Our Father, who art in Heaven
· If God is the Father, then we are His children.
· Fathers cherish, guide, and discipline their children – but with a discipline that is meant to correct rather than punish.
· Is “Father” meant to be gendered? Or, does God combine both the masculine and feminine principles?
o Perhaps this prayer, offered to us by Jesus to help us to pray to the Father, is gendered. It feels more masculine than feminine to me.
o But, perhaps Jesus’ central message is where the feminine principle begins to meld with the masculinity of the Father. After all, Jesus preached the love of God and neighbor, to turn the other cheek, and to suffer the little children to come to him. There is more than a touch of the feminine principle in these teachings.
o And, the Holy Spirit could be understood as strongly feminine. The mystics of the church talk about union with God by becoming as one with the flame of the Spirit. The terminology of such mystical embraces is often one of a lover and the beloved.
· If God is in Heaven, and God – as the Holy Spirit – resides in our hearts, is Heaven best understood as a place that is “out there” or “up there,” or is it better understood as being where God exists – in our hearts?
o If so, then Heaven is not (merely) a state that we enter into when our mortal bodies die, but a living place that we connect with here. Now.
o Heaven is a real goal of contemplative prayer – of meditation and silent longing for God’s presence. It can be realized here. Now.
Hallowed be thy name
· In other words, You (God) are holy – pure – perfect
· We are not telling God that he is holy (He already knows). But, saying it helps to remind ourselves of that Truth. It helps to put us in the proper frame of mind for further prayer.
· We are reaching out toward that pure light.
o God’s holiness is the measure of all things. It is also the source of our humility (if observing the created universe wasn’t enough to do this itself).
· I find it curious that it is His name that is said to be holy. Why not say “Hallowed be thou?”
o Perhaps an answer lies in God’s answer to Moses when he asked His name: “I Am That I Am.”
o If that, YHWH, “I AM” is His name, then this line can really mean that it is not just a name that is holy, but the I AM who is holy
o Or, perhaps this is a reminder to not take His name in vain. To assume an attitude of proper reverence when calling upon it/Him.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done – On Earth as it is in Heaven
· As it is in Heaven. But, Heaven is in our own hearts. Here on Earth, already.
· God’s Will is to be present in our hearts – to have His Spirit animate and motivate us. When we recognize Him in our own hearts, Heaven exists in us.
· If His Will is to be the Heaven in our hearts, then His Will is to be present in the Earth. For that to happen, though, we must breathe His Spirit out into the world.
· I do not discount the possibility of miracles, but God’s actions on Earth are mainly through the acts of His children. Earthquakes and tsunamis might strike down thousands of people, but God’s love is demonstrated by those who are compelled to help ease the plight of the survivors.
· We cannot sit back and wait for God to perform miracles to build His Kingdom on Earth. We are His bricklayers and masons. If we do not build its walls, they will not be built.
Give us this day our daily bread
· Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
· We pray for that which nourishes us.
o Bread, yes,
o But also the Word of God
o And the Word that is wordless – the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that sustains us in our spiritual lives.
§ Better that we should forgo bread and be filled with the Spirit
§ Than to be sated with food, yet be without the Spirit
And forgive us our trespasses – as we forgive those who trespass against us
· This is not two phrases, but one. It is a plea for mercy and forgiveness, but only insofar as we have ourselves been merciful and forgiving.
· We are all sinners – and when we are struck on the cheek, we are called to turn the other cheek rather than to strike back.
· We hope that God will be more forgiving of us than we are of others. We are human, after all, and that means we love to nurse our grudges. We sometimes even enjoy being angry, and we carry the wrongs done to us in a jeweled box – one of our most prized possessions. We truly do not want to let it go.
· But, while we hope that God will be more forgiving than we are ourselves, this line in the prayer reminds us to do the best we can in modeling God’s forgiveness. In this way, we are really praying for our own willingness to forgive.
· We are telling God that we want to give up our prized grudges, as we try to shape ourselves to His holy example.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
· Are we really praying to be spared from temptation?
· What is sturdier, the caged bird that is protected from all danger, or the wild bird that struggles against the pressures of nature? Who has the stronger muscles, the lounger or the laborer? Spiritual muscles must be tested in order for them to grow stronger. It is in the heat of the hearth that steel is tempered and gains strength.
· Jesus Himself was tested by Satan in the wilderness. So, to be tempted is not to be unholy. Holiness is shown by resisting temptation.
· What we are really asking for here is to not be tempted beyond our present strength to resist. When helping an addict to recover, we do not place the syringe or a drink in front of him.
· We are asking for strength and courage to develop our powers of resistance so we can eventually withstand the storm.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory forever and ever
· Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name
· The Kingdom is God’s, we are in the Kingdom, we are the Kingdom. We are His.
· For the power and glory are God’s. We participate in that when we are being according to His Will. But, we are the children – and God is the source.
Amen
· So be it
