“The Most Radical Prayer Ever, Part 2

Last week I shared with you the importance of the pronoun “our” in the first part of the Lord’s Prayer. As we name our God and God’s intention in these first few verses, “Our” father, not my father, our God, not your God there and my God here, but collectively “our” teaches us that we do not stand alone, but rather we stand together. We are all children of the same divine parent, we are all one humanity. Now once the character and greatness of God is named in these beginning verses, we move into part two of the Lord’s Prayer. This is the part where we make a petition, where we ask God for something. And that something is how we might be a part of God and God’s intentions. Jesus is teaching us how we, all of humanity, may be at one with God.

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.

What is particularly important to me in these verses is that there are nine pronouns, and every pronoun is plural. Jesus teaches to pray as a community. Give usour daily bread, NOT give me my daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, not forgive me my trespasses. Lead us, not lead me, deliver us, not deliver me.

Jesus teaches that it is not all about me!!! On the contrary, there is no me in the most popular prayer in all the world. Jesus is teaching us to not pray for ourselves as individuals in this prayer. He is teaching us to pray for all humanity, collectively.

So let’s begin with the petition: “give us this day OUR daily bread.” To be sure, this is a very practical request. Having daily bread is a matter of survival. But we, you and I, live in a culture of abundance and most of us, if not all of us, in this room have more than we need this day to fill our bellies. So what goes through our minds each Sunday as we lift up these words “Give us this day our daily bread?” Many of us, myself included, have re-interpreted this line to refer to Christ. Give us Christ this day. It is a worthy translation but probably not what Jesus meant. He was speaking to an audience that knew hunger. They had to beg and were reliant on the landowners and the wealthy to have enough food.

Have you ever heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Maslow created a theory that can be visualized in a pyramid.

  • The first and most basic need is the physiological need. That includes food, water, sleep, shelter and those things we need to keep alive.
  • The second need is that of safety, keeping our homes and families safe, making sure our resources and health are secure and cared for.
  • The third need is that of love and belonging. It is only after our basic needs are met and our lifestyle secure that we are free to seek love and friendship, finding a place to belong.
  • The fourth level of need is that of respect and esteem.
  • And the final level of need is self-actualization. This includes an ability and luxury of creating, problem solving, developing a morality that is free from prejudice. Self-actualization, according to Maslow is the ultimate desire, need and goal of every human being.

I have no doubt that as Jesus taught us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread” he was referring to that first level of need that Maslow refers to. We are to respond literally to the hunger and thirst in the world. The most recent response we are called to is to get food and water to Puerto Rico, whatever the cost.

I believe many of us turn this very simple prayer request into something more theological because it is too awkward for people of abundance to pray for something we have more of than we need. But think about it, if everyone had this most basic need satisfied, how much closer would we be in having thy Kingdom come?

These petitions of having bread, being forgiven, leading us from temptation and evil will all result in the manifestation of the Kingdom, the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.

I want to go back to the importance of the pronoun our. Our God, Our bread. Not my God, or my bread. There is no that’s mine and here’s yours. Mine and yours implies separation. But we are not separate from one another; we are one family with one divine parent, providing for all of humanity. So what’s the problem with us praying for “our daily bread?” The problem is this: if we truly mean “give us this day OUR daily bread” we are called to share with those who have not been given food today. It means we are called to stop, look around us, become aware of our surplus and freely share that surplus with another.

Now I mentioned last week that this is a dangerous prayer, a radical prayer. Because if we mean what we pray, our lives as we know it will change dramatically. Think about it. First, we acknowledge that it is God’s kingdom and God’s will that is our ultimate purpose in life. That alone requires us to let go of those earthly values like fame and fortune that do not glorify God. But then Jesus has us take another huge step. We are to ask God to provide for all humanity. Well if we really truly mean what we are praying for, then it will mean that you and I will have to share our resources. I don’t know about you, but that makes me squirm a bit. How much more of my stuff, my money, my time am I supposed to share? Haven’t I shared enough?

The truth is, most of us, not all, but most of us have enough bread in our cupboards to satisfy us quite nicely. And so the question is are we hoarding at the expense of another? We can look at that question locally or globally, but either way we look at it, there are some who have bread and some who do not.

The truth of the matter is that God does provide. God does give humanity our daily bread. Abundance, not scarcity, best describes the world's food supply. God provides in miraculous ways. In fact, enough wheat, rice and other grains are produced to provide every human being in this world with 3,500 calories a day. That doesn't even count other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, fruits, meats and fish. So why do we accept the fact that every 3.5 seconds someone in this world dies of starvation? People in all corners of the world are screaming “Give us this day our daily bread!” While most of us are deaf to the cries and conveniently re-interpret this verse in the Lord’s Prayer in a way that does not challenge our lifestyle. But Jesus does challenge us and I don’t know about you, but sometimes I prefer to put my hands over my ears and go La lala so that I don’t have to be held accountable for not heeding the call.

In this short time I can only crudely address “forgive us our trespasses as we have forgiven those who have trespassed against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Just as in give us this day our daily bread, I want to point to the most profound part of this prayer. It’s all in the plural pronoun.

Because I need to be forgiven, we all need to be forgiven. Because you are lead into temptation, we are all lead into temptation. Because she needs to be saved from evil, we all need to be saved from evil. There is no singular pronoun in this prayer. There is no I, me, or mine. There is no his or hers. When Jesus teaches us to “pray this way” he is teaching us to pray in community, for one humanity, for one will, to one God.

Please pray with me: God of abundance, God of blessings, God of all humanity, free us from anxiety and fear that we will not have enough. Lead us to a place of fearless living where we will share all we have trusting that you will provide again tomorrow. Help us hear and say this prayer that your son has taught us as disciples truly seeking your will. Give us strength to take seriously this dangerous prayer. In your son Jesus’ name we pray. Amen