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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth"

 

 "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 him 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."

 

- Matthew 5:38–48 

 

 We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).   Earlier in this sermon, Jesus taught the disciples, "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."  In recent subsequent readings, Jesus has been teaching exactly what this means.  Yesterday we read that He taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is ore profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither  by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 

  "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 him 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."  My study Bible notes that in contrast to the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21), Jesus warns us not to resist violence with more violence.  It says that evil can only be overcome by good, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  My study Bible includes a story of one of the desert saints.  He once found his hut being looted of its few possessions; he knelt in the corner praying for the bandits.  When they left, this monk realized they had not taken his walking stick.  He pursued them for days until he could give them this stick as well.  When they saw his humility, they returned everything to him and were converted to Jesus Christ. 

 

 "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?"  My study Bible explains that if we are freed from hate, sadness, and anger, then we are able to receive the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.  The love of enemies isn't simply an emotion, but it includes decision and action.  As my study Bible puts it, it is to treat our enemies as the closest members of our own family (see 1 John 4:7-21).  

 

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  According to my study Bible, this is the summary statement of all that has preceded so far in the Sermon on the Mount.  A Christian can grow in the perfection of the Father (Ephesians 4:13; 2 Peter 1:2-9).  This is shown by imitating God's love and mercy (see also Luke 6:36).  

 

 My study Bible sums up the teachings in today's reading in this way:  "An eye for an eye" -- a graphic way of seeing justice from a human perspective -- becomes "turn the other [cheek]" and "love your enemies."  It frames this as teaching that we must not only forsake vengeance, even when it is just retribution, but we must seek to treat others as God treats us, with mercy and grace.  Given this thought, it's very important to understand that in the Old Testament, "an eye for an eye" was in fact meant to be a limiting corrective for overarching, excess violence and cycles of revenge and retribution.  We read in the Old Testament of Lamech, a descendant of Cain.  He bragged to his wives in a song, "For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold" (Genesis 4:23-24).  Noah was the son of Lamech, and the flood came to the earth because of the violence and evil which proliferated among humankind (Genesis 6:1-8).  Therefore what we see and receive through Christ's teachings is the reversal of that previous reality and multiplication of sin, an antidote to it all; Jesus prescribes for us holiness as the response to world beset with problems of evil and multiplying sin and violence.  And in this is our salvation; this is what He brings to us.  The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully human, brings to us the capacity for holiness in His life lived among us, and our own nature capable of taking on the qualities of the divine, becoming more like God.  For this we have the Incarnation, including Christ's Ascension, in which human flesh becomes a part of heaven, divinized.  Jesus has sent us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, meant to lead us into the fruits that Jesus wants of us (Galatians 5:22-23).  This is our calling from Christ, to become divinized to the extent that we can, through process of faith unfolding in our lives, by rejecting that which we find in ourselves which is incompatible with that calling and internal work of the Holy Spirit in us.  It is in this context Christ teaches, "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you . . ." in yesterday's reading (see above).  This process is called theosis among the Orthodox, and we are meant to grow in it, a lifetime process, the working out of our salvation (Philippians 2:12).  It's not something we invent, or devise for ourselves, it's not simply an intellectual process or belief, but it's the living of faith, using all the tools and structures given to us in Church and Tradition (including Scripture), and it's also a mystical process, depending upon the leading we find within our sacraments, that of Holy Baptism which confers the Holy Spirit, the Eucharist, and all others included.  This is a process whereby we become a part of what Christ called His family when He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother" (see Matthew 12:48-50).  All these tools and practices in the Church, including prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, are meant to help us to seek God's will for us, to find where it is we are called, to first seek the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 6:33).  For this must be our orientation and our salvation.  Lest we be concerned about the conditions Jesus' teachings seem to impose upon us, it should be understood that among the early Christian martyrs there were many soldiers.  They were not burdened by their faith to stop being soldiers in the Roman Empire, but died as martyrs for their faith by a refusal to participate in worship of the Emperor (as example, see the Forty Martyrs of Sepastia).  Jesus' teachings here are against vengeance, and favor mercy, but they don't preclude justice.  Instead, they teach us about a proactive kind of righteousness.  They teach us about the avoidance of unnecessary harm or aggression.  To turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to love an enemy does not mean that we are meant to suffer abuse or be blind to what is just.  But Jesus teaches us instead that we have God to serve first, and love upholds truth and justice as well.  It is not a teaching on submission to evil, but rather one that rejects the cycle of personal vengeance and retribution that produces of itself unnecessary evil.  It is through righteousness that evil is countered; this would include the protection of the innocent and defense against abuse and harm.  Additional evil is what Jesus is preaching against.  Additionally, the teaching in Greek may also closely be translated, "Do not resist the evil one" rather than an "evil person."  Indeed, this is the way the passage was read by St. John Chrysostom.  In some sense, his reading separates sin from sinner.  In that perspective, we are to understand that evil is not defeated through conventional means of retribution, or return of evil, but only through righteous behavior.  Whatever way we understand Christ's teachings, He is telling us that our circumstances don't determine who we need to be, but we need to remember always that our prime job is to be the children of our Father, and loyal to our calling. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 

