The Lord's Manifesto

"The Lord's Prayer" is not just a prayer but also a 'manifesto'. Jesus gave us this prayer not just as a pattern for our prayer life, but also as a pattern for all our life. So when we pray to God the words, "Your Kingdom come; Your Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" ... we better be able to back this up in our actions! As we pray this, we have bought into bringing this desire to reality!! Some of the specific implications of this broad task are brought to light in Jesus adopting a job description first envisioned by Isaiah (Luke 4:16-21 - with of course Isaiah's reference to "vengeance" strategically removed). Here there is the commitment to transform economic circumstances, bring a new freedom to the oppressed, offer new insight to the blind-folded, and see past debts cancelled to open up new future possibilities. With profit we could also go back to a supreme text in the Hebrew Scriptures, Micah 6:6-8, which puts all triviality aside to centre in on what is central and crucial ... doing justice, loving kindness/mercy, walking humbly. James picks this up in his letter (1:27) with reference to the need to care for widows and orphans. So, may our neighbourhoods and communities and society as a whole be transformed through a working commitment to the Lord's manifesto ... Amen????