Fr Matthew Reese

“Lord, teach us to pray.”
—Luke 11: 1

Dear Friends in Christ,

A few weeks ago in the Wednesday night Mosaic class, we were scheduled to talk about the Prayers of the People. But almost immediately our conversation veered off into different, and much richer, territory.

We started with the Catechism’s section on Prayer and Worship (BCP 856-857), talking about the nature of prayer and its many different shades and uses—adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, petition.

But as one of our number pointed out, most of our personal prayers blur these boundaries. How many of us, as we ask God for strength or comfort or guidance, are thinking precisely about the form of our address to God?

Quickly, our conversation turned to the ultimate archetype of Christian prayer: the Lord’s Prayer or “Our Father.”

This morning’s lesson from Luke 11 (along with the parallel passage in Matthew 6:9–13) is the scene in which Jesus teaches this prayer to his disciples. Matthew’s version of the prayer is the one we know by heart, and Luke’s has some intriguing differences.

Here is Luke’s version:

“Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.”

Notice what’s missing? “Who art in heaven”; “Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven”; “But deliver us from evil.”

Notice what’s different? The more direct “Father,” rather than “Our Father.” “Give us each day” (Luke) versus “Give us this day” (Matthew). And most intriguingly, “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us” (Luke) versus “And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew).

(I’m quoting the Revised Standard Version here—the translation the Prayerbook uses—and you’ll note that “trespass(es)” is a somewhat archaic or inaccurate translation.)

We could spend a whole course exegeting the Lord’s Prayer. (We probably should!)

But for now, I’d just like to leave you with an invitation. For just a day or two, try praying Luke’s Lord’s Prayer.

Does it bring out some new subtleties to you? Does it answer a question or pose a new one? Does it bring you closer to God, perhaps in an unexpected way?

Maybe it will help us come to the version we have by heart with fresh eyes. Lord, teach us to pray.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Matthew