Contemplation #18

Asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray, Jesus proceeded to give them the Lord’s Prayer. His prayer is an affirmation of truth.  Truth about ourselves, our relationship to God, and our power and potential in the physical world.

Our Father

Jesus’ use of the words “Our Father” is certainly not meant to conjure up an image of an old man with a long gray beard! He is using the word “Father” to refer to a personal divine parent, who possesses the unconditional loving qualities of both mother and father.

Picture, for a moment, a mother who loves her child unconditionally. Now think of a father who also loves unconditionally. Combine these two into a divine parent and we have “Our Father.”

When you think of a mother and father, who loves unconditionally, what attributes come to mind? Wouldn’t such parents nurture and care for us? Would they not provide for our every need? Would they not guide, teach, affirm and comfort?  And would they not seek to create with us, play with us, engage with us?! Would they not heal us and care for us when were sick, comfort us when we suffer, strengthen and support us when were frightened and alone? All of these qualities are inherent in Jesus’s words, “Our Father.”

Who art in heaven

With these words, Jesus is affirming that our spiritual father/mother both transcends creation and at the same time is always present within creation. Our father who art in heaven is:

• Omniscient-all-knowing and all wise.
• Omnipotent-the ultimate authority.
• Omnipresent- within and all around us in every moment.

Our spiritual parent, “our father/mother” is all wise, always present, of ultimate authority, and reigns forever with love, compassion, kindness, and generosity. There is nothing our God does not long to share with us when we devote ourselves to him.

This is why Jesus said to his disciples,

“To know God, you must worship him in spirit.”

(John 4:23)

In the Kabbalah, it is written:

“The greatest impediment to the human spirit is the tendency to fixate our concept of God in a particular form. There is nothing that is not pervaded by the power of divinity.”

Our God is omnipresent; always available to strengthen and provide, comfort, teach, guide, nurture, heal, play, create, and inspire.

Hallowed Be Thy Name

In Aramaic, hallowed means to set apart, and in this case for the purpose of adoration and reverence. Our God is formless and omnipresent. Therefore, to hallow his name is to create a space within us which is sacred and pure, and which occupies the center of our life.

Physically, this space is the inner Cathedral of the heart; our emotional center. Our hearts are the processing center for all emotions and literally the power plant for processing Christ love.

This is why Jesus said:

“Where your heart is, there your treasure is also.”

To hallow God’s name is to place him at the center of our heart; to devote everything that we say and do to the pursuit of knowing, honoring, and pleasing him. This devotional practice is beautifully reflected in this quote from A Course In Miracles:

“You are a work of God, and his work is wholly lovable and wholly loving.

This is how you must come to think of yourself in your heart, because this is what you are.”

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, On Earth As It Is In Heaven.

Jesus said, “Behold, the kingdom of heaven is within you!”

And in the Gospel of Thomas, “the kingdom of heaven is spread out upon the earth, but man does not see it.”

Again, God is omnipresent – in everyone and everything in every moment. He is here and now and everywhere. There is no where we can go where God is not. God is within us and in the space between us.

In these words of our Lord’s Prayer, Jesus is declaring the Kingdom of God which is all around us in every moment! He is saying:

“Wake up and realize the Kingdom of Heaven is now! Awaken to the Kingdom of God, the perfect love of Christ that is within you and all around you.  And as this awareness of the Kingdom comes into your consciousness, allow this perfect love to flow out into the world so that it is on earth as it is in heaven!”

And Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Clearly Jesus is not referring here to physical needs. Previously Jesus declared:

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.”

and

“For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” (John 6:30)

In this verse Jesus is clearly referring to our daily spiritual bread; our daily need for Christ love.  Give to us this day the awareness of the Christ love we need to sustain us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

This is what Jesus meant when he said:

“Seek ye first the kingdom…”

Seek first to drink from the well of Christ love which springs eternally from the Cathedral of our heart space, and all our needs will be met! Every day we shall come into the inner Cathedral of silent meditation and replenish our soul with the Christ love through which all our needs are met, and where peace and joy reign eternally.

And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Forgive Our Debtors

In this phrase of our Lord’s Prayer Jesus leads us to focus on the spiritual law of giving and receiving. He reminds us:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For the extent to which you judge you shall be judged” (Matthew 7:1-2)

We are being reminded that it is only through a willingness to forgive that we are set free. In this verse, “debt” is referring to grievances, judgments, angers, resentments, and envies. As we let go of judgments and grievances, Christ love is restored and we reconnect with our source. To hold grievance blocks the flow of Christ love and separates us from God’s love.

This lesson is beautifully presented in ACIM lesson number 68:

“You who were created by love like itself can hold no grievance and know thyself.

To hold a grievance is to forget who you are.

To hold a grievance is to split yourself off from your source.”

As we forgive the grievances we hold against others, our mind reawakens to love, for we reap what we sow.

And Lead Us Not into Temptation But Deliver Us from Evil

This is a very interesting phrase in our Lord’s Prayer. At first glance it would appear as if we are asking our Lord not to lead us into temptation! As if our God might lead us into temptation to teach us a lesson or, worse yet, punish us for our transgression.

Would a loving parent think this way? Nonsense! To accurately interpret the meaning of this phrase requires we interpret the first half based upon the declaration in the second half:

“Deliver us from evil!”

Any thought or action which separates us from love is evil. Evil is that which is created by man in a state of conscious separation from the Christ love of their source. No matter what temptation, desire, or evil might arises in the mind of man, it is transcended when we sincerely give it over and surrender it to the power of Christ love.

In ACIM we are taught that all illusions must be carried to truth, and through this process we are set free. An illusion is any thought or action which occurs separate from Christ love (evil).  Through the awareness of the power of Christ love within us, we are released from all evil and our separation from God is healed. Now we are delivered from all temptation and led away from that which would harm us, and we are protected from any evil that might surround us.

Jesus concludes his prayer with a beautiful summation of our spiritual father’s eternal love, compassion, and unlimited potential:

For Thine Is the Kingdom

The omnipresent Christ love which is within and around us in every moment and in every breath. Our eternal source, our daily bread. There is nothing we need that is not given and nothing need be feared for life is eternal. We are reminded in the Gita:

“The one who dwells in the bodies of all is eternal. Grieve not therefore for any created being.”

And the Power

The omnipotent one. The ultimate authority. The unconditional love, kindness, and compassion through which anything is possible for those who believe:

“For he or she who believes, nothing will be impossible.”

And the Glory Forever

The omniscient: the all-knowing and all wise. This is the word of God, the way it has been, is, and shall forever be.

Amen

This is the truth of every child born of Christ love. It is our story and we’re sticking to it!

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