Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 20, 2024 - Thursday in the 11th Week in Ordinary Time
[Sir 48:1-14 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, they 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 others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. [Matthew]
Whether we call it "the Our Father" or "the Lord's Prayer," it occupies a privileged place in Christian spirituality. We utter it thousands of times in our lives. Its sheer familiarity, however, may be an obstacle to our understanding it and the context in which the evangelist places it.
First of all, Jesus challenges us to simplicity in prayer, something we Catholics have a hard time doing. We often think "the more, the better," and we multiply prayers and devotions beyond counting. In the prayer that Jesus gives us we are asked to acknowledge God's existence and care for us and ask for forgiveness to the extent that we forgive others! Hmmm...How good are we at THAT? God's forgiveness is far greater than our own, but that doesn't remove our obligation as Christians to forgive others if we want God to forgive us. Notice how Jesus reinforces this with the words that come after the prayer itself.
The Gospel According to Matthew was composed in Greek, a common language of the time, and the verbs of Jesus' prayer are given in a tense we do not have (at least in English). This tense (aorist) meant urgency - a do it NOW feeling. This is lost in translation, but we could bear in mind that the familiar words we pray so often are a plea for immediate help. To accomplish the challenge to forgive, we are going to need that help!!!! AMEN