CALL HIM "FATHER"

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (Mt 6:7-15)

Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”. This is the word of the Lord.    (Listen here)

Today’s gospel selection presents us with Matthew’s version of the Our Father, the prayer Jesus taught his disciples at the beginning of his ministry, which we pray so frequently.

What prompted Jesus to teach his disciples this prayer? In Luke’s gospel, it is the disciples who asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. They saw Jesus praying, and they wanted to pray like he did, and perhaps, even so that they could be identified as his disciples.

Matthew, tells us that Jesus was prompted by the crowds that were coming to him from all over the place. “When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; he sat down, his disciples came to him” and he began to teach them.

I find it interesting that Luke tells us that the disciples saw Jesus praying and they asked him to teach them how to pray. They wanted to know how Jesus prayed, how he related to God. I imagine him telling them: ”I call him Father. Call him Father, you too!” So, it is not really a prayer he wanted to teach them, but a relationship, with God and with all human beings and the rest of creation. It does not really matter if we use different words in prayer, as long as we maintain our relationship with God as Father and with the other humans as brothers and sisters. Paul told us: “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” (Gal 4:6). This is one reason why Luke’s version differs from Matthew’s.

In Matthew it is Jesus who sees the crowd coming to him. Surely he saw that they were like sheep without a shepherd and he started to teach them. Not just a prayer but a relationship with God. Matthew tells us that when Jesus saw the crowd he went up on the mountain. Let us not try to locate it on a map. He does not give us a name, for it is not a geographical mountain. It is the knowledge, the wisdom and the love with which he nurtured his relationship with God, his father, and with us humans and with all his creation. It is from the hights of his personal experience that Jesus preached to the crowds and to his disciples.

Among other things Jesus was telling them not to do things “before men in order to be seen by them” for their praise and their reward is too shallow and too short-lived. Whatever you do, do it for God, he tells us, and he who is our Father will reward us yet during our lifetime on earth, and for life everlasting. In John’s gospel Jesus tells us: “I came that you may have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10,10).

This comes to teach us that we can only enjoy life to the full if we sanctify his name; if we do his will, not as slaves but as beloved sons and daughters who want to be co-workers with him; if we ask him and accept our daily bread, which is not only material food; if we forgive others and seek and accept forgiveness; if we ask him to protect us during our difficult moments in life, and to deliver us from the evil one, our adversary who is always looking for someone to devour (Cfr 1 Pt 5, 8-9).

A very important thing Jesus tells us: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”. So we do not need to say many words in our prayers, as if we have to inform God about our needs. He knows them more than we do. We pray with our mind and heart, using words if we need them, so that we become aware that we have a Father who loves us truly and totally; that we can count on his help and support. By our praying, we open minds and hearts to receive and to accept what he promised to give us. Like our good human parents, he gives us more than we ask for, and frequently he gives us things without our asking and without our knowledge.

So let us love God with all we have, and love our brothers and sisters as he loves us. Then we can enjoy life as much as we want to, for St Augustine tells us: “Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”