From the Pastor

After watching sales decline for three straight months at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Sanders called up the Pope to ask him for a favor. “What can I do for you?” the Pope asked. Colonel Sanders replied, “I need you to change the way everybody prays from ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ to ‘Give us this day our daily chicken.’  If you do, I’ll donate 10 million dollars to the Vatican.” The Pope replied, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that! This is the Lord’s Prayer. I can’t simply change the words.” 

 After another month of dismal sales, Colonel Sanders calls the Pope again. “Your Excellency, I really need your help. I’ll give you 50 million dollars if you change the words of the prayer from ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ to ‘Give us this day our daily chicken.’” The Pope responded, “It’s very tempting, Colonel Sanders. The church could do a lot of good with that much money. It would help us support many charities.  But, again, I must decline. It is the Lord’s Prayer and I simply can’t change the words.” 

 Well, after two more months of terrible sales, Colonel Sanders gets desperate. He calls the Pope again and says, “This is my final offer. If you change the words of the prayer from ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ to ‘Give us this day our daily chicken,’ I’ll donate 100 million dollars to the Vatican.”  

 The next day, the Pope calls all his bishops together and says, “I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that KFC is going to donate $100 million to the Vatican.” “That’s wonderful!” the bishops say, “But what about the bad news?” The Pope says, “The bad news is that we just lost the Wonder Bread account.”  

 In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus commands us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This phrase brings us back to God regularly, really, every single day. The prayer says, “Give us today our daily bread.” By necessity, this prayer requires daily conversation with God. Praying for our daily bread bring us back to God as our life, our strength, and our one and true hope, -- every day! And, we are reminded not only of our physical needs, but coming back to God day-by-day reminds us of our spiritual needs as well! Please join us for worship this Sunday on World Communion, and as we discover how God provides for all our needs.  

 Pastor John

 Quote of the Week

 “Praying for our Daily Bread means that the ultimate source of all this for us is God himself, his love, his concern for us; in whatever form or from whomever we may receive the gift, all is from him. But this means that the first meaning and goal of these gifts is God himself.”    

Alexander Schmemann

 Alexander Dmitrievich Schmemann was an influential Orthodox Christian priest, teacher, and writer. From 1946 to 1951 he taught in Paris, and afterwards in New York. In his teachings and writings he sought to establish the close links between Christian theology and Christian liturgy. At the time of his death, he was the dean of the Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.