(Audio)
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
It is noteworthy that it was the way Jesus himself prayed, and also what they knew about the prayer of John the Baptist, that inspired them to ask Jesus to teach them to pray. It was clear that there was a reality to the spiritual conversation Jesus and John were having with God that did not necessarily characterize prayer as it was commonly practiced. For Jesus, prayer was personal, intimate, and effective. It was not rote or routine. If, for us, the Our Father has become a set formula, it is precisely because it is a crystallization of the wisdom we have from Jesus about prayer. In a way it is unsurpassable, something which our own words can never replace. But of course it is not meant to compete with our dynamic spontaneous prayer. It is meant to be the source, the mountaintop stream that flows down into all other forms of prayer. It can be so for us if we prayer it with attention and understanding. Of course, it is a given that when we pray it so often there will be lapses in our attention. But as long as we manage to pay attention sometimes we can know that it will bring a virtual intentionality to what we do habitually. Our wills won't be as engaged directly or effectively. But it won't be nothing either.
Father, hallowed be your name
Jesus taught us to call God Father. Previously in the history of Israel it was common to think of God as the Father of the nation. But Jesus understood this relationship in a uniquely personal way and invited his disciples, including us, to share in that relationship. Thus the posture with which we begin prayer is one of childlike receptive trust. This is contrasts with the anxious uncertain doubtfulness with which we often actually begin. It is important to have the right starting place because beginning with doubt and desperation is not going to bear fruit.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (see James 1:6-8).
We ask for God's name to be hallowed, in our hearts, as reflected in how we live, and in the wider world. We don't ask to hallow it ourselves, but that God himself will do what is necessary. We can't really affect the holiness of God's name. He is unimpeachable. Even in our own hearts we lack the power realize what we are asking him to reveal. In our lives we need his grace to live based on that revelation. And it is clear the world cannot change without his help. But we desperately need to recognize the holiness of God at all of these levels. Otherwise we will treat him as something other and less than God. If we do that there is really no hope for things going well, since they will be at odds with their origin and purpose. His holiness, his otherness, prevents us from taking him too lightly or assuming that we don't really need him after all. And we really do need him if we hope to see anything like the coming of his Kingdom in our midst.
your Kingdom come.
Jesus taught us to seek first the Kingdom, which is, in one way, anywhere he himself is present and reigning in peoples' hearts. Wherever love and mercy prevail the Kingdom is present and active. If Jesus is the King of the Kingdom than there are nothing better than his own words, the words of the Word himself, to bring it to bear among us. When we seek first the Kingdom we receive all else besides. This is why we go on to trust in God for our daily bread.
Give us each day our daily bread
We must trust God for our daily bread because otherwise we will be at risk when the devil tempts us to obtain it by other unholy means. When we rely on God we recognize the priority of the hidden bread of God's word and of the daily manna of the Eucharist even above and beyond our physical needs. This allows us to receive the provisions from God in proportion to our needs as embodied spiritual creatures, addressing us at every level of our being. Without remembering the meaning of this petition we tend to get the proportions wrong.
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
We forgive debts because the coming of Jesus marks the year of the true Jubilee when all debts must be remitted. This is not merely an obligation, but the necessary prerequisite for the celebration Jesus intends for us. He came so we need no longer be trapped in sin ourselves and insists that we afford the same grace to others.
and do not subject us to the final test.
As we continue our pilgrimage toward the fullness of the Kingdom we recognize our own weakness and dependence. If God permits a test to overwhelm us, well, it will do so. The reason we stand, if we stand, is because we remember and rely on the grace he never ceases to offer. The alternative is to overestimate ourselves and try to pass such tests without help. But that is a recipe for disaster. Let us return to the beginning of the prayer, to our childlike trust in God our Father, and live from that place of peace and protection.
Praise the LORD, all you nations,
glorify him, all you peoples!
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
It is noteworthy that it was the way Jesus himself prayed, and also what they knew about the prayer of John the Baptist, that inspired them to ask Jesus to teach them to pray. It was clear that there was a reality to the spiritual conversation Jesus and John were having with God that did not necessarily characterize prayer as it was commonly practiced. For Jesus, prayer was personal, intimate, and effective. It was not rote or routine. If, for us, the Our Father has become a set formula, it is precisely because it is a crystallization of the wisdom we have from Jesus about prayer. In a way it is unsurpassable, something which our own words can never replace. But of course it is not meant to compete with our dynamic spontaneous prayer. It is meant to be the source, the mountaintop stream that flows down into all other forms of prayer. It can be so for us if we prayer it with attention and understanding. Of course, it is a given that when we pray it so often there will be lapses in our attention. But as long as we manage to pay attention sometimes we can know that it will bring a virtual intentionality to what we do habitually. Our wills won't be as engaged directly or effectively. But it won't be nothing either.
Father, hallowed be your name
Jesus taught us to call God Father. Previously in the history of Israel it was common to think of God as the Father of the nation. But Jesus understood this relationship in a uniquely personal way and invited his disciples, including us, to share in that relationship. Thus the posture with which we begin prayer is one of childlike receptive trust. This is contrasts with the anxious uncertain doubtfulness with which we often actually begin. It is important to have the right starting place because beginning with doubt and desperation is not going to bear fruit.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (see James 1:6-8).
We ask for God's name to be hallowed, in our hearts, as reflected in how we live, and in the wider world. We don't ask to hallow it ourselves, but that God himself will do what is necessary. We can't really affect the holiness of God's name. He is unimpeachable. Even in our own hearts we lack the power realize what we are asking him to reveal. In our lives we need his grace to live based on that revelation. And it is clear the world cannot change without his help. But we desperately need to recognize the holiness of God at all of these levels. Otherwise we will treat him as something other and less than God. If we do that there is really no hope for things going well, since they will be at odds with their origin and purpose. His holiness, his otherness, prevents us from taking him too lightly or assuming that we don't really need him after all. And we really do need him if we hope to see anything like the coming of his Kingdom in our midst.
your Kingdom come.
Jesus taught us to seek first the Kingdom, which is, in one way, anywhere he himself is present and reigning in peoples' hearts. Wherever love and mercy prevail the Kingdom is present and active. If Jesus is the King of the Kingdom than there are nothing better than his own words, the words of the Word himself, to bring it to bear among us. When we seek first the Kingdom we receive all else besides. This is why we go on to trust in God for our daily bread.
Give us each day our daily bread
We must trust God for our daily bread because otherwise we will be at risk when the devil tempts us to obtain it by other unholy means. When we rely on God we recognize the priority of the hidden bread of God's word and of the daily manna of the Eucharist even above and beyond our physical needs. This allows us to receive the provisions from God in proportion to our needs as embodied spiritual creatures, addressing us at every level of our being. Without remembering the meaning of this petition we tend to get the proportions wrong.
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
We forgive debts because the coming of Jesus marks the year of the true Jubilee when all debts must be remitted. This is not merely an obligation, but the necessary prerequisite for the celebration Jesus intends for us. He came so we need no longer be trapped in sin ourselves and insists that we afford the same grace to others.
and do not subject us to the final test.
As we continue our pilgrimage toward the fullness of the Kingdom we recognize our own weakness and dependence. If God permits a test to overwhelm us, well, it will do so. The reason we stand, if we stand, is because we remember and rely on the grace he never ceases to offer. The alternative is to overestimate ourselves and try to pass such tests without help. But that is a recipe for disaster. Let us return to the beginning of the prayer, to our childlike trust in God our Father, and live from that place of peace and protection.
Praise the LORD, all you nations,
glorify him, all you peoples!
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