1. Wheel in a bicycle. (“Something a little different this morning…” (Not a new, ultra-low whuch
processional or clown eucharist…)
I’m going to teach you all how to ride a bike. So please pay close attention.)
2. The first thing you need to know about bike-riding is that the application of torque induces
rotational acceleration of the wheels. It’s here at the device called a “pedal” at which torque is
applied.
3. Generally, this is a product of metabolic output powering an application of kinetic energy via
the quadriceps muscle. Here it’s imperative that metabolic output is enhanced by nutritional input.
Candy bars work pretty well.
4. So, are you with me so far? Good. Torque and rotational acceleration. And of course torque
must be applied perpendicular to the axis of rotation. This is done by means of the lever bar, joining
the pedal with the cog, which rotates the chain, applying the necessary torque. So, that’s how we go
forward.
5. Naturally, if you learn to accelerate, you need to learn to decelerate as well. This is done by
means of the mechanism known as the “brake”, which applies friction to the rotating wheel rim and
retards rotation, resulting in deceleration. Now, a quick warning. The application of this retarding
force mustn’t be excessive, or the rider is likely to be propelled over the handlebars onto the road
surface. A little safety tip.
6. So, that’s how you accelerate and decelerate your bicycle. Next, one must learn how to keep
one’s bicycle in the upright position. The first principle involved here is that the inertia generated by
the application of torque creates kind of an anti-gravity effect, not unlike that of a gyroscope. This is
what allows your bike to remain in the upright position. Albert Einstein once said that life is like
riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. So as long as you’re moving forward,
you’ve got a good shot at staying upright.
7. But, gravitational attraction and uneven weight distribution can result in something called
“lean torque”, which can draw one down sideways to the ground. This, in turn, can result in the loss
of blood from parts of your organic ambulatory apparatus. To avoid this, one needs to apply kink
force to change the trajectory of the front wheel and reapply the gyroscopic effect of centrifugal
torque. This is done via the handlebars, which you see here.
8. Well, there it is. It’s as simple as that. Now, those of you who don’t know how to ride a bike,
or if you can imagine not knowing how to ride a bike, How did I do? Would you be able to ride one
now? Why not?
9. Well, I think Jesus was well aware of this same kind of problem when he taught us about
prayer. We can learn about prayer’s effects on our brain chemistry and all kinds of techniques of
prayer until the cows come home. But I’d like to suggest this morning that successful prayer comes
down to two things: (1) simplicity (the Lord’s Prayer and Willis) and (2) practice (Jesus instructing us
to get on it and start praying).
10. You don’t need to know about kink force to stay upright, all you need to know is to pedal
and turn into the fall. This is what Jesus did for prayer in the Our Father. There’s an old principle
called KISS—I’ll change the acronym slightly to “keep it simple, silly.”
11. Jesus taught us the prayer known both as “The Lord’s Prayer” and as “The Our Father.”
This prayer keeps it simple, and reminds us that prayer is really pretty much just a conversation with
God. In the spirit of keeping it simple I’m not going to do a detailed exposition of the Lord’s Prayer
this morning. Instead I’m just going to hit the highlights.
12. In the very opening line Jesus shows us three things about God that are important to
remember when we pray. First He says, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.” He’s
driving home the amazing truth that the Creator of the universe wants to have a relationship as
close to us as a good Father is to a child. He wants to be our daddy. Yet at the same time Jesus
reminds us that the Creator of the universe is God. He’s holy, omnipotent, and worthy of our
reverence and praise. “Hallowed by your name.”
13. Next Jesus teaches us to pray for the expansion and the sovereignty of his good and loving
kingdom, and to bring this about, for us here on this earth to do what the Creator wants us to do.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” This is the coming together of
heaven and earth that Jesus himself represented in his incarnation, and will bring to its fullness
when he returns.
14. Then Jesus notes that a loving, omnipotent Father is willing and able to meet our daily
needs, and he wants us to simply to ask. This is what a relationship with a good father is all about.
He won’t let us fall—he’s there for us. He may not give us all a winning lottery ticket, he wants us to
trust him to give us what is necessary for life. “Give us today our daily bread.”
15. And having shown that the Father will supply those things we ask according to his will, and
having pointed out that we’re all agents of God’s kingdom, Jesus says to ask that God give us the
wherewithal not to fall into those things that cause suffering and death. “lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” This, too, is a prayer on which God will deliver if we give him the room to
answer it. He has the power and the desire to keep us from stumbling, and the amazing thing is that
when we blow it and fail to yield to that power, he’s there to forgive us however many times we need
it. It’s a win-win deal of the most generous kind imaginable.
16. The Lord’s Prayer is the prototype, the template that is a fail-safe model because the Lord
himself taught it to us. It’s a conversation with God. One of my own role models of praying comes
from a science fiction time travel novel written by Connie Willie, called The Doomsday Book. In it a
mid-21st Century anthropologist travels back to 14th Century Oxfordshire to do research. She ends
up mistakenly in a village right at the onset of the bubonic plague epidemic of the 1320’s. One of
the heroes of the story is a simple, illiterate priest who is the subject of criticism by the more
“refined” overlords of the village. But I was taken by the simple and personal nature of his prayers
to the Lord. Here’s an example:
-keeping it simple involves two things: practice and practicality.
-cover practicing prayer, practicing the presence of God, basic thrust of Lord’s Prayer (emphasize
simplicity)
-you’re not learning about inducing a brain state, but you’re simply talking with God.
