Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday, 28 July 2019, is the Sixth Sunday after Trinity.
The appointed readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are in two groups.
The readings are:
Continuous readings: Hosea 1: 2-10; Psalm 85; Colossians 2: 6-15, (16-19); Luke 11: 1-13. There is a link to the continuous readings HERE.
Paired readings: Genesis 18: 20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2: 6-15, (16-19); There is a link to the paired readings HERE.
Introducing the readings:
Next Sunday’s readings offer a number of challenges and opportunities.
We are all so familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, that we often recite it by rote without noticing the significance and intention of each petition. Have you noticed this in your own prayer life?
How many people next Sunday, as the Gospel is read, are going to notice that the version of the Lord’s Prayer is not the same as the familiar text we use, based on the version in Saint Matthew’s text?
Without looking, are you aware of the differences? What is missing? Is there a shift in emphasis?
It might be worth printing out the version in Sunday’s Gospel reading, let people know why you are handing it out, ask them to use this version at the point where you normally use the Lord’s Prayer, and ask them to read it slowly, noticing the differences.
It will surprise you how little time this takes, and it is worth asking people for their reaction.
A second difficulty next Sunday is the very strong imagery and strong language in the Old Testament reading (Hosea 1: 2-10). This is not the polite vocabulary we expect to hear in church on a Sunday, and you will be very glad that this is not the Sunday you have asked the Sunday school to read or act out the first reading.
This is one of the passages that has historically contributed to anti-Semitism in the Church. But it is worth noticing the promise at the end of the reading. In addition, to counter the danger of anti-Semitism, this posting includes a study that looks at the Jewish prayer traditions that are part of the phrasing and thoughts in the Lord’s Prayer.
Hosea 1: 2-10:
The Prophet Hosea was active in the northern kingdom of Israel in the decades before it fell to the Assyrians in 721 BC, a time of warfare and virtual anarchy.
Ever since the covenant made through Moses on Mount Sinai, the relationship of the people with God was compared with being married to God. Israel is now described as a whore (prostitute) for deserting her covenantal relationship with God. The idolatry of the people who worship pagan gods is unfaithful too and described as shameful and adultery and as whoring and whoredom.
Some scholars ask whether Hosea’s marriage to a whore should be taken literally or symbolically. The names of Hosea’s wife, Gomer, and their first daughter, Diblaim, are both pagan names.
The name of their first son Jezreel is the plain between Galilee, Samaria and the Jordan, where the kings of the north lived. Jezreel was the place where Jehu killed the wicked Queen Jezebel, and installed himself as king after much bloodshed. Through Hosea, God speaks of the looming end of Jehu’s dynasty and of the northern kingdom.
The second daughter of Hosea and Gomer is given the name Lo-ruhamah, which means unloved or unpitied by her by parents, God will no longer have compassion on the northern kingdom, Israel, but will save the southern kingdom, Judah, although not by military means.
The name of their second son, Lo-ammi, means ‘not my people.’ God is to end the pact with the people. Yet, verse 10 promises that this punishment is not for ever. We hear a reminder of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be ‘as numerous as … the sand … on the seashore’ (verse 10; see Genesis 22:17), and they shall once again be recognised as the ‘Children of the living God.’
Psalm 85:
Psalm 85 is described as a ‘prayer for the restoration of God’s favour,’ a promise that concludes the reading from the Prophet Hosea. Many are familiar with verse 7 through its repetition in the versicles and responses at Morning and Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer:
Show us your mercy, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
The psalmist recalls God’s restoration of his people (‘Jacob’) and forgave their sins (verses 1-3). But things have become difficult again, and the psalmist prays that God may again show his favour to his people , restoring them to their land, ending his anger with them, reviving them so they may rejoice, showing them his love and giving them life and salvation (verses 4-7).
The psalmist then asks God to give peace to the people when they return to his worship. This is a prayer that hopes for peace, steadfast love and faithfulness. In contrast with Hosea’s description of an unfaithful people, the psalmist prays for a future in which:
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
As a sign of God’s blessings to the people, both spiritually and materially, the yield of the land will increase (verses 8-12).
Colossians 2: 6-15 (16-19):
In his letter to the Church in Colossae, Saint Paul addresses the dangers of religious syncretism and the pressures on these Christians to integrate aspects of Gnosticism, mystery religions and Judaism into their rituals and beliefs.
There are two options with this reading on Sunday: a shorter version (verses 6-15), and a fuller reading (verses 6-19). In this reading, Saint Paul discusses some of the ideas they were under pressure to accept or integrate.
