Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Let me paint a picture. One day, Jesus was praying. Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1). What place did he choose to pray? What would have been his posture? How did he pray? What did he pray? Did he use words?
I believe that when Jesus taught the disciples the “Our Father" he was teaching them more than just a prayer. Rather, through the prayer the disciples got an insight into his thought, life, prayer, and spirituality. This prayer reveals the purpose of Jesus’ incarnation, his life, ministry, death and resurrection. In the following points, I would like argue that the "Our Father" reveals not just how to pray, but it reveals Jesus himself.
“Thy Kingdom Come”
Even though the prayer begins with, “Our Father,” I would like to begin with “Thy kingdom come.” I am doing this because it provides the context for the prayer. The “Our Father” is the very first passage in Luke 11. It flows from chapter 10, in which, Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples on their first mission. Their primary proclamation was to be, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you” (Lk 10:9). This proclamation is repeated just a verse later in Lk 10:11. It is not surprising, then, that the very first petition in Jesus’ prayer is, “Thy kingdom Come.”
It is clear from all the gospels that the kingdom of God was Jesus’ central focus. He began his very ministry proclaiming, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). And now, his prayer began with, “Thy kingdom Come!” In Matthew 6:33, Jesus would teach his disciples, “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God.”
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray the “Our Father” he was not teaching them a ‘God-and-me’ kind of prayer. At that point it wasn’t even a liturgical prayer. He was not teaching a new prayer to be prayed in the temple or replacing a prayer in temple worship. Rather, Jesus was transforming the entire way faith, religion, community, society was constructed. It was not that the laws, the rituals, the liturgy, and temple worship were not important. But if all these did not revolve around the kingdom of God, then, why?
Like his disciples, Jesus is teaching us today to let our lives, our faith, our religiosity, our worship, our relationships all revolve around the reign of God. Let us reflect on the other parts of the prayer to realize the transformation this prayer can bring.
“Our Father”
God is like a Father/Mother, and all who pray this prayer are God’s children. By teaching his disciples to pray “Our Father,” Jesus changed the very dynamic of Jewish religiosity. God us not like a king, rather, God is like a parent. We are not God’s subjects, rather, we are God’s children. We are not mere neighbors, rather, we are brothers and sisters. In God’s reign, there is not ‘us-and-them’ but only ‘we.’ Do you see how this can change the entire way we understand faith and religion? Do you see that if we truly live this prayer it can change the church and the world?
“Thy will be done”
Luke’s version does not have, “Thy will be done.” It is found in Matthew and also in The Didache.[1] "Thy will be done" means that God’s purpose of Creation, which includes God’s children, will be fulfilled in God’s reign. That purpose is life, love, joy, and everlasting peace.
“On Earth as it is in Heaven”
Remember I said earlier that Jesus had begun his ministry by saying, “The kingdom of God is at hand”? His disciples were also sent out to proclaim, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” “Is at hand” means that God’s reign is not limited to the future. This is captured in his prayer, “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” In New Testament biblical theology, there is a concept called “the here and not yet.” This means that the kingdom of God is both a future reality AND an earthly reality. Jesus came to inaugurate God’s reign on earth which already exists in heaven. The disciples are called to work alongside Jesus in the work of letting the kingdom of God become a reality in the here and now.
“Give us each day our daily bread.”
Food and the basic necessities of life are there for all God’s children. In God’s reign, there aren’t those who have and other who are denied. Like the sun and rain that fall on the just and unjust, good and bad, God’s providence and goodness are accessible to all. The starvation in Gaza, for example, is not part of God's reign.
“Forgive Us Our Sins for We Ourselves Forgive”
There is no need for me to emphasize how much Jesus emphasizes forgiveness. In another place in the same Gospel, Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Lk 6:27-28). In the prayer he taught his disciples, Jesus invited his disciples to replicate God’s forgiveness. In God’s reign there is no room for unforgiveness, revenge, hate, and violence. It is reign of reconciliation, justice, and peace.
“Do not Subject Us to the Final Test”
Luke only has “Do not subject us to the final test,” but both Matthew and the Didache add, “but deliver us from evil/evil one.” The focus here is eschatological. Perhaps, the prayer is that our earthly choices and focus is such that when life on earth is over, we will seamlessly be led to God’s eternal reign.
“For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory”
Luke’s “Our Father” is the shortest version of the prayer. Luke’s version has only five sections whereas Matthew’s version can be divided into seven sections. The early Christian post-resurrection writing, The Didache, also has Jesus’ prayer. Besides inviting early Christians to pray the “Our Father” three times daily, it includes a section not found in the gospel versions - “For Yours is the power and the glory forever.” It does not mention “kingdom” like we do, but attributing “power and glory” to God acknowledges that all sovereignty and ultimate authority belong to God. The belief here is that God is the creator of all, and all honor and glory belong to God alone; that human beings should not attribute to themselves what belong to God alone.”
Jesus did not teach the “Our Father” as a liturgical prayer. It is included in our liturgy because it is the only prayer that Jesus taught us. Today, when we pray his prayer at this Mass, let us not merely pray his prayer. Let us allow the life, the thought, the prayer of Jesus to transform us into children of God and to live accordingly. For, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” Amen.
[1] The Didache, adds yet another dimension to Jesus’ prayer. The Didache is also called “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.” It’s actual date of composition is debated with some suggesting 2nd Century and others attributing it to the 1st Century. The author is anonymous. Besides the “Our Father,” it also has the clearest early church belief about the Real Presence in the Eucharist.
- Fr. Satish Joseph