-read excerpt from Doomsday Book—prayer of priest in Oxford
processional or clown eucharist…)
I’m going to teach you all how to ride a bike. So please pay close attention.)
2. The first thing you need to know about bike-riding is that the application of torque induces
rotational acceleration of the wheels. It’s here at the device called a “pedal” at which torque is
applied.
3. Generally, this is a product of metabolic output powering an application of kinetic energy via
the quadriceps muscle. Here it’s imperative that metabolic output is enhanced by nutritional input.
Candy bars work pretty well.
4. So, are you with me so far? Good. Torque and rotational acceleration. And of course torque
must be applied perpendicular to the axis of rotation. This is done by means of the lever bar, joining
the pedal with the cog, which rotates the chain, applying the necessary torque. So, that’s how we go
forward.
5. Naturally, if you learn to accelerate, you need to learn to decelerate as well. This is done by
means of the mechanism known as the “brake”, which applies friction to the rotating wheel rim and
retards rotation, resulting in deceleration. Now, a quick warning. The application of this retarding
force mustn’t be excessive, or the rider is likely to be propelled over the handlebars onto the road
surface. A little safety tip.
6. So, that’s how you accelerate and decelerate your bicycle. Next, one must learn how to keep
one’s bicycle in the upright position. The first principle involved here is that the inertia generated by
the application of torque creates kind of an anti-gravity effect, not unlike that of a gyroscope. This is
what allows your bike to remain in the upright position. Albert Einstein once said that life is like
riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. So as long as you’re moving forward,
you’ve got a good shot at staying upright.
7. But, gravitational attraction and uneven weight distribution can result in something called
“lean torque”, which can draw one down sideways to the ground. This, in turn, can result in the loss
of blood from parts of your organic ambulatory apparatus. To avoid this, one needs to apply kink
force to change the trajectory of the front wheel and reapply the gyroscopic effect of centrifugal
torque. This is done via the handlebars, which you see here.
8. Well, there it is. It’s as simple as that. Now, those of you who don’t know how to ride a bike,
or if you can imagine not knowing how to ride a bike, How did I do? Would you be able to ride one
now? Why not?
9. Well, I think Jesus was well aware of this same kind of problem when he taught us about
prayer. We can learn about prayer’s effects on our brain chemistry and all kinds of techniques of
prayer until the cows come home. But I’d like to suggest this morning that successful prayer comes
down to two things: (1) simplicity (the Lord’s Prayer and Willis) and (2) practice (Jesus instructing us
to get on it and start praying).
10. You don’t need to know about kink force to stay upright, all you need to know is to pedal
and turn into the fall. This is what Jesus did for prayer in the Our Father. There’s an old principle
called KISS—I’ll change the acronym slightly to “keep it simple, silly.”
11. Jesus taught us the prayer known both as “The Lord’s Prayer” and as “The Our Father.”
This prayer keeps it simple, and reminds us that prayer is really pretty much just a conversation with
God. In the spirit of keeping it simple I’m not going to do a detailed exposition of the Lord’s Prayer
this morning. Instead I’m just going to hit the highlights.
12. In the very opening line Jesus shows us three things about God that are important to
remember when we pray. First He says, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.” He’s
driving home the amazing truth that the Creator of the universe wants to have a relationship as
close to us as a good Father is to a child. He wants to be our daddy. Yet at the same time Jesus
reminds us that the Creator of the universe is God. He’s holy, omnipotent, and worthy of our
reverence and praise. “Hallowed by your name.”
13. Next Jesus teaches us to pray for the expansion and the sovereignty of his good and loving
kingdom, and to bring this about, for us here on this earth to do what the Creator wants us to do.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” This is the coming together of
heaven and earth that Jesus himself represented in his incarnation, and will bring to its fullness
when he returns.
14. Then Jesus notes that a loving, omnipotent Father is willing and able to meet our daily
needs, and he wants us to simply to ask. This is what a relationship with a good father is all about.
He won’t let us fall—he’s there for us. He may not give us all a winning lottery ticket, he wants us to
trust him to give us what is necessary for life. “Give us today our daily bread.”
15. And having shown that the Father will supply those things we ask according to his will, and
having pointed out that we’re all agents of God’s kingdom, Jesus says to ask that God give us the
wherewithal not to fall into those things that cause suffering and death. “lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” This, too, is a prayer on which God will deliver if we give him the room to
answer it. He has the power and the desire to keep us from stumbling, and the amazing thing is that
when we blow it and fail to yield to that power, he’s there to forgive us however many times we need
it. It’s a win-win deal of the most generous kind imaginable.
16. The Lord’s Prayer is the prototype, the template that is a fail-safe model because the Lord
himself taught it to us. It’s a conversation with God. One of my own role models of praying comes
from a science fiction time travel novel written by Connie Willie, called The Doomsday Book. In it a
mid-21st Century anthropologist travels back to 14th Century Oxfordshire to do research. She ends
up mistakenly in a village right at the onset of the bubonic plague epidemic of the 1320’s. One of
the heroes of the story is a simple, illiterate priest who is the subject of criticism by the more
“refined” overlords of the village. But I was taken by the simple and personal nature of his prayers
to the Lord. Here’s an example:
-keeping it simple involves two things: practice and practicality.
-cover practicing prayer, practicing the presence of God, basic thrust of Lord’s Prayer (emphasize
simplicity)
-you’re not learning about inducing a brain state, but you’re simply talking with God.
-read excerpt from Doomsday Book—prayer of priest in Oxford
July 25, 2010
The Rev. Dan Tuton
The Rev. Dan Tuton
Training Wheels
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