2 Corinthians 11:1-11
Matthew 6:7-15
In today’s gospel, Jesus offers us the pattern of prayer. Sometimes I ask myself why did Jesus teach us to pray in precisely this way? Perhaps, it is because this prayer offers the most truthful account of who we are and how we should live. In our Lord’s pattern of prayer, we experience a God who surpasses us, a God to whom we are bound and accountable; but a God who as Father also draws near, watches over us, endlessly cares for us, and seeks our good. This God who is holy is perfectly good, perfectly just, and perfectly loving, and thus deserves our adoration and praise.
In our Lord’s prayer, we recognize the presence of God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is the community where love, goodness, justice, and peace abound. It is the exultant joy that comes when every person’s dignity is affirmed and when every creature flourishes. Heaven is the eternal bliss that results when God’s will is flawlessly followed and points the way for what we should strive for in our world now.
In the following part of the Lord’s prayer which contains our intention, Many today pray for food, shelter, clothing, and safety. Others pray also for hope, healing, and restoration while sadly, for countless others their “daily bread” will be the courage needed to endure suffering, tragedy, and seemingly inconsolable loss. Nonetheless, God wants to satisfy the deepest hunger in our lives.
In all, we live only by the forgiveness and mercy of God and, in gratitude, are to share that same mercy and forgiveness with others. Forgiveness is always a path to life because it is what makes us most like God who is merciful and loving toward us,
Fr Joseph Osho