Our Father in heaven

"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

"In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

."For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

- Matthew 6:7-15

We continue Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. For the past week, our readings have focused on this Sermon. They include: The Beatitudes, Salt and Light, Till heaven and earth pass away, You shall not murder, If your right eye causes you to sin, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, and Your Father who is in the secret place. Yesterday's reading focused on the teachings that encompassed the Lord's Prayer, the "Our Father," and focused on prayer, alms-giving, and fasting. Today, we focus on praying, and the prayer Jesus has given us itself.

"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." I will quote from a lengthy note in my study bible, continuing from yesterday's reading and commentary, "The hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which involves an intimate, personal relationship with God ... Mere vain repetitions do not establish such a relationship, for God does not need our 'babble.' To be intimate with Him, be humbled, and be reminded of our sins, both silence and words are necessary. Therefore we pray always (Luke 18:1), 'without ceasing' (1 Thess. 5:17), and we do use many words -- but they must come from the heart to seek God Himself. Here Jesus instructs us how to use words repetitiously (vv. 8-13). When we pray, we do not lecture God or make demands, but we are (1) humble (go into your room, v. 6), (2) personal and intimate with Him (pray to your Father), and (3) sincere (do not use vain repetitions, v. 7). It is not repetition per se, but vain repetition which Jesus condemns. Christian worship, with familiar psalms, hymns, prayers and readings from the Scriptures, brings God the praise 'in spirit and truth' which He seeks (John 4:23). In no way do these liturgical acts violate Jesus' command against vain words and repetition."

"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name." A note reads, "The Father-Son relationship between God the Father and God the Son reveals the nature of our relationship with God. For Christ Himself, the Son of the Father by nature, grants us the privilege of calling the Creator our Father by the grace of adoption. As a 'son' of God in Christ, the Christian is called to love, trust and serve God, as a son would his father. The emphasis in Scripture is not on a universal Fatherhood of God through creation, but on a saving and personal relationship with Him who is our Father by adoption through the Spirit (see Rom. 8:14-16)." I think this primary importance of sonship cannot be overstressed, we turn to "our Father" - an intimate, loving, salvific relationship of unconditional love.

"Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Often, it seems, we forget that the kingdom of heaven is not just a place far away in some eternal space of absolute reality. No, the "kingdom of heaven" has a central place in Christ's ministry, in his Incarnation, in the very purpose of apostolic mission and discipleship. It is this kingdom that we wish to establish in the world. It is anchored in us if we are the "salt and light" that builds that kingdom here. Jesus uses the phrase, "the kingdom of heaven has come near" to teach and evangelize; he teaches his apostles to use this phrase when he sends them out on his first mission. And so, we pray to our Father to help us to be what is asked of us, to build that kingdom and His will "on earth as it is in heaven." This is a redemptive prayer, that focuses on cosmic salvation and reconciliation, through us. We build the kingdom by focusing on what is taught in this Sermon on the Mount, to be love in action in the world.

"Give us this day our daily bread." My study bible notes, "Daily is a misleading translation of the Greek epiousios, which is literally 'above the essence' or 'supersubstantial.' The expression daily bread indicates not merely bread for this day, taken for sustenance of life; it is bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for sustenance of our immortal life. It is living, 'superessential' bread. This bread, prepared by God in the beginning for the immortality of our nature, is the Bread of Life which will triumph over the death brought about by sin. Jesus commands us to seek first the Kingdom of God (v. 33). Here he tells us to ask not merely for material bread which keeps us in good physical health, but for the spiritual bread which gives us life -- the Living Bread, Christ Himself, given in the Holy Eucharist to those who receive Him." So, the daily bread we need is not merely of this world, which nurtures our flesh, but also that which nurtures all of who and what we are, including our spirit and soul. We need spiritual food for our daily journey, if we are to be his disciples,and grow in this faith and understanding. We cannot do it of ourselves alone.