 

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 raised on 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 says that "teach us to pray" is an expression of a universal longing to be in communion with God.

 

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."  The Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our own potential relationship with God, my study Bible notes.  It says 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," a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God the same way Christ does the Father.  My study Bible adds that we must know that God is not our Father only because God created us.  God is only Father to those who are in a saving and personal relationship with God, a communion that comes only by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

"Give us day by day our daily bread."   Daily, my study Bible notes, is a misleading translation of the Greek word επιουσιος/epiousios, which literally means "above the essence" or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread, it says, indicates not simply bread for today, for earthly nourishment. This is bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, then, we're not simply asking 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."  This request to be forgiven is plural, my study Bible asks us to note.  So, we're directed to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  The 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."  My study Bible comments that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13).  Temptations 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 further 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 claims that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  The patristic consensus interprets 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!"  In Greek, my study Bible explains, these verbs rendered ask, seek, and knock imply a continuous action.  They're 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 and symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  

 

Jesus speaks of asking, seeking, and knocking.  As this comes in response to a request to be taught to pray, we can understand that He's speaking of what we do in prayer.  As my study Bible points out, these verbs are given in a form that indicates continuing action:  keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.  But while modern concepts of prayer focus on asking for something, we need to look closely to see what Christ is suggesting, what it's presumed the disciples are asking, seeking, and knocking to find in response to their prayer.  He says, "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!"  This is the thing most devoutly to be desired:  not for all our material woes to be solved, not for our wishes and dreams in a worldly sense, but to be given the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit that involves.  St. Paul names the fruit of the Spirit in this way:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).   Do we pray for such things?  When we seek to pray -- or to learn how to pray -- is it with such blessings and fruit in mind?  How much do we value these things?  When Jesus speaks to His disciples, it is with a foundation in the things He teaches, the life of the Kingdom He has come into the world to give us and to teach us about.  When He makes disciples, it is those who wish this life, who devoutly wish the Holy Spirit and the gifts and fruit of the Spirit.  We are taught to pray by Jesus with this grounding in mind, the orientation of this Kingdom devoutly to be wished.  We pray for the will of the Father to be done in this world as it is in heaven.  Let us think about what that means for us, and what we wish to be a part of.  For to pray for this Kingdom and for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven is to understand that we commit to this will and this Kingdom by living it in the world, by bearing the values of God's will into the world, and seeking to live and to do that will.  At the same time, let us understand that means practicing forgiveness, struggling against temptation, understanding our place in the spiritual battleground that is this world, to be delivered from the evil one who is the "ruler of this world."  How many understand this when we pray?  Bread, fish, and eggs give us images of the Spirit, my study Bible says; we think of the bread of life, the fish as that which was multiplied by Christ, the egg that would come to be a symbolic gift at Easter.  In the Greek of the text, the word for fish is ἰχθύς/ixthys.  Used as an acronym for the Greek words "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ) this ancient word for fish would give us the symbol of the early Church.  By contrast, serpents and scorpions are images of devils and demons.  Again these are images of contrasting kingdoms in spiritual warfare.  Let us remember the spirit in which we're given prayer, the things devoutly to be wished for and prayed for, the promise of the Holy Spirit Jesus makes to us here.  

