In the Gospel today, we read the Lord's Prayer. What a radical prayer this is.
First of all, we proclaim that God is OUR father--not my father--but ours. Right away, we claim not only our individual relationship with God, but also our communal relationship with God and each other.
Next, we pray that God's name may be hallowed---made holy. God's name is made holy through our actions---humanity's actions as living members of the Body of Christ. We recognize our mission--which is God's mission---to live consecrated lives in order that God's name be hallowed.
And when God's name is hallowed and our lives are lived as such, it is then that heaven is known on earth. Heaven---where God dwells---among humanity.
Next we again proclaim our interdependence on one another as we ask for OUR daily bread. This simple sentence declares the Truth that God believes all people to be radically worthy of having enough.
"And forgive us our debts...." Forgiveness. The very core of this consecrated life. To let go of grudges in order that we might be freed from our hatred, our pettiness, and our thirst for retaliation. Forgiveness. To release another from our anger and woundedness. Forgiveness---the sacrificial act of putting the other's wholeness above our need to be right or to be justified by vengeance.
"Rescue us from the evil one." Evil is a real presence in this world. But God promises to protect us---not that we won't necessarily have to face evil, but that we will have the strength to be sustained, and that no evil can overcome the love of God.
We pray this prayer so often that we might miss exactly what it's being said. This is a radical prayer that is centered on what God does in our lives instead of what we do or what we want. A humble prayer that recognizes God is God, and we are not.
No comments:
Post a Comment