THE LORD'S PRAYER

let's begin with a puzzle, a paradox, if you will. (A paradox is a seeming contradiction.) Chapter 6 begins with a warning not to act out your religion publicly in a way that might make others think how wonderfully religious you are. And yet, right after the beatitudes Jesus challenged us to let our light shine before men so they could see our good works! Huh? Is he contradicting himself?

The answer lies in the motives. The one who parades his religion is doing so in order that others will indeed see him and be impressed. In the earlier commandment, Jesus called us to live in such a way as to glorify God, NOT ourselves. And that can be hard. We have to learn to serve others so people will sense our motives and want that kind of relationship with God.

The Lord's prayer is almost in the exact center of the Sermon on the Mount. Hard to believe Matthew put it there by accident. Let's look at almost every word.

Our father - Our, not my. I must pray in ways that take you in consideration as well as me. In modern business parlance I must ask for win-win situations, not my benefit at your expense. I fear that means I cannot seek a victory for my Baptist football team over them heathens they are playing. More seriously, I cannot wish before God that he would raise me up by hurting another. Our – our – our Father.

Father – most scholars believe Jesus spoke this in Aramaic, akin to Hebrew. In that case, the word would have been “Abba,” a household term like “Daddy.” The prayer assumes we take our position as God's children, part of His family. This includes the authority of the patriarch in that society, but also the special standing, love, and pride.

Who is in heaven – God is an awesome God. He is infinite. We are finite. Our ways are not His ways. As the heavens are high above the earth so are His ways above our ways. We must always bow in honor before Him. We treat His words and commands with respect.

Hallowed be thy name: The third commandment, “thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh, thy God in vain” lies behind this. Then and today most observant Jews will not pronounce the name of God aloud. I have been to a Jewish service and followed their reading aloud. Where the Hebrew word “Yahweh” was written, they together said “adonai,” or Lord. That's why Matthew more often says Kingdom of Heaven rather than Kingdom of God. Today Jews may often say “The Name” or some other circumlocution in order to make sure they do not abuse the hallowed name of God. But to hallow His name means more than how we say it. If we call ourselves Christians – and we should – we should represent Him in a way they can see Christ in us!

Thy kingdom come: Books have been written about the Kingdom of God, books that contradict and even fight one another. For our purposes, let's say the Kingdom is past, present and future. In the past, the KoG came in Jesus Christ. Presently the Kingdom exists wherever Christ rules – as in the hearts of Christians. In the future we look for the return of Christ and the merging of the Kingdom and Heaven.

The Kingdom – any kingdom, really – requires two things: a king and his subjects. Christ is the king, and His disciples are the subjects. To pray for his kingdom to come is to ask for the faith dynamic to show itself powerfully in the world around us. It looks to the future and prays for the return of Christ, but we also implore the Lord to break again into our world in a strong and helpful way.

Thy will be done – almost the same as thy kingdom come. Remember Jesus returned to that prayer in Gethsemane: not my will, but thine be done. To pray this prayer means we open our heart that His will may be done in us. It's easy to mean for God to do His will in the lives of others, but this prayer begins with us. Never pray for anything unless you are willing to be part of the answer.

On earth, as it is in heaven – presumably God rules supreme in heaven. We are asking for complete submission while yet we live. Are we willing to live now as we expect to live eternally?

Give us today – one day at a time. I like the gospel song by that name. AA has several mottoes emphasizing to abstain from drinking or drugs for just one day. “Maybe tomorrow I'll throw a rousing drunk, but not today.” Don't we all want to know God's plans for our lives years ahead? Yet often we feel as if we are walking in the dark, not in the daylight. God always gives us enough light for the next step. Take the step you can, and the next will be waiting.

Our daily bread, or our bread for tomorrow – The linguists tell us that the Greek really means “give us enough bread today to carry us through tomorrow.” It can be a plea for work to earn enough today to buy bread tomorrow. Nevertheless the principle is the same. One step at a time. Remember the manna, fresh every morning, but only for a day. A short shelf life, but never an empty shelf.

Lead us not into temptation. Or trial. - Again compare Jesus's prayer “let this cup pass from me...” We ask God to protect us. The word can mean either temptation or trial, for temptation is a specific kind of trial. It's a pro-active prayer for protection. But again I ask whether we are willing to be part of the answer. If the Lord says “Don't eat from that tree,” do you stay away from it or find yourself wandering by it repeatedly. Do we borrow trouble?

Instead, deliver us from evil – once again I would remind you all these requests are for US, not ME. Before God I want for me only what I want for you. This request is to keep us from doing evil. Some translations will say to keep us from the “evil one,” or Satan, but this is not the likely meaning. Rather protect us from either having evil fall on us or our perpetrating evil. Evil is bad to the nth degree. The kind of stuff that ISIS does or that a tornado or Katrina can do. And we need have no doubt that the carnal part of our personalities can lapse also into wickedness, not merely mildly naughty.

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. This is the only item given reflexive, although as I have indicated a willingness to respond is assumed all the way through. The word forgive in places is also translated “leave.” Forgiveness means our sins are left behind. We do not carry them forever. We are not shackled to our past actions, but freed from the guilt.

(Note: somewhere, sometime, someone substituted “trespasses” for “debts.” Congregations often divide over the words. When I lead a group in this prayer, I suggest we borrow the word “sins” from Luke's account of the prayer. Trespasses is too minor, as it could picture a straying across into the neighbor's yard, and debts sort of limit to what we owe. So I favor “sins,” our disobedience to God and failure to follow his leadership.

You will have noted I swapped the order, which is on purpose to connect with Jesus comment at the end. “If you don't forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly father forgive yours.” Jesus is making clear what that little word “as” means in the prayer: “AS we forgive others.” It does not mean at the same time; it means in the same way. At the beginning of Chapter 7 He will tell us we will receive judgment with the same manner we judge.

A frequent question comes from the idea that if we have been saved, does this mean we can lose our salvation if we don't forgivee another. Jesus is not dealing with that question. There are other ways of punishing that sending someone to hell. Rather interpret this statement against the background of the parable of the unforgiving servant. Remember his master forgave him a million bucks, and on his way out he wanted to throw a man in jail who owed him a hundred. Doesn't that explain it? Carrying a grudge hurts you. You will not grow as a Christian until you learn to release what others have done to you.

The prayer concludes in the KJV with the marvelous doxology - “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever!” In the famous solo by Malotte, the doxology is the dramatic and powerful climax – as it should be.

Some become disturbed when they see modern translations relegate these last phrases to a footnote: “some ancient manuscripts add...” I have heard some claim this was a liberal attempt to take away from Scripture. Not so. It is an effort to discover what exactly Matthew wrote in his original document that we no longer have. The oldest copies we have of Matthew end the prayer after “deliver us from evil.” On the other hand, we know that Jewish prayers, even when written and read, normally added some doxology praising God. So some such praise was likely from the first time a congregation recited it. Perhaps we should more often add some doxology at the end of our prayers.