February 2009 – 300 words a day

please take care of me

“You aren’t going to leave me, are you?” When you are getting to know someone too good to be true, you have questions. You acknowledge their greatness. You ask them for help. You acknowledge your weakness. Then, after all that, as you are starting to relax a bit, you are suddenly seized with fear. What […]

by Jon Swanson

that is really hard

Jesus says that we are to ask God to forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. Unless, of course, he says that we are to ask God to forgive our trespasses. That used to be the clear way to distinguish between low church and high church, by whether we say “debts” or “trespasses”. And, […]

by Jon Swanson

enough for today

Sometimes context doesn’t matter. Things seem clear by themselves. At face value. Like a request for bread. What could be more simple? “Give me food today. (Please).” For the people hearing this prayer for the first time, the request was only partly about the future or about today. It had everything to do with the […]

by Jon Swanson

your kingdom

There are many debates about what the kingdom of heaven means in Matthew, about when it starts, about what Jesus means when he says “repent because the Kingdom is at hand.” I wonder why we wonder so much? Why do we care so much about having exactly the right interpretation? Is is because we want […]

by Jon Swanson

we pray that your name will always be kept holy

I realize, Father, that I don’t know exactly what hallowed means. And so for all the years I’ve been praying this prayer, I’m not sure I understand, exactly. So does it mean that you want me to ask you to keep your name special and set apart? Does it mean that you want me to […]