GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 5TH 0CTOBER 2016
WEDNESDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1ST READING: Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14
PSALM: Psalm 117:1-2
GOSPEL: Luke 11:1-4
THEME: GIVE US EACH DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
One of the first prayers which many of us who attended schools founded on Christian principles had to learn was the “Lord’s Prayer”. We were led to say this prayer every morning before active classes began. As children, the words did not matter much for us; the important thing was that we said what we were expected to say. Growing up, I have come to discover the depth of insight inherent in that prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer as narrated in the Gospel of Luke was a response of Jesus to a request of one of his disciples to teach them how to pray. It was a teaching on prayer. There are two versions of it – one in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 6:9-13) and the other in Luke ( Luke 11:1-14). Today’s Gospel text offers us the version of Luke. It is an example of a Christian community prayer that stresses various elements. Of particular emphasis in our reflection for today is “Give us each day our daily bread” (Lk. 11:3).
The Greek adjective translated as “daily” in the above verse is used only here in Luke and Matthew (cf. Mt. 6:11) in the whole of the New Testament and it has a scope of debated interpretations by biblical scholars. However, at the heart of the word, as used within its context, is the fact that there is something that God alone can provide for our sustenance and survival. We can be self-reliant in many things but not everything. There is something we must rely on God for, both in the present and the future. “Bread” as used in the verse goes deeper than the material sense. It is symbolic of life itself.
Think of it; each one of us is on a life-support system. The day that system shuts down, we gain a new status on earth – corpse. At that instant, all our plans come to nothing. We fold up and we leave the scene. In the “Lord’s Prayer”, we tell God, who holds our life-support system, to give us life each day. And for us who depend on God, even natural death cannot rob us of this daily bread, for in him is eternal life.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the “Bread of life”. I depend on you for survival. May your life in me be my daily nourishment and lead me to eternal life. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen)