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.  

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors

Christ Pantocrator, 6th century, St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai

 "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 chapters 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, 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 be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."  Vain repetitions are repetitions which do not express a true desire for communion with God, and thereby cannot establish a state of true prayer.  God does not need our "babble," my study bible says, but our sincerity.  Christ does not condemn the use of many words per se -- it is, instead, the sincere desire the words convey that matters.   In today's reading, Jesus gives us specific words to repeat (the Lord's Prayer, which follows).  It's important to distinguish between repetition and vain repetition, which Jesus emphasizes.  There are many psalms, prayers, and hymns in the Church repeated for countless generations in worshiping God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).   What counts in prayer is sincerity, which goes along with Christ's emphasis on secrecy and personal communion in yesterday's reading.

"In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name."  My study bible says that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity also reveals our own potential relationship with God  Christ, who is the Son of God, also gives us the privilege of calling God Our Father by grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God" (and therefore "heir" regardless of gender), every follower of Christ is called to love, trust, and serve God the same way that Christ does the Father.  My study bible also points out that God is not our Father simply by virtue of the fact that God is our Creator.  God is Father to those with whom God is in a saving and personal relationship, which is a communion by 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."  As children of God, we seek to participate in God's kingdom, or rule, even as we live our lives on earth.  Sonship by adoption implies a way of life, or perhaps more precisely, a way of living in communion with God and God's kingdom.  As did Christ, our desire of for God's kingdom to be manifest in this world, and to follow God's will.

"Give us this day our daily bread."  The word for daily is somewhat misleadingly translated.  The Greek word is epiousios, which literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  It denotes a kind of superstructure added atop the normal substance of bread.   This makes a strong allusion to the Eucharist, and implies a "supersubstance" which we -- as those who seek to live in loving communion with God -- need for our daily lives which we seek to live as members of God's kingdom.   Daily bread, my study bible says, indicates not simply bread for today and for earthly nourishment.  This request is regarding the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  The living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  My study bible sums up this request as not asking merely for material bread for physical health, but 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 in the plural, making it a type of communal request.  My study bible says that it therefore directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  Debts refers to spiritual debts (see 18:21-35).  See also the final verses of today's reading.

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

"For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen."  This is a solemn affirmation not only of the prayer itself (Amen), but also of our recognition of the rule, authority, and majesty of God.

"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 instructs us regarding mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  My study bible says that those who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period.  This is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant (18:21-35), cited in commentary above, which concludes with the same teaching.  My study bible adds that to not forgive others is to willfully flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.

Forgiveness can be a difficult road to go down.  Offenses that have caused great harm seem impossible to even begin to address in the spirit of forgiveness.  But if we think about the language that Jesus has used here -- which is the language of debt, of financial transaction -- then we may be able to make a start at understanding what is asked of us.  A debt is "forgiven" when it is wiped off the books.  That is, we no longer expect payment.  Therefore, in the context of debt in this sense, we have to ask what "payment" we may be expecting from an offender when we withhold forgiveness.  Someone who has caused us harm or hurt may not, in any sense, be able to render payment equal to the offense.  Even if we could think up what payment would satisfy us, it is rare indeed that it could restore what we feel has been taken away.  For example, slander may cause a great deal of lasting harm that no "correction" can make disappear in the minds of those who've believed a false tale.  Moreover, to forgive in this sense of the prayer is mentioned in the context of our relationship with God.  That is, the idea of forgiveness, as directed by Christ, expands relationship from simply one-to-one (offender and the one offended) to a three-way relationship which is, additionally, described within the context of the community of believers ("forgive us our debts").  So Christ's prayer has the effect of widely expanding the pool of interaction within which forgiveness is asked.  If I am harmed by something a person has done, it is no longer simply myself involved in the hurt.  This is rather expanded to an entire community which is, moreover, in relationship to God the Father.  When I choose to "forgive" or rather "give up" or "let go" that debt (as the Greek word more literally means), then I release it to God and to community.  I am, therefore, through the act of forgiving, relying upon God and community not only to direct my response, but also to be the Source from which my healing or restoration will come.  In other words, to release the debt to God becomes a way of expanding one's own sources of healing and restoration, recompense and guidance for how to properly and best conduct oneself in response to any form of harm.  If this seems too much to take in, consider how an offender may "pay us back" for hurts as some form of debt they owe.  It makes us consider what retribution we might demand or extract in relationship to what God and community can do for us.  If I suffer abuse, am I helped by holding onto that debt myself?  If I release that debt to God in prayer and do so within a community of believers, are my chances of finding a better way forward for my life increased?  Are not God's help and guidance more likely to lead us somewhere good than our own immediate response?  Let us consider how we may find ways to transcend suffering within this framework of "giving up" something, a debt or trespass.  Perhaps our prayer and forgiveness will lead us to a just settlement, even within a legal framework.  Perhaps those things which will need a deeper source of forgiveness and reconciliation will only give us real help through faith and our relationship to God.  Perhaps we will find a pathway whereby our experience is put to better use than staying stuck in a pattern from the past.  All of this, put into the context of God and community, may be used for a much greater healing, for insight and meaning, and for the depth of character that is better able to help others and to move forward in life with positive plans.  We free up our own energies for healing when we start to bring in those things that are greater than ourselves, help and assistance with more wisdom and insight, and the One who loves and knows us better than we know ourselves.  What is most important to understand about forgiveness is that when we turn to God, there is nothing left out.  It is not a sweeping under the rug of past hurts.  It is, rather, a way to ask for the fullness of healing, a restoration of our energies, repair of the soul, so that we may be free to find greater fulfillment in our own potentials for a better and more creative life than staying stuck only in an identity of hurt.  God never forgets the truth of who we are, even when we do -- and neither are our needs ignored, even when we might prefer to do so ourselves.  Christ offers us a way to find ourselves in right-relatedness, to remind ourselves Whose children we really are, and to find identity in the one place where we are truly known.  Let us begin and end with His prayer!  The icon above was one of the few to survive the Iconoclast movement.  It is Christ Pantocrator, meaning "Almighty."   It shows us Christ's identity which is both human and divine, but perhaps even more importantly implies those human experiences and suffering which were glorified in His Ascension into heaven.  We see this in the trace of a tear, the gray hairs, and the facial wrinkles on the right side of the icon.  We see His hand raised in blessing, and holding His Gospel for us.  If Christ's suffering may become glorified, designated for the very purpose of salvation for the whole of creation, imagine the implication for those "debts" which we, in turn, give up to the kingdom, to God our Father?  In God's redemption, then, we trust -- and this is truly the salvation of Christ at work in us.

