The "Our Father" addresses God with more spiritual depth, and it doesn't come off sounding like a whiny excuse. But if you're bound and determined to ignore Jesus' command to "Pray this way," then at least engage your native reason.

Not that I'm accepting, even for the sake of argument, the assumption that Jesus forbids the slightest taint of ritual; but if you're going to go with that assumption, then when you repeat such faddish mumbo-jumbo you are in effect sinning against your own conscience. To scurrilously misapply Luther's words, if you must sin, sin boldly and use the rituals Christ Himself instituted rather than those popularized by mediocre religious pundits of our time. Or, at a hazard, come up with a wider variety of synonyms for "Father God" and "we just want." You don't have to read them out loud, but those collects I mentioned can help you collect a nice assortment of those synonyms, such as "Heavenly Father" and "we beseech you."

8. Act like you believe. Pray with assurance. Don't whine pitifully. Don't emote dramatically (unless you can't help it). Don't cajole God like a sullen teenager who already knows before he asks his Dad for the car keys that the likeliest answer will be No. Don't argue like a lawyer who has to convince a jury with an airtight case. To be sure, there is Tip No. 9 to contend with, but don't let that stop you from following Jesus' example, again in the Our Father, and submitting your requests to God with boldness and confidence. "Dear God, give us this, grant us that, protect us from the other thing, and because we know You can and because we know You care we all say Amen."

9. Don't be presumptuous. Be careful to check your demands against the revealed and hidden will of God. If what you're going to ask for runs contrary to God's revealed will, swallow it and reconsider. If what you're going to ask for may or may not be His will - and here it helps to have done your homework as per Tip No. 3 - hearken to Jesus' example and conclude, "Not our will, but Your will be done."

In Miracles, C. S. Lewis makes an interesting case that because God is all-knowing and we are not, we can pray for a result that has already happened (only we don't know about it) without falling guilty of tempting God. For example, we can pray that Grandma made it on the plane from which we hope to collect her at the airport in a little while, even after the plane has departed, because even though that has already either happened or not, from our point of view it is still an open question while before God all of time lies open like a book. He, Lewis says, can take prayers received at 10 a.m. into account while shaping the events of 9 a.m.

That's a mindblowing idea, and a wonderful comfort, but it doesn't give us a blank check to tempt God. So be careful not to demand anything of him in prayer that is frustrated by our own deliberate actions, or that conflicts with what we know about Him, or that requires Him to reveal more about His will for our contingent reality than He has promised to reveal at this time. Be careful, for example, not to attempt to blackmail God into doing favors for us, or giving us signs, or fulfilling our desires, in order to justify our faith in Him. If He hasn't promised it in so many words, we submit it to His loving Fatherly will and we accept whatever answer He gives us, even if it be "No."

10. Don't Actually Be an Ass. You can't fix stupid. You can't train pigs to sing opera; you'll only ruin the music and annoy the pigs. And it is futile to expect false teachers and misinterpreters of Scripture to straighten up for even one little prayer.

I am learning to think of biblical hermeneutics as a set of philosophical axioms that are permanently fixed in one's mind, in many cases before an exegete even begins to approach the text. No argument is likely to alter the way they think about things once they have begun. So on a certain level, it is pointless to suggest that to pray in public without sounding like an ass it helps not to be one, or to advise them not to mess it all up by applying bad theology and twisted biblical exegesis to the task of prayer. They'll teach what they teach and read the text the way they read it and that's that. So what this tip really amounts to is posterior protection. Did you follow all my tips and still couldn't pray your way out of square corner? You may want to consider the possibility that your problem goes deeper and there is no ten-step process to fix it. Instead of advice, I can only offer the prayer that God will operate on you to "cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

DOs and DON'Ts of Prayer

Many people say they don't pray because they don't know how. They're happy to step aside and let other people do it for them. But judging by some tortured efforts at prayer I have heard, out loud, in public, and from the heart, many of these folks find themselves in situations where they have to do it anyway. You never know when it might happen to you—when you might find a microphone thrust into your hands and be asked to open a meeting, or a ball game, or a locker room pep talk, or a family reunion, with a word of prayer. Here are some tips that I hope will help.

