History in the Making

Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Matthew 6:9 NASB

Hallowed – “Thus, to ‘hallow’ here is no longer any single action; it is the transformation of all that is into a new ‘holy’ existence as God wills.  It is the course of the world and of each individual life from creation to consummation.  Here, then, history, whether of the individual or the people, the nations or the world, is the true field of God’s action; it is God’s act of sanctification in the world and among men that holds the world together in its innermost elements and directs its inward and outward course.”[1]

Ernst Lohmeyer, a German theologian born in 1890, opposed Nazi antisemitism and the German Christian church’s silence on the matter.  He wrote, “the Christian faith is only Christian as long as it retains in its heart the Jewish faith.”  He was a friend of Martin Buber.  On February 15, 1946, he was arrested by the KGB.  He was never seen again; his death was confirmed twelve years later. One of his major works is The Lord’s Prayer (now out of print for many years), and its reprinted, modified version, “Our Father”: An Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer (which is still sometimes available).  His study of the Matthew 6 passage is one of the best.

Lohmeyer’s analysis of the opening phrase provides us with a careful study of Yeshua’s proclamation of God’s majesty and glory.  Examining the parallels in the Tanakh, he writes, “From this standpoint, to ‘hallow’ means to change God’s hidden holiness into manifest glory.”[2]  That’s the human agenda, isn’t it?  God’s majesty and glory are not always obvious to His human creation.  In fact, most of human history seems to have been written without Him.  But this is a mistake.  Underneath all human actions lies the ontological foundation of the holy God.  It is our job to make this foundation manifest, to act in ways that pull back the veil from the human race to reveal the handiwork of the Creator.  That is the goal of humanity, to bring the Creator’s presence back into the light, and God acts through men and women like us to provide the opportunity to fulfill this goal.  Every action is a cosmic act played out on the stage of history.

When Yeshua taught his disciples to pray, he began with this cosmic view of humanity.  “Our Father” describes and designates our common creation and common Creator.  He is Lord of all, and the very first thing necessary for the created order is to not simply acknowledge that fact but rather exhibit it.  Paul pointed out that no one has any excuse not to do this, that those who fail in this singularly important assignment are subject to serious reprisals, for God intended His handiwork to glorify Him.  That cosmic assignment is actually not too difficult to achieve.  Every act of obedience, every effort toward righteousness, every declaration of truth points the world toward Him.  Just make it loud and clear.  Hallow His name.

Topical Index: hallow, reveal, holiness, prayer, Matthew 6:9

[1] Ernst Lohmeyer, “Our Father”: an Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer (Harper & Row, 1952), p. 73.

[2] Ibid., p. 72.