If there was one thing you could do every day that, when done with a loving heart, would promise everlasting happiness, would you do it? What if it only took, say, 5 minutes a day? Would you do it? Would you at least want to check it out? Probably???? Maybe??? Yes!!! Well, this one thing is found in today’s Gospel reading – Matthew 6:7-15
The one thing we can be assured of is that humanity as a whole desires happiness. A quick look around the word and we, rather quickly, become aware of the fact that collectively speaking humanity participates in some pretty odd behavior in an attempt to find real happiness. Many of us go to great lengths to achieve real happiness without ever finding it. Yes, with all the best intentions, we often fall short of reaching our dreams no matter how hard we try.
Perhaps we are seeking happiness of the world. Happiness of the world will promise to never deliver the fullness our hearts yearn for. Turning our heart towards Christ, seeking what he desires for us is the only way we will experience the internal joy that is our birthright as sons and daughters of God. However, sometimes it’s hard to find our way towards him – yes, it’s tough here on planet earth! Remember my friends, there is a thief among us and he seeks to kill and destroy our joy and happiness. This thief does everything he can to divert us from our path towards everlasting joy.
Yet, Jesus Christ gave us the “formula” for attaining what our heart cries out for in The Lord’s Prayer. Remember, this is the prayer that Jesus, God himself, gave to us – his beloved children. They are the wise words of our most loving Father, a father that desires our happiness and delights in us. These are words he gave to all of humanity. Maybe our familiarity with the words has caused it’s power and beauty to elude us. However, let’s reclaim the many gifts within it together.
The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that never fails, and it is a prayer I often discuss during my speaking engagements on forgiveness and happiness. Given this, I thought I would break it down for you in much the same manner I do so for those engagements.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven
So simple, so straight forward. Our God is not some father in a far off place where we could never reach him – he is available to us here on earth right now. Yes, our loving Father, with all his might, power and glory is waiting for us to call him. He is listening to us. Jesus told us to call on him directly, knowing that our Father would hear our calls from his heavenly home. This beacons us to remember our true home, our eternal home is where our Father lives – in heaven.
Hallowed be thy name
We honor our Father by proclaiming his name is holy. Additionally, we acknowledge our subservient nature in this relationship. By giving such honor we free ourselves to experience the fullness of fatherly love available to us as his child. After all, when we honor someone their words are like music to our ears and we more easily receive these words into our hearts. With such deference, we become free to more fully receive God’s loving protection, guidance and love.
Thy Kingdom come
Can you imagine what this will look like? Remember, our words and our thoughts have power (see my reflection from last week – 6/10/15). What better proclamation could we ever make! Let’s all of us proclaim “Thy Kingdom come” together my friends. Yes, his Kingdom is coming and I pray that we will all be a part of this eternal happiness and joy.
Thy will be done
Keeping in mind that we live on earth where the evil one lurks around stealing, killing and destroying we need to call upon God for his aid. However, remember, God desires to work through you and I. His hands help through our hands, his arms hug through our arms, his mind creates through our minds and his heart loves through our hearts. My dear friends – our greatest happiness and joy will be found when we allow God to express through us. After all, he is the source of all goodness and he desires to share this goodness with us, his children. As we surrender to his will, we become filled with his joy and his happiness will overflow through us.
On earth as it is in heaven
His will can be done here, and earth can be like heaven. Just look at the miracles that have occurred throughout time as a result of his children calling upon him. The works of our great saints have changed the course of history and a bit of heaven has been expressed over and over as a result of the faith of God’s children. The founding of religious orders, the stigmata experienced by some faithful (St. Francis of Assisi, Padre Pio and many more), the healing miracles that defy explanation – the list goes on and on. What is important to remember is that we have power available to us that can transform earth into a place of heavenly beauty and all we need to do is seek it. All seekers will find…
Give us our daily bread
Only the bread of heaven provides true food, everlasting food. When we ask our heavenly Father for daily bread we are asking to be nourished with food that will bring us into eternal union with himself. In this union we will experience all the real happiness and joy our hearts yearn for. Just as a human parent desires to nourish their child with earthly food so that their physical body can sustain life, our heavenly Father desires to nourish us with heavenly bread so that we can experience eternity living in heaven with him.
And forgive us our trespasses
Fully acknowledging our sinful nature we come before God, asking for his forgiveness so that we can be free of the bondage sin creates. While the evil one seeks to destroy us with sin, our heavenly Father has the power to trump all! Given the fact Jesus told us to seek his forgiveness in this prayer, we know it is God’s desire that we do so. How blessed are we as Catholics to have the Sacrament of Reconciliation!!!
It is not that God needs for us to seek forgiveness for himself, rather, he knows the power forgiveness offers us and the freedom that follows. His father’s heart desires that we, his beloved children, have this freedom. What parent would want their child to carry around the guilt of sin when they have the power to not only absolve it, but the power to turn it around so their child can experience even greater joy?
We gain priceless wisdom through our life’s trials and they can indeed become some of our greatest blessings if we but only allow God into the very center of the pain and the sin found there. Yes, it is often through our sin and the subsequent forgiveness offered by God, that we experience our greatest joy. Seeking forgiveness is an act of humility and there is great power in humility.
As we forgive those who trespass against us
Interesting – Jesus told us to ask for forgiveness in this prayer before he mentioned our forgiving the others who trespass against us. Have you ever wondered why? Perhaps it is because once we seek forgiveness and experience the humility that comes with such seeking, we are better able to forgive another? We, after acknowledging our sin, have walked a bit in their sinful shoes. Looking at our sinful nature square in the eye and surrendering to humility will help us when we are called to forgive another.
Also, note that Jesus did not say that we will be forgiven in direct measure to the level of forgiveness we extend to others. If this was the case then we would all be in big trouble because, generally speaking, we are not the most forgiving beings. How could a loving father limit such a beautiful gift as forgiveness to our ability to forgive, when knowing that his forgiveness will always be greater? He couldn’t! He simply told us to seek forgiveness and offer forgiveness. God always gives more, he always forgives more and he always loves more than we ever could. Remember, he is the author of all that is good! Oh, if we Christians would but only follow the teachings of our master then all the world would be running to our churches.
And lead us not into temptation
So how could our heavenly Father ever lead us into temptation? Doesn’t he only lead us towards himself which is all good? Why do we need to ask him to lead us “not into temptation”? Isn’t it the evil one who seeks to lead us into temptation and the subsequent sin that often follows? So why did Jesus put this line in here? Perhaps this line is more of a statement – proclaiming that God doesn’t lead us into temptation because this in an impossibility for him. That’s one thought.
However, I find it important to note that Jesus put this line in after the lines about forgiveness. Once we enter into forgiveness, forgiveness for our sins and our forgiveness of others, we then proclaim that we will not be led into temptation. A forgiving, loving heart will find it easier to seek God and avoid temptation. With this thought in mind we see this line as a gift. After forgiveness we are not led into temptation, rather, we are led towards our heavenly Father.
But deliver us from evil
Can we have an AMEN here!!! We need to ask over and over to be delivered from the evil one who seeks to steal our birthright! Don’t let him steal from you the gifts God wants so deeply to lavish on you. It is God who can deliver us from evil – all we need to do is ask. However, there are a few “suggestions” Jesus gave us in The Lord’s Prayer before we ask for such deliverance. Meditating on the first part of The Lord’s Prayer will, undoubtedly, loosen the grip evil has on God’s children… once the evil one’s grip is broken we will be delivered from evil and everlasting happiness is a guaranteed!
Jesus – I Love You!!!!