DO bear in mind that you are talking to God. This is not the time to be scoring verbal hits on other people, present or absent. Nor is it appropriate to sneak news bulletins or editorial remarks, directed at your audience, into the prayer. Ask God nicely for things, and thank Him for what He has given. Express remorse for misconduct, always including yourself among the wrongdoers. Ask for forgiveness, not only for those who have wronged you but for yourself as well. If you must ask God to chastise the wicked, remember that judgment is His, and as you measure out, so it will be measured back to you.

DO set your thoughts in order before you open your mouth. You can even jot down some notes, even a word-for-word manuscript if you wish, and if time permits. Regardless of some people's prejudices against premeditated prayer (as opposed to praying "from the heart"), there is no law against praying even a prayer written by someone else, or one that you rehearsed ahead of time, or one learned by heart and used again and again. After all, the Lord's Prayer is precisely how Jesus instructed his disciples to pray. Provided that you read, recite, or extemporize your prayer with attention to its meaning, it is probably an improvement on the long-winded, rambling, repetitive, and sometimes painfully awkward prayers that often result when a speaker goes into prayer mode unprepared.

DO be clear about what God you are praying to. Don't let the presence of people of other denominations or religions scare you into being vague and wishy-washy about the recipient of your prayer, any more than you would soft-pedal the fact that God exists out of consideration for agnostics and atheists in the house. Stand up for what you stand for. Direct your spiritual letter in such a way that it will arrive at the correct address, and let no one hearing it be confused about whom you are addressing. It is better to take the heat for sounding a clear signal that upsets some armchair general, than to make an indefinite sound that no one can follow. Just because the Spirit "helps in our weakness" and whatnot (Romans 8) does not mean we should let our theology slip when we pray.

DO show respect and humility when you speak to God, especially in front of other people. Affecting a buddy-buddy relationship with Jesus, or worse, a type of romantic involvement with him, isn't in good taste. You wouldn't use a pet name to address a judge in the open court, or a professor in the packed lecture hall, or a general in front of his troops, even if you were on intimate terms with him. Remember who you are, and how unequal you are with God, and how much you depend on His undeserved favor, and the fact that you're no better than any of your listeners; then, if you're still not sure where you stand, imagine that someone else in the room was leading the prayer and show God at least as much respect you would demand of them.

DO mention your rationale for asking God to hear your specific request. This is a good place to stick Bible verses into your prayer (another way that it helps to be prepared). It isn't so much that God needs to be convinced, as that sometimes you and other people listening in need help believing that such a prayer will be accepted by God. Remind yourself, and them, that it is in God's character, expressed by the salvation history recorded in Scripture, to do the very thing we now ask of him. This is how, without having an axe to grind, you can use the time of prayer to instruct the people and strengthen their faith. Prayer is, after all, an exercise of faith.

DO end your prayer with some sort of doxology. It has to end somehow. It might as well be to the glory of God. A well turned doxology is an excellent way to cue the crowd to say Amen. In a certain sense, it's another way of saying Amen. Which is to say, "This is true," or "So we believe," or simply, "We trust You."

DO let the people say Amen. It's not as if they have too much to do. If they don't come right in on cue, give them a gentle prompt, such as: "Let the people say..."

DO listen to yourself—if possible, by playing back a recording of the event where you prayed. Notice your awkward and tedious mannerisms and make a conscious effort to correct them the next time. Listen for sentence fragments, thoughts that went astray, repetitions, cliches, meaningless platitudes, embarrassing gaffes (even ones you're sure no one else noticed), inordinate amounts of throat-clearing, hemming and hawing, fancy rhetoric and complex grammar that most likely went over the people's heads. Then reconsider how much time you could and should spend preparing when you are next called on to pray.

DON'T be a pompous bore. While it's OK to pray in King James Bible language, don't lay it on any thicker than you need to. Having a stained glass voice isn't as important as directing the people's faith toward God's blessings, like a beggar's hand opening to receive alms.

DON'T make yourself conspicuous by your wit, eloquence, or charisma. Use it to the glory of God, for the building-up of the brethren. You aren't supposed to be on display. You're supposed to be a spiritual telephone for God's people to talk to Him. Try not to stand in the way.

