Our Father

This article explores the “Lord’s Prayer” both for a Hindu and Christian audience, within the framework of the dialogue between Somaiya Vidyavihar University and Urban University. This article follows Matthew's version (6:9-13) of the Lord’s Prayer, and emphasises the peculiarity of the concept of “father” attributed to God in the Bible, form the perspective of its symbolic implications. “Father” indicates generation, intimacy, communion, life, fruitfulness. It evokes a unique relationship with Christ (the Son of God), and has also maternal characteristics. Other concepts are explored, such as: universal fatherhood of God, in Christ, and, consequently, universal brotherhood; the Father who is in heaven is not the distant, impassive God, it is rather the transcendent God who intervenes in history; to ask that the name of the Father be "sanctified" means to ask that God be recognized as Other, not reducible to our categories ("holy" is equivalent to "separate"); the kingdom of the Father is the full realization of God’s will. “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt 6:11 NRSV) is the central phrase, which connects the sphere of God with that of humans. The article argues that the Greek term translated as “daily” can also mean “supernatural.” It is not just normal food, it is the exclusive "food" of Christians ("our"): the body and blood of Christ. The article then deals with the issues of debt as a metaphor for sin, and temptation and evil.