 

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."

But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one

 

 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 

- Matthew 5:27-37 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).   Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.  Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

 

  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  My study Bible comments that the issue here is not the God-given mutual attraction of men and women, but rather the selfish promptings of lust.  It notes that sin does not come out of nature, but rather out of the distortion of nature for self-indulgence.  It's very essential to remember that thoughts that enter the mind involuntarily are not sins, but they are temptations.  They become sins only when they are held and entertained.  

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."  This is not meant literally, but Christ rather refers to decisive action needed to save -- as in a necessary amputation because of spreading infection or disease.  Jesus is likening our need to take decisive action to avoid sin and continue in purity to such medical emergencies.

 "Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."  My study Bible notes that in contrast to the easy access to divorce under the Mosaic Law, and because of the misuse of divorce at that time, Jesus makes repeated condemnations of divorce (see also Matthew 19:8-9).  His emphasis is on the eternal nature of marriage.  My study Bible adds that the possibility of divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality shows that marriage can be destroyed by sin.  In the Orthodox Church, it explains, divorce is discouraged but allowed as well as second marriage which is seen as a concession to human weakness and a corrective measure of compassion when a marriage has been broken. 

 

 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  My study Bible comments that trust cannot be secured by swearing an oath by things that are not in the possession of human beings to begin with -- but only through simple integrity.

In a modern (perhaps Western) context, we often hear swearing but not necessarily in the serious context of an oath.  So frequently in expressions of this kind, words in a modern context seem almost to lose their meaning.  But here Jesus speaks even of the seriousness of taking an oath.  What that indicates to us, first of all, is the seriousness of the language that we use.  As remarked upon in yesterday's reading, Jesus gives us a sense of how powerful our words are, but not in the ways that we necessarily think so.  Most importantly, our words and our use of words reflect back upon us, and will be significant in the time of judgment.  Our words make an impact within and among our relationships, communities, families.  But perhaps even more significantly, our words also have an impact upon the state of our souls, where we sit with God, and who we are in the world.  My study Bible comments that for Christ, it is integrity that is of the highest value, a quality that is at once precious, and seemingly devalued in modern life.  Christ's teaching, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one" makes this explicitly clear to us.  Speaking about divorce can be also taken in this context, for marriage is a covenant, a kind of oath.  We give our word of faithfulness.  So let us first consider the importance of integrity in this context.  Marriage is not easy, and it demands mutual sacrifices of us.  It asks us to place the marriage itself in higher importance to oneself as an individual.  These things take commitment, flexibility, creativity, and an understanding of how exactly both sacrifice and even suffering are part of life.  The integrity which Christ describes He showed throughout His own life, and in so doing, teaches us how we need to meet our own suffering, responsibilities, and even the joys of life as well.  

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."

 

But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one

 

 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 

- Matthew 5:27-37 

 

We are currently reading the Sermon on the Mount.  In yesterday's reading, Christ said, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.   First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.  Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

 

  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  My study Bible comments that the issue here is not the God-given mutual attraction of men and women, but rather the selfish promptings of lust.  Sin does not come out of nature, but out of the distortion of nature for self-indulgence.  Thoughts that enter the mind involuntarily are not sins, but temptations.  They become sins only when they are held and entertained.  