DON'T assert anything that you can't defend based on God's Word, and don't demand anything of Him that He has not promised. Remember that "Thy will be done" comes before "Give us our daily bread" in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. Remember that the church has always been, and still is, a refuge for the poor, sick, troubled, grieving, aged, and dying. If you pray in a way that suggests that health, wealth, youth, a happy family, and other gifts are unfailing signs of being right with God, you bear false witness against Him and the suffering faithful. Also remember that these outward signs of God's blessing have often concealed hypocrites who brought shame and scandal to the church.

DON'T string together too many clauses before coming to a full stop. Try using shorter sentences, and make one point at a time. A rule of thumb: If you can't remember which Person of the Trinity you were addressing at the start of the petition, you're probably doing it wrong.

DON'T fall back on trendy catch-phrases to fill moments when your mouth has run ahead of your brain. If you feel a litany of Lord, we just want to thank yous, Father Gods, sweet Jesuses, and what-not, bite your tongue. Saying nothing for a few seconds wouldn't be any worse than chucking in a piece of thoughtless blab. Listen to someone who often falls into these traps when praying, and you'll be amazed that they can be so ritualistic in their "from the heart" prayer while condemning you for preparing ahead. Bottom line, think before you speak—even to God. He deserves that much, at least.

DO name names. Don't just pray for people in general, or for so-and-so's relative or acquaintance. If someone among us, or close to us, or even a public figure has an illness, or an operation, or some other problem, we should certainly intercede for him or her by name. Even a list of names—"Christian" names are enough—added to a general petition for the hungry, sick, recuperating, etc., can make a general case so concrete and specific that the people will feel the difference prayer makes. We're not just entrusting all needs to God; we're putting our needs in His hands.

DO read written prayers, such as collects, litanies, and general prayers, at least from time to time. You can learn a lot from them about what to pray for and how to structure your thoughts.

Praying to be Published

I am now closer than I have ever been to having my work considered by a real publisher. A couple weeks ago, I mailed a pile of manuscripts to ____ Publishing House, to the attention of their music department. Most of the pieces were organ preludes based on hymn tunes; a few were choral arrangements, and one was a completely original choral piece. Today I received a letter from _PH indicating that my pieces "will be entered into [their] review process in the order received," and that they "hope to have an answer by July 1st" (emphasis in the original).

That's progress, anyway. I've had little enough encouragement as a composer since my choral arranging prof told me, around 1995 or '96, "You should be doing this professionally." It was the same prof who, as conductor of a major regional choir, considered having his group sing one of my pieces before, ultimately, pulling it from his program. I had another choir perform and even record another piece of mine a few years later, but the director of that group rebuffed my other pieces written for his group, at first with hints that my music was too challenging, and eventually with a cutting remark about my credentials that effectively ended our correspondence.

A fellow pastor, who is also a fine musician, commissioned a choir piece off me but hasn't given me an opinion of the score I sent him, though he has said some of my organ works have decorated their services nicely. Another musical and pastoral colleague offered some very constructive criticism of one of my pieces, but judging by his lack of response to my subsequent sendings, he isn't interested in being my long-term adviser. A friend in the Symphony Chorus who has a church-musician gig read through some of my pieces and remarked only that they were "interesting" and that his church doesn't go for that kind of stuff. Two other guys I asked for feedback simply haven't had anything to say. And then there's my church choir, which has put up with my works because, as their director, I made them do so. Some of their feedback has been rather kind. At other times I have felt like I'm within inches of being fired.

So, while I haven't yet received a message saying, "You really have to stop," I'm not feeling borne up by a wave of support either. The motivation to compose comes to me sporadically. I can compose a piece very quickly, but I don't do it very often. The result, so far, is a very small body of work. But I believe that it could be bigger, if I hear that there is something worth publishing among the works I submitted. Sensing an interest in performing what I write could give me a reason to compose more and more.

Changes

The last couple of days have seen a couple of changes. Most recently, I changed cell phones - different manufacturer, different provider, different phone number that I still can't remember. This was after turning in my old cell phone to the office of the organization I no longer work for. Which brings me to another change: my employment status. I am now officially in search of a job. I am full of positive feelings and confidence, but all the same... your prayers are appreciated.

