It is easy to mistake familiarity with knowledge. Familiarity just means that we have heard or seen something many times. Knowledge comes when we are seized by the Truth that these words convey.

I realized in my preparation of these sermons that the Lord’s Prayer uses the personal pronouns, “our” and “us”; instead of “my” or “me”. Perhaps this detail is more relevant today than ever. We are living in a time where the world is being divided into “us” and “them” categories. It is important for us to start with the premise that there is no “them” in the Lord’s prayer. It just “our Father” because He is the Father of all things created. Then there is “us”, His created beings. Therefore, when we pray for our daily bread, we are not praying for my daily bread. We are praying for all of us to have daily bread. Then there is also the challenge to understand what this “daily bread” means in our lives. Many reduce it to its literal meaning. Sometimes this is problematic because bread alone doesn’t suffice.

Whenever we mention homeless children and youth, people always want to know whether we feed them. Food is always the first thing which comes to mind. It is understandable. This is the most visible need. We are made of flesh and blood. We can’t survive on mere lofty thoughts. Sometimes I tell people that our principal focus is on their spiritual needs. People often say, “yes, yes. That is all good but how do they get their food?” However, it is also important to remember that the gospel is not about filling our stomachs. Most importantly, people don’t exist merely for their stomachs. In the gospels, the devil wanted Jesus to use His miraculous powers to turn stone into bread. It was a logical suggestion if we think about it. Jesus was hungry and He had the power to do miracles. In a way, the devil wanted to reduce the gospel to a mere satisfaction of our bodily needs. Jesus responded,

“One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The homeless in São Paulo never lack food. There are always religious and non-religious groups serving at least two meals a day. Many times the food donations come while we are with the young people. Whenever the donations arrive, the homeless line up to receive their meals which consists of rice and beans and a protein. Then each individual sits alone in some spot to eat it. There is no social interaction between the homeless and the people who provide the meals. They don’t even talk among themselves. Their meals are consumed in the same total isolation in which they live. Their stomachs are filled but there is no joy nor peace in the process. It doesn’t matter if they are served with the most delicious and choicest food in the world. They eat their food without any enjoyment. This is not the daily bread which Jesus taught us to pray for.

Eating has become an isolated event without any social nor spiritual significance. This is not true only for our homeless youth. It is a modern phenomenon.

In Jesus’ time, meals were a communal affair. They did not just meet a physical necessity but they were moments to enjoy the company of the ones whom we love. Think about this. Whenever we invite someone for a meal, it is usually because we want them to have a greater role in our lives. We recognize that their presence can enrich our lives.

“Give us today our daily bread”

This is not just about satisfying our stomach. It is about enjoyment of life. It is about having relationships. It is about knowing that you are loved.

Jesus never just gave bread away. He broke bread with the people around Him especially with those who were usually excluded from the table of many households. Jesus overcame the barriers of “us” and “them” by breaking bread with them. The bread He gave satisfied not only their physical hunger but it also nourished their souls. In the streets, the stomachs of the homeless youth are filled but their souls are still hungry. They did not make the streets their home because of their empty stomachs. They made the streets their home because they could not find the love they needed at home or anywhere else. In fact, most of them are in the streets because no one ever acknowledged their presence as a person.

Recently, Mary, my wife, wrote about our encounter with Igor on our blog. Our relationship with Igor began in the streets and then it continued at the table with the bread which God gave us.

He was one of the first youth we met in 2013. He had been living in the streets since the tender age of 9. His mother was tragically murdered. He ran away because he had no one to prepare and eat a meal with him at home. He spent a great part of his young life in and out of the detention center. He was violent and used drugs heavily. However, when we meet him for the first time, he showed us his gentle and kind side. He expressed an interest to learn English. In reality, he just wanted a connection with us. We took him out for coffee and had our first English lesson. Then it eventually became a meal. After a while we had him over to our apartment for lunch. During this time, he made a decision to leave drugs and crime behind. He asked us to accompany him to a pentecostal church. It was the kind of church which was familiar to him. He made a commitment to God and tried his best to change his life. He was successful at first. Unfortunately, he never found a place where he could break bread. He eventually went back to the streets; disappointed in himself and with life. The church he went to only gave him support for so-called spiritual things. We supported him as much as we could but he needed more. He disappeared for a while. This happens. Sometimes our children and youth disappear for a while. They usually move to a different area.

