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 are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).   In yesterday's reading, Jesus began speaking of practices which strengthen and express our faith, and how we should conduct ourselves through these practices.  Jesus spoke of three spiritual practices we need for our faith:  almsgiving (charitable deeds), prayer, and fasting.  He taught, "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.  And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. . . . Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

 

  "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."  Today's reading appears in the Gospel between Christ's words on prayer and those on fasting found in yesterday's reading, above.  We're given this as a separate reading as it includes what is known as the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father.  Here Jesus has begun speaking against hypocrisy in faith practices, and in particular, in prayer.  And continues by speaking against vain repetitions.  Hypocrisy blocks a true personal communion with God in prayer, and neither can vain repetitions establish such a communion.  My study Bible comments that God doesn't need our "babble."  To partake of this communion, it notes, both silence and words are necessary.  So, therefore, we pray always (Luke 18:1) and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Moreover, my study Bible notes that Christ does not condemn the use of many words per se, but is rather teaching us that words must express a true desire for communion with God.  In the following verses, Jesus teaches us specific words to repeat (the Lord's Prayer).  So, it's not repetition itself that is condemned here, but rather vain repetition.  Many psalms, prayers, and hymns of the Church have been repeated for countless generations in the worship of God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).  

 

 "In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name."  My study Bible remarks that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our potential relationship with God.  Christ is the Son of God, and He grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God," each Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  My study Bible asks us to note that God is not our Father simply because God is our Creator.  God is only Father to those in a saving and personal relationship with God.  This is a communion coming only by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

 

 "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  The whole of the Sermon on the Mount is meant to be teaching us about the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.  Here the prayer Christ gives us shows us our loyalty, and the true desire for God's kingdom to become manifest in our world, as part of our lives.  In St. Matthew's 12th chapter, Jesus will comment, "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (see Matthew 12:47-50).  How do we know what God's will is?  At the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:7-9).  So, we follow the teachings He has given us.

 

"Give us this day our daily bread."  My study Bible comments that "daily" here is a misleading translation of a very particular Greek word.  This word is ἐπιούσιος/epiousios. It seems to have been coined specifically for the Gospels.  It literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  So, the expression daily bread isn't meant simply to ask for today's food or bread, for earthly nourishment.  This indicates, as my study Bible puts it, the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  Of course, this living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  The Eucharist embodies this concept in sacrament as instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper.  In Christ's prayer, then, we're not just asking for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (see John 6:27-58).  

 

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  My study Bible remarks that this request to be forgiven is plural, and directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  This term debts is a reference to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  

 

"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."  My study Bible comments that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13); temptations come from the evil one, the devil.  It says that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh, such as lust and anger, which Jesus has spoken of in the Sermon on the Mount as leading to sin (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, my study Bible notes, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

 

 "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."  My study Bible notes that Jesus insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a foundation or precondition of God's forgiveness.  It says that those who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period.  This is a teaching which is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35), which concludes with the same teaching.  To not forgive others is to willfully flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.   

 

Forgiveness always seems to be a tricky question.  In a commentary by Fr. Stephen De Young on the Sermon on the Mount, he indicated that the teachings in this Sermon are difficult for all of us.  In the final verse in chapter 5, Jesus taught, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (see this reading and commentary).  Clearly, perfection -- and the perfection of our Father in heaven at that! -- is a tall order.  But we are meant to grow throughout our lives in our faith.  This is a bar we seek to continually be approaching throughout our lives.  It's not one where we press a button and are automatically at the goal of the fullness of faith and union with God.  The constant practice of repentance is understood as a constant movement toward God's light in its fullness.  This is a lifelong learning and growth, with plenty of setbacks and stumbling for all of us to learn from and through which to grow in faith and reliance upon our Lord.  So, when we approach forgiveness as Jesus teaches us, it can be daunting.  It's important to understand that the word for "forgive" in Greek means "let go."  It's similar to a bank letting go of a debt, erasing it off the books.  So, in this sense, we can understand Jesus' commands for forgiveness as an extension of His teachings calling on us to refrain from practicing vengeance earlier in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-48).  When we are willing to "let go" of a debt, we can let it go to God.  This seems to have the effect of clearing the decks, so to speak.  If we're not focused on retribution, we're free to ask God and pray for the proper way to move forward within a difficult situation or circumstance.  What if the other person continues in hostile behavior?  What if they never apologize?  What if a situation can't be easily rectified or remedied?  All of these questions can be brought to God in prayer -- without seeking tit for tat or "an eye for an eye."  This is one tremendous advantage of forgiveness; it gives us clearer sight, and hopefully a clearer head as well through which to approach a problem.  It also helps to prevent us from landing in deeper trouble than we otherwise might.  Christ's words and teachings are clear, that whatever it is others might be doing, He wants us not to engage in the same evils, but to "keep our noses clean," so to speak.  This is because we are His, we are His followers, His children, His disciples, and that must not just count for something, but be distinguished by the ways in which we conduct our lives and seek to please God first before any other demands or pressures we might feel.  Again, learning to be Christ's disciples is a lifelong process.  We are meant to grow in our faith.  But in the process, as my study Bible indicates, we become sons of God by adoption, we grow as people, and we find we are capable of so much more strength in following His commands than we expect.  As Jesus has said, "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).  If one keeps up acquaintance with popular science and psychology, we read frequently about the importance of neuroplasticity of the brain.  This describes the capacity of our brains even physically to change, adapt, and repair injury.  It's an important concept in the study of dementia, and other diseases of the brain.  But if our popular and significant science focuses on this plasticity of brain in physical and psychological terms, imagine what is therefore possible for us in soul and spirit with God's help.  What Jesus is teaching us about growth in discipleship is only confirmed through modern science and the understanding of change and adaptability of the brain on physiological terms.  So let us proceed with all the tools available for us through our faith -- through prayer, Scripture, the practices of the Church, worship, and our constant transformation through a sense of lifelong repentance.  That is, a lifelong process of turning toward God, finding God's light for us leading the way to our own transformation as God's children by adoption.  For this is where and how the Light of our Lord leads us and teaches us to process and live our lives.   Let us practice what He teaches us in faith, seeking always the deeper communion with Our Father in heaven.  Lest we be tempted to believe that forgiveness means that we tolerate any and all things, consider that Christ brought into this world a spiritual battle against the one He called "the father of lies" and "a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44).  Jesus' teachings for us are, in effect, the ways to wage spiritual battle, to combat evil at its source.  Let us become the true children of God our Father.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly

 

 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.  

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  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.  

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."

 

- Matthew 6:1-16 

 

This week we have been reading through the Sermon on the Mount, in preparation for Lent, which begins next week.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let hi have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.  You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

 

"Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."  Today we begin chapter 6 of St. Matthew's Gospel.  In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents what my study Bible says are the three most basic aspects of spiritual living:  charitable giving; prayer; and fasting.  These three disciples relate directly to God's righteousness, the righteousness of the Kingdom.  The original meaning of "hypocrite" was "actor" (meaning "below the mask," as in the masks worn by actors in the ancient plays).  Hypocrites, my study Bible comments, are play-actors practicing piety for show; those who wish to please other people rather than God.  These are people who wear masks of compassion, but are inwardly heartless.  Their reward is the applause of other people and nothing more.  

"But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."  My study Bible says that God is not impressed with what others think of us, nor by what we think of ourselves.  God will reward good deeds when they're based upon pure motives of the heart.  

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  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."   The hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, my study Bible says, which is an intimate and personal communion with God that leads to the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy blocks out this communion and this vision.  Vain repetitions don't establish such communion, as God doesn't need "babble."  To participate in this communion, both silence and words are necessary.  So, therefore we pray always (Luke 18:1), and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Christ isn't condemning the use of many words per se, my study Bible says, but rather is teaching that words must express the desire for communion with God.  In today's reading, He gives us specific words to repeat (the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father).  It's not repetition itself that is condemned, but rather vain repetition.  Many psalms, prayers, and hymns of the Church have been repeated for countless generations in the worship of God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).   True prayer, then, is not telling God what God already knows, and then telling God what to do about it.  Nor is it all about appearing pious before other people.  True prayer is first of all, humble (go into your room).  It is personal (pray to your Father), and also sincere (do not use vain repetitions).

 

 "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."  My study Bible explains that the Father-Son relationships within the Holy Trinity reveals our own potential relationship with God.  Christ, who is the Son of God, grants us this privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God" (regardless of human gender) a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  We should also take note that God is not our Father just because we were created by God.  This Fatherhood is for those who are in a saving and personal relationship with God, which is a communion that only comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

"Give us this day our daily bread."  My study Bible explains to us that daily is a misleading translation of a Greek word ἐπιούσιος/epiousios which means literally "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread is therefore something that's not just a request for bread for the present day, for earthly nourishment.  This is a plea regarding the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread is nothing less than Christ Himself. 

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  The request to be forgiven here is plural; it is therefore directing us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  Debts refers to spiritual debts.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  God does not tempt anyone to sin (James 1:13); rather, temptations are from the evil one. That is, from the devil.  My study Bible describes temptations as that which are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, it notes, but we pray that great temptations -- that is, tests which are beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13) -- should not come to us.  

"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."  Christ here insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness, my study Bible comments.  Those who do not forgive are not forgiven.  This is a teaching which Jesus repeats in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35), which Jesus concludes with the same teaching. 