He advises them to remain true to the Gospel they have received and the share a common sacrament life (verses 6-7), and not to be deceived by or captive to clever but false teaching (verses 8-13). Others in the Gnostic and mystery cults may introduce ideas about cosmic forces and angelic powers, but they are to find God in Christ (verses 9-10), for they have become part of the Body of Christ and the Church in their Baptism (verses 11-14).
He speaks of Baptism as ‘spiritual circumcision’ (verse 11), and this means we share in Christ’s suffering and death, and share in his risen glory (verse 12).
Before Baptism, we were spiritually dead because of sin (verse 13). Now we live in God’s love and forgiveness. Once we were captive (verse 8), but now we triumph over all evil and oppressive powers (verse 15).
In the second part of this reading (verse 16-19), which provides an optional ending, Saint Paul refutes specific beliefs and practices. He advises us to not to be upset about what we or others eat or drink, how and when others fast, or the holy days they observe or celebrate. The real festivals are Christ’s, and we are to take care not to separate ourselves from Christ, who is our true source of nourishment, and who holds us, the Church together.
To conclude, this passage could be read as encouraging the Church in Colossae to remain faithful as a community by listening to the teaching together (verse 6), acknowledging their common Baptism (verse 13) and by continuing to celebrate the Eucharist together – the phrase translated as ‘abounding in thanksgiving’ (verse 7) could also be interpreted as regularly celebrating the Eucharist together (περισσεύοντες ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ). For, to be the Church, to paraphrase Article 19 of the 39 Articles, is the have the pure Word of God preached and the Sacraments duly administered.
Luke 11: 1-13:
There are two versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the New Testament: in Matthew 6: 9-13; and in this reading, in Luke 11: 2-4. However, Saint Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, which we read in this Gospel passage is shorter than Saint Matthew’s more familiar version, the one we normally use in our prayer life, in our liturgy and in our Church life.
In Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Christ teaches the Lord’s Prayer within the context of the Sermon on the Mount. But in Saint Luke’s Gospel, immediately after visiting the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany, Christ finds a private place to pray. It is then that the disciples ask him to teach them ‘to pray, as John taught his disciples’ (Luke 11: 1).
The disciples are already familiar not only with the prayers of Saint John the Baptist, but also with traditional Jewish prayers in the home, in the synagogue and in the Temple in Jerusalem.
As a rabbi and a religious leader, Christ is responsible for teaching his followers how to fulfil Jewish religious commandments, including the obligation to pray at certain times and in certain forms.
Then and now, a religious community has a distinctive way of praying; ours is exemplified by the Lord’s Prayer, which is a communal rather than individual prayer, expressed in the plural and not the singular:
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 indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.
We approach God in a personal way, as Father. We then bring before him five petitions, the first two placing ourselves in God’s presence (‘hallowed be your name’ and ‘your kingdom come’), the next two bring our needs before God, both physical (‘daily bread,’ verse 3) and spiritual (forgiveness, verse 4), and the final petition has an eschatological dimension (‘the time of trial,’ verse 4).
The ‘time of trial’ is the final onslaught of evil forces, before Christ comes again, but also refers to the temptations we experience day-by-day.
So there is a temporal and an eternal dimension to these petitions, even when we pray for ourselves in the here and now.
The Lord’s Prayer in the life of the Church
Some years ago, I was invited to facilitate two interest groups at the USPG Conference in Swanwick, Derbyshire, at which I was speaking about ‘Spirituality and Mission.’
In searching for resources for mission, at one point I pointed to the traditions of prayer within Anglicanism, including the offices of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer – especially the canticles, the mission-loaded language we find in all the rites of Holy Communion, and in prayer, including public prayer, the intercession, and – of course – the Lord’s Prayer.
Sometimes we miss out on the impact of the Lord’s Prayer because we are so familiar with it. But in the public worship of the Church we often facilitate people missing out on the impact – particularly the mission impact – of the Lord’s Prayer when we privatise it.
How many of us were taught to pray the Lord’s Prayer as a private personal prayer as children, perhaps even saying it kneeling by our bedside, hands joined together, fingers pointing up?
So often, in the Liturgy, we encourage people to kneel for the Lord’s Prayer, as if this was now both the most sacred and the most personal part of the Liturgy, rather than asking them to remain standing and to continue in collective prayer.
Or, at great public events, including mission conferences, I am sorry to say, we invite everyone present to say the Lord’s Prayer in their own first language, so that it becomes a private, personal prayer, detached from and ignoring where everyone else is at each stage in the petitions.