We ran into him on several occasions. Once, he was with young men who looked like they were deep into crime. They were just lost as him. He even offered to take us out for a meal. He wanted to break bread with us. It was quite saddening for us to see him in this situation. However, we believed he would find a way. We told him so and assured him that he could always count on us for support.

Just before Christmas, we ran into him. This time, his face was full of Light. He gave us the longest and tightest hug ever. He was working in a snack stand owned by his father-in-law. He is married and has two young girls. He invited us this time to have a meal with him. We promised that we would after this trip. He sent me a picture of himself having a meal with his wife and two lovely girls. He is finally enjoying His daily bread. This last Christmas, we broke bread with extra gratitude and joy. We felt privileged that we had a part in Igor’s life. Now, he, together with us, can enjoy the daily bread that the Lord bestows upon us. However, it does not mean that Igor might not fall again. Life is not a fairy tale story where every thing occurs in a linear manner. The important thing for Igor to know is that there is always bread at our table for him to enjoy with us no matter what happens to him.

To be frank, when we started this ministry, we had no idea how things would take shape and form. We prayed and told God that we were open and available to share the Bread He has given us. We had little to offer but our Lord is able and willing to take our little and do miracles with it. Our Lord never disappoints. However, miracles do not happen in a spectacular way. They happen in a quiet and simple manner. Now, our young people sit with us everyday and eat their meals together in our presence. They don’t eat alone now but as a family. It is a simple thing. Many don’t see this miracle unfold before them. However, some people do. I hope you do, too.

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

I will continue on our reflection on the Lord’s Payer.

I want to start with the phrase, “Thy Will”.

All of us believe, whether we admit it or not, our lives are not random. At least, it is our hope that we have a purpose in this life. We also believe that our lives are lived to the fullest when we discover this purpose. As religious people, we call this “the will of God”. Muslims will tell you that the meaning of Islam is “submission to God’s will”. In the colloquial language, Muslims often used the phrase, “inshallah” which means, “If God wills” after every plan or proposal because they believed that God’s will is superior and better than their own rational plans. The Will of God plays an essential role in the lives of peoples of all religions.

In the scientific community, the religious phrase is substituted for “Laws of Nature”. It is the desire in some scientific fields, especially among physicists, to discover the one rule which governs all creation. They have discovered many universal rules in the process and have done great things with them. It is a similar idea to the religious notion. We believe that if we know God’s will, we can organize our lives to live in harmony with it. We are convinced that our happiness is intrinsically linked with it.

Many times people have asked us what made Mary and I leave our home countries to go the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. In my case, I was a native of Singapore and Mary, of Maine. Incidentally, we met in São Paulo. She went there before I arrived. Therefore, neither one of us followed each other to Brazil. We both went there for the same reason.

It is not any different from the reason why most people go to church or other religious institutions. We wanted to discover God’s will for our lives. We felt in our souls that it was connected with this ministry. Therefore, the most personal answer we can give to anyone for doing this ministry is that it makes us feel happy and fulfilled.

Many times I have heard preachers say that God has individual plan worked out for each one of us. I used to believe this but not anymore. I am more than convinced that God has only one single plan for every one. God has One Perfect Will for every being and creature and there is room and space for everyone to be part of this. Jesus, from the very beginning of His ministry, has proclaimed God’s plan. God desires for us to be part of His Kingdom here on earth. This is God’s will.

The way we perceive and understand God’s Kingdom in our midst will shape how we discern God’s will for our lives.

The Kingdom of God is not something we can materialize with our own personal efforts and strength. It is not based on our wishful thinking nor accomplished by our creative measures. It is something beyond our understanding and comprehension. Sometimes it appears to be illogical and impractical to our ways. Think about this; Jesus came into this world as a son of a carpenter. This is not the way to establish a political Kingdom. According to our standards, He should have been born into a influential family. Before his birth, no carpenter has changed the world in human history. Yet, this carpenter’s son has influenced the world more than any skilled and intelligent political rulers of human history.

When we pray, “Thy Kingdom come”, we are actually saying that God will establish His Kingdom regardless of what happens in this world. He establishes it according to His values and principles revealed through His Son, Jesus. The sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew explicitly teaches us these values and, in the midst of this profound teaching, we find the Lord’s Prayer. The Kingdom of God is something we can only see clearly when we pray to God to open our eyes and ears. Our wisdom and knowledge won’t suffice. We need to pray that our faith will be awakened to see the eternal presence of the Kingdom of God in our midst. Where the Kingdom is manifested, there is hope, peace and joy.

