Lord's Prayer (5) - God Protects

THE LORD’S PRAYER

(5) GOD PROTECTS

Today we consider the final clause of the Lord's Prayer.

I say "final clause", because the words, "For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen" were not part of the original prayer since they are not found in the earliest and best manuscripts.

They were probably added by the early Jewish Christians since they have a Jewish flavour about them. Similar words of praise can be found at the end of the prayer of David, when he is planning to build the temple. He said " Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the majesty: for all that is in heaven and on earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all"

Incidentally, the doxology first appeared in the worship of the Church of England in the Book of Common Prayer 1662, though it was included in the Scottish Prayer Book of 1637.

So today we are looking at the final clause, namely “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil".

In the 1990s, these words caused quite a stir, especially from those who wish to maintain the traditional language of the Lord's Prayer. They wanted only the traditional words to be included in the new Prayer Book due to be published in time for the year 2000, whereas the revisers, who actually won the day, wanted also to include a new translation alongside the old translation.

What then was all the fuss about?

The problem centres around the word "temptation'.

The words " lead us not into temptation" seem to imply that God deliberately seeks to place us into situations which may be harmful to us. In other words, temptation is seen as a prelude to sin.

Such a thought seems to go against the idea of a good and loving God who cares for his children. Can we really imagine such a God going out of his way to place us in the situation in which we are likely to fall to sin?

Better to pray that he will "Lead us not into temptation" and therefore he will enable us to avoid the prospect of succumbing to temptation, and, as a consequence, of sinning.

But life is not like that and it was not like that for Jesus who was "led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted".

The problem arises because of a mistranslation of the original word “parazein”. This is more accurately translated as “to test” or “to prove" rather than as "temptation".

Hence the new translation which was under fire in the 1990s is "save us from the time of trial”.

This comes from an ecumenical translation produced by the English Language Liturgical Consultation.

Those of you who can recall Series 3 Order of Holy Communion, which was in use prior to the Alternative Service Book of 1980, may recall that it used the words “Do not bring us to the time of trial”.

The words "trial" "test" or "prove” have a much more positive ring about them than the mistranslated word ''temptation". For instance, if I am put through a stiff examination, the object of the exercise is not to find out how ignorant I am, but rather how much I know. When a test pilot takes up a new aeroplane, he is out to prove how much he can do, not how badly it is made.

It is in this positive sense, that the Bible uses the Greek word "parazein". .And as a consequence of our testing, proving faith in God is strengthened, just as metal is tested far beyond any likely stress and strain before it can be used.

So Jesus was indeed "led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted". And as a consequence he emerged from that experience a much stronger character than before he went into the wilderness.

Likewise, Abraham was “tempted" to sacrifice his son Isaac. God was not trying to persuade Abraham to do evil, but rather he was testing or proving or trying Abraham's loyalty. And as a consequence, he emerges from the experience a much stronger character whose faith in God proved unshakable.

Hence St. James is able to say in his letter contained in our New Testament, "happy is the man who remains faithful under trial: for when he succeeds in passing the test, he will be given life, the prize which God has promised to those who love him ".

What I am trying to say is that we should not seek to avoid the trials and tribulations of life, but rather that we should embrace them as opportunities for spiritual growth.

A child's immune system is not developed by keeping a child wrapped up indoors but by exposure. So likewise, we need to be exposed to the world as it really is, if we are to grow, and not cut ourselves off and live like a spiritual recluse.

The prospect of facing the real world with all its trials and tribulations, can indeed be a frightening and terrifying experience. But it is only frightening and terrifying to those who have no faith in the power of God. We are assured that we shall be given the necessary strength to endure such trials when the time comes.

In one of his letters, St. Paul refers to some particular problem or trial with the words "a thorn in the flesh". And I am sure we too have some "thorns in the flesh" of which we would like to be relieved. However, he was told by God "my grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness”'. In other words, it is when we are most conscious of our need for divine help, that it is then most likely to be forthcoming.

And Paul elsewhere bears testimony to this truth from his own experience when he writes, "you can trust God not to let you be tried .beyond your strength and with any trial he will give you a way out of it and the strength to bear it".

God does indeed respond to our prayer "save us from the time of trial" as we pray in the Lord's Prayer.

However, in St. Matthew’s version of the Lord's Prayer, the additional words “but deliver us from evil" are added to this clause.

Sometimes, the translation says “but deliver us from the Evil One".

Most New Testament scholars suggest that it does not matter whether evil is perceived in a general sense or a personal sense, whereby the author of evil is seen to be the devil or Satan.

What does matter for all of us is that we take the power and the influence of evil seriously. It is not merely the absence of good.

Perhaps I could mention as an aside that it is my personal experience, both in my own life and that of parishes, that I am more conscious of the power of evil or influence of evil when things are going well than when nothing of significance is happening. This should not be surprising because it is when life is "lukewarm" - to use the words of the author of the Book of Revelation – i.e. when I am neither hot or cold in my faith, or parish life is neither hot or cold – then the Evil One has nothing to fight against.

In his book Love Almighty and Ills Unlimited, Austen Farrer makes an interesting point on this subject which I think may be worth bearing in mind. When we encounter any serious spiritual disorder, we do not think twice before consulting a doctor, priest or even a psychiatrist. Seldom do we consider consulting an exorcist.

So we conclude the Lord’s Prayer, having looked to the past.by seeking forgiveness, having looked at the present by asking God to supply our necessary needs, with a clause which looks to the future and asks for his protection with the words "Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. Amen.”