Thursday of the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time

Our Father who art in heaven….

Several years ago I attended a Pentecost Sunday Mass with about fifty people in attendance. This extraordinary group of missionaries had announced the gospel in many different countries and so, at the invitation of the presider, we recited the Lord’s Prayer together in 35 languages. The prayer was written for congregational recitation and, even in different languages, it is easy to pray with one voice, one mind and one heart. I think everyone in that chapel will remember that moment for years to come; it was so beautiful.

Recently scholars read the prayer through an apocalyptic lens, discovering the Christian's eager expectation of justice and mercy.

·         Our Father who art in heaven – Jesus leads us into an entirely new relationship with God as he teaches us to call him Father. The word was not unknown in Jewish prayer but it describes the core of the Christian’s relation to God. We have every confidence in God the Father because Jesus trusted his Abba so much. A father must care for his own children and the symbol speaks volumes. God is not simply a creator and manager of the universe; he is not simply a savior who bails us out of trouble; he is father who cares intensely for each of his children.

·         Hallowed be thy name – Forgetting ourselves we praise God. That is our truest joy; it is a privilege when things are going well, and a comfort during hard times. As Job said, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” When we’re burdened with immediate troubles it is a great relief to turn our thoughts back to eternal truth and remember the majesty of God.

·         Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven – The Book of Revelation describes a mighty warfare between God’s angels led by Saint Michael and the serpent and his minions. (Revelations 12). Despite the enormity of the conflict, in an instant Michael triumphs, the heavens are purged of wickedness and the dragon is cast down to earth to make war on “the woman and her children.” That conflict, however, will not last long – a time, two times and half a time.

·         Give us this day our daily bread – With this prayer we acknowledge our daily dependence on God. No matter how we plan, no matter how many stores we build up, it can all collapse in a moment. Recent incidents of food poisoning in Europe remind us how fragile our food system is. No human system is fool proof or indestructible. If our systems of food creation, processing, distribution and preparation work well it is because millions of people are conscientious in their work. That virtue comes from God.
This prayer also reminds us of the Eucharist, and our Catholic tradition of daily Mass. Although it is not required, it’s a beautiful custom that strengthens us in the daily awareness of God.

·         And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us – Enthusiastic Christians often speak of the “unconditional love” of God, and I won’t quarrel with that. But God’s love makes huge demands upon us. If we would be forgiven we must forgive; if we seek mercy on the Day of Judgment, we must show mercy. We must continually examine our hearts for long forgotten but still viral resentments. As we judge others, so shall we be judged.

·         And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil – No one knows how much he can endure before he loses faith in God. If Saint Peter can boast of his courage during the Last Supper, and be shown as a coward within hours, no one should think he can bear hardship and not lose faith. As the movie gangster said, “Every man has his price.”
Nor can we judge others who have drifted from the Church. We don’t know what went on in their hearts, how they struggled to keep their faith, or what sorrow finally overwhelmed them. We must only pray that we not be led into temptation and will always be delivered from evil.

·         The Didache adds a wonderful doxology – For thine is the kingdom and the glory and the power now and forever. Amen – Once again we recall that God is the Lord of all. Prayer should always remind me that “My life is not about me. It’s about God.”

From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers we hear of the young aspirant who went to the hermit and asked for a word to contemplate. The ancient taught him the Our Father, and the young man courteously thanked him. But the teacher was disappointed when the student didn’t come back the next day for further instruction. Many years passed and they happened across each other again.

The old man asked, “Whatever happened to you? Why have you never come back?”

“I have spent my life,” the former student said, “meditating on the prayer you taught me.”

No one should be surprised at that. It is a bottomless well of deep reflection; and when the mind can think no more about it, the heart rests in its wonder.