 

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."  My study Bible says that this imagery is not to be taken literally, but refers to decisive action to avoid sin and to continue in purity.  Moreover, if we examine this closely, we see that the right eye corresponds to a man looking at a woman with lust who is not his wife, and likely is married to another, thus emphasizing the selfish and covetous nature of lust as addressed to Christ's disciples in this sermon, and in the verses immediately following which discuss divorce.  A right eye may cast a covetous look, a right hand may reach out to grasp what does not belong to it.  In both cases, even a precious right eye or hand may be better to lose than one's whole body be cast into hell.  In a note on Matthew 18:8, my study Bible also adds that this imagery may be applied to severing relationships for the sake of the salvation of all parties.

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."   In contrast to the easy access to divorce offered under the Mosaic Law, and also because of the misuse of divorce in that day, Jesus repeatedly condemns divorce (see also Matthew 19:8-9) and He emphasizes the eternal nature of marriage, my study Bible explains.  It notes that the possibility of divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality shows that marriage can be destroyed by sin.  (Clearly this is true of all relationships, and marriage is, importantly, no exception.)  

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,''No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."   My study Bible comments that trust cannot be secured by swearing an oath by things that are not in man's possession anyway, but only by simple integrity.  

Jesus' last direction and command here emphasizes the importance of honesty and humility in all things.  It builds upon the command regarding anger in yesterday's reading (see above), and also the commands regarding both lust and adultery.  That's because if we follow Christ's thinking here, we will see that He is advocating a kind of honesty that is steeped in humility, in limiting ourselves to what is truly real and not getting beyond ourselves.  Jesus makes this very clear when He says, "Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black."    That is, our own heads should not swell with attributes, powers, and an inflated sense of ourselves that goes far beyond our own reality.  He says, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,''No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  Perhaps the most gruesome story of corrupt excess in the New Testament is the story of the beheading of John the Baptist, found in Matthew's Gospel at Matthew 14:1-12.  The bloody beheading of the great prophet comes out of a rash oath sworn by Herod, something that makes him not only pathetically foolish but a man deluded, infantile, and we might say not much of a man at all.  The text even tells us that the king was sorry (verse 9).  Mark's Gospel adds that "Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly" (Mark 6:20).  And yet, despite this, and because of a senseless oath borne out of excess, he nonetheless consents to this awful beheading of John, which results with the saint's head served on a platter at the king's birthday party.  It's hard to imagine a more diabolical horror story, but that is the nature of what we're talking about. Jesus underscores the lesson when He says, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,''No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."   It might not seem that something one has sworn to out of the need to impress, or perhaps from too much to drink, or maybe from simply a swollen ego, can result in great disaster -- but we really should not take these stories lightly.  For they tell us about human nature and the result of our own misguided foolishness in not knowing ourselves better, and in not understanding how each of us has a need for an enforced, deliberate humility in order to have the discipline necessary for an honorable and honest life.  We live in an age where social media has turned virtually everyone into their own Public Relations agent, and all kinds of things are exaggerated for a photograph or to make an impression.  But this is not the way that Christ has taught us to live, and it is not the way that the Gospels teach us about life and how precious it is.  Perhaps we should say that to become humble, to bear life's circumstances with the meekness that is all about strength and courage and discipline no matter where we find ourselves, is to accept wisdom and bear it into the world.  This is how we keep our heads and wits about us, and it is the only way to cultivate true and good leadership.  For we know what happens with bad.

 

 

Lord, teach us to pray

 

 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 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 they went toward Jerusalem, Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

 

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.  

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  The Lord's Prayer given in Luke is almost completely identical to the one found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13).  Here we begin with the understanding of God's kingdom, and this essential Christian mission to manifest that kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.   Here in the prayer we are reminded of Christ's words from chapter 8:  "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it" (Luke 8:20-21).

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  In both Matthew's and Luke's versions of this prayer, the word "daily" is translated from the same Greek word, unique to the Gospels.  That word is epiousion/ἐπιούσιον.  Its literal meaning is something like "supersubstantial" or "above the essence."  It is clearly an allusion to the Eucharist, but also the spiritual nourishment of this Kingdom which we need for sustenance each day.  My study Bible comments that the expression daily bread indicates not just bread for this day, for earthly nourishment, but it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, then, we are not asking merely for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life.  This understanding is made most explicitly clear in John 6:27-58.

