Teach Us to Pray, Part 1

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” —Luke 11:1-4

Jesus taught his disciples to pray in two different places in the gospels. We find this lesson in the 6th chapter of Matthew— right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. But in Luke (the gospel I just read from), we find it later, in the 11th chapter. In Matthew, the lesson comes unbidden. In Luke, it comes at the request of the disciples.

To understand this request, we need to realize the difference between Jesus and his cousin and precursor, John the Baptizer. John was into self-denial and strict forms of prayer. Jesus was accused of being his opposite, and it seemed that he gave his disciples a great

Gloria Inmarcesible

Today is Colombia's Independence Day, so to Doña Gloria Inmarse Sivle from Don José Cañucí: ¡Feliz Día de la Independencia!

🇨🇴 P.S.
🇨🇴 It all started over a flowerpot in Bogotá somehow.

Happy Bastille Day!

On this day in 1789 the citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille, thus beginning the French Revolution.

If Only

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

—Luke 17:5-6

In the first part of Luke 17, there are four sayings of Jesus that appear here together, but which could probably be talked about independently, because each of them is important.

Occasions for stumbling are
bound to come ...  [Luke 17:1]

 the first one, Jesus tells his followers that something is forbidden, and that’s that they not to trample on the faith of the weak—or, more broadly put, we’re not to stand in the way of one another’s relationship with God.

If the first saying was something forbidden, the second one was a requirement: and this was forgiveness. And the forgiveness that Jesus describes is a rather illogical forgiveness, for it goes beyond what we usually think of as “advisable”.

The fourth saying is a bit rough around the edges, I think. It tells us that we

Chester!

Back before we had an official national anthem, one of the main candidates for the unofficial honor was a song called Chester, written by William Billings in 1770 as a psalm tune. Later, Billings penned other words to go with the tune, and it's this newer one that became the most popular patriotic song in America soon after independence. Though it is little known today, it is an excellent example of early American music, and is much more representative of the new nation that "was brought forth upon this continent" than The Star-Spangled Banner could ever dream of being.

So Happy Independence Day! from William Billings and our ancestors. This is what they'd have been singing on July 4, 1780.

❧ Let tyrants shake their iron rod,

and slavery clank her galling chains,
we fear them not, we trust in God—
New England's God forever reigns.

❧ Howe and Burgoyne and Clinton, too,
with Prescot and Cornwallis joined,
together plot our overthrow,
in one infernal league combined.

❧ When God inspired us for the fight,
their ranks were broke, their lines were forced,
their ships were shattered in our sight,
or swiftly driven from our coast.

❧ The foe comes on with haughty stride;
our troops advance with martial noise,
their veterans flee before our youth,
and generals yield to beardless boys.

❧ What grateful offering shall we bring?
What shall we render to the Lord?
Loud hallelujahs let us sing,
and praise his Name on every chord.

❧ William Billings, 1778