‘Knock, and the door will be opened for you’ (Luke 11: 9) … a front door in Bore Street, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and the week began with the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIX).
The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Paulinus (644), Bishop of York, Missionary, and Thomas Traherne (1674), Poet and Spiritual Writer.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
‘Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? ’ (Luke 11: 11) … a fish in street art on an underpass near the Great Ouse in St Neots, Cambridgeshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Luke 11: 5-13 (NRSVA):
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!’
‘If the child asks for an egg, will [you] give a scorpion?’ (Luke 11: 12) … painted eggs at Easter time in Platanias in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflection:
In this morning’s Gospel reading (Luke 11: 5-13), we continue on from yesterday’s reading (Luke 11: 1-4), with Saint Luke’s account of the Lord’s Prayer. 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.
These following verse develop the themes in the Lord’s Prayer, including the idea of God as a loving Father, meeting our daily needs, and, in a subtle way, the constant need for forgiveness.
Saint Luke’s account of the Lord’s Prayer has made me ask in the past 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 , is the basic Jewish affirmation of faith and is based on Deuteronomy 6: 7. Other basic prayers include the 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 CE.
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 CE, 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 CE 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 CE.
The rabbis recognised that not everyone in every circumstance could find time to pray the entire Amidah. Even as early as the third century CE, shortened versions were being prayed. So, is the Lord’s Prayer an early version of the Amidahthat 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, the Day of Atonement which, this year, falls tomorrow evening and on Saturday (11-12 October 2024), 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 Amidahprays: ‘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.
‘Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? ’ (Luke 11: 11) … fish in a shopfront in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
Today’s Prayers (Thursday 10 October 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is the ‘Humanitarian Corridors project in Leuven, Belgium.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update by Rebecca Breekveldt, Second Secretary, Central Committee of the Anglican Church in Belgium.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Thursday 10 October 2024) invites us to pray:
Lord, we ask for moments of reprieve for the families welcomed, and project staff, where they can take a break and take a breath amidst all their hard work and effort.
The Collect:
O God, forasmuch as without you
we are not able to please you;
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Holy and blessed God,
you have fed us with the body and blood of your Son
and filled us with your Holy Spirit:
may we honour you,
not only with our lips
but in lives dedicated to the service
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Faithful Lord,
whose steadfast love never ceases
and whose mercies never come to an end:
grant us the grace to trust you
and to receive the gifts of your love,
new every morning,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
‘If the child asks for an egg, will [you] give a scorpion?’ (Luke 11: 12) … painted eggs at Easter time in a Greek Orthodox church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
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
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