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Our Father:
The First Third of the Lord's Prayer
by the Rev. Don Jennings
- Past Minister
Our Father, Which art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom Come,
Thy Will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:5 "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and
pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have
received their reward.
6 "But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who
is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think
that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him.
9 "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 "Give us this day our daily bread. [Or 'our bread for tomorrow']
12 "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 "And do not bring us to the time of trial, (or 'Lead us into temptation') but rescue us from
the evil one." [And some versions of the Bible add 'for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever.
Amen.' The King James Bible adds 'for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.']
First off I want to thank Kathy Sole and Marcia Hill for being a great part of the inspiration for this
series of lessons. Early on after I arrived here Kathy loaned me a book by Ervin Seale, an early day metaphysician,
entitled The Great Payer. A few weeks ago Marcia and I were talking about Rocco Errico, the man who
is carrying on the work of George Lamsa, who translated the Bible from Aramaic (the spoken language of Jesus) into
English. Rocco, a good friend, wrote a book entitled The Ancient Aramaic Prayer of Jesus, which Marcia
loaned me. Both of these books are about the significance of the Lord's Prayer, and while I had read them many
years ago, it was good to see these old friends again.
Setting a Snare For God
To begin with, I have made it a practice to do a metaphysical interpretation of the Lord's Prayer
every few years in the form of a series of lessons, as it is one of the most used, and most miss-understood prayers
in all of Christendom. According to Rocco, the word prayer, among other things means to set a trap. The concept is
based upon capturing a small animal by tying a string to a stick, propping a box with the stick, and them hiding, while
holding the other end of the string, be patient enough to snare the unsuspecting animal when it wandered under
the box.
So, be patient enough, Rocco says, to capture the wisdom of God by setting the trap of the quiet
mind. Another meaning for prayer is to attune ones mind to the intent of listening to God. It is like the radio station
I have talked about before: what are you listening to? Are you listening to the station of outer Gossip, fear mongering,
and prejudicing, or the inner station of KGOD?
The misuse of the "I AM" is not only breaking a commandment to never
take the Lord's name in vain, it is the catalyst for as much suffering in the world as any terrorist could be.
Rocco goes on the say that there is no word "GOD" in Aramaic. The closest is "Alaha",
which in Arabic is "Allah", and in Hebrew is "Alohim" or "Elohim". The definition of these
words is close to but not exactly 'essence, substance, or premise'. If you were to ask an easterner what they all mean,
they might reply "Allah is my breathe, my heartbeat, my life".
So prayer is not telling God what to do, or asking God to do something for us, or even trying to remind
God of something we think God needs reminding of. Remember what Jesus says about empty phrases and God knowing
what your needs are before you pray. Also, when you are told to pray in His name, the Aramaic word means "in my
way, or after this fashion", just as Jesus said when he suggested we pray after the fashion of what has become
known as the Lord's Prayer.
Let's get into the prayer structure itself. The first two words are very important. "Ou" is
inclusive. It is in no way exclusive. It is not limited to the Jews, which Jesus was, or the Christians, which Jesus was not.
It is not "MY" father. Clearly, there is much to be learned from the use of this little two letter word as the
cap-stone of the entire prayer. Also, in ancient times, people would invoke the names of the fathers of their nation,
Father Abraham, Father Isaac, etc, as if to show God that the person praying was from the right family. Jesus is saying
in these two words, God is the Father of us all, no other father is going to make any part of your prayer more effective.
Which or Who art in Heaven. This is a very misunderstood phrase that does not mean that God is up
there somewhere. It means that we find God when we are in a certain state of consciousness. Heaven is a state of
mind, and when we are not in that state of mind, or receptivity, we are not going to find God attending our prayers.
It is powerfully important that we listen to Jesus admonition concerning what we do to prepare our self for prayer.
Make peace with your enemy, forgive those who have offended, and go into your quiet space, where nothing else
matters. Then you can find the heaven you seek.
Hallowed be thy name. Not "hallow-ed", but hallowed, holy, healing, whole, set apart, specific for one
purpose. Let's look at the name of God metaphysically. God's name is the "I AM", and it behooves us to learn
that the "I am" is a holy name, set apart from the uses that blaspheme or desecrate it. The misuse of the
"I AM" is not only breaking a commandment to never take the Lord's name in vain, it is the catalyst for as
much suffering in the world as any terrorist could be. If you want to experience terrorism up close and personal, misuse
the "I AM" by attaching it to negativity in your life. If you are ready to experience a more peace-filled and
harmoniously prosperous and healthy life, speak the name of God always in holy ways. Save it, set apart, for only
hallowed experiences.