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."  To keep a sad countenance as a show of one's fasting is a kind of external display, but one which Jesus rejects as hypocrisy.  My study Bible comments that, for the one who fasts, the compassion of God outshines the physical discomfort.  Fasting, it says, is for spiritual growth and the glory of God, not done in order to be seen by others around us.  Also, we must keep in mind that fasting is not just about abstinence from food, but it's all about self-denial in any area of life in order to escape being controlled by our passions.  An Orthodox hymn sung on the eve of Great Lent declares, "Let us abstain from passions as we abstain from food."   St. John Chrysostom has written, "What good is it if we abstain from eating birds and fish, but bite and devour our brothers?"

 

There are several aspects of self-denial we might want to focus on as we enter into the Lenten period.  For the Orthodox family of Churches, Lent begins on Monday.  For Western Churches, it begins on Wednesday.   Lent has historically been a period of abstinence and resisting temptation, echoed and patterned after Christ's forty days in the wilderness fasting and resisting the temptations of the devil (see Matthew 4:1-11).  Traditionally Lent was a time of abstinence and withdrawal.  In a sense, fasting is a period in which we refrain from ostentatious meals and time spent in pursuit of ingredients and preparation.  We're given to a kind of period of rest in which we refrain from some normal activities in order to focus more fully on our relationship to God. Thus, we develop the practice of almsgiving at this time, and of more time in prayer and study of our faith.  We both abstain and withdraw.  It's a way to practice the discipline of saying "No" to temptations, and at the same time to become more contemplative in pursuit of our faith and participation in that personal relationship with God that prayer is all about, as my study Bible commented.  We might consider refraining from social media for a time, or even the use of our cell phones, in a modern example of how we might decide to make forms of self-denial for Lent that open up more room for God, clear a space in our lives to focus on faith.  Historical practices of fasting in the Church focus essentially on a vegan diet; that is, one that does not consume animal products.  As Lent in some way reflects our earliest ancestor's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, so this is a time in which we seek to draw closer to God, to pursue restoration of our communion with God, and to make a concerted effort against our own sin, resisting our own passions, for of such consisted our separation from God in the first place.  These practices of discipleship are all meant to help to restore communion with God, and they are given to us by Jesus Christ who is Himself "the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2), who made possible our communion with God and adoption as sons (read "heirs") of God.  To understand abstinence in this sense of shoring up faith, seeking to restore communion, and to do the true spiritual battle of resisting our own temptations, is to stand in good stead with Christ's teachings in today's reading.  All of these things are meant to draw us into closer communion with God, more true reliance upon Christ, and to illuminate the ways God would ask us to change, even the temptations we aren't quite aware of in ourselves.  For as disciples we are called to grow, and blessed with the grace of Christ and the Holy Spirit to help us to know that path to a deeper communion -- even union -- with God.  Let us put His teachings into practice, and see where and how, and even the surprising places, they lead us.   Let us also consider the "hidden" nature of the practices Jesus advises, that this is a period where we withdraw from showing off our faith.  He tells us to do our praying, almsgiving and fasting in secret, and seek the reward our Father who is in the secret place, and who sees in secret gives us.  For this, too, is an essential part of growing in that communion, and resisting temptation. 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Father

 

 "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 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 are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 - 7 of St. Matthew's Gospel).  Yesterday we began reading chapter 6, in which Jesus taught, "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.  And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. . . . Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

 

 "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 like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."  The two separate sections of yesterday's reading above, distinguished by the ellipsis ( . . . ), frame the section of the Gospel we're given in today's reading.  Here Jesus continues His teaching on prayer, begun by His teaching, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites."  Here in these verses He speaks of vain repetitions, which cannot establish the communion with God that we seek in prayer.  My study Bible comments that God does not need our "babble."  To partake of the communion with God, it says, both silence and words are necessary.  Therefore, we seek to pray always (Luke 18:1) and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).   My study Bible further notes that Christ does not condemn the use of many words per se, but rather teaches that words must express the desire for communion with God.  Jesus gives us specific words to repeat in today's reading further along in today's reading (the Lord's Prayer, verses 9-13).  It is not repetition itself that Jesus condemns, but rather vain repetition.  Many psalms, prayer, and hymns of the Church have been repeated for countless generations in the worship of God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).  My study Bible adds that true prayer is not telling God what God already knows, and then telling God what to do about it.  Neither is it appearing pious in front of others.  Taking together the teachings in yesterday's reading and today's, we understand true prayer to be humble (go into your room), personal (pray to your Father), and sincere (do not use vain repetitions).

