Gospel

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.”

Reflection

What strikes me about this very simple prayer is how concise and precise it is.

What God wants us to be doing is establishing his kingdom. We do that by opening ourselves to God's presence and sharing that with one another. He feeds us and nourishes us with his presence, His Holy Spirit dwelling within us. And over and over, he will forgive us our sins and not hold them against us, and prays that we will do the same for each other.

And in the last line, Do not subject us to the final test. Many read that as a way of saying, Please God, don't tempt us’. Yet the true definition is not, don't lead us into temptation, but let us not fall into temptation. That's a different meaning, an important difference, because nothing is clearer than God is on our side, helping us, working with us, being patient with us as we build the kingdom.

Closing Prayer

Father, it's easy to see in this particular passage how words are not necessary in terms of having to bring people to an awareness of something essential. It doesn't take many words. It takes clarity. It takes simplicity. It takes a simple way of understanding the work. It isn't difficult to understand if you know, it's simply about a God who gives us everything we need if we simply open ourselves to it and receive it, help us to be receptive of all your gifts. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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