Notes for a talk.
Matt 6:9b-13:
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be dome, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.
Luke 11:2-4:
Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom fome. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.
Today’s version of the Our Father:
Our Father, Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, now and forever, Amen.
How often do we pray this prayer? But how often do we actually think about what those phrases mean?
Our Father. Collective.
Hallowed be thy name. Two meanings: 1) may your name be held as holy here on this earth, and 2) may you come, show your glory, and make it be held as holy. This second one relates to…
Thy kingdom come. May the second coming, the time of the end be soon. Bring your kingdom to fulfillment.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. May We do your will. May your will be done in our lives.
Give us this day, our daily bread. Two possible meanings. 1) Give us the bread we need to sustain us today. Give us what we need to survive… grace, provisions, food, companionship, etc. 2) Give us our future bread. Give us the bread of the wedding feast of the lamb. Bring us to the future kingdom.
And now for the real kicker: and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. The first clause is very bold of us. We’re asking the lawgiver to forgive us our transgressions against His holy law. The laws he put down for our own good, which we have broken. But not only that, we are called to forgive each other as well. As much as we forgive, will be forgiven us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. This phrasing isn’t found in the scriptural accounts of the Lords Prayer. Or if it is, it has a very different sense… “Do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one” is in Matthew, and “and do not subject us to the final test” is in Luke. The end of time is promised to be a crazy time of tribulation. These lurid descriptions can be found in revelations. The end of this prayer is asking us to be spared this trial. The current sense has a lot of insight in it as well. Asking that we might be lead AWAY from temptation, and asking that evil might not befall us.
Note still, this is a communal phrasing. All the pronouns are ‘us’ and ‘our’. Lead all of us from evil, give all of us our daily bread. Thy will be done on ALL the earth.