"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." The Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our own potential relationship with God.  My study Bible comments that Christ, the Son of God, grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God" (meaning both males and females, as heirs), a Christian is called to love, trust, and to serve God as Christ serves the Father.  My study Bible cautions us to understand that God is not our Father simply because God created us.  God is only Father to those in saving and personal relationship with God -- a communion that only comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

"Give us this day our daily bread."  My study Bible says that daily is a misleading translation of a Greek word, found only here, epiousios/ἐπιούσιος, which literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  This expression daily bread, therefore, indicates not simply bread for today or for earthly nourishment.  It's the bread "for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God," my study Bible tells us; that is, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself, the voluntary sacrifice given for us.  In the Lord's Prayer, therefore, we are not asking merely for material bread for physical health.  We ask for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."   My study Bible points out that this request for forgiveness is plural (as the prayer is in the plural, for we pray to "Our Father").  Here, this plural form means that we are directed always to pray for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts is used to refer to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35, as well as the final verses of today's reading).  

"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."  My study Bible affirms for us that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13).  Temptations, it notes, are from the evil one, the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  My study Bible adds that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us. 

"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."  Here Christ is insisting upon mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  My study Bible comments that those who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period.  It notes that this teaching is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35), which concludes with this same teaching.  It adds that to not forgive others is to willfully flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves. 

 

Jesus teaches us to pray addressing "Our Father."  In a discussion on another blog, written by Fr. Stephen Freeman (Glory to God for All Things), Fr. Freeman comments as follows:  "In Romans 8:15, St. Paul writes: 'For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, "Abba, Father."'  This describes what is happening in prayer. The Spirit prays within us, with the voice of the Son, calling 'Father.' We pray 'our' Father, because we are always praying through the Spirit in the voice of the Son."  This is a tremendous understanding of what is happening when we pray -- and especially in this wonderful prayer given to us by Jesus.  In the sense that Fr. Freeman seems to be indicating, and as my study Bible commentary also notes, and St. Paul conveys, Jesus invites us in to His own Father-Son relationship with the Father, whereby we also may be "sons" (meaning heirs), and through the Spirit of adoption in the voice of the Son praying, "Abba, Father."   So if the Trinity in some sense is participating with us in prayer, Christ has given us this extraordinary gift of an entire universe singing through the voice of the Son in the power of the Spirit, all praying together to our Father.  This puts a perspective on the entire rest of the prayer in which Christ teaches us to participate in the same life He leads for us, while the Spirit helps to guide us in this life.  As He taught us, we pray for that Kingdom to come into this world, as it is always in the process of coming.  We pray to forgive and to be forgiven, and we pray for the bread of the Kingdom so that we all may be together and  dwell there ("In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" - John 14:2).  Jesus faced His own temptations (Matthew 4:1-11), and we know how often He Himself took time out for prayer to His Father (for example, Mark 6:46; Luke 6:12).  We are encompassed in this prayer, which has as its center a prayer for our daily bread -- that is, for Christ Himself, giving His "supersubstantial" Body and Blood, so that we may participate fully in Him and He in us in the Kingdom for which He teaches us to pray.  When we say this prayer He has given us, we pray with Him and in the Holy Spirit, joining to "Our Father."

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 are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, the lectionary gave us Matthew 6:1-6 and verses 16-18, Christ's teachings on almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.  "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.  And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. . . . Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."  

 "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."  Note that the emphasis here is on vain repetitions.  In this Christ continues His teaching against hypocrisy, and the need for true communion with God (as opposed to the wearing of a mask, which hypocrisy implies).  Therefore vain repetitions cannot establish this communion; as my study Bible puts it, God does not need our babble.  In order to partake of this communion with God, both silence and words are necessary.  So, therefore, we are to pray always (Luke 18:1) and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  This is not a condemnation of many words, but rather Jesus is teaching that words must express the desire for communion with God.  In today's reading, Jesus gives us specific words to repeat.  My study Bible reminds us that it is not repetition itself that is condemned but rather vain repetitions, as Christ desires sincerity in prayer.  Many psalms, prayers, and hymns of the Church have been repeated for countless generations in the worship of God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). 

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study Bible says that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity reveals our potential relationship with God.  Christ, the Son of God, grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God" a Christian person is called to love, trust, and serve God the same way that Christ does the Father.   We don't call God our Father because God created us; God is Father to those in a saving and personal relationship.  This  communion comes only by grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).

"Give us this day our daily bread."  My study Bible explains that daily is a misleading translation of the Greek word epiousios/ἐπιούσιος, which means literally "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread is an indication of not simply bread for this day, for earthly nourishment.  This is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, something that nourishes our immortal soul.  My study Bible tells us that this living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  Therefore, in the Lord's Prayer, we're not just asking for material bread for physical health, but rather for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  This request to be forgiven is plural ("our debts"), my study Bible points out, and so it directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  These debts are spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  

"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."   My study Bible comments that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13).  But temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  They are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

 

 "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."  Here, a depth of insistence on mutual forgiveness between people, as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  My study Bible comments that those who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period.  This teaching is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant found at Matthew 18:21-35, which concludes with the same teaching.  My study Bible adds that to not forgive others is to willfully run from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.  