To be honest, before I started working in this ministry, I never imagined working with homeless children and youth. Like I mentioned before, I come from Singapore. All I knew about South America back then was it was a place of military dictatorship and carnivals. However, I was earnestly seeking God’s will for my life. I was open and available. Then I heard someone mention Brazil. My interest perked up for no rhyme or reason. Then I felt a desire in my heart to see what God was doing in this country. I ended up in São Paulo without any plans to work with homeless children. A missionary brought me to the streets to meet the homeless youth. I saw about two to three hundred children and teens sleeping in the streets. I should have been shocked and disturbed by this sight. I was surrounded by hopelessness and misery. The number is significantly less today. However, it is still unsettling to see families living in this condition for three generations. Children who have never had a home in their lives. Young boys and girls at age of ten or less living without any adult to guide and protect them. Even worse is how society looks at them. It treats them as problems which need to be solved. The government is more concerned about clean streets for the tourist and they see the homeless children and adults as a nuisance. All this should have depressed me but I was struck by something beautiful and hopeful. In an inexplicable manner, I was seized by the Kingdom of God. I saw it with own my eyes. You may ask what exactly did I see?

It was something unexplainable but not unidentifiable. The New Testament tells us that the essence of God’s nature is Love. In the streets, we met with children and teens who have been rejected from the day they were born. They were considered outcast by society and many hold them in disdain. Despite all this negativity directed towards them, these young people are still open to love. They are sensitive to love. I don’t want to romanticize them. There is violence and deceit present too. However, it is not different than the kind you find in any middle class neighborhood. It is just that in the streets everything is open for everyone to see. Nevertheless, whenever we engage with the kids, we sense this aura of Love around us. Recently, this presence of God’s love has even drawn the attention of passerbys. Sometimes so-called regular people come and sit and watch us. Sometimes someone will ask if they can play a game with us. They sense the will of God being manifested in their midst. In other words, they see when two or three are gathered in His Name, God’s Love is manifested.

When I first started out in this ministry, I was about 25. Many said that it was just youthful idealism. Perhaps a little messiah complex thrown into the mix. All these were true. However, when we seek to do His will, His Spirit will purify our souls. Eventually I went to seminary and took the ordination route. I served in several parishes. I enjoyed visiting members and praying and comforting people in my parishes. However, I never saw the Kingdom of God as clearly as I saw it when I ministered to the homeless youth. Therefore, Mary and I chose to return to this ministry in 2013. Now, the Bible made more sense to me whenever I am among the homeless youth. My faith makes sense to me. I discovered God’s will in the lives of these young people and there was a space for me to be part of it. I am not saying what we do is superior or better than others. I am saying that when we find our place in God’s will, things will fall into places. Life won’t get easier but there is happiness and fulfillment. Some people say that it is a special vocation. Maybe it is true. I don’t know. I think it is just prayer. God responded to my prayers to see His will being done. Whenever we pray the Lord’s prayer, we are asking God to open our eyes and hearts to experience His will being done. It is not about what we do but how we see God’s Kingdom manifested in our midst. When this happens, we will easily see our place in God’s eternal will.

Therefore, I hope this simple reflection will contribute in your understanding of God’s will for your Life. There is a space and place for everyone in God’s eternal project. You don’t have to come Brazil where we are. Neither do you have to accomplish great things in order to fulfill His will. God’s will is simple. There are no hierarchy in God’s will. There is only One will and whenever we do it, we will sense the immensity of God’s love in our lives. It will bring hope and fulfillment to us. It will make the gospel more real and meaningful, not just to us, but to the world.

Let us pray together, “Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and avail ourselves to be part of the great and many wonderful things God is doing in our midst.

“Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.”

The way we pray shapes the way we live.

This is why the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. As Jewish people, they learned how to pray since they were little lads. However, they saw something unique and special in the life of Jesus. They wanted to pray themselves into living the way Jesus lived. This is the function of prayer. It is a prelude to action. In today’s religious context, people use prayer in lieu of action. Many times people say, “I will pray for you” when in reality they are saying, “I am not going to do anything but I do feel bad about it.” In order to appreciate the profundity of the Lord’s prayer, we need to return to its original meaning. It is an invitation to a lifestyle.

