Dear Saints in Santa Fe, and other far-off places:
Greetings in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ!
We pray the answer every Sunday.
If you ever want to know, or anyone ever asks you to define Christianity, or what churches do, or who we are as followers of Jesus, recite the Lord’s Prayer. It has everything we need to know. And it may surprise you.
With the help of scholar Obery M. Hendricks and his book, The Politics of Jesus, here goes:
“Our” reminds us that this is not a prayer for our needs alone. We tend to make everything about us. This time it’s about all of us. What’s more, our God is a God for everyone.
“Father.” Already we start out with a language problem as “Father” sounds exclusive, sexist and patriarchal, and many people turn away from the start. I get that. It does. I often say, “Our loving God” instead. The word we translate as “Father” is Abba, meaning Papa or Daddy, a familiar name a child might use. This Abba God is not distant but a loving God, up-close and present.
“Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” The Roman state religion required that Caesar’s name alone is holy, so this becomes a radical statement insisting that only God is holy. God’s kingdom has arrived and there is no longer room for Rome and its Empire.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” It is God’s will not Caesar’s. It is sacred and holy and heaven-sent, not the will of an earthly tyrant who imposes harm on the people.
“Give us our daily bread.” It was a prayer to end Caesar’s rule because he would never let there be enough bread for everyone. More than 90% lived on the tip of starvation. Food insecurity was real and pervasive. Only the wealthy had enough.
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Many prefer “sins” instead of “debts” but that takes us away from the reality people faced. Rome could not function without forcing people into crushing debt to pay for its military and imperial system. The word for “forgive” can also be translated as “release.” Release us from our debts and debtors!
“Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Jesus is asking his disciples to resist empire, the evil they see and feel, and not be tempted to give up the struggle and give in to Rome’s requirement to treat the ruler’s needs as holy, instead of the people’s.
There you have it. Every time we pray, we are doing more than reciting words that may have lost their meaning or connection with us. The words are very real for our own day, to the obstacles we face, and today’s power systems which impact how we live.
It is about treating the people’s needs as holy. This is a tall order, but what if we did? It would be yet another way to change the world. It will take a lot of praying, oh yes, it will!
I have an idea, though. Why not pray this prayer every time we gather in worship to remind us of who we are, who God is, and how we should practice our faith? The good thing is, of course, we already do and already know these words by heart.
Grace and peace as we pray this day,
Harry