 

We note the emphasis Jesus places on forgiveness.  But if we look closely at Christ's behavior, we will see what that means.  Jesus did not apparently go around seeking retaliation upon anyone who opposed Him.  If we look at this passage, we'll see that some of His disciples felt it might be important to cast fire upon those who would not receive Christ on His way to Jerusalem.   But Jesus' reply to John and James Zebedee was, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them."  If we think about that more deeply, then we start to understand the direction of Christ's teachings.  He does not say that these villagers were right to refuse them, but He upholds what He had taught before that, when the disciples were sent upon their first mission:  that they were to shake the dust off their feet in places that refused them, as a rebuke (see Matthew 10:14).  Luke's story about the journey toward Jerusalem does not tell us if Jesus paused to do this, and we should consider what was particularly important about that trip toward the Cross and the events of Holy Week.  Jesus was still proclaiming the Gospel to the people of God, in His own mission to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, despite the fact that He was shortly to be killed.  But throughout Christ's ministry, and in particular in the final week of His life, Christ showed us that a refusal to enact retribution does not mean that we compromise on truth.  He spared no words in condemning hypocrisy and cruelty.  In His actions, He repeatedly defied those with hearts hardened, even as they claimed they were defending the religious Law (given, in fact, by Christ, the Logos, the Lord of the Old Testament).  In this Gospel, we will read Matthew's full recording of Christ's condemnation of the religious leaders and their practices (Matthew 23).  Jesus did not shirk from telling the truth.  There are times when we think in our personal lives that not speaking out is a form of forgiveness.  But again, in this Gospel, Jesus gives a formula for mutual correction in the Church (Matthew 18:15-20).  In that teaching it is clear communication that is the method for resolving precisely the type of spiritual "debts" He's instructed us to pray about in today's reading.  But taken altogether, forgiveness does not mean simple forgetting.  St. Paul will also speak of those who sin within the church, and who refuse repentance.  For something Paul found particularly scandalous, He taught the congregation to "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."  What this means is to set the person apart from the Church, for life outside of the communion -- the experience of a life without Christ's protective presence against the evil in which he's participating -- may work to bring him back to salvation.   So we are to understand forgiveness in the context of the Gospels and of Christ's life and teachings, including as understood by St. Paul.   So far in the Sermon on the Mount, we've been taught about meekness and the poor in spirit, we've been taught about the dangers of anger and angry words, about swearing oaths, about covetousness and lust.  As followers of Christ, we have been warned against all of these things, and taught to turn the other cheek.  But this does not stop us from knowing and living the truth, and understanding the capacity for evil around us, and harmful acts.  Neither does it mean that we don't identify such things.  What is quite important is that we don't mistake forgiveness for an encouragement to participate, even through association, with bad acts and corrupting behaviors.  It's important -- even together with forgiveness -- that we disassociate ourselves from the kinds of behaviors that do harm.  For this is what St. Paul teaches us, that even to respect our very incarnational reality, even the holiness of our bodies and created matter (creations of God), means to seek a purposeful living, mindful of what we agree to and participate in.  We're not simply spirits or souls which are dissociated from our bodies.  Rather, we're in the world to "sacramentalize" it; that is, to hand it all over to God, to give ourselves to this purpose, for God's love to set in good order as opposed to the chaos that destroys life.  When Jesus teaches us about forgiveness, He is teaching, effectively, just that:  that even our conflicts and hurts are given up to God, so that God may guide us in response, rather than a sense of vengeance or other harmful passions.   For this is what God's peace is all about.  This is what it means to be "sons of God."

 

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

"Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one."

 

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

- Luke 11:1-13 

 

 On Monday, we read that, as Jesus was alone praying, His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  My study Bible comments that the demand, teach us to pray, expresses a universal longing to be in communion with God.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study Bible comments here that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our potential relationship with God.  Christ who is the Son of God, grants us teh privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God," a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  It further notes that God is not our Father simply because God is our Creator.  God is only Father, it says, to those in a saving and personal relationship God, a communion that only comes through the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  The word daily as used here is a misleading translation of the Greek word ἐπιούσιος/epiousios.   This compound word literally means "above the essence," or "super substantial."  So, my study Bible comments, the expression daily bread is meant to indicate not merely bread for this day, for earthly nourishment; it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, super-substantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, then, we aren't asking only for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."   My study Bible points out to us that this request to be forgiven is plural.  Therefore we're directed always to pray for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts (everyone who is indebted to us) refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 6:14-15; 18:21-35).  