Many years ago, when we started working in this ministry for the first time, we participated in a special Christmas Eve meal in the streets. In Brazil and most Latin American countries, the major Christmas meal is on the eve. The one who organized it was not a Christian but an agnostic. Nothing surprising about this. Christmas celebrations are not restricted to Christians. There were also some Franciscan friars thrown into the mix. They brought a makeshift table and paper plates and plastic cutlery. Our contribution to the meal was minimum really. They just wanted us to be present because the homeless children and youth had a strong bond with us. Usually, during Christmas, the population of the homeless thins out. Some go to the shelter to celebrate Christmas. Others try to go home to whatever vestiges of family they have left. Those who remained in the streets are the orphans in the fullest sense of the word. These have no one in the world besides their friends in the streets.

The meal was quite elaborate. Everything you would find in a regular middle class Brazilian Christmas meal, except that it was in the open air in the streets. As we gathered around the table, our agnostic host said that since it was Christmas, it would be only appropriate to say a prayer before we eat. Then he initiated with the words. “Our Father…” The rest followed his cue. We prayed in a same melodic manner, very much like how we do it in churches as a congregation. However, at that moment, in the midst of this very strange congregation, it sounded like a choir responding to the voices of the angels of the first Christmas. For me, it was a “born again” moment. I sensed in my soul that the gospel was being manifested in flesh and blood. No one present at the meal has ever forgotten it. It was one of the eternal gifts God had bestowed upon us.

“Our Father who art in Heaven”

Many religions believe that there is One Supreme God who creates all things. Then, each religion differs in the definition of the relationship of this Creator God with creation. In quite a lot of religions, God is a distant figure and the need for intermediaries is necessary. In others, He is an impersonal being completely oblivious to creation. In some, including certain branches of Christianity, He is an angry and disappointed God who needs to be appeased. Jesus came to set the record straight. He teaches us that God is our Father; not my Father nor the Father of the Christian church nor this nation. He is Our Father in Heaven. He does not belong to any group. His fatherhood extends to all things He created in this world. This is good news.

God is not a distant impersonal creator but a present Father. His Love is generously poured upon all peoples and creatures of all sorts and conditions. This is perhaps why the greatest prayer in the world is so simple that even a child can say it without any problems. It is simple but not simplistic. It reveals depths of profound wisdom which are only discovered if our hearts and minds are open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. These are prophetic words which challenge our sinful nature that often times wants to exalt tribalism above anything else. It goes against our tendency of thinking of God just as our own Personal Father and not the Father of all things existent. He is not just the Father of our friends and families or community. He is the Father of our enemies. He is the Father of the person who irritates us; our grumpy neighbor or the annoying customer in the store. He is the Father of the unstable homeless person. He is our Father without any restrictions.

Only the Spirit of God can truly drive this point into our hearts. Only after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit did the disciples understand that the gospel is for all peoples and not just the Jewish nations. Only the Holy Spirit can testify to our souls and gives us the boldness and conviction to call God, “Abba, Father”. This deep and profound knowledge comes with a profound responsibility. We are now our brother’s and sister’s keeper. Our fellow human beings are no longer abstract beings. They are our siblings and we are called to be responsible for them. Only the murderous Cain rejected this role. However, we are called to follow the example of the saintly Abel who gave the best offerings to our Father.

The prayer doesn’t stop at God being our Father but we are given a task. We have to ensure that we proclaim the Holiness of His Name. You will never find in the gospel a doctrine about holiness. You will never find Jesus teaching His disciples on the concept of holiness. You will only read about how Jesus lived His Life. You will read that Jesus says that if you have seen me, you have seen my Father. This is the very essence of Christian Holiness.

There is a kind of “holiness” in this world. It is not necessarily modern phenomenon but something profoundly human. It has been there since humanity responded to the spiritual promptings of God’s spirit. This “holiness” is one which is detached from Love. Jesus recognized it in the Pharisees and He warned us that our spirituality must surpass that of the Pharisee. I don’t want to waste precious time pointing out how this kind of “holiness” manifests itself today. It is not very interesting. Suffice it to say the holiness of the Pharisees separates people from God. The holiness of Jesus gave people the courage to return to their Father’s household. Jesus hallowed God’s Name by revealing the true essence of the Father to the people with whom He interacted.

Our homeless children and youth know that God is their Father. They would say this without hesitation. It is not a religious jargon which they have learned. They truly sense this in their souls. This is the only reason why they are still alive when the world around them seemed to desire their death. However, they need help to know and understand that they too, have responsibilities as God’s children. They have the task of proclaiming His Holiness. The Lord’s Prayer is for them too. It is for their lifestyle too. However, they need concrete examples to follow. They need to see people in their midst who are willing to hallow the Name of God with their lifestyles.

