Which is closer to the original prayer?

July 29, 2007 -- 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Fr. Michael Stubbs

	Fr. Mike Stubbs

When Christians of various backgrounds gather to worship together, for example at a funeral or a wedding, they often will join together in the "Our Father." It is rewarding that they share this prayer in common. At the same time, they can encounter some awkward moments.

Even though Christians everywhere pray substantially the same prayer, they include minor variations. For example, most Protestants end the prayer with the words, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever," a phrase that Catholics omit. Some denominations pray "Forgive us our trespasses," while others translate that phrase as "Forgive us our debts."

It might comfort us to realize that this situation, substantial agreement with minor variations, parallels the situation at the time of the New Testament. We find the prayer, the "Our Father," in two places in the New Testament, in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4. Luke's version of the "Our Father" will form the first part of Sunday's gospel reading.

Luke's version of the "Our Father" will sound considerably shorter and less familiar to our ears than Matthew's. For example, where Matthew writes, "Our Father, who art in heaven," Luke offers simply "Father."

The question arises: which version, Luke's or Matthew's, approximates more closely the original prayer taught by Jesus? Did Luke trim away some words, or did Matthew add words?

It is impossible to know for sure. Good arguments have been made in favor of both positions. In any case, we can safely say that both versions reflect the liturgical practice of the respective communities which produced the gospels of Matthew and Luke. The gospel writers incorporated into their writings the wording of the prayer as they knew it.

It is significant that Christians, of all backgrounds, have opted in favor of Matthew's version. Its opening word "Our" encourages its use in a community setting. While the "Our Father" can certainly be prayed by an individual, the word "Our" reminds that person that they are still connected to the community.

St. Cyprian, bishop and martyr, made that same point in his treatise on the Lord's prayer: "We do not say 'My Father, who art in the heaven,' nor 'Give me this day my daily bread.' It is not for himself alone that each person asks to be forgiven, not to be led into temptation or to be delivered from evil. Rather, we pray in public as a community, and not for one individual but for all. For the people of God are all one." (200-258 A.D.)

Besides the gospels of Matthew and Luke, we should also mention another ancient Christian document which includes a version of the "Our Father." It is the Didache, written sometime during the 1st or 2nd century. The "Our Father" contained in the Didache closely resembles that version found in Matthew, except that it adds the phrase, "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever."

The Didache also instructs the reader to recite the "Our Father" three times a day. That remains good advice, as Christ's prayer sets the standard for all Christian prayer. That practice allows the words of Christ to permeate our attitude towards God.

(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)