by Bob
Hansel
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We
are in the midst of a special Sermon Series in which all of the
clergy have been asked to preach on one of the intercessions from
Luke's version of the so-called "Lord's Prayer"—the
one that Jesus taught his followers to use as a model for their
own spiritual devotions. This Sunday we come to what I think is
the very heart of the matter: GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
Like
all of the teachings of Jesus, I need to say right at the beginning
that there's much more here than meets the eye.
Within these six words there is a whole universe of concepts and
meanings. While there's not time this morning to consider all
of the richness of insight these words contain, there are several
primary aspects of what Jesus is offering here to his followers
in the First Century and to those of us who live in the Twenty-first
Century as well that I want to examine with you.
What
I'm going to do is to pose three questions and then try to give
you some ideas by way of response to those same questions. Here
are my three questions:
1.
What is this "bread" that Jesus wants us to ask for?
2. If bread is so important to us, why beg for it instead of
going out and earning it for ourselves?
3. How come the bread delivery apparently comes only once a
day?
If
we can open up those three questions and shed even a little light
on some possible answers, we will have spent this Sunday's sermon
time very productively.
So,
what is this "bread?" Well, you can be sure that it's
not just some baked mixture of flour, water and yeast. Jesus isn't
telling us that we should go begging to avoid physical starvation—unless
you understand starvation as a separation from God. Jesus tells
us in the so-called "Sermon on the Mount" that God knows
we need food and clothing; we don't have to concern ourselves
with telling God about that. God already provides enough to physically
sustain every single person in the world.
"But",
we might well ask, "What about the impoverished of the world—those
pitiful children with the huge desperate eyes and distended stomachs
that we see on TV and in the newspapers?" I'm perfectly aware
that world hunger is a real and legitimate problem, but let's
not put that off on God. World hunger is a disaster of our own
creation, not God's. God's bounty creates food enough and more.
The problem is us. Are we willing to share and to distribute?
Don't blame God for scarcity,
living here—as
we do—on
a planet of abundance!
The
food we're asking for in this prayer is much more basic and necessary.
It's the food without which it's unlikely we would even care about
trying to solve the challenge of feeding those who are physically
starving. Throughout Holy Scriptures, the presence of God is identified
as the bread that gives life to the soul. Jesus identifies himself
as "the bread that comes down from heaven." In short,
the bread we're asking for is the presence of God that enters,
feeds and sustains us with life itself.
Having
God at our center is the Leaven that will raise our hardened hearts
so that we will do everything in our power to make sure that everyone
has enough to eat. As
we say, "Give us today our daily bread," what we're
asking is that God would enter each day into our very being, giving
us the Spirit of peace and power, without which there is no life
worth living.
Now,
on to our second question: If this bread is so important, why
do we have to beg for it like street people? Why don't we get
up and go earn it for ourselves? Notice that the intercession
begins with the word "give." Jesus is telling us how
important it is to recognize that the only source of the bread
that truly nourishes us is God. We need to hear that teaching
importantly.
Our
national heritage, our cultural sacred cow, if you will, is "rugged
individualism"—the notion that we can be self-made
men, able to stand on our own two feet. As noble as those ideas
may seem, let's face it, they're the stuff of cocktail party talk.
I'm sure you've heard them, as I have, over and over: "I've
earned every dime I ever got. Nobody ever gave me anything."
No more false words have ever been spoken.
We're
right in the middle of a Stewardship Campaign here at Calvary
Church where the primary message is this: Everything we are
and everything we have is a gift from God. How we use it is
our way of saying thanks. That's the same message that Jesus is
weaving into this prayer that he urges us to offer to God on a
regular basis. We need these words to remind us, as often as possible,
that God is the only source of EVERYTHING.
Without
connection to the One who is the source of life itself—the
true and living Bread—we human beings wither and die. All
of our posturing about being self-made and self-reliant is so
much drivel. The truth is that we are utterly dependent on God
for every breath we take. None of us has the power to add one
breath to his or her life.
Do you remember "Invictus," that highly-praised poem
of self-reliance which used to be a required memorization-piece
for every American elementary schoolchild? In it the poet maintained
that he was the "master of his fate, the Captain of his soul."
Did you know that William Ernest Henley, the much-admired author
of "Invictus" wound up a solitary, pitiful person who
ultimately committed suicide?
Unless
God gives and sustains our whole being we are lost. None of us,
no matter how hard-working or devout, can earn or deserve the
unmerited gift of life. That is God's alone to give or withhold.
Now,
let's consider my third question: If this Bread is so necessary
and God is the only source, why ask for only a day's supply? If
some is good, wouldn't more be better? "Today" and "Daily"
may, perhaps, seem curious words in this intercession. We've just
said that the Bread we're asking for is God's life-giving presence
and we've said that this Bread is an absolute, permanent, ongoing
necessity. Then why does Jesus tell us to ask for it only one
day at a time? Why not place a standing order or indicate that
what we'd really like is a whole warehouse full of the stuff that
we could feel secure about, knowing that we could get some whenever
we needed it?
Even
to ask the question that crassly is to know the answer: Life
is all about the present. We only get life in daily increments.
There's no guarantee that tomorrow will arrive for anybody. My
wife, Dale, is fond of reminding me that "If there's something
you really want to do or somebody you really want to talk with,
you'd better do it and say it today!" That's not a morbid,
fearful observation on her part. She's simply being realistic.
It's an acknowledgement of the genuine fragility of life and the
precious quality of every moment given to us.
The
Bread of Life, without which none of us can continue on—and
of which God is the only source—is measured out one day
at a time, ours to use or misuse in any way that we decide. We
can try to keep and hoard it in a miserly narrow existence, or
we can let it flow into and through us to touch and enrich the
lives of others. It is a gift that intended for us to unwrap and
discover with joy and wonder each and every morning, something
to excite us with the ever-changing potential it brings for living
generously and victoriously. That's the opportunity we're asking
God to give us each time we offer this prayer that Jesus taught
us.
Give
us today our daily bread…six words that can change
your life completely if you understand what it is that you are
asking of God. To put it into the sharpest terms possible, Jesus
is saying that you need to turn to God regularly, asking
-
First:
that
we be given the insight and faith to recognize that without
God we have no life at all.
-
Second:
that we have the honesty and humility to acknowledge
that God has a legitimate claim on every one of us, expecting
that we will seek to use God's gifts for God's purposes.
-
Third: that
we will begin right now—today—each one
of us, to live each moment fully and victoriously in ways
that are worthy of our being entrusted with such a precious
gift.
Give
us today our daily bread…six words that can change your life
completely. Why not give them a try?
Copyright
2002 Calvary Episcopal Church. This series was first presented
at Calvary Episcopal Church, Memphis, TN.
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