Whenever we pray this prayer, God, our Heavenly Father invites us to be the person who would go into the midst of the people and manifest God’s true holiness. Now, let us be clear. God, our Father, does not need anyone to proclaim His Holiness to the world. It has always been present. Remember the meal I mentioned. God used an agnostic to provide a meal for His children. This man acknowledged the Heavenly Father even though he did not know if he believed in Him. It sounds crazy but it is something our Heavenly Father does. He constantly manifests His Holiness to the world. However, we are given the choice. We can pray and make ourselves the instruments of His Holiness. It is also an invitation to understand in a deep and profound way the meaning of God’s Holiness. One of His disciples who lived out this prayer proclaimed God’s holiness in these simple terms;

“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” I John 4:16

The simple meal in which we participated years ago opened our hearts and minds to become His instruments of Holiness. It has been a journey of understanding and discovering how His Holy name is manifested among the homeless children of São Paulo. Our task is simply allowing this Holiness to shine through our lives. In this way, we can boldly pray, “Hallowed be Thy Name.”

Every two years or so, Mary and I visit with the churches of the diocese of Central Florida. This is our home diocese and it has been our primary support since we have doing this ministry in 2013. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the prayers and love of the good people of this community. Besides preaching and sharing about the things we learn and do in the streets of São Paulo, it is also a time of personal reflection for us. It is easy to be absorbed into a ministry without taking time to step back and reflect. This is perhaps something easily overlooked but it is the essential part of everything we do. Reflection is just allowing ourselves to rise above the situation and observe what we have learned about the Truth. It is not an objective observation. I personally don’t believe that we are able to have an objective reading of any situation. In order to understand and appreciate the gospel, we have put our hearts and souls into it. Therefore, we cannot be detached from something in order to be objective. We don’t want to be detached from our homeless youth. We want to be part of their lives and we open ourselves to allow them to become part of our lives. Therefore, our reflection includes all our interactions with them and how these have helped us delve deeper into the profound wisdom revealed through the Person of Jesus. The challenge is how to put all of this into words which communicate in a clear and precise manner to people who have loved and supported us all these years.

I am also confronted with another challenge. I find it hard to just speak solely about our ministry from the pulpit. This stems from a personal conviction inculcated in me from a very young age that the pulpit is a place to proclaim the gospel. Although some might argue in our defense and say that what we do is the proclamation of the gospel. As convincing as it might be, I am too ingrained in my personal conviction to budge from it. I also find it difficult to reconcile with the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount;

“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.” Matthew 6:2

Maybe I am reading this wrongly but I don’t want to use the pulpit to blow my own trumpet. Nevertheless, we have learned valuable lessons about the gospel which are beneficial and edifying to share with others especially for those who participate in our ministry through prayer. Therefore, this is the very reason why I decided to focus our reflections in the following weeks on prayer, more specifically the Lord’s Prayer. After all, prayer has been the only constant link between us and the people who live thousands of miles away from the reality of our homeless children and youth. Through prayer, many have kept their interest in this ministry. It has helped us to find our source and strength in continuing in this work without suffering “burnout”, a common ailment of our time.

There can never be a better prayer than the Lord’s Prayer to use as the basis of our reflection. In a way, it was this prayer which helped me make the decision to dedicate ourselves to this ministry. It opened my eyes to see the opportunity that the Holy Spirit placed before us; to become part of the community God is forming among the homeless children and youth. We have become a unusual family which only Heavenly Father can create.

In the Anglican tradition, we pray the Lord’s prayer every time we approach the Lord’s table. It is the prayer which gives the courage to receive the Holy Sacraments of Bread and Wine as one people. It is a prayer which overcomes all barriers. Besides, there is nothing in the prayer which is offensive to people of any religion. It speaks universally to all of us of the divine love and the human condition.

In the following weeks, I will post a series of reflections on the Lord’s Prayer. I will divide the Lord’s Prayer into five sections. The purpose is to share the knowledge and wisdom we have learned through our ministry with the homeless youth. In a way, every Christian ministry is an attempt to live out the Lord’s prayer. In reality, this is the purpose of prayer. It is to help us have a focus before we set out to live out our faith in the world. My hope is that our reflections will help you in your reflection in the things you seek to do in your community wherever you live. We hope that our ongoing understanding of the gospel can enrich your reading and understanding of the gospel. As always, your comments and reflections are always welcomed and they always encourage us. God bless.