from our Lay Leader
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.“ 1 Corinthians 13:13
Have you ever noticed that the Lord’s Prayer does not mention “love”? Isn’t it also odd that the Apostles’ Creed does not speak about love? These are the two liturgies that we recite weekly in worship, yet neither of them explicitly remind us that our faith is all about love. Perhaps that reflects why most of us consider “faith” to be more about what we believe than about who we are or what we do.
Jesus was very clear that love is the most important thing when he answered the question about which commandment was the most important. In short, he said to love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12:28-31). So when Jesus was asked by the apostles to teach them how to pray, we know that the prayer he taught them, what we call the Lord’s Prayer, is based on love of God and love of neighbor, even though the word “love” is missing. How would it affect us if we said the Lord’s Prayer with its “love” content more explicit? Here is an example of what I mean:
“Our Father, who created all things in love, we love you. We love all of who you are and we desire that our lives and our world reflect that love. Fill us this day with your overflowing love. As you forgive us in love, help us to forgive others in love. May your love for us and our love for you keep us from yielding to temptation. Protect us from anything that is not loving. For your way is love, your power is love, and your legacy is love. Amen.”
I’m not suggesting we abandon or change the Lord’s Prayer, but I am suggesting that we remind ourselves regularly that our faith is all about living each day with God’s love emanating from us.