Read the Large Catechism with me.
Ten-minute studies on short readings from the Large Catechism.
Let's do this.
Click on the link below and read the short assigned reading. Then, if you have time, check out what I have to say about it. If not, no problem. Just soak up the goodness of the LC.
The Lord's Prayer, Second Petition: Click here and read 49-58.
The basics:
- Thy kingdom come.
- His kingdom comes of itself without our prayer, but we pray that it may come to us, prevail among us and with us.
- What is the kingdom of God? The same things we learned in the Creed.
- Here we pray first that this may become effective in us, and then that it may proceed with power throughout the world, that many may find entrance into the kingdom of Grace - that we may all live together forever in the one kingdom now begun.
- The coming of God's kingdom occurs in two ways: here in time through the Word and faith, and in eternity forever through revelation.
- "Dear Father, we pray, give us first Thy Word, that the Gospel be preached properly through the world; and secondly, that it be received in faith, and work and live in us, so that through the Word and the power of the Holy Ghost Thy kingdom may prevail among us, and the kingdom of the devil be put down, that he may have no right or power over us, until at last it shall be utterly destroyed, and sin, death, and hell shall be exterminated, that we may live forever in perfect righteousness and blessedness."
- We do not pray here for a crust of bread or a temporal, perishable good, but for an eternal inestimable treasure and everything that God Himself possesses.
- It is a great dishonor to God if we do not have the confidence in Him to receive the unspeakable treasures He pledges to us.
- Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. How could He allow us to suffer want in this world when He promises that which is eternal and imperishable?
My thoughts today:
It being election day today, I have prayed more than once, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!" And I say that only half-jokingly. Good government is a wonderful gift from God, but I am most certain that He does not look with favor upon some of the campaign tactics used. But that post would probably be better suited somewhere in the Ten Commandments section, so I will get to my point...
While reading this I was connecting the idea of the Christian's desire for the Lord to return with the desire for more to come to know the kingdom of Grace. There is so much suffering in the world, and there are times I just know it would be better if Jesus showed up again. Take me home, dear Lord! But Luther reminded me in this reading that we are praying for His kingdom to come in two ways - temporally and eternally, in time and in eternity.
The truth is it wouldn't be better if Jesus showed up on my schedule, because that would obviously not be His. And Luther has already reminded us a bazillion times that God actually wants what is best for us. So, I must remember that God's kingdom coming here in Word and faith is the best for us now.
And while I do not plan on discontinuing my daily cries of, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus," I do need to remember the theme of the upcoming season of the church year [Advent]: He did come, He is coming, He will come again. When I pray "Thy kingdom come" or "Come quickly, Lord Jesus," He is already answering that very prayer by coming to me through the means He has set forth in His Church - in Word and Sacraments.