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  My study Bible comments that god tempts no one to sin (James 1:13), and that temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  It notes that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  It explains that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  My study Bible remarks that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  In patristic literature, there is a common interpretation of midnight as both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our only source of grace, provides everything we need.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"   My study Bible notes that in Greek, these verbs which are rendered ask, seek, and knock are in a form that implies continuous action.  They are better translated as "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It says that God responds when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life -- here, they symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  

 

 Today's reading comes "out of order," so to speak, in the recent daily readings in Luke.  We assume that this is because the lectionary is preparing us for the Feast of the Ascension, which is celebrated tomorrow in the Western Churches (and also in the Armenian Apostolic Church).  The passage above was in yesterday's reading, but it is a preparation for tomorrow's celebration of Christ's Ascension.  It is fitting that we look closely at this passage following Monday's reading, because both ask us to think about the kingdom of God.  In Monday's commentary, we drew upon the notes in my study Bible regarding the last verse, But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.  My study Bible commented that this applies to those in each generation who experience the presence of God.  Today's great emphasis on prayer, with its centerpiece of Christ giving us what we call the Lord's Prayer, greatly empowers us to seek that experience of the presence of God.  When we pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," what else are we doing besides praying for that presence of the kingdom of God?  In some sense, we are acknowledging that by living and doing Christ's commands, in praying commensurately for God the Father's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are accepting to bear that Kingdom within ourselves and among ourselves, for it is in the living out of that will, given through Christ's commandments, that we accept to participate in that Kingdom, securing it in the world.  This is the whole basis of the Church.  In Luke's 17th chapter, Jesus tells the Pharisees, in answer to their demand to know when the kingdom of God would come, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21).  That "within you" can also mean "among you" in Greek.  One presumes we are meant to understand both meanings at once, as is so often the case in the Gospels.  Furthermore, let us note carefully Christ's emphasis on the giving of the Holy Spirit as something for which we pray and plead to God.  This is the reality of the presence of the kingdom of God, for where one Person of the Trinity is present, so is the fullness of the Trinity.  If we read John's 14th chapter, Jesus tells us all about this gift of the Holy Spirit, assuring us of the link between doing Christ's commandments, and receiving this Helper.  Jesus tells the disciples, "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:15-17).  And He says, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:23-26).  Keeping His word is linked to the love and presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching us and dwelling with us, in the words of Christ, making Their home with us.  Let us consider, in this light, the power of prayer, and especially the power of this prayer.  For this prayer says it all.  It is the one given to us by Christ.  We need now and at all times, and in every generation, the power of the presence of the Kingdom, of Father, Son, and Spirit.  We have been given this tool and gift of prayer, of discipleship, the commandments of Christ, and most powerfully of all, the love of God.  

Our Father in heaven

 

Spiral Galaxy UGC 12158.  NASA, Hubble Space Telescope (public domain)

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation, 

But deliver us from the evil one."

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

 

- Luke 11:1-13 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was alone praying, His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."   My study bible comments that the request teach us to pray expresses a universal longing to be in communion with God.  We remember that several of Jesus' disciples were first disciples of John the Baptist, who led them to Christ (John 1-29-30).

 

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."   My study bible says that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our potential relationship with God.  Christ, who is the Son of God, grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  It notes that as a "son of God" -- that is, all who are children by adoption and therefore heirs, regardless of gender -- the Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.   It says that it is important to note that God isn't simply our Father because God is our Creator.  God is only Father to those who are in a personal and saving relationship with God, a communion that only comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  This prayer sets into its beginning the understanding of the gospel of the kingdom of God, that we are citizens in this heavenly kingdom, and as such our responsibility is living the will of our Father even in our earthly lives.  For this kingdom to be manifest in the world we earnestly pray.

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  The word daily is a misleading translation of the Greek word epiousios/ ἐπιούσιος, an adjective which modifies the word bread (both here and in Matthew 6:11).  This word literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  My study bible characterizes the expression daily bread as indicating not merely bread for this day and for earthly nourishment, but the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, and for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, then, my study bible tells us, we are not asking simply for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (see John 6:27-58).  We can see, also, a clear connection with the mystery of the Eucharist in this understanding.

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  My study bible notes here that the request to be forgiven is plural, and therefore directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  The term indebted refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  My study bible declares that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13); temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  It says that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  It adds that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.  

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  My study bible tells us that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  The patristic writers interpret midnight in the parable both as the time of our death, and also a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our only source of grace, provides everything we need, and upon whom we ultimately depend.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"   In Greek, my study bible points out, the verbs translated as ask, seek, and knock imply continuous action.  They are better translated as "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  God responds, it says, when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Break, fish, and an egg are all images of life - they symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14, James 4:3).  In the Creed, we call the Holy Spirit the giver or creator of life (the Greek title is ζωοποιών/Zoopion).

