Word to the Wise
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 - Wednesday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jonah 4:1-11 and Luke 11:1-4]Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test." [Luke]
Yes, the Gospel According to Luke has its own version of the "Our Father" (as we Catholics tend to call it). The other version is in the Gospel According to Matthew. Well?...which one is the "official one?" The early Christian community was apparently not quite as precise as we are. The one which settled into the liturgical books is the one from the Gospel According to Matthew, but even there, the translation in the Mass is not exactly the same as in the New American Bible, which the bishops of the United States have approved. For example, the word "trespasses" is used at Mass but does not appear in the New American Bible!! The ideas are more important than the language, which even differs in the Greek text!
In Matthew, the context is the Sermon on the Mount and praying in contrast to the pagan style, and the importance of forgiveness. In Luke the context is one of perseverance in prayer. Both of these contexts are important. We do not have to multiply prayers/devotions to get God's attention, but we do have to be consistent in prayer, if not necessarily in exact words! If we are praying as a community,in public liturgy/sacraments, having the same words to say together is important, but outside that context, our prayer is left to us to "say," or compose or draw or gesture or....... Quality and perseverance are more important than quantity and eloquence. If nothing else. reading the different "version" of the Our Father in the Gospel According to Luke can teach us about the freedom we have in prayer. AMEN