God’s Living Word Today - Thursday, June 18, 2020

God’s Living Word Today - Thursday, June 18, 2020

[Sir 48:1-14 and Matt 6:7-15, 44]
This is how you are to pray: 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, they 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 others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." [Matthew]

The English translation of the Greek text cannot capture the urgency of Jesus' prayer because we lack a verb tense that Greek has, called "aorist."  This carries with it the idea of "right now" and not pie in the sky, by and by.  We can get lost in the familiarity of Jesus' prayer and ignore the actual words and petitions which place us in complete dependence on God's providence and mercy.  Pope Francis recently caused a stir because he called attention to the line "and lead us not into temptation" and made it clear that God does not lead anyone into temptation.  The petition is a prayer for protection and guidance and not to ask God to avoid doing something! 

The petition for forgiveness is reinforced by the words that follow the prayer.  If we expect forgiveness of our sins by God, we must also forgive our neighbor their transgressions against us.  This should remind us that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is just the beginning of the process.  We receive God's forgiveness there, but it requires a further action on our part - that we forgive others!  

We pray the words Jesus has given us thousands of times, but that repetition can numb us to the strength of Jesus' words which we make our own.  It must not be just one prayer among thousands. 

Father Dennis