Jesus' words and teaching in today's reading give us a sense of our faith as one that inextricably links our worldly life with the mystical life of the Kingdom.  We live in this world with citizenship in the holy Kingdom of God the Father.  So much so, that we pray for sustenance for the life of this Kingdom in us to be given on a day to day basis.  When Jesus teaches us to keep asking, seeking, and knocking for the gift of the Holy Spirit, then surely we must understand that He is not simply talking about worldly lives in which we seek only worldly gifts and outcomes.  As citizens of this heavenly kingdom, we pray, "Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  It is clear from the prayer where our true "law" comes from, and what the true law written on the heart must be (Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:26–27, Romans 2:12-16).  Moreover, the prayer sets down a clear priority.  That is, just as Jesus taught that one should "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s" (Luke 20:25), we know which one takes the higher priority even in our earthly lives.  If there is a conflict, the choice is clear, as the martyrs attest.  God's law also teaches us about a greater mercy than does the law of the world, to look to the heart, and so there also we supersede worldly laws and codes (including social codes) to live the life of the will of the Father and to bring a heavenly kingdom as part of our world.  In short, although we are both of God and of the world, there is clearly the priority set down of anchoring this heavenly kingdom in the world, even through our prayers for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, manifesting and living a mystical reality while we live in this world.  This is the story of the Incarnation itself, of Jesus Christ who lived as a devout Jew, and called Himself not the "undoing" but the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  We are here to fulfill a mystical mission, not separate from the world but a part of it, bringing God's kingdom in our hearts and living it, doing it.  When we lose sight of this spiritual mission, this mystical connection to Christ, how much it permeates our worship and our practices of prayer, almsgiving, fasting, throughout the centuries, we lose sight of what our faith is based upon.  A personal relationship to Christ isn't only about going through motions, nor following social codes.  It is about a living mystical relationship -- a life we need spiritual food to nurture every day, and which permeates everything.  Let us focus on praying for these gifts as Jesus tells us.  Let us focus on our Father's will and its manifestation in this world.  Let us remember to pray this prayer every day, seeking as we do to forgive and to be forgiven, to live according to that spiritual law in which we store up treasures in heaven even as we give and forgive, giving up the spiritual debts of those who sin against us to God rather than simply seeking a worldly vengeance.  Instead, we ask God to guide us in righteous response to the world, whatever that might mean as proper to our own mission in life as citizens of this Kingdom and as those who each bear our own crosses.  Living this life means seeking that will through spiritual, mystical work, remembering our faith and doing what it takes to live it and shore it up.  Let us take good care to live the full lives He offers in this faith and God's kingdom here and now.

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 by 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

In yesterday's lectionary reading, we read that Jesus taught (in the Sermon on the Mount):  "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.  And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." . . . "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard by their many words.  Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. "  My study bible says that vain repetitions cannot establish a communion with God, as God does not need our "babble."   It adds that in order to partake of this communion, both silence and words are needful.  Therefore, we pray always (Luke 18:1), and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Note that this is not a condemnation per se of many words but rather "vain repetitions" (emphasis mine).  What the Church has always understood -- and in all useful prayer practices -- is that words must express the desire for communion with God.  In today's reading, Jesus gives us specific words to repeat (which is known as the Lord's Prayer).   So it's not repetition which is condemned or forbidden, but rather vain repetitions.  My study bible adds that many psalms, prayers, and hymns of the Church have been repeated for countless generations in the worship of God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23).

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study bible tells us that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our potential relationship with God.  Christ, as Son of God, grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).   As a  "son of God" (regardless of gender), each Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as does Christ serve, trust, and love God the Father.  Note that God is not our Father simply because God has created us.  God is Father for those in a saving and personal relationship -- a communion that comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  We are therefore to understand "sonship" as a status of being an heir.  In the context of Your name this is very important, as it indicates that status of an heir in a particular royal house; and that this house is honored as holy (hallowed).   This house is the kingdom of heaven, and we pray for our Father's royal will to be fully manifest on earth as it is in heaven.
  
"Give us this day our daily bread."  My study bible informs us that daily is a misleading translation of the Greek word epiousios/ἐπιούσιος.  This word literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  So when we read or say the phrase daily bread, we should understand it to mean not simply bread for today, and for earthly nourishment.  Rather this refers to the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, as my study bible beautifully puts it, which is for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  Of course, this living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  My study bible says that therefore in the Lord's Prayer, we are not asking merely for material bread for physical health, but rather for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).   This bread is to sustain our life in the Kingdom.  Notable also is that this word appears nowhere in literature, contemporary or otherwise, and seems to have been coined specifically for the prayer given to us by Jesus.  This simply adds to our understanding of the uniqueness of what Christ offers, and asks us to pray for.  Of course, the echoes in the Eucharist are also clear here. 

