Somewhere before Matthew and Luke was most likely a text
that was the source of their common threads, but we'll never see it. So extrapolating from these two
storytellers as to what may/must have been said requires more than a literalist
view of the two texts' recounting this often repeated prayer (for which most of
us seem to have defaulted to Matthew). But the question I have pondered so many
times is not “what exactly did Jesus say” but rather, “what was his intent in
this teaching?” So despite not having an imprimatur of any religious
organization, I am finally going to take a crack at what this itinerant country
preacher may have intended for his audience to understand about prayer.
In order to attempt this we first need to understand two
things about the speaker, Yeshua of Nazareth, whose name we Anglicized as
Jesus. First of all, while there is no evidence that he was formally trained as
a Rabbi, Jesus clearly had a good handle on the sacred texts, quoting
frequently and selectively from them to make his points. He is, from most of
what we can extrapolate from all of these stories, at all times very
intentional and consistent about his message, his context and his intent.
Jesus declared himself a “jubilee” messenger – referring to
the Deuteronomic rule (Deut. 15:1-11) that every seventh of the seven year
periods (that is, every 50th year) is to be a Jubilee year, marked
by forgiving all debts, freeing all prisoners, caring for the poor, the widows
and the children – using a reference to the same from the book of Isaiah (Is.
61:1-2). However, true to his philosophy, Jesus intentionally left out the last
phrase of the passage dealing with vengeance. Jesus was very intentional. He
never refers to the wrath or vengeance of God, but rather only refers to the
healing, loving and forgiving nature of God. He used scriptures and events to
teach a specific message, and that message is the second part of our
understanding his contextual framework.
Jesus’ message through all of his teaching was a
revolutionary understanding of God, the nature of God, and the nature of “God’s
kingdom.” Kingdoms were plentiful in ancient times, and mapped out a domain of
influence for each king. Jesus used this metaphor as a way of describing his
theological foundation: God was not elsewhere – apart from us, ruling over us –
but rather was very real and present, in and among all of us. “The kingdom of
God is at hand,” he would say, “as you are in me and I am in them and they in
me.” He had a unitive theology; that all things were one and united by the same
loving force, like one big family. We are inseparable from God but likewise God
is inseparable from us. In an age where Gods were thought to reside on a
mountain or in the center of the temple, Jesus taught that God not only
belonged to all but was resident in all. So let’s see if we can see his
understanding of the scripture and his theology evident in this prayer.
Right from the outset, he changes the game, calling God, “father”
(implying the one big family). Matthew’s text even adds the descriptor, “our”
(like all of ours, not just some of us). And some translations refer to the
idea that he used the word “abba,” the familiar form of father: “daddy.” This
was not the El Shaddai of old, nor was it the king who lorded over us like some
benevolent master. It was intentionally familiar, familial and personal. And
least we get all bound up by the masculinist term of father/daddy (as opposed
to mother), let’s look at the role of parents in Judea at that time. Parents
were fairly equal, though different, long ago. There was clear understanding
that both mother and father were necessary and equally important. Fathers
typically taught the trades and mothers taught the values of life. Both were
essential. So why father then? Because father’s role was to teach purpose – how
and what to do to be a contributor in life. And to be certain a father was not
absent – off at work – as in modern times. Dads were always present, in the
home, working at the house and very present. A father was meant to be
purposeful, helpful and always present.
But what then are we to make of the reference to heaven?
Doesn’t that connote the sky kingdom and the sky god? Not if you take a further
look at how Jesus defines heaven. Heaven is not out there, not some future
destination. Heaven is right here, right now. Heaven is among us and. He even
goes so far as to say that it is “within you” (Lk. 17:20-21). So this daddy,
this teacher, was a very present member of the community, of the family and of
life in the present moment. Jesus’ intent was to demystify the concept of God;
to make God real and present and palpable.
“Holy (sacred, blessed) is your name.” If we now understand
God to be within the very life we are living, Jesus is calling that sacred.
Life is sacred and holy. But remember that, as a Jew, Jesus learned that one
could not say/speak the name of God, not because of its specialness, but
because once anything was named it became separated – by name – from anything
that was not that thing. Speaking the name of God would be suggesting that God
was some thing, some entity, apart from other things, and certainly apart from
us. That is the most sacred aspect of God; that God, being a very real and
present aspect of everything, was inseparable from anything – that God was
everything and everywhere. That is what holy and blessed really means.