For those of us who have English as our first language, we notice how others finish a lot later than we do – the Finns in particular, but even the Germans too. Each language has its own rhythms and cadences, so it sounds as if we are in Babel rather than praying together, collectively and in the plural.
The privatisation of the Lord’s Prayer, even on Sundays, takes away from its mission impact and from the collective thrust of each of the petitions.
The teaching is delivered not to an individual but to the disciples as the core, formative group of the Church. God is addressed not as my but our Father, and each petition that follows is in the plural: our daily bread, our forgiveness, our sins, our debts, how we forgive, and do not ‘bring us.’
When we say ‘Amen’ at the end, are we really saying ‘Amen’ to the holiness of God’s name, to the coming of Kingdom, to the needs of each being met, on a daily basis, to forgiveness, both given and received, to being put on the path of righteousness and justice, to others falling into no evil or into no harm?
As a prayer, it contains each of the five Anglican points of mission. But if we privatise it, we leave little room for its mission impact to grab hold of those who are praying, and leave little room for our own conversion, which is a continuing and daily need.
And so, let the kingdom, the power and the glory be God’s as we pray together:
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 indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.
How Jewish is the Lord’s Prayer?
As a rabbi and religious leader, Christ was responsible for teaching his followers how to fulfil Jewish religious commandments, including the obligation to pray at certain times and in certain forms.
The most important Jewish prayer, the Shema, is the basic Jewish affirmation of faith and is based on Deuteronomy 6: 7. Other basic prayers include Grace After Meals, derived from Deuteronomy 8: 10.
But the central prayer of Jewish public worship is the Amidah (‘the Standing Prayer’) or the Shemoneh Esreh, which means 18, referring to 18 petitions, although the number of petitions is now 19. Observant Jews recite the Amidah at each of the three weekday prayer services: morning, afternoon, and evening. Praying three times a day is a long-established Jewish tradition (see Daniel 6: 11, Psalm 55: 18).
By the time of Christ, daily prayer was an integral part of Jewish religious life, and the basic structure of the Amidah was well established. Its form was regularised soon after, so that the prayer had taken its present form in the early first century AD.
The schools of Hillel and Shammai both accepted as the proper form nine petitions for Rosh Ha-Shanah (New Year) and seven petitions for the Sabbath. By the first century, the Amidah was one of the most important series of petitions. By then, there were probably 12 to 14 petitions, and more were added after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 AD to reflect changes in Jewish life.
There are many discussions in the Talmud about the minimum number of petitions, but consensus was not reached until the sixth century.
The rabbis recognised that not everyone in every circumstance could find time to pray the entire Amidah. Even as early as the third century, shortened versions were being prayed. So, is the Lord’s Prayer an early version of the Amidah that Christ taught his disciples so they could fulfil their minimum obligations of prayer?
But, just how Jewish is the Lord’s Prayer?
Perhaps when the disciples are asking Jesus to teach them to pray, they are also asking him the minimum number of petitions needed to fulfil the obligation to pray.
1, ‘Father’ or ‘Our Father, who art in heaven’: The Lord’s Prayer opens with the acknowledgment of the fatherhood of God and his place in heaven. While the opening verses of the Amidah talk of God as the God of our fathers in, the fatherhood of God is a common phrase throughout Jewish liturgy.
Avinu, meaning ‘Our Father,’ is a word repeated constantly throughout the prayers that make up the Jewish services (see also Deuteronomy 32: 6; Isaiah 63: 16).
In the Amidah, the title occurs twice: ‘Cause us to return, O our Father, unto thy Torah; draw us near, O our King, unto they service …’ (fifth benediction); ‘Forgive us, O our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, O our King, for we have transgressed’ (sixth benediction). It is also found in the second benediction before the Shema: ‘O our Father, our King, for our fathers’ sake, who trusted in thee, and whom thou didst teach the statutes of life, be also gracious unto us and teach us. O our Father, ever compassionate, have mercy on us.’
The name ‘Father’ is also widely used in the liturgy of the celebrations of the new year and of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), where the phrases ‘Father of mercy’ and ‘O our Father’ occur frequently.
2, ‘Hallowed be thy name,’ or ‘may your name be sanctified’: The Hebrew word kadosh can be translated as either holy or sanctified. The third petition in the Amidah prays: ‘Thou art holy and thy name is holy and the holy praise thee daily. Blessed art thou O Lord, the holy God.’
