Ritual of Covenant

[Ed Hurst]

Did you know that the Model Prayer is pretty much the same as a ritual of binding oneself under the Covenant? Think about the wording, compared to what happened at the foot of Mount Sinai. The latter was more elaborate, with several parts to the larger ritual, but the Model Prayer covers the essentials. Consider:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (NKJV)

When you recite that, you are hitting all the high points of claiming the adoption covenant offered by God. What happened at Sinai was a standard suzerain-vassal treaty common across the Ancient Near East of that time. It included the idea of being adopted into His household as family. You can change the words, as I did in one of the recent Bible lessons, but the content is distinctly a renewal of the Covenant, a ritual statement of commitment to God as family and vassals.

[IainH]

I testify to the power of the Lord's Prayer.

I could write a book...a brief and not very good book on how it transformed my life but, it's already been done by people who could actually write worth a fleegus annnnd... on top of that... they're all basically the same. 
  My nascent heart sense arose in 2000 with the rote recital of the Lord's Prayer in Sunday morning church . I felt it's sing song repetition rendered it meaningless. I decided, out of pure contrariness to emphasize each part differently from the herd and yeah, I was mocking their uniformity. In the midst of all the fun I was having, I did let those words sink in real good. I didn't know it but, I was reaffirming the Covenant fervently and effectually and God honored that. This happens all the time and I have to remind myself that I don't have to know everything, I only have to know enough to act. 

"Uh... Mr Iain, what happens all the time?"

"This... "THIS" is what happens...you know brought to us by THEY"

"Way to go, you ruined the whole flow"

"Sure did, now what?"

"We could throw a block party"

"I don't know what that means but, if it's a party count me in"

"Guys, guys. You do realize it would have taken less time to just simply fix the sentence"

"I ain't correctin' nothing"

"Hell yeah, like Pharaoh said....so let it be written, so let it be done"

"I love Yul Brynner in that movie"

"Will there be live music at the block party?"

"What block party? They ain't no "blocks" around here"

"I think I mean the one in my head"

"Cool, can I bring a guest? "

... ... ...

"Nice deflection Mr Iain"

"I thought so"

"Anything else?"

"....the suggestion box is overflowing..."

"I am not about to clean that mess"

"Ah'ite den...football?"

"How about a walk upside the mountain?"
 
"Now you're talkin'"

"Walking stick?".....Check

"Raincoat? "............Check

"Binoculars?"

"It's cloudy..."

"Don't matter....Check"

"Pocket knife, string, bandana, pistol"....Check

"I think I better pull the plug before it gets ridiculous

Gets?

 You have no idea.

[Ed Hurst]

"I was once schizoid, but we're okay now." I saw that on a t-shirt in rural Texas. Iain is simply being honest about what goes on inside his head, and the drama is hilarious.

[jaybreak]

 My nascent heart sense arose in 2000 with the rote recital of the Lord's Prayer in Sunday morning church . I felt it's sing song repetition rendered it meaningless. I decided, out of pure contrariness to emphasize each part differently from the herd and yeah, I was mocking their uniformity. In the midst of all the fun I was having, I did let those words sink in real good. I didn't know it but, I was reaffirming the Covenant fervently and effectually and God honored that. This happens all the time and I have to remind myself that I don't have to know everything, I only have to know enough to act. 

Genesius of Rome came to believe, so the legend goes, as he was acting in a production that openly mocked baptism. He recanted his mocking thespianism at the risk of being beheaded by Diocletian. Back then, acting was considered a low profession, so it's not as though Genesius had much at stake. I still find the story interesting.

[Ed Hurst]

Rituals are a critical part of faith. The mean nothing on their own, but by faith anything can take on meaning.

[IainH]

I still consider acting a low profession.