“Thy kingdom come.” Then Jesus returns back to his core
theological construct: The kingdom is
here, there and everywhere, and that
life-intent that is God is already in action in every element of all creation
(on earth and heaven). It seems obvious at this point that Jesus simply means “god
is here, among us, already, right now.” Enough said! But here comes the one-two
punch!
The first hit refers back to a scriptural reference. Jesus
reminds his followers not to take more than enough. The reference to “daily
bread” comes from the story of manna in the desert. The Israelites were wandering
in the desert and supplies were low, so the story goes. In answer to their
hunger and prayers, their God provides something bread-like that appears in the
morning like dew. But it came with a rule: take only enough for one day. If
anyone took more than a day’s supply, it rotted and would become toxic to them.
The hoarders actually died. God’s rule of abundance is that “enough” is all you
need. So Jesus’ reference to that story is a reminder (not a request) to the
pray-er (not the one prayed to) that we only need “enough.”
And right on the heels of that is the knock-out punch about
how forgiveness works. It seems to be a bit of a tricky turn of the phrase, but
the pivotal word is “as” – “forgive us as
we forgive others.” For most of my life I heard that phrase as a meritocracy: when I forgive enough others, I get to
be forgiven, or if I forgive others I
will be forgiven. But that was never a part of Jesus’ teaching. Or I thought it
may have been some hold-over of the eye-for-an-eye morality of the Greeks in
the area. But in fact, just the opposite was Jesus’ message: that you are
already, and always forgiven. The nature of this loving God, that is love and
life itself, is that you will always be forgiven – even before you think to ask
for forgiveness. Remember the story of the Prodigal Son? The passage reads that,
before the son was able to even ask his father for forgiveness, “while he was
still a long way off” his father saw him, had compassion for him and “ran out
to embrace him and kiss him.” God’s forgiveness is not dependent on our having
done it first. But knowing Jesus’ understanding of the presence of God, god’s
forgiveness is part and parcel with
our forgiveness. God-in-us forgives us through each other – it’s how God is
made manifest. It is seeing the God in the other as we forgive them or they
forgive us. That is God’s love visibly in action!
And in conclusion… Jesus ends his prayer instruction with
the oddest phrase of them all, “lead us not into temptation” or in other
translations “deliver us from the test.” Jesus taught that the purpose of
prayer was that it altered the pray-er (your father already knows what is in
your heart). So what might he have meant with the reference to temptation. I
have a couple of theories that may explain this one. First of all, the time he
spent in the desert before starting his ministry is still fresh in Jesus’ mind.
He clearly felt led into his path of teaching and healing. Could he have felt
led into that time that tested his spirit and was hoping that others might not
have to endure the same?
Many exegetes note how fond Jesus was of the Psalms, and
certainly the Psalms are a part of every Shabbat service. The Psalms are rife
with references of being put to the test and of being tempted (mostly by wealth
and power). The Psalmist seemed to wrestle with his own temptation and the fear
that God might turn away because of his weakness or, worse yet, that God would
put him to the test! That being the case, Jesus might have been drawing on a
common theme from worship.
Now Matthew may have a different take on the prayer and adds
the element of evil (or in some translations “the evil one”). But that does not
fit with the teachings and philosophy of Jesus. It may well be an editorial
comment either added because Matthew wanted to appeal to the cultural norms of
the people to whom he was writing. Or it may have been added by a later editor
as part of the doctrine of the church of the time (a practice that happened
with all sacred texts throughout time).
But more in keeping with my hypothesis that Jesus felt that
the prayer was more about how one prayed (more to alter the pray-er than to
bend the divine ear) he may have included that line as a last piece of
training. “Master, teach us how to pray,” may not have been answered by this
teacher with a rote formula. More likely he may have said something to the
effect of, “It’s not what you say but who and how you are when you say it!
Remember, God is already in you, and in me. God has already given you all you
need. God has already forgiven before you could even recall the sin. And this
God, would never, ever lead you astray!” Amen.
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