Which Came First?
Not being brought up Lutheran, one of the great joys of being involved in a teaching parish is reading and studying Luther's Large Catechism with my mentor, Rural Pastor. This week we were studying the Lord's Prayer. As I read Luther's comments at home in preparation for Sunday, I experienced one of those "Aha" moments. When I shared my discovery with Rural Pastor, he agreed and said he had not seen the connection before, so let's see what you think.
This is regarding Luther's exp lanation of the third petition of the Lord's Prayer, “May your will come about on earth as in heaven " (p. 448, "Large Catechism," The Book of Concord).
For where God’s Word is preached, accepted, or believed, and bears fruit, there the holy and precious cross will also not be far behind. And let no one think that we will have peace; rather, we must sacrifice all we have on earth— possessions, honor, house and farm, spouse and children, body and life…...