THE LORD’S PRAYER (Part II)

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE LORD’S PRAYER (Part II)

IMITATION OF THE ANGELS

We now move on to the next phrase of the Lord’s Prayer: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." In this phrase Saint Maximos the Confessor sees man becoming equal in honor to the Angels, as asking for equality with the rational beings. In the fulfilment of God’s will on earth as it occurs in heaven, man IMITATES THE ANGELS. In the Angels there exist no sinful desires, which paralyze the spiritual faculties with pleasure, nor anger, which is fiercely directed against brothers. We find only the natural leading of rational beings toward God and nothing else.

Saint Maximos gives two meanings to the phrase "Give us this day our daily bread"; one anagogical, the other lateral. In the anagogical interpretation, the spiritual interpretation, OUR DAILY BREAD IS DIVINE FOOD. IT IS THE FOOD OF THE BREAD OF LIFE AND OF CONSCIOUSNESS WHICH THE FIRST MAN FORFEITED AS A CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. If man had tasted this bread of divine consciousness, the death that comes through sin would not have appealed to him. Saint Maximos prefers the interpretation to the literal one because Christ Himself taught the disciples that they ought not to be occupied with perishable bread, with concerns for what they will eat, what they will drink and what they will wear rather they ought. above all else, SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Obviously, Christ would not teach His disciples to ask something in the prayer which He had commanded them not to seek. Obviously, would not teach them in the prayer what He commanded them not to seek. If, however, Christ taught us to ask for every-day, transient bread, we must not overstep the temporal boundary which the prayer puts in place. We must not stock up on many years worth of goods, but rather ask only for our daily bread, free from other concerns so as to demonstrate that we do not prepare for life but death, "that as Christian philosophers we make life a rehearsal for ideal for death." The spiritual life alone must be OUR FOCUS, FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF WHICH WE MUST USE THIS PRESENT LIFE "NOT JUST TO LIVE BUT TO LIVE FOR GOD," CONFIRMING OUR PETITION TO THE PROVISION OF BREAD FOR JUST ONE DAY, NOT EXTENDING IT TO A SECOND. IT IS CLEAR FROM THIS, THEREN, THAT SAINT MAXIMUS UNDERSTAND THE FOURTH OF THE SEVEN BLESSINGS TO BE PARTICIPATION IN THE BREAD OF LIFE AND INCORRUPTIBILITY.

According to the anagogical interpretation the petitioner asks God for the BREAD OF WISDOM, which we were deprived of by the transgression of the first-creating man. In relation with this, Saint Maximos the Confessor uses a familiar pair – PLEASURE and PAIN. He develops these particularly in the chapters, development which he assumes here. He writes taht we ask spiritual bread from God in our prayer because we know that only one true pleasure exists. This leasure is THE ATTAINMENT OF DIVINE BLESSINGS WHICH GOD, BY NATURE, BESTOWS, BUT MAN SAFEGUARDS ACCORDING TO HIS WILL AND INTENTION. On the other hand, the THE SOLE TRUE PAIN IS THE LOSS OF DIVINE BLESSINGS; A LOSS PROMPTED BY THE DEIL BUT ONLY MADE ACTUAL BY MAN ON ACCOUNT OF HIS LAZINESS THROUGH WHICH HE RENOUNCES THE DIVINE. [Resources: Orthodox Christian Information Center and by Protopbreabyter Theodoros Zisis]

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+ Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Minisry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George