By Yuri Yamamoto

“Oh, Lord, thank you for this beautiful day! Thank you for this amazing community that gathered to hear the message from you, Lord! I can feel your presence in each one of us and all around us! Lord, I love you and trust you! Stay with us, Lord, and help us make sense of our lives with your Word. Guide us as we navigate this world of suffering and search for healing. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen!”

When I preach at a Christian worship or teach a Bible study at my prison, I usually begin with an extemporaneous prayer like this.

I say “Lord” many times, but I have not thought much about what the word really meant to me in such a prayer. “Lord (or lord in lower case)” is not a word I use very often. I hear my friends say “Lord Jesus” or “Lord God” at times, but such expressions are not in my vocabulary. The only time I consciously use the word is when I talk about the cruel lord in the mid-17th century Japan who brutally decimated and tortured Christian peasants rebelling against his oppressive rule. The word represents cruelty and control, rather than the deep love that exists between God, Jesus and me.

So I began wondering why I use the word in my prayers.

Perhaps the word “Lord” holds the liminal space between God and Jesus. God and Jesus share the same purpose, but they are also distinct in ways we experience them. I experience God as presence in everyone, everything, and everywhere. God has infinite images, one of which an individual bears. I experience Jesus as an extraordinary human figure who was born in a difficult circumstance, suffered and resisted along with the oppressed people, put on death row and executed just like the rebelling Japanese Christian peasants. Jesus had his own distinct image, which was well known to the people in his time. Today we project all kinds of images on Jesus.

Maybe this liminal space is the Holy Trinity, which also includes the Holy Spirit. “Lord” allows me to feel the embrace of God’s presence while also allowing me to talk to and have an intimate relationship with Jesus. Then I rejoice in the shower of the Holy Spirit.

“Lord, thank you for your inspiration and this new awareness. I love you and trust you. Continue to walk with me in my faith journey, Lord. I am excited to see what will unfold next. But first, I need to have a good night sleep. In your holy name, I pray. Amen and good night.”

Yuri Yamamoto (they/she) is a board-certified chaplain, ordained and endorsed by the Federation of Christian Ministries. After coming from Japan to the U.S., Yuri was a scientist (molecular biology/plant biology) and a church musician in a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Their theological education is from Shaw University Divinity School, and after two CPE residencies, Yuri is serving as a clinical chaplain in a close custody state prison. Yuri and their husband have six kids, four kids-in-law, four grandkids, and one dog.