“Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.”

It is the prayer of the Christian Church, prayed more often in public worship than any other prayer, and known personally by heart by more individuals than perhaps any other passage of Scripture.

So, what will I do with a sermon on such a familiar text? I could take the easy way out and do as a young man who had come to a monastery and asked for admission to the order.

“He told the abbot that he would accept any task, no matter how menial, if only he could be part of the religious life. He set only one condition, that he not be required to preach. The abbot replied, “Obviously this is the one area of your spiritual development that needs attention, so tomorrow morning you will be our preacher!”

The young monk-trainee was gripped by …