Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 - 1st Week of Lent - Tues
[Isa 55:10-11 and Matt 6:7-15]In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. "This is how you are to pray: 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." "If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." [Matthew]
I have included the entire gospel passage for this day because it is not just the words of the "Our Father" itself that are important, but the words that come just before it and just after it. I fear we have "domesticated" Jesus' prayer to the point that its familiarity keeps us from realizing what we are asking for and why!
In the words before, Jesus warns against thinking that a sheer volume of prayer is not necessary. In this connection, we might take a quick look in the Gospel According to Luke at the parable of the tax collector and Pharisee praying in the temple and the difference in their prayers. [Luke 18:9-14].
In the words within Jesus' prayer, we are taught to acknowledge God as Father, our dependence on God for life (daily bread), and the necessity for us to forgive as God forgives us! It is that necessity that is hardest for many people.
In the words that follow the prayer, Jesus hammers home the importance of forgiveness. If we expect God to forgive us, we must forgive others. Later on in this same gospel, the parable of the Unforgiving Servant clearly illustrates Jesus' meaning. [Matthew 18:21-35] I have mentioned before that when preaching a parish mission, on the night of the Penance Service, I use an "examination of conscience" that focuses not on sins committed but on persons we need to forgive or ask for forgiveness. Sin always has a face on it.
We could shape an entire Lenten observance on understanding today's gospel scripture. AMEN