I gave a homily recently on the Our Father prayer that Jesus taught to his disciples. I wanted to expand on that homily for an ATW reflection, as it is an important concept for understanding our faith. So, here goes…
Back in 1991 my father came to Saipan to visit. It was his first trip out here and I wanted to show off a bit. I took him to the Hyatt for Sunday brunch and then afterward took his picture sitting in the little gazebo on the pond between the hotel and the beach.
A few Sundays ago I was at the Hyatt for brunch and went out to the gazebo and took a selfie of me sitting in the same spot as the picture of my dad. It was a little spooky, as I am the same age now that my dad was when he visited back in 1991. I think I look a little younger than he did at the same age but the similarities are striking.
While I’ve known a fair number of good people over the years, even a few that I would nominate as saints, I don’t think there is anyone that I have admired more than my dad. While he wasn’t a deacon, his example taught me what it means to be a deacon and to live a life of service. When I was a young child he would go to an orphanage Friday evenings to show cartoons to the kids and treat them with ice cream. Occasionally he would take me along. When I was a teenager he served on the Human Relations Commission for the city and was active in trying to bring peace to the city after a series of race riots. He was part of a diocesan prayer group that had Eucharistic Adoration throughout the night once a month. He didn’t talk about his faith or justice or compassion very much but he lived them.
I speak of my dad because in today’s Gospel reading Jesus talks about his dad. The reading begins with Jesus teaching the disciples to pray. How does he pray? The first word of prayer that he tells us to say is “Father”. This is striking because for first century Palestinian Jews, God’s name was so sacred that it couldn’t be written or said. Yet, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray, calling the all-powerful, creator of the universe as “Father”.
The word is actually “Abba”. While it is often translated as “Father” the word is actually closer to saying “daddy”. It is a word that is intimate and loving. Imagine a small child lifting his or her arms up and saying “daddy” in the way a small child asks to be carried. That is how Jesus told us we should pray. That is the nature of our relationship with God, according to Jesus.
He goes on to explain that a loving father is compassionate toward his children. He doesn’t delight in harming the children. He doesn’t give a child a snake or scorpion when the child asks for food. God is the most compassionate of fathers, who only wants what is best for us.
There are times when It doesn’t feel like we are being cradled in the arms of a loving and compassionate father. Somehow our lives get turned upside down. It can be illness, job loss, the breakup of a marriage or an important relationship. Whatever the cause, the result is that we feel devastated.
Jesus acknowledges this feeling of desolation and encourages us to cry out, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We know that God only wants the best for us, so we ask God to do what is necessary to fulfill his desires for our well-being. Jesus reminds us that God listens and responds to our cry for help, after all God is our Father. God is our “daddy”.
The rest of the prayer is a reminder that we are not alone on this planet but that we have brothers and sisters for whom we should care and whose well-being has a big impact on our well-being. Just as God is compassionate, so we should be compassionate. Just as God forgives us, we should forgive others. A Christian should unite people, not divide them. A Christian should not condemn someone for falling short of the Christian ideal but guide and encourage them to do better in the future. A Christian is not someone who judges other people and finds them unworthy.
We are made in the image and likeness of God. We are made in the image and likeness of compassion. If God is compassionate toward all of his children, then each of us is called to be compassionate toward all of our brothers and sisters. When we see people suffering, we strive to relieve their suffering. When we see people oppressed, we strive to see justice done for them. This is the message of the prayer that Jesus teaches us. We are the disciples and children of a compassionate God.