LORD?

“Lord” is fading at some churches.” (Headline, Arizona Daily Star, April 22, 2007)

Perhaps some of you saw this article and agree or disagree with the churches cited that no longer use the word, “Lord,” because it is too “hierarchical,” “non inclusive,” or “patriarchal.” First Congregational United Church of Christ states they are “suspicious” of the word.

I don’t understand their “suspicion” since it is clearly used (according to the Dictionary of the Bible, John L. McKenzie, S.J.) as a Hebrew word (‘adôn) in the Old Testament meaning “an honorific title of a king, a god, or a husband,” and also “an owner of a slave, and especially as a polite form of address, or applied to any person of superior rank.” To be suspicious according to the dictionary is to: 3. b) tending habitually to suspect, esp. to suspect evil. If we look up the word, suspicion, it refers to the act or an instance of suspecting guilt, a wrong, harmfulness, etc. with little or no supporting evidence.

Since the Bible Dictionary describes the word in the Old Testament as above, I have no problem with the word, “Lord.” After all, we call God “King,” he is God, and his relationship with Israel was often described as intimate, like the marriage in Hosea where Israel was unfaithful and the “Lord” (God) referred to himself as “her husband.” In the New Testament we find “Lord” used frequently by Paul in his letters and, in the gospels, “Lord” is a post-resurrection term referring to the Risen Jesus.

Jesus describes himself as a bridegroom (Luke 5:35; Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19), and Paul echoes this in 2 Corinthians 11:2. The church is the bride in Revelation 19:7-9, 21:2, 22:17. If believers (the Church) are the “bride” does this mean we are all female? This thought is just as absurd as their reasons for not using the word, “Lord!”

In my personal opinion, I think the ones who object to the word, “Lord,” must be ego challenged if they can’t think of Jesus as Lord of their lives. He is God, describes himself as “husband,” we are his servants (slaves as Paul states), and he is a person of superior rank. He qualifies for that title and I do not feel diminished in the least when I refer to him this way.

I agree that God the Father and the Holy Spirit are not male or female. They are spirit and unseen but knowable because we carry their image within us, as Genesis 1:26, 27 tells us. Jesus definitely was male. Are these people so insecure in their own sexuality that they can’t see that the whole Bible is catholic, which means that it includes everyone, male and female? Catholic means “as a whole,” even universal, and God loves us all.

As for The Lord’s Prayer being renamed as “The Prayer of Our Creator,” the prayer was spoken by Jesus, so if they want to change “Lord” they should rename it “The Prayer of Jesus, the Son of God.”

I think what these people object to is the “patriarchy” or the hierarchy in the Church. They resent the male dominance of leadership. They forget that these “patriarchs” and “hierarchy” are servants of the people according to the example Jesus gave us in John 13:1-16. As Master, he was also Servant in his relationship to his disciples and states that a “slave” is not greater than his master. Since these churches already have women priests, they have no reason to complain about the hierarchy since they themselves are part of it.

I could go on with all the objections they have to the word, “Lord,” but for me, “Lord” encompasses all that the Trinity stands for: King, Creator, Father, Mother, Servant, Slave, Master, Teacher, Rabbi, and Bridegroom. Even these words are not enough to describe the faith and love I have for Yahweh God, Lord Sabaoth, Adonai; Jesus, Son of God, Second Person of the Trinity, Savior, Redeemer, Kyrios; Holy Spirit, Love, Counselor, Advocate, and Consoler.

We must never forget we are “the Temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God and that you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). If we are not our own, then we belong to God, the Lord and giver of life.

The Dictionary of the Bible sums it up this way: “Therefore he is to be universally confessed as Lord.” And, the Presbyterian pastor, Mark Roessler, stated in the article, “If we continue to water down and make ourselves politically correct, there won’t be anything left. God is the king of the universe. We are to bow before him. He is king, savior, Lord and master…God is the great patriarch of heaven and Earth.”

AMEN!

Alma Maish

MASTER AND SERVANT

Enter into the mystery of being master and servant. Look at your neighbors and pick up the towel. With authority grounded in humility, kneel before them and wash off the dirt of daily living. If you are the neighbor in need of washing, lay aside your pride and, like Peter, accept the service of the one kneeling before you. Then go, and do likewise. Be blessed as you wash the feet of others and reveal the face of the Master through the towel in your hands.

Alma L. Maish—Excerpt from “Master and Servant,” published in Living Prayer Magazine and People’s Companion to the Breviary Volume I.

MY GOD, MY GOD…

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew’s Gospel (27:46) records the most sorrowful words Jesus spoke during his life on earth. To read them is heartbreaking. Did he really feel abandoned and forgotten by his Father?

When we first read these words, we are shaken to the core. If the Father could abandon Jesus, his only beloved Son, in his final moments, then we, too, might be forgotten in our last moments on earth. Jesus was innocent, we are not. Therefore, it would seem just that the Father would leave us in our sins and let us die without any comfort or hope of eternal life.

If we say that God is love and He will never forget us, then how could He possibly leave us in our sins, wondering if we will have eternal life with Him and Jesus? We probably will not suffer a horrible death like Jesus did, but we all have to face death sometime in the future. Where is our hope if Jesus felt abandoned on the cross?

If we realize that Jesus was reciting Psalm 22 when he uttered these words of sorrow, we know that our hope lies in him. Jesus was praying to his Father! The first twenty-two verses describe the Messiah’s suffering at the hands of those depicted like wild animals tormenting him. Considering that this Psalm was written centuries before Jesus was on the cross, the description of the Messiah’s ordeal is chilling. How could the Psalmist have composed this Psalm without knowing Jesus and what he would suffer?

The animals in the Psalm are ferocious, eager to surround and bring down the Messiah. Reading these verses carefully, we see the Passion event the Gospels describe. If the Psalm stopped at verse 22, indeed this prayer would be one of someone helpless and alone.

However, note the change in verse 23 from a description of pain and suffering to one of reliance on the Lord. The Messiah “will proclaim” the name of the Lord and “praise” him. The following verses state “he has not spurned…did not turn his face away…he heard him.” Here is the hope Jesus had when he uttered his famous words of sorrow! His Father is not far away but very near. His Father hears his “cry.”

Like Jesus, we go through times when we feel very much alone. We wonder if we can get through the difficulties that come into our lives. We pray and our words are only sounds breathed into thin air. Where is my Lord? Why doesn’t he help me? Perhaps we should look again at Psalm 22:23—I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you…

We are to proclaim and praise our God. Even in the midst of events thought too great to bear, we are to tell others about God’s great love for us and praise Him as our hope. He hears our cry and will answer our prayer in the way that is best for each one of us. Don’t give in to despair. Pray the way our Savior prayed on the cross and rely on the goodness and love of God the Father.

Alma Maish