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." A note reads, "We request God to forgive us ... as we are to forgive others. By using the plural, Jesus directs each of us to pray for the Father's forgiveness of all, and for all of us to forgive one another. Although God's forgiveness is primary, Jesus clearly teaches that there is a reciprocal relationship between divine and human forgiveness. We request God to be to us as we are to our neighbors. Debts refers to spiritual debts: when we sin, we 'owe' restitution to our offended neighbor and to God." I feel this note is quite enlightening, as it indicates not only the reciprocal nature of our forgiveness and God's forgiveness, but also between all of our relationships as a mutual extension. I know people who expect forgiveness to take the form of tolerance of abuse and retribution; I don't think that's what's indicated here. To pray for one's enemies is surely included in this sense of reciprocal prayer and forgiveness of all.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Again, I will quote from the helpful notes in my study bible: "We pray not only that our sins be forgiven (v. 12), but that we not yield to temptation. God tempts no one (James 1:13); temptations are from the evil one, the devil. They are aimed at the soul's willful yielding to the sinful passions of the flesh (Rom 7:5). No one can live without at some time encountering temptation. But to yield to temptation and to commit sin is blameworthy. Thus we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Cor. 10:13), should not come our way." This is a frank acknowledgment, to my mind, that discipleship is not an easy task. We live in a world rife with all kinds of temptation, much of it self-destructive in nature. We can give in to the temptation to despair or give up, to decide we are not worthy of God's love. We ask to be delivered from such thoughts, and the many forms temptation and sin may take - to stay on the good road that yields the fruits of discipleship - peace and spiritual joy.

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Another note reads: "Once again Jesus insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness. Those who do not forgive are not forgiven. This teaching is repeated by Jesus in the parable of the unforgiving servant (18:23-35), which concludes with virtually the same words. The opinion that even unforgiving Christians are forgiven by God is contradicted by Christ Himself. The moral action of the faithful, when they forgive others their trespasses, is bound with the love of God: not to forgive others is willfully to alienate ourselves from the forgiveness of God." This often seems like a tall order, indeed! If you have been dreadfully wronged by someone who is unrepentant, what form does forgiveness take? Often, I have been told by some that forgiveness must take the form of acceptance, without justice. But I don't think this is necessarily so. I believe that forgiveness and humility must be separate from a blanket acceptance of injustice in the sense that we are seen to repeatedly condone bad behavior, or to accept unjust treatment. I think, instead, we must think of forgiveness as a way of supporting Christ's peace and reconciliation that he has spoken of in this Sermon, especially in the Beatitudes, and extended through his teachings. By turning to the Father for the Father's will, we give up our own notions of a "worldly response." We cancel retribution, revenge. We ask for the righteous way through a bad situation. Our reconciliation must be in the perspective of this "heavenly kingdom" - not limited worldly notions of getting our own back, so to speak. It is rather a way to view a situation, without condoning or accepting abuse or wrong, but by seeing our way through in God's way. This takes a great burden of grief off of our shoulders as well, as we seek the best answer to a bad situation, and a way to go through it - the wisdom we need to do this lies in this primary relationship with Our Father.

So as we go through the prayer in the midst of the Sermon, we once again focus on relationship. What is it to be a peacemaker? A reconciler? What is justice, mercy, forgiveness? We remember that as disciples, this is to be a mutual practice. This prayer is to "Our Father" - not just "my Father." Reciprocal love is the foundation here, and it is in this way that we build up the kingdom. As one who will himself suffer tremendous injustice, we know that Christ himself understands the way of the world, the world we walk through and the evil and temptation to which we may be subject. But he gives us a recipe for creating and building this kingdom of heaven on earth. It is to be through us. We are Christ's salt and light. Remember that, above all, it is in relationship to the Father that we take this journey, we ask for our steps to be led appropriately, with the greatest good. We ask for Christ's peace and his joy. We are his disciples. We can always give a situation, a person, a hurtful or shamefully unjust act to God, and ask for direction - the proper way to go through it. I feel that resting in this love is the practice of forgiveness. Whatever the answer, it will teach us how to be righteous.