Thursday, March 9: God, the Father Almighty
On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish celebration of the founding of the universe and the new year in the Hebrew calendar, faithful Jews pray the Avinu Malkeinu (1), “Our Father, our King.” Rabbi Carl Perkins says that, while we don’t believe that G_d (2) is our literal or biological father or king, these are “human attributes imperfectly and inadequately projected onto the Divine to aid us in prayer.” (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Listen to the Avinu Malkeinu here.
(2) Faithful Jews eliminate the central letter from the word God to preserve the essential “otherness” and awesomeness
of God’s name.
(3) https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/avinu-malkeinu/, accessed March 6, 2023.
The Rev. Cindy Cox Garrard is an ordained United Methodist pastor, retired since 2019. She is now a "utility alto" in the St. Thomas choir and teaches the Thursday Women's Lectionary Bible study at St. Thomas. Her husband Spencer is the Senior Warden on the Vestry. They have two adult daughters: Sara and Lizzie.
