On the Lord's Prayer
But its familiarity to us from regular liturgical and devotional usage and it being called the “Lord’s Prayer” hides its radicality from us. This prayer is a Cross-eyed disciple’s prayer given by his or her cross-eyed Lord. Read it slowly and reflect on what it says in the context we’ve been developing. Jesus introduces this prayer in 6:7–8 and appends a conclusion (6:14–15). Its seven petitions relate to both the divine (6:9-10) and the human (6:11–1). The first three petitions concerning God decenter and correct us. It’s God’s name that matters, not ours; and God’s agenda for which we are to pray, not ours. It is earth and not heaven for which we are to pray. Our favorite preoccupations, ourselves and our agendas, are sidelined and our hope of escape to a “better place” than earth (i.e. heaven) is thwarted. As I said, this prayer decenters and corrects us. The last three petitions undercut our desire (expectation) for a life of comfort and ease. Daily bread, like daily mann...