“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
(Matthew 6:9-13, New International Version)
[Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21, New International Version)
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Some questions to ponder today:
- What does God’s Kingdom look like – not in material terms, but the people who will be there? What condition will they be in?
- When we pray for God’s kingdom to come “on earth, as it is in heaven,” what are we asking for?
- If the kingdom were to come, on earth as it is in heaven, for the Roma and the majority people of Europe, what would it look like?
- If the kingdom were to come, on earth as it is in heaven, in your own community, what would it look like?
- Can we pray, “thy kingdom come,” without working to make it happen?
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