The Rev. Ann R. Lougee
July 29, 2007
Lord, teach us to pray
Luke 11:1-13

In response to his disciples' request, Jesus teaches them about prayer. We are familiar, of course, with the words of the prayer that we and countless Christians around the world repeat in nearly every worship service. But the rest of what Jesus says about prayer may confuse us.

He doesn't seem to be talking just about saying the words of a prayer, even the prayer he's just taught, but about something more radical and mysterious than that. He indicates that being persistent in prayer is important, that even if we think nothing is happening when we pray we should keep at it.

Another puzzling thing is that the desired outcome of prayer in this version in Luke's gospel is receiving the Holy Spirit, whereas the version in Matthew says what is to be received is "all good things." That makes a difference in how we hear this prayer, too, doesn't it?

I think popular attitudes toward prayer in our culture obscure much of the meaning of what Jesus is teaching here. Many people think of prayer as providing God with their wish lists. Many people think of prayer as a one-way communication, with the person praying being the only communicator. I don't think that's what Jesus has in mind as he teaches his disciples about prayer.

The late Henri Nouwen, a Dutch priest and spiritual teacher, wrote that Jesus showed what it means to pray, which is to "open yourself to the influence of the Power which has revealed itself as Love. Once touched by this Power, you are no longer swayed back and forth by the countless opinions, ideas and feelings which flow through you. You have found a center for your life...so that everything you see, hear and feel can be tested against the source..." (From With Open Hands).

So prayer, as Jesus conceived of it, was not just saying words, not even speaking from the heart, but also being open to what God says to you, as affirm when we say, "God is still speaking."

(From this point on, I am drawing heavily on the work of Neil Douglas Klotz, presented in his book Prayers of the Cosmos.)

Our first problem, trying to understand Jesus' teaching about prayer is that of being removed from the language and culture from which this teaching comes. The softness and fluidity of the Aramaic language which Jesus spoke makes words carry varieties of meanings all at the same time, for one thing. The same word may be translated, for instance, as "name," "light", "sound," or "experience."

The way we use words is much more limiting, more rigid. So when we come across a word like "earth," we expect it to mean either the planet we live on or the soil we cultivate. But in Aramaic, the word for "earth" also carried the meanings of "the natural abundance of nature," and "everything that we experience as reality." "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," could as easily be translated, "Blessed are the gentle," or "Blessed are those who have softened their rigidity."

What was originally spoken in Aramaic has also gone through the process of being translated into Greek before being translated into English. Greek thought drew sharp lines between body, mind and spirit and between means and ends, between inner quality and outer action. But in Aramaic both are always present.

So when Jesus refers to the "kingdom of heaven," this kingdom is always both within and among us. "Neighbor," is both inside and outside, too, as is the self that we are to love to the same degree as our neighbor. Unlike Greek, Aramaic views things holistically and fluidly. This is also mystical language, calling for us to embrace the wordless experience to which words point, something we have, to a large degree, lost the keys for doing.

Neil Douglas Klotz is a scholar who has spent many years delving into the idioms and layers of meanings in Aramaic, and in his book Prayers of the Cosmos, he offers some of the richness of the language possibilities that exist in the Lord's Prayer. Hearing a few of these may help us better understand what we are praying each week or help us perceive meanings that have not come to us before. Hearing some other possible translations from the Aramaic might free us to hear differently what we don't really even hear any more because of its familiarity. I'll say a phrase at a time of the language that we're used to, and then give a few of the possibilities that Klotz offers.

"Our Father who art in heaven" might also sound like "O, Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos." It still expresses the relationship of humanity to God as being an intimate relationship to a divine parent. In Aramaic the word translated "father" does not specify gender, only relationship. To use some of the more mystical-sounding possibilities, Klotz offers, "Respiration of all worlds, we hear you breathing, in and out, in silence," or "Radiant One, you shine within us, outside us – even darkness shines – when we remember."

"Hallowed be thy name," might also sound like "Your name, your sound can move us if we tune our hearts as instruments for its tone." In the first line, the divine name was spread throughout the universe, part of the underlying unity in which everything lives, but here in the second line the sacred name is made holy by being set apart. Because this setting apart occurs equally inside as well as outside of us, we might say that we create a holy place within ourselves for God's name. This inner shrine can be developed only by letting go of some of the clutter inside that keeps us too busy to be silent and receptive to the "still, small voice." So this line urges us to consider our "feeling heart," which mystics of all paths have called the inner temple, and clear a space where the divine Oneness can live inside us. This is the goal, of course, of meditation.

"Thy kingdom come" might also sound like, "Create your reign of unity now, through our hearts and hands," or "Let your wisdom rule our lives, so that we become co-creators of your reign of unity." It's not a request for supernatural intervention, but a statement of willingness to submit ourselves to ruling principles that guide our lives toward unity and that in a collective sense lead to peace and fruitfulness.

