Give us this day our daily bread

 

 "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.  Yesterday we read that 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."

 

  "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 yesterday's reading and commentary, we expanded upon this verse, and the question of what constitutes vain repetitions. See yesterday's commentary here, in which we included the subject of the Jesus Prayer.  To reiterate from Jesus' talk about prayer from yesterday's reading, let us recall that Jesus speaks against hypocritical prayer.  The true spirit of prayer is an intimate, personal communion with God that leads to the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy blocks out this communion and vision -- my study Bible says that vain repetitions cannot establish this, but both silence and words are necessary.  The use of many words is not condemned of itself.  Rather, words must express this desire for communion with God.  Additionally, neither is repetition itself condemned here but "vain repetition."  Many psalms and prayers and hymns are repeated throughout Church services for 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.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study Bible explains that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity reveals our potential relationship with God.  Christ is the Son of God, and grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God" a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ models for us in serving the Father.  My study Bible asks us to note that God is not our Father just because God created us.  He is only Father to those in a saving and personal relationship with Him.  This is a communion that comes by the grace of adoption alone (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  Note that with sonship follows obedience and love of God's will; the prayer Jesus gives us prays fully for God's kingdom to come and God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  

 

"Give us this day our daily bread."  Here is the center of the prayer, and appropriately, it's a unification of heaven and earth.  "Daily," my study Bible explains, is a misleading translation of the Greek.  This word is επιουσιος/epiousios, which literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread, then, doesn't mean simply bread for today, for earthly nourishment.  This is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, and the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread, my study Bible says, is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's prayer, therefore, we're not simply asking for material bread for physical health.  Rather, we as for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

 

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  My study Bible emphasizes that this request to be forgiven is plural -- just as the prayer itself is the prayer of community ("Our Father")  -- and this directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts is reference to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35, and also the final verse in today's reading).

 

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  God tempts no one to sin, says my study Bible (see James 1:13); temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  My study Bible tells us 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, it notes, but we pray that great temptations; that is, 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 comments that Jesus insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  People who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period.  This teaching 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.  

 

It may be important to remember, as we read throughout this Sermon on the Mount, that Jesus is speaking to His disciples.  That is, to a group of believers, and in this sense, to His future Church.  All of these teachings are meant for us to apply them within this community, our community of believers.  Throughout history, as Christian faith became associated with countries or nations, that community then extended to all who were a part of it.  But for us in our present day and age, it seems important to remember that the Church was not meant to be an imitation of the world, but to bring about, as Jesus teaches us to pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."   Jesus emphasizes this new covenant that creates its own community by living in accord with that faith, when He says to His disciples at the Last Supper, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  This difference between "the world" and believers in the Church is emphasized by St. Paul when he writes to the Corinthians about discernment within the Church, and outside the Church (1 Corinthians 5:9-13).  In the early Church then, the methods of treating one another, of living the life of faith, distinguished Christians from the societies in which they lived, and this, of course, made a great impact in terms of drawing people to the Church.  This remains entirely essential for us today, to understand that we don't want to drag "worldly" ways of behaving into the Church, but we must think of ourselves as a community with an important mission, and that mission -- as defined here by Christ -- consists in how we live our faith, especially within the community itself and between one another.  Many wise saints have taught us that the Church is not just an institution.  It is meant to be a hospital, a place of healing.  How can we heal from a world filled with things that harm and oppress except by the practice of the kind of love that Christ teaches us, and particularly among one another?  In this prayer given to the Church (which we pray communally to "Our Father" and not simply individually) Jesus lays out what it looks like to prepare a way to bring the Kingdom into the world, and to seek to live the Father's will.  Mutual forgiveness is a part of that, mercy is a part of that.  This is not to say that abuse is tolerated at all -- there are far too many passages in which Jesus warns us starkly about that, and in which St. Paul chastises his flock for such behaviors.  But forgiveness takes particular forms for us, and above all that means that we pray for one another, we don't seek vengeance, but peace between one another as best we can.  For all of this, we have great help, for Christ is always with us, and where Christ is, there are also the Father and the Spirit, and the great communion of saints and angels.  We endeavor, of course, to have peace with all around us.  But let us remember the community of disciples to whom Christ speaks, within which we each are counted. Our daily bread is the bread of the Kingdom with which we seek to be fed, and in which we wish to grow.

 

 

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation

 

 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

- Matthew 26:36-46 

 

On Saturday, we read about Christ's institution of the Eucharist at His final Passover Supper:   And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.  Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And so said all the disciples.

 

  Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." My study Bible explains that when Christ speaks of this cup He's referring to His impending death.  It notes that according to His divine nature, He willingly goes to His death.  But as a human being, He wishes He could avoid it -- it is the mark of humanity to abhor death.  Christ prays if it is possible that it be taken from Him, and gives thereby abundant proof of His human nature.  But Jesus is also without sin, and completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's divine will.  

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."  Jesus teaches the disciples (and us) to watch and pray.  My study Bible comments this command the key to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptation.  By this, it says, Christ's human soul is strengthened, and He faces death with divine courage.  By contrast to Jesus' vigilance, the disciples sleep.  As body and soul are united, my study Bible says, the spirit is paralyzed by a lethargic body.  A willing spirit, which recognizes the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power.  

My study Bible offers this final thought on today's reading, that a willing spirit, recognizing the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power.  This statement is powerfully true, and in Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane, we also are taught how to approach our own hours of agony and sorrow.  Sometimes it is a struggle just to think what to do next in a difficult situation, particularly if we struggle at times of seeming abandonment.  In their sleeping, the disciples figuratively abandon Christ, and we hear His cries of protest, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?"    To struggle against the weakness of the flesh can mean all kinds of things, and in particular, as we relate to the struggle of the humanity of Jesus, that can mean that we struggle against despair, against hopelessness, or even that we give in to the world's certain pronouncement that we're on the wrong course when we follow where our faith leads us.  Jesus' words to the disciples are "watch and pray" against such temptations.  If we think about it we may all have been there at one time or another, and Christ's struggle in the garden becomes our struggle also.  Because the divine Jesus has experienced even this part of our human lives, His life touches us and leads us in so many of our own difficulties.  He has plumbed the depths of such experiences.  When I struggled against hopelessness, not knowing what to do when a parent was under severe duress in the hospital, and left on my own by siblings to make such dire choices, my refuge became prayer.  Any inspiring prayer I could find became a help, memorably and remarkably restoring my energy to face another round of difficult choices.  Christ was right, as should not have surprised me, but prayer did indeed become an inspiration, a kind of miraculous medicine restoring my spirits, so that I could carry on with courage I didn't have a little while before.  What is important is that we take these struggles seriously, understanding or own vulnerabilities.  We "watch and pray" because the world will not always give us good news nor help us in our challenges.  We may also find ourselves sorrowful and deeply distressed.  But just as Christ knows what is coming, and that His struggle -- and even death -- will initiate a New Covenant for all (see yesterday's reading, above), God's ways are not our ways nor God's thoughts our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).  And so, even in the extreme circumstances of Christ's approaching Passion, He prays and teaches the disciples what they must do in the face of the dire things they will soon face.  If this is Christ's teaching for this most difficult of circumstances, then it must be our lesson too, for life offers us challenges that worldly experience alone does not suffice to help.  We need encouragement and strength in the face of bad news; we need God's way for us through difficult times.  Let us remember that the temptation to despair, to give up, may so easily present itself to us.  We watch and pray because it is what we need through all things.  We don't give up or give in to such temptations of the flesh.  We need the strong medicine of our prayers, and the watchful spirit that knows what is necessary.