Lord's Prayer #2

Here is the next in our series on the Lord's Prayer             

The Lord's Prayer #2                                                                                        05/25/12

“Give us today our daily bread

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt 6:11-12)

This middle part of the Lord’s Prayer meets us where we are. Bread is one of the most basic of human needs – a staple food. The translation “give us today our daily bread” is problematic. It seems to employ a redundant use of the word “daily” – if it is today’s bread then it must be daily! The actual word in Greek that is translated as “daily” is epiousion which is made up of epi which means “more than” and ousion which means “substance”. If the word is understood as “more than substantial” it could be a prayer for all of our possible needs, our complete needs, today.  But this is at variance with other gospel teachings.

Another translation of the word epiousion is “that which follows on”. Using this translation an alternate way of understanding “daily bread” would be “bread of tomorrow” or “bread to come”. This echoes the coming of the kingdom and seems to fit in better with the earlier part of the Lord’s Prayer in which Jesus asks us to pray for the coming of the Kingdom and God’s will on earth. Isaiah 25:6-10 describes a future time when “on this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; and he will swallow up death forever…” The Lord’s prayer is a prayer for the coming Kingdom, the promised Kingdom for which we hope and wait. The Kingdom in which death is finally overcome and every tear is wiped away.

The prayer is also placing the emphasis on the word “today” – that we should only pray for what we need today and not be anxious about tomorrow.  In the kingdom there is no need to store up possessions. Instead, we should trust God for all our needs.   In this it echoes the prayer for manna in the desert – when enough food was given for each day’s need. Note also that the prayer is communal – the bread is “ours” and not “my” – something to be shared. So even when prayed alone the prayer invokes community and connects us with each other.

There is a possible connection to the theme of bread in John’s Gospel. There Jesus says that “the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (Jn 6:33). His disciples reply “give us this bread always”. Jesus proclaims that “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry” (v.35). Jesus is the new manna that does not leave you hungry for more. In v51 the words become Eucharistic “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh”. For John “flesh” refers to Jesus’ humanity. Jesus transforms his human life, his flesh, into bread. You are what you eat – by taking in Jesus we become Jesus in the world.

The fourth petition, to “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” is the only part of the prayer in which we are asked to do anything. This requirement is the key that unlocks the rest of the prayer, the praxis on my part that makes the prayer authentic and true. Jesus collapses our relationship with others into one practice - forgiveness. The prophets spoke of justice and external action rather than the more internal, personal practice of forgiveness.  Forgiveness figures in many of Jesus’ parables and teachings  (the parable of the unforgiving steward; Mt 5:21–24 & 43-48 for example). The prayer that begins with Abba proclaims a non-violent God who is all about forgiveness. Abba is not concerned with purity laws, Sabbath or temple. Instead if you want God to be O.K. with you, to forgive you, then forgive others. Jesus wants to tune us into a different frequency without which we cannot experience God’s forgiveness. If you don’t do it you don’t recognize it. Without this inner transformation we continue to experience and understand God in terms of wrath and violence.

In Mt 18:21-22 Peter asks Jesus “How often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus replies “Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy times seven times”.  In other words forgiveness for Jesus is without limit.

Hanging on to violence and anger can become a poison. Forgiveness has recognized benefits in terms of mental health. Forgiveness has proven a healing force in communities with a history of structural violence – for example the truth and reconciliation initiatives in Rwanda, South Africa and Greensboro. While this is true, Jesus is more radical still. Forgiveness is an integral part of the coming of the Kingdom. We are all connected. The Kingdom will come only when all violence, hatred and anger are done away with. Only then will life and love overcome death. Forgiveness is the way to the Kingdom. The Lord’s Prayer for forgiveness is not a moral edict – it is an anthropological one.