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  In Matthew's version, we read, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  But the idea of sin and debt here are still conjoined to create the same understanding.  If we look at the law as a means to make restitution, we can see this relatedness between sin and debt.  But forgiveness here means that God is the ultimate broker and judge; our forgiveness becomes a way of giving everything into the hands of God, and seeking God's guidance for our daily lives.  My study Bible makes it clear that this request to be forgiven is plural, directing us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts 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 comments that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13); 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).  No one lives without encountering temptations, 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.

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 comments that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  According to patristic commentary, midnight is interpreted as both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend, my study Bible explains, 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 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, the verbs which are translated as ask, seek, and knock imply a continuous action.  My study Bible says they would be better and more accurately translated, "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, and they symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14, James 4:3). 

In the Lord's Prayer, which it seems is meant to be used each day, our first prayer, and the one that follows it, are:  "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."   These first pleas in the prayer are highly significant for their prominent placement.  They form the basis for the rest of the prayer.  It is as if Jesus first teaches us to pray for this kingdom to be manifest, and then the rest of the prayer in some way expresses the conditions necessary and characteristic of that kingdom.  First we know this is the kingdom of "our Father in heaven," whose name is hallowed, or holy.  Our Father in heaven, then, becomes the understanding for the basis for all the rest that is holy, all the things we may understand as holy or characterize as holy -- for it is whatever is "in His name" that is hallowed or made holy.  But the real manifestation, or coming of the God's kingdom, is characterized in that God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven.  How do we know God's will?  How do we know what God's will is for us to do in our lives specifically, or our lives collectively in the Church?  One gets an intuitive sense that perhaps simply embedded in the prayer is a plea that God makes this will known to us, that God gives us the capacity for the discernment of that will.  Nonetheless, this plea does not specify that it is only about oneself doing God's will, or a group of people or a nation, but rather that God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven."  This is an ontological plea without reservation and without restriction.  It's not defined by borders or boundaries, or time or space, or by specific people or beings or any worldly thing we can name.  It is a plea for the world, and that in the whole world God's will be done as it  is in heaven.  That is an unquestionably powerful plea to pray, for we consider that we pray as a Church (in the plural), as a communion, if you will, and that we pray for God's kingdom to be made manifest, and God's will to be done for the whole world, on behalf of all and for all.  Everything else is conditioned within these pleas.  We pray for our "daily bread" which is the bread of the kingdom, for this bread is Christ Himself (John 6:51, 1 Corinthians 10:16).  We ask for this bread to be ours day by day.  We pray a mutual prayer for "our" sins to be forgiven; that is, we pray on behalf of all, and at the same time this is conditioned within the forgiveness that we offer by giving up the "debts" we feel we're owed to God, and seeking God's will in how we will live our lives and especially live the righteousness that pleases God.  And the prayer does not leave out the difficulties of this world, and an understanding and awareness of the evil in the world, but takes everything into consideration.  We do not pray in blindness to the problems of this world, but rather the opposite.  We recognize frankly the difficulties, and we present them to our Father, and we plead that we may be kept away from temptations that are too much for us, but deliverance from those times when the evil one seems to have ensnared us in difficulties that are all-too-present in this world.  And we may recall in this prayer that it is Jesus who has come down from heaven and become fully human in order to experience both temptation (Luke 4:1-13) and a time of great evil  (Luke 22:53).   We remember that "a disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher" (Luke 6:40), and that He is our example for times we experience the same in this world, and He has gone before us as Teacher.  Let us consider all the ways that the pleas in this prayer teach us about God's kingdom, about Christ's way, about our lives and our world as well, and consider what it is to live it and to pray it fully, day by day, and for the life of the world (John 6:33).