The Gospel according to Matthew (6:7-15)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
“If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
Reflection:
On this first Tuesday of Lent, the Gospel is always the one we hear today – where Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray, calling the Creator God “Our Father”. Now, of course Jesus could absolutely address the Father that way (He was, after all, the Son of God). But, what does it mean that we can call Him our own Father, too? It’s even more intimate, actually, as in another place in the Gospels, Jesus addresses God by an even more special name, “Abba”, which we would render as “Daddy”. How is it that we can call God that even more intimate name?
I like to think of it this way – this past Sunday, I presided at a funeral service at Rose Hills Memorial Park, in place of my brother, Deacon Ray. I was reminded on this beautiful Sunday, with a fairly large group in attendance to remember the person for whom the service was for (his name is Phil), that one of the things that is a strong sign of hope for us who follow Jesus is that we *do* have the privilege of calling the Eternal Creator our “Abba”. It speaks to the relationship that God longs to have with each of us, His children. He wants us to see Him as a loving Father, who only wants the best for His children.
And, how do we seek the “best”? We’re doing it now, this Lenten season. We seek the “best” by seeing this time between now and Easter as a time to try to love better like God does, and we see that demonstrated by His Son, Jesus. The “Our Father” is a pattern of prayer, but the motivation has to come from within each one of us to bring each line to reality in our own lives. If we do that, we *will* see God as “Abba” one day in heaven, yes, but we are able to see Him that way every day, even today! And “Abba” is watching over us, not to see us doing wrong, but to encourage us when we do right (and of course, to call us gently back to Himself when we do stray).
Like an earthly father, God tries to teach us and lead us on the path we need to follow, but ultimately, the choices we make to stay on that path are ours, and we can choose to do other than what God desires for us. But, God never abandons us, no matter how many times we may turn away. He longs for us to turn back to Him, like the familiar Lenten hymn, “Hosea”, says, and to begin “living deeply, our new life.” May that day of “beginning” be today for all of us!
Action for the Day:
I know we all know the words to the “Our Father” – it is, after all, one of the first prayers we likely learned! Today, though, offer those words to our “Abba”, that we see Him today in the faces of all whom we meet, and may we do our best to love our brothers and sisters with that love, through our actions.
Link to the DEACON5 website: https://deacon5.com/
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