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  This request to be forgiven is notably plural.  My study bible says that it directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts is literally what is stated in the words of Christ reported in the Gospel, and it refers to spiritual debts.  To forgive a debt is to wipe it off the books, literally here the word means to "let go" or "release."

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  My study bible says that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13).  Temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  It adds that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations -- or tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13) -- should not come to us.  Let us note that we pray to be delivered from the evil one, and this would include all forms of evil.  This specific word for evil (or "the evil one") also literally means pain, or laborious trouble, that which gives misery.

"For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen."  This statement once again emphasizes the kingdom of our Father, and that it is God's power and glory which we seek, worship, commit to serve, and in which we desire to dwell.

"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."   My study bible comments here that Jesus insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  Those who do not forgive are not forgiven.  This is a teaching which is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant (18:21-35), which ends with the same teaching.  My study bible adds that to not forgive others is to willfully flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.  Let us note that here the word "trespass" is used where "debt" was used in the prayer.   Each is important to understand.  While debt is a kind of spiritual wound, trespass indicates a misstep, a lapse, falling away -- even something done unintentionally.

Jesus' prayer really gives us everything we need for our lives.  It is an essential prayer to say every day, and a good prayer for every day use.  Each phrase is meaningful, and sets us in a right place, a right orientation to our lives and to our faith.  In particular, it orients us to God our Father in the right way.  It is entirely in keeping with Jesus' teaching that rather than have us pray to Him in His specifically instructed prayer, we pray to the Father.  For not once during His entire time of ministry does He deviate from the important assertion that He is in the world to serve and to represent the Father, that even Christ's will and aim are not simply His own, but the will of His Father in heaven.  Therefore, His life was one of teaching us to do and serve the same, as "sons" of the Father by adoption, and therefore heirs in the kingdom of heaven.  This prayer emphasizes our sonship (again, regardless of our gender, and using language meant to teach us that we are heirs).  The use of the words "debt" and "trespass" I think warrants further attention, as they seem to describe with varied hidden implications different things.  A debt really indicates a kind of wounding or loss, something that has been taken from us that belongs to us.  We can think of this kind of debt as that which one might normally seek to avenge.  But we are asked to "let go."  To my mind, this does not imply that we are going to best friends with those who do us serious harm; a reconciliation process may be a long one.  But to let go of our debts and give them up to God our Father is essential for life in the Kingdom, because we really seek God's will in how we will live.  Therefore this aspect of the prayer is one that emphasizes letting go of purely worldly notions of vengeance or getting one's own back, and seeking to be directed through God's will for how we will live.  Furthermore, it is a liberation, for we are freed from concern for that debt in particular, and enabled to live more wholly and fully and from a better perspective.  It reinstates our personal integrity by letting go of what is essentially a loss or harm, just like businesses will often write off old debts to be unburdened of the toll.  So we are asked to "let go" -- especially indicative of letting go of collecting or exacting vengeance, returning the same to the one responsible for the debt.  Trespass indicates something less serious:  an error or misstep, something that causes a kind of offense but may even be unintentional, a mistake.  And these we are called to forgive as well, to let go.  Once again, Jesus emphasizes that this is a "deal" between our heavenly Father and ourselves.  It is a part of the communion of the Kingdom that we are forgiven as we forgive.   It is not a pact with the trespasser so much as it is one with our Father.  It seems to me that this emphasis is highly important, because it is a true way to freedom.  If we continue to nurse the debts or wounds we feel, or even the trespasses of others, we are always going to be miserable.  In the ancient systems of justice, one had to depend frequently on family or clan for the implementation of justice, and one can see how that could include traditions of vengeance and retribution to equal the insult or the harm.  But through Jesus' prayer, we are reminded that "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord (Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35).  Therefore what we seek to do is place all things in the hands of God, and to seek God's will for the best way to handle our difficulties, and to live our lives.  Effectively, this kind of forgiveness or letting go to God is a way to open up all possibilities, to become unlimited in seeking the best way to respond to any hurtful or difficult circumstance.  It opens us up to what is best, whether that be a step by step process to reconciliation, or a need for distancing, depending upon the problems (or even evil) we incur and suffer.  Let us consider also the importance of asking God to deliver us from evil (or the evil one).  This is a prayer not simply for deliverance but also for protection, and it is equally important to recognize that we don't live in a perfect world -- and our discipleship is not necessarily simple nor easy.  Let us keep in mind that Christ in this way prepares us for what we need.  In the wisdom of the Church, we are given what we need in this prayer, a gift from our Lord.  Let us pray it as often as needed, for it is not "vain repetition" to trust in Christ's prayer for us.  Rather, let it help us increase our understanding, and apply what it teaches to all that comes to mind and is in hearts, whatever that might be.