We have here only five loaves and two fish

When Jesus heard it, he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out he saw a great multitude; and he was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." He said, "Bring them here to me." Then he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

- Matthew 14:13-21

Today's miracle in Matthew's gospel, the feeding of the five thousand, comes after Jesus has heard the news from John's disciples, that John the Baptist has been beheaded by Herod. In John's gospel, we read John the Baptist's words that are fulfilled at this time: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:29, 30). The bride, of course, are the people of God, or Israel. Today's feeding miracle is an illustration of Messianic power and image.

My study bible notes on this passage: "The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, reported by all four evangelists, shows Jesus feeding his people as God fed the Israelites in the desert. The Church Fathers see in this an image of the Eucharist, an idea also expressed in John 6, the discourse on the Bread of Life. In 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-10 another miracle is mentioned, in which Jesus feeds four thousand people with seven loaves and a few small fish. This miracle is probably not a duplicate report of the first miracle, but another performed in a different place. Moved with compassion is used in very similar situations (see 20:34; Mark 1:41; 6:34; Luke 7:13) to show the Messiah's power and authority extending to those who suffer."

When Jesus heard it, he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. We're given hints in the gospels all the time about Jesus' preferences. He prefers here to go to a deserted place by himself. We usually associate this with the desire to pray, to commune with the Father, after hearing the news about John the Baptist's beheading. But, even as the people in his own country rejected him (in Nazareth), the people here follow him on foot from the cities. He is clearly popular with the multitudes; he cannot get rid of them. This is an opportunity, in some sense, that is provided by the Father immediately after the death of John the Baptist.

And when Jesus went out he saw a great multitude; and he was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. As noted in my study bible, this is an example of Jesus' compassion on those who suffer. He goes away to pray and be alone in a deserted place, but those who follow him need his help.

When it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." Jesus' compassion extends to the needs of the crowd for food. It's as if his mourning and sorrow for John the Baptist is turned into compassion for these people who need him, for whom he is present in the world. Perhaps it is read as a signal by the Father for what he is now to do, after the death of the Baptist.

And they said to him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." He said, "Bring them here to me." Then he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. Whatever is at hand will do. This is the nature of divine power: it works with what we have at hand, what is in our means to grasp. My study bible notes, "Jesus is teaching us not to eat until we first give thanks to God. The terminology reminds us of the Last Supper (see Luke 22:15-20) and leads to the Eucharistic interpretation of this miracle. The participation of the disciples in distributing the loaves and the fish is important. In the Church Jesus feeds his flock at the Eucharist through his servants, the priests."

So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Everyone ate and was filled - there was enough, the miracle is complete in the fullest sense of the word. All is filled here in this scene: the people, the miracle, the profound holy power. And more: twelve baskets full of the fragments remain.

Just as Jesus has preached about the sower casting seeds to all who will listen, so this food is symbolic of Jesus' casting out food to all of us. There is tremendous abundance of spiritual food in his gospel. He casts it out to us and there is more than enough to be fulfilled and to have abundance left over. In the prayer he taught in the Sermon on the Mount, the Our Father, we pray for our "daily bread." It's important to remember the original Greek word we translate as "daily:" epiousion. This word is unique and seems to have been coined for the gospel. Taking apart the Greek it conveys the idea that this is a "supersubstantial" bread - a bread that is complete in many dimensions, and more. It is spiritual food that we need everyday, the spiritual bread with which Christ fills his guests at the wedding feast - and his bride, his people. With what bread - spiritual food - will you be fed today? Remember that when you give thanks, when you turn to God (Our Father), wherever you are and whatever you have, whoever you are, is enough. You ask for the spiritual power to make your life complete, replete - and let it work with what you have, right where you are. Nothing else is necessary. You start from what you have. This is the way that God works; the power of the holy, the Divine, simply needs to be included through prayer. Go to your deserted place, and start there, and invite in the Lord to do his work in you and in your life at that place wherever you are.