3, ‘Your kingdom come’ or ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’: In the Amidah, the words pray: ‘Reign thou over us O Lord, thou alone in loving kindness and tender mercy and clear us in judgment. Blessed art thou O Lord the King who lovest righteousness and judgment.’
The words ‘thy will be done’ also occur in I Maccabees: ‘It is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary. But as his will in heaven may be, so he will do’ (I Maccabees 3: 59-60). The same attitude of abandonment to God’s will finds expression in the prayer Jews utter as they feel death drawing near: ‘May it be thy will to send me a perfect healing. Yet if my death be fully determined by thee, I will in love to accept it at thy hand.’
4, ‘Give us each day our daily bread’ or ‘Give us this day our daily bread’: The ninth Amidah blessing prays: ‘Bless this year unto us O Lord our God together with every kind of the produce thereof for our welfare.’ A short prayer ascribed to the rabbis prays: ‘O God, the needs of thy people are many, their knowledge slender. Give every one of thy creatures his daily bread and grant him his urgent needs.’
There is an interesting thought in the Book of Proverbs: ‘give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need,’ or, ‘Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread’ (Proverbs 30: 8).
5, ‘Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us’ or ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us’: The sixth Amidah blessing prays: ‘Forgive us, O our Father, for we have sinned, pardon us, O our King, for we have transgressed, for thou dost pardon and forgive. Blessed art thou O Lord who art gracious and dost abundantly forgive.’
It is an important Jewish concept that one cannot ask for forgiveness from God until first making amends with others I may have wronged or I have been wronged by. Before going to sleep at night, pious Jews pray, ‘Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonised me or who sinned against me.’
The majority of the rabbis taught, ‘if you forgive your neighbour, the One will forgive you; but if you do not forgive your neighbour, no one will have mercy on you’ (Midrash Tanhuma Genesi).
6, ‘And do not bring us to the time of trial’ or ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’: The seventh blessing in the Amidah is a prayer for deliverance from afflictions of all kinds. A modern version says, ‘Look with compassion on all afflicted among us; be thou our guardian and our advocate, and redeem us speedily from all evil, for in thee do we trust as our mighty Redeemer.’
7, ‘For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever’: the doxology is not included in the Lord’s Prayer in Saint Luke’s Gospel, but is added in some manuscript versions of Saint Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 6: 13). It is similar to David’s benediction (see I Chronicles 29: 10-13), which is part of the daily prayer service and an essential component of the section called Pesukei D’zimrah (‘Verses of Praise’) that comes immediately before reciting the Shema. Whether or not the doxology is included in the Lord’s Prayer, it is rooted firmly in Jewish tradition.
Verses 5-13:
In verses 5 ff, Christ tells two stories: even one who is asleep with his family responds ‘because of ... persistence’ to a neighbour in need; a parent provides for a child.
Even these people, separated from God, respond to the needs of others. How much more so will God respond to our prayers for help, through the Holy Spirit.
Luke 11: 1-13: (NRSVA):
1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2 He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 7 And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
Liturgical Resources:
Liturgical Colour: Green
The Collect:
Merciful God,
you have prepared for those who love you
such good things as pass our understanding:
Pour into our hearts such love toward you
that we, loving you above all things,
may obtain your promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Collect of the Word:
Let your merciful ears, O Lord,
be attentive to the prayers of your servants,
and by your word and Spirit
teach us how to pray
that our petitions may be pleasing before you;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
God of our pilgrimage,
you have led us to the living water.
Refresh and sustain us
as we go forward on our journey,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Suggested Hymns:
Hosea 1: 2-10:
319, Father, of heaven, whose love profound
569, Hark, my soul, it is the Lord
Psalm 85:
695, God of mercy, God of grace
539, Rejoice, O land, in God thy might
149, The Lord will come and not be slow
Genesis 18: 20-32:
619, Lord, teach us how to pray aright
8, The Lord is King! Lift up your voice
Psalm 138:
250, All hail the power of Jesus’ name
358, King of glory, King of peace
21, The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want
Colossians 2: 6-15 (16-19):
389, All who believe and are baptized
261, Christ, above all glory seated
221, Hark! the voice of love and mercy
523, Help us to help each other, Lord
102, Name of all majesty
248, We sing the praise of him who died
Luke 11: 1-13:
550, ‘Forgive our sins, as we forgive’
614, Great Shepherd of your people, hear
429, Lord Jesus Christ, you have come to us
619, Lord, teach us how to pray aright
657, O God of Bethel, by whose hand
623, Our heavenly Father, through your Son
625, Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire
596, Seek ye first the kingdom of God
509, Your kingdom come, O God
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
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