Scripture reflection for June 19, 2008... the Lord's Prayer

Scripture for Thursday of 11th week in ordinary time. Sirach 48:1-14.
Psalm 97:1-7. Matthew 6:7-15. Lectionary # 368:
We are to enjoy today's Gospel for it is Jesus teaching us how to
pray. He prefaces this prayer with the remark that God, our Father knows
what you need before you ask him. So this Lord's Prayer is the greatest
for the Christian Churches and its presence in the Eucharistic celebration
shows us how intimate our relationship with God is through this daily bread
that is given to us. The prayer itself is bread for our daily journey of
life's experiences. Jesus who is thoroughly Jewish resonates with the 18
Benedictions and the Qaddish of today's synagogue liturgy. We recite it
with attention, reverence, and devotion for it is as sacred as the Shema
that is also said several times during the day by the devout Jew. What
this beautiful prayer is for Judaism , the Our Father is for Christians.
In this prayer of Jesus there are six petitions. The first three are
addressed to God, the second triad involve us. We honor God by asking that
his will be done on earth just as it is in heaven. "He (Jesus) explains
that the kingdom means the will of God on earth, and he completes the last
petition with a positive request for salvation." (Viviano, New Jerome
Biblical Commentary, p.645).
The second set of petitions are also eschatological, that is they
look to the ideal experience of Tikkun Olam where God's will is being lived
out in peace and justice among all peoples. We all look forward to such a
time of the rule or reign of God. God's will is for peace and justice and
it is up to us to help make this happen here. ( Romans 14:17). We need
daily bread for this task both material and spiritual bread; we need to
forgive and be forgiven, and finally we need to be turned toward God by
avoiding the trial and ultimate lie of the Evil One (the Devil).
This prayer like the Shema should lead us to a total dedication to
God and a confrontation with the wiles and lures of the world, the flesh,
and the devil. Our frequent praying of the Lord's Prayer will help us to
be aware of our call to be perfect and to be merciful just as our Heavenly
Father is(Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:36). "The Our Father is the basis for all
patristic treatises on prayer. Thus, prayer is not something difficult
since everyone can say this prayer. Tertullian (died around 220 A.D.) calls
it the summary of the whole Gosple." (New Jerome Biblical Commentary,
p.645). Amen.