Where will I begin? I will begin by touching up my resume, brainstorming about the types of positions I should pursue and doing research on where to pursue them, arranging for an overdue interview with someone at a local college about how to go about getting certified for one of the jobs I have in mind, and hopefully soon writing and sending out cover letters over my resume. Meanwhile, I won't have the long commute any more, so I'll be spending more hours at home - hours in which I can move ahead faster on several creative projects that have been creeping along at low speed for the last age.

I can think of many ways in which this change will be a blessing, at least in the short run. I have always taken pride in doing good work, and in the confidence and value those I worked for have placed in my ability and my work. I look forward to feeling that sense of confidence and value again. I look forward to a fresh start.

The Lord's Eucharistic Prayer

Martin Luther included a paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer in his German Mass, in the character of an exhortation before the Lord's Supper. This, and the late re-flowering of eucharistic prayers in recent Lutheran hymnals, got me thinking. Here is what I thought:

Folks well versed in The Lutheran Hymnal are not accustomed to any prayer between the Preface and the distribution of the Sacrament other than the Our Father. This may not be the only historic, Lutheran practice. But it seems very appropriate that the only prayer held up in the eucharistic liturgy be the one taught by Christ Himself. This might at least combat our habit of focusing on our own thoughts, words, and deeds as the end-all and be-all. We come with nothing the Lord has not given us.

Besides, the petitions of the Lord's Prayer can be interpreted in light of the Lord's Supper. The first three petitions - "Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done" - are a threefold doxology. This is pure praise and worship to the Triune God: addressed to the Father, in the words of the Son, and breathed out by a faith that is the Holy Spirit's gift. We have the right to call God our Father because Christ has made us His children. So it is our place to offer these praises to God. He has put His name on us in Baptism, made us heirs of His kingdom, and taken our hearts captive to His will through the Spirit-filled Word.

And while we glorify His name, rule, and will, we also pray. We pray that none of our sinful failings should sully His name in the world; and that no doctrine devised by men should take the place of His Word among us. We pray that no other allegiance may divide us from His Kingdom, and no harm come to His church till He comes in His glory. We pray that no trick of the devil, trap of the world, or weakness of our flesh may frustrate His saving will for us, lest we be led astray by our own will or another.

All these petitions are useful as we approach the Lord's Supper. For here we do not want unrepented sins or false teachings to give offense. Here we come to commune with Christ and His saints throughout His timeless kingdom. And here we taste of God's saving will in the body once broken and the blood once poured on Calvary.

The last three petitions of the Lord's Prayer are all alike: pleas for protection. We pray for protection against the guilt of our sins ("forgive us"). We ask for protection against temptation ("lead us not"). And we beg for protection against all the powers of evil ("deliver us.") These petitions, too, resonate most powerfully in the hour of the Lord's Supper. For in this Supper we receive God's absolute forgiveness. We receive the presence of Christ in our members to combat sin and temptation. And finally, we receive the "medicine of immortality" to put us out of the reach of the devil forever.

I hardly need to point out how the central petition, "Give us this day our daily bread," applies to the Lord's Supper. We live not by bread alone, but by God's Word; in Christ that Word assumes the body of a man; and in the Lord's Supper, that body comes to us as bread. We are eating the Word become flesh, the flesh that is food indeed and not merely a figurative "bread of life come down." Even if we should lose all the other necessities of bodily life, even if we should come to the point of starvation, God will never deprive us of this one precious thing: His body, the bread once given for the life of the world!

And even if our souls are oppressed by the darkest misery, God will never stint in giving us His cup of blessing, in which His blood is the wine. Such is His overflowing kindness that He goes beyond the daily bread for which we ask, and the bare survival that it affords. Let us lift up our hearts with joy to Him whose blood runs freely and abundantly, like the choicest vintage at a wedding feast, like strong wine on the lees. Not only does He give us life in the midst of death; He gives rejoicing in the midst of sorrow. So great is His goodness that we cannot do it justice with words. We can at best, perhaps, repeat the doxology that has become fixed to the prayer He gave us; we can ascribe to Him the kingdom, power, and glory from eternity to eternity.

Happy Mother's Day!

I know I'm 3 days late to say this. But I did get a chance to talk to both my Mom and my Stepmom on Sunday and wish them H.M.D. I had even sent them both a card with a refrigerator magnet that looks like one of my cats. However, Mother's Day wasn't altogether happy, at least for Mom.