"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" might also sound like, "Help us love beyond our ideals and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures," or "Let your heart's fervent desire unite heaven and earth through our harmony," or "May your desire then act with ours." The ancient roots of the words summon forth images of a vortex of harmony and generation, of a host of stars swirling through the heavens. The idea is that in remembering our source in God, we have cleared a holy place for that realization to live, realized our role as co-creators of God's realm, and now we are ready to focus our action on the community and the well-being of the earth, taking responsibility for our actions and the way they affect our surroundings.

"Give us this day our daily bread" might also sound like, "Help us fulfill what lies within the circle of our lives: each day we ask no more, no less," or "grant what we need each day in bread and insight: subsistence for the call of growing life." This part reminds us that sometimes what we need is not the grand picture of unity and God's creation, but just the next step, food or understanding for this moment.

In the first half of the prayer we image God as The One. In the second half, we face each other and remember the divine Many. This pushes us beyond an introverted spirituality to consider our dealings with others.
Rather than each one just being concerned with our own bread, we can feed each other. We can also treasure the source of the bread by not hoarding or demanding from the earth more than we need, respecting the source of our most basic support.

"And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" could also sound like "Loose the cords of mistakes that bind us as we release the strands we hold of others' guilt," or "Lighten our load of secret debts as we relieve others of their need to repay," or "Untangle the knots within so that we can mend our hearts' simple ties to others." Forgiveness is another gift that we can give one another, an opportunity to let go of the mistakes that tie ourselves and one another in knots. The word translated "forgive" also carries the sense of "return to its original state," so it affirms that our original state is clear and unburdened, and that our ties to creation are based on mutual releasing with every breath we take. It reminds us that this releasing must be done consistently and regularly if our knotted relationships are to become whole and stable again.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" is probably the most misunderstood, most mistranslated line in the prayer. In the Aramaic sense, no one outside ourselves "leads us into temptation," least of all God. So this line might better sound like "Don't let surface things delude us, but free us from what holds us back from our true purpose," or "Free us to walk your path with joy, deceived neither by the outer nor the inner," or "Keep us from hoarding false wealth, and from the inner shame of help not given in time." Having involved ourselves in the work of justice (sharing bread) and compassion (forgiveness), we come to see our limitations and the pain and suffering that we cause ourselves and the rest of creation. The word roots point toward a sense of unripeness, of what delays or diverts us from producing good fruit. We are reminded that our ideals need not only to help us honor the past or carry us into the future but also to be in the present where help is needed now. But we are encouraged by being reminded not to forget our origins in the divine breath, not to burn out over all that needs to be done.

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen." Scholars don't agree on whether this line was original to the prayer, but, even if it wasn't, one very similar would have been used, as was traditional in Jewish prayers. This closing also perfectly summarizes the main themes of the prayer and the spiral journey that it represents. At the end, we return to the creative visioning of God, the power to accomplish these visions, and the beauty and grace of them. This power is not "power over" but power in unison with all creation. The word for "glory" calls forth the image of a song, a glorious harmony of light and sound. So we might hear this line also as "From you is born all the power and life to do, the song that beautifies – from age to age it renews," or "May your power be the ground from which all our actions grow, sealed in trust and faith."

The way Jesus taught his disciples to pray indicates that he believed prayer is not just the words we say, but what happens in us as and after we say them. Matthew Fox says that prayer, as Jesus taught it, is our radical response to life. The word "radical" comes from the same stem as the word "radish," and both refer to roots. When we pray or mediate, we deal with our roots, the mysteries of life.

The process of becoming prayerful people, Jesus seems to say, is that of developing our capacities to live and love fully, of developing our capacity to enjoy life and to share it. I invite you right now to close your eyes and just become aware of your breathing, in and out. Don't try to control it, just observe it.

I'm going to read, from Neil Douglas Klotz, one possible translation of the Lord's Prayer. As you listen, continue to be aware of your breathing, in and out:

"Oh you who breathe life in all, origin of the gleaming sound, you shine in us and around us; even the darkness glows when we remember. Help us to draw a holy breath in which we feel only you, and may your sound ring in us and purify us. May your wisdom rule our lives and make our intentions clear for the common good. May the burning wish of your heart unify heaven and earth through our harmony. Grant us daily the bread and insight that we need, that which is necessary for the call of growing life. Release the cords of the errors that bind us, as we let go of that which binds us to the faults of others. Do not let superficial things lead us astray, but instead free us from that which holds us back. From you comes the all-effective will, the living strength to act, the song that beautifies everything and which renews itself from age to age. May these testimonies be the ground out of which all of our next steps grow, sealed in trust and faith. Amen."

Now, with your eyes still closed, feel the ground of the earth supporting the ground of your being, as your whole self comes together to go forward with life. Breathe in feeling "amen" and breathe out feeling "amen." Take a few moments now to consider your next step – for this day or for your life... Again, breathe in feeling "amen" and breathe out feeling "amen." Now, when you are ready, say "amen" and open your eyes.