Ken Davis recounts a story from the days when Mike Ditka was coaching the Chicago Bears football team. Davis writes: One day Ditka was about to deliver a locker room pep talk and he looked up and saw defensive tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry. Then again, how could he NOT see him? At 338 pounds, the Fridge stood out, even in a crowd of pro football players! Ditka gestured to the Fridge and said, “When I get finished, I’d like you to close with the Lord’s Prayer.” Then the coach began his talk.
Meanwhile, Jim McMahon, the brash and outspoken quarterback, punched team chaplain John Cassis and whispered, “Look at Perry, he doesn’t know the Lord’s Prayer.” Sure enough, Perry sat with a look of panic on his face, his head in his hands, sweating profusely. Cassis replied, “Nah… sure he does! He’s just nervous. Everybody knows the Lord’s Prayer!” After a few minutes of watching the Refrigerator leak several gallons of sweat, McMahon nudged Cassis again and said, “I’ll bet you 50 bucks Fridge doesn’t know the Lord’s Prayer.” When Coach Ditka finished his pep talk, he asked all the men to remove their caps. Then he nodded at Perry and bowed his head. The room was quiet for a few moments before the Fridge began to speak in a shaky voice and said, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul to keep…” Cassis felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Jim McMahon who whispered to him, “You win. Here’s the 50 dollars. I had no idea Perry knew the Lord’s Prayer.”
People are not born knowing the Lord’s Prayer. And I believe there’s a lot of confusion about the Lord’s Prayer in our day, which is why I’m so excited about the sermon series. It gives us a chance to look closely at the words that Jesus taught his disciples to pray when they asked him: “Lord Teach us how to pray.” I would like to invite you to pray The Lord’s Prayer every day, first thing in the morning and the last thing in the evening.
The Lord’s Prayer, which is so familiar, is a deeply loved and familiar invocation memorized and recited by millions of Christians around the globe every week. In the 68 words of this prayer, we find a brief paraphrase of the whole gospel, and for centuries theologians of various traditions have insisted that the way the church prays indicates what the church believes. If that is true, and I believe it is… there is great power in this prayer… power to change us, and change our world, if or when the prayer becomes more than just words we recite. Change will occur when we begin to live these words, when they become so ingrained in us that we become the prayer!
In a world that seems so broken, let us become the prayer as we share God’s love and bring hope to the world.
– Rev. Linda Harker, Online Campus Pastor