Commanding Prayer
"Thy Kingdom come". This phrase brings us two distinctly important ideas about our
relationship with God: First, we are the one who controls the way our life goes, and second, we can seek and receive
the counsel of God at any moment. First: This prayer is not a petition; it is a command, a demand upon the universe that,
like a check written and received, can be cashed upon demand, at any moment. One of the first things we learn in Unity
Sunday school is that "it is the father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." The check has been written,
and we are the bearer. "Thy Kingdom come" is the cashing of the check. It is the demand on the account of
universal law, which must and will pay in kind at the moment the demand, is made.
Some time ago I received a check from someone. I immediately put it in my briefcase and forgot about
it. It did me no good until I was reminded of it and took it to the bank! We have to ask for what we want. "I expect
and accept that the perfection of the kingdom of Spirit be with me now! (Thy Kingdom come!)" And we have to know
that the demand will always be positively responded to just like the electricity will instantly, without hesitation, fill the room
with light the moment the switch is flipped, demanding that it happen. Thy Kingdom Come! Not a question, not a hope, not
even an affirmation. A statement of fact based upon law!
"Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven)", one of the scariest phrases in this whole prayer
for some people. What is the will of God? Is it death to the wicked? And have we not all been wicked, if not only in our
hearts, at one time or another? Is it, as some people say, God's Will, that people die, or get sick, or suffer? It is no wonder
that some people wish that this phrase be stricken from the Lord's prayer! But, if we believe God is absolute Good, and
Life, and Love, as Jesus said, then it stands to reason that life could have no other intention than life, and love none other
than love. Also, this is another statement of demand on the universe. We have, in our innocence and ignorance co-created
a world filled with hatred, vindictiveness, sickness and death. These words, in this prayer, can and will change all that the
moment we understand it and use it with that understanding.
To demand that God's will be expressed on earth (in our life right now) as it is in heaven (as it was created
to be, perfect in the beginning) is to put our self in the attitude of change for the better. This should not be treated as an
idle statement, because it has very profound ramifications: we are going to change for the better, in spite of our self!
We can never have real independence until we are willing to have inner-dependence on God.
This also means that you are saying that your will (on earth) is being aligned with God's will (in heaven).
I am not speaking of your wishes being aligned with God's wishes. God wishes for nothing. I speak of the will of God and
your will as one in the same: The inborn intent that motivates you toward your specific purpose and mission in life. Jesus
is suggesting here that we remember why we are here, to BE God's will or tendency manifest.
Well, I think that's enough for today. I am sure I have offered you something to think about. Next week
I an going to talk about how Jesus tells us to treat our own prosperity and what part forgiveness plays in our lives, in the
next part of the Lord's Prayer. I suggest that you pray the Lord's Prayer every day this week as a part of your regular prayer
ritual, but listen with new ears, and see with new eyes the meaning behind one of the most powerful prayers in the world.
Before we complete our service today, I want to speak a moment about American Independence and our
own personal independence, since today is our nations celebration of independence. It is good to remember that the holiday
we are enjoying right now is not a worldwide holiday, nor is it even important to most other countries. This is a national holiday,
and as such, celebrates our nationalism, and in a way, can foster separatism if we let it.
God Bless the Whole World
Many of you have seen the bumper sticker Carolyn and I have on our pickup: "God bless the whole
world". This is our small way of reminding those with the "God bless America" bumper stickers that it behooves
us to seek blessing upon everyone, especially those we would call enemy, if we are ever going to have real, lasting peace in
the world.
As you go to your family picnics, and watch the fireworks or parades, remember every nation, people, and
person living on our planet today. Pray that each one might experience peace in their own life, in their own way, during their
lifetime. Hold the intent of peace, not where one ideology or one race or one nation succeeds in convincing others to live life like
"we" do, but where every person can have the space to find and express they life and beliefs without having to
experience conflict with another to do so.
I think this is a worthwhile prayer on Independence Day. And remember, we can never have real independence
until we are willing to have inner-dependence on God. Have a wonderful fourth!
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