One of the strangest requests I received when I was General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council was from the NSW Greens. They were trying to remove the saying of the Lord's Prayer from the opening of NSW Parliament and wanted support on the grounds that the 'Protestant' form used, with the doxology at the end, was excluding of Catholics, as well as of other faith groups. I did not have to contact the then Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Pell, or Jewish, Muslim, or other leaders to know how ridiculous they would have found the argument. For what mattered to all of them was not so much the exact words as the setting of public life in the context of the sacred and transcendent. I was reminded of this at this time of year in more recent times in being involved in planning the annual civic Remembrance Service at St Luke's Toowoomba. Some of the older and more conservative figures would insist on the inclusion of what they called the 'traditional' English-speaking version of the Lord's Prayer whilst others would support the 'modern' form which has been used for many years in Australian churches. Do the words really matter however or is the real substance of the prayer the key?...
Differences of opinion on the wording of the Lord's Prayer certainly seem to have been established by the days of the Gospel writers, as we see in the two different formats we have in Luke and Matthew's Gospels respectively. As with his versions of the 'Beatitudes' and Jesus' body of teaching, Luke's form is both shorter and in some ways more straightforward than that of Matthew. It appears both more direct and raw. Yet the same central elements are present, which, using Luke's version (chapter 11 verse 1 following) which we read today, we might summarise under the headings of five 'P's...
Firstly, and most foundationally, Praise of God is uppermost. For it is by standing, being uplifted, and growing, in the presence of God which is at the heart of Jesus' prayer. This, secondly, then goes hand in hand with Proclamation. For, happily, in many translations Praise and Proclamation are united together in a single verse: hallowing God's name and praying that the Kingdom may come are one, much as Jesus' linkage of loving God and loving one's neighbour is at the centre of true faith.
The final three 'P's flow out of this essential living in the presence of God through Praise and Proclamation. For, thirdly, we are invited to trust and wait on God's Providence. living by waiting humbly on God's provision. Indeed, as some translations have it, we are simply to pray 'for the bread sufficient for the day', living by faith in the grace of God. Similarly, fourthly, such living in the presence of God, then calls us into Penitence. This, again, is not an unearthly forgiveness, but a real living into and expression of the mercy of God in particular circumstances. For, especially in Luke, who speaks of debts and indebtedness, we are reminded of parables such as that of the man who owes much in debts but then stings others for very little. Hallowing God's name and seeking the Kingdom are again down-to-earth realities, albeit ones which make little sense outside of life in God. Thus, fifthly, and finally, we are encouraged to pray for Protection, as the trials of this world are very real and unbearable without the love and power and of God's grace.
Surely these 5 Ps (Praise, Proclamation, Providence, Penitence, and Protection) are thus the key things about the Lord's Prayer, not the words themselves. After all, if it were the words that were the crucial element, we should really be using Aramaic or at least Greek, like the first followers of Christ. Indeed, for me, the most beautiful times of saying the Lords Prayer have been ecumenical occasions when we have been encouraged to use whatever words, in whatever language, that is most comfortable to us. Doing so is good and listening to others as we do so is even better. For in living that way in the presence of God together, we, and the Lord's Prayer, however it is recited, are signs of the new Pentecost.
Firstly, and most foundationally, Praise of God is uppermost. For it is by standing, being uplifted, and growing, in the presence of God which is at the heart of Jesus' prayer. This, secondly, then goes hand in hand with Proclamation. For, happily, in many translations Praise and Proclamation are united together in a single verse: hallowing God's name and praying that the Kingdom may come are one, much as Jesus' linkage of loving God and loving one's neighbour is at the centre of true faith.
The final three 'P's flow out of this essential living in the presence of God through Praise and Proclamation. For, thirdly, we are invited to trust and wait on God's Providence. living by waiting humbly on God's provision. Indeed, as some translations have it, we are simply to pray 'for the bread sufficient for the day', living by faith in the grace of God. Similarly, fourthly, such living in the presence of God, then calls us into Penitence. This, again, is not an unearthly forgiveness, but a real living into and expression of the mercy of God in particular circumstances. For, especially in Luke, who speaks of debts and indebtedness, we are reminded of parables such as that of the man who owes much in debts but then stings others for very little. Hallowing God's name and seeking the Kingdom are again down-to-earth realities, albeit ones which make little sense outside of life in God. Thus, fifthly, and finally, we are encouraged to pray for Protection, as the trials of this world are very real and unbearable without the love and power and of God's grace.
Surely these 5 Ps (Praise, Proclamation, Providence, Penitence, and Protection) are thus the key things about the Lord's Prayer, not the words themselves. After all, if it were the words that were the crucial element, we should really be using Aramaic or at least Greek, like the first followers of Christ. Indeed, for me, the most beautiful times of saying the Lords Prayer have been ecumenical occasions when we have been encouraged to use whatever words, in whatever language, that is most comfortable to us. Doing so is good and listening to others as we do so is even better. For in living that way in the presence of God together, we, and the Lord's Prayer, however it is recited, are signs of the new Pentecost.
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