Every day of Lent, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Today Jesus gives us the most famous prayer in the Christian world – The Lord’s Prayer.
We say it so often that we sometimes forget its meaning and its power.
Every desire of the human heart is contained within it. We want God to be above us: “Hallowed be thy name.” We want God’s rule to be established among us: “Thy Kingdom come.” We want divine justice, an end to war, a world of peace and tranquility: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We want every one of our true needs to be met and soon: “Give us this day our daily bread.” We want to be reconciled with God and one another: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And we don’t want to fall into the same trap as our first parents, Adam and Eve: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
But there is one thing I want to focus on, and that is the first two words of the prayer: “Our Father.” Why is it that before we recite this prayer at Mass, the priest says, “At the Savior’s command and formed by diving teaching, we dare to say… Our Father.”
What is it about The Lord’s Prayer that takes so much courage that “we dare to say” it. Because we dare to call God, “Our Father.” That was the revolution that Jesus brought to the world. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us and wants what is best for us. And because God is our Father, we can pray to God as the beloved children of God.
And so, despite what others say, despite those critics who say that there is no God, and in some places of this world where Christians must fear for their lives because of what we profess to be true, we dare to say, “Our Father who art in heaven…”