I was preoccupied with the final, matinee performance of the Symphony season in St. Louis, and the party that followed at a chorus member's house in Illinois. That was where I was when Mom returned my voicemail and I got to tell her a joke (poking fun at her Italian background) and wish her H.M.D. Unfortunately our conversation didn't stay nice for very long. In fact, people started drifting out of the area where I was talking on my cell phone, perhaps alarmed by the tone I was taking with my dear mother.

Being lectured by Son #1 probably isn't a really fun way for a mother of three to spend part of Mother's Day. But I couldn't help it. The bad news about Sons #2 and 3 made me hot under the collar. And it also probably contributed to her own not-very-happy Mother's Day.

Son #2 - Ryan, whose picture and health problems I have shared in a previous post, may not have cancer; but he still has problems. Health problems, relationship problems, childcare problems, and very serious money problems. The relationship and money problems are not new for him, though both have reached a previously undreamt-of level of awfulness. It isn't my place to tell the world about them, so I'll just say this: Keep him in your prayers.

Son #3 - Jake, my half-brother, who just turned 21 at the end of March, and who still lives at home with Mom, has his own problems but he's not dumb. He and I both know Mom is doing something unwise and wrong in her hope of "helping" Ryan, which is what I lectured her about in front of my Symphony Chorus friends. But seeing as Mom spent part of Mother's Day visiting Jake in jail, he may not have much credibility on the subject. The reason Jake is in jail has to do with mental illness and court-ordered treatment and the stupid governor of Nebraska deciding that sending sick people to jail is a better idea than putting them in a hospital.

The word "non-compliance" should be struck from the vocabulary of anybody who has anything to do with behavioral health. It leads to bad ideas, such as the idea that a screwed-up kid who is so depressed or scared that he doesn't want to go to his psychiatrist, even though he is under a court-order to do so, is therefore a criminal. The proper place for Jake at such a time is a safe, caring hospital environment, not a hoosegow where he is liable to grow even more depressed and scared. He needs treatment, not punishment. I probably scared away some of my fellow choristers by declaring aloud that Mr. Mike Johanns (left), late governor of Nebraska and now U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, is a colossal jerk for bringing this state of affairs about in the state where my mother and half-brother live. In fairness to Johanns, Dave Heineman, who is now the governor, has done nothing to improve things.

This makes me angry not only because it is unjust and stupid, but also because the safety and well-being of my brother is on the line. My mother has told me about a previous instance when Jake was "taken down" by the cops because he didn't "comply" with his treatment. She worried that he might harm himself, so she called the jail and asked them to watch him; they said they would check in on him every 15 minutes or so. What a caring, professional attitude! A suicidal kid can do a lot in 15 minutes! Of course Jake didn't ingratiate himself to the cops by calling the arresting officer "Barney" and a "doughnut-eating porker." You go, boy!

IMAGES: Photographic evidence that my mother's three sons weren't always the fat, stupid jerks we are now. At one time, we were good-looking jerks with loads of potential. What happened? Anyway, from the top: Ryan, Jake, and Robbie at age 13, 1, and 14 respectively; a more formal picture of the same; Jake at 2 or so, going for a midnight snack; 12-year-old Jake trying out the gangsta look. Now that you have seen the adorable little boy inside the 21-year-old emotional mess, won't you pray that God would help and heal Jake? And also, pray that God would visit the powers that be in Nebraska with at least a spark of human compassion and just-plain-common sense!

Pray for This Boy

This is my brother Ryan, pictured around the same time as "Yours Truly" at the right. Please keep him in your prayers. His doctors have found several growths in his abdomen. After an inconclusive biopsy, they removed one of the tumors yesterday and noted that it had grown significantly in a very short period of time. There are others like it, and bigger, still in his body. Tomorrow, at the latest, he is supposed to find out if they are malignant.

Ryan has a 2-year-old son, whose mother recently suffered a miscarriage. Ryan was just hired onto a new career a few months ago. His health insurance and FMLA have not kicked in yet, and his family has considerable financial concerns and other concerns to deal with, on top of this serious health stuff. So there's a lot to pray for. But pray especially for his spiritual needs, that the Word of Christ may strengthen him in this time of trial, and that the Spirit of Christ may give him peace on this occasion for worry and uncertainty.