“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.”