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Luke 11: 1-4 – Week 27 Ordinary Time, Wednesday (King James Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word)
1 AND it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
We are given different accounts of Jesus teaching his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, in today’s verses from the Gospel of Luke, and also in the Gospel of Matthew, during the Sermon on the Mount. Here the situation is quite different from that of Matthew. Jesus has been praying, seemingly apart, to his Father, and so it is after this that the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. This is unusual: prayer, especially of the psalms, would have been an integral part of these Jewish people’s daily routine. We are alerted to the Lord’s Prayer being an additional offering, an innovation of grace, and a further initiation for the Christian. The prayer furthermore reflects John the Baptist’s teaching of his disciples. Indeed, a perfectly reasonable translation of the Greek is to say that the disciples of Jesus are asking Jesus to teach them the very same prayer which John taught. We can only speculate as to the extent that Jesus ‘followed after’ John prior to beginning his ministry, during the course of his perfect humanity’s spiritual formation through the hidden years.
As Christians, we usually pray the version of the Lord’s Prayer given in Matthew. In Matthew’s Gospel, there are seven petitions. Here there are five. Both accounts are concerned to simplify prayer, to distil the form of words so as perfectly to capture the essentials of our true relationship with God. We confess and glorify God; we ask for the coming of the Kingdom, for holiness to triumph on Earth as in heaven; we ask for food to sustain us; we ask that we may be accepted and involved within an economy of universal forgiveness; and we ask that we may be protected from temptations of sin, from evil. As we make our petitions, we speak to God with the simplicity of a child addressing his father.
There has been much discussion of the rendering into English as ‘daily bread’ the Greek word epiousion. The word exists nowhere else that we know of, apart from in the Gospels of Mathew and Luke. The word appears to be a compound of epi and ousios. Epi means over, above, beyond, in addition to. Ousious refers to the substance of something. Therefore, putting these words together, we have something like supersubstantial, or super-essential. We have, perhaps, the Eucharist. We ask for the unfolding of supernatural reality within our daily, Earthly lives, along with basic sustenance. There is a certain sense of liminality as we gear our daily lives toward eternal reality, as, as Christians, we ask that our own little corner of the world may become among heaven’s outposts.
Concluding Prayer | Love Revealed By Jesus Christ
Lord, holy Father, faithful to your promise
you sent your Spirit
to bring together a people divided by sin.
Give us grace to foster unity and peace among men.
Through Christ our Lord.
King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
A Life Of Prayer | Saint Teresa Of Avila
Born in Spain in 1515, Saint Teresa of Avila devoted her life to prayer and contemplation, and her teachings on prayer and spiritual growth have had a profound impact on the Church and on Christian spirituality more broadly.
At the heart of Saint Teresa’s teachings on prayer is the idea that prayer is an intimate sharing between friends, a means of coming into closer communion with God. She believed that the soul is like a castle made of a single diamond, in which there are many rooms, each leading to a deeper level of spiritual intimacy with God. Saint Teresa’s most famous work, The Interior Castle, offers a detailed guide to the journey of prayer and spiritual growth, based on her own personal experiences and insights.
In The Interior Castle, Saint Teresa emphasizes the importance of perseverance, humility, and contemplative prayer in the spiritual journey. She writes that the journey of prayer begins in the first room of the castle, where the soul awakens to the reality of God’s presence and begins to seek Him with greater fervor. As the soul progresses through the castle, it encounters various obstacles and challenges that must be overcome through prayer, humility, and perseverance.
Saint Teresa describes the second room of the castle as the room of self-knowledge, where the soul comes to recognize its own sinfulness and need for God’s mercy. In this room, the soul learns to embrace humility and to seek God’s forgiveness through prayer and repentance.
The third room of the castle is the room of prayer, where the soul begins to experience a deeper sense of intimacy with God through contemplative prayer. Here, Saint Teresa emphasizes the importance of silence and stillness, as well as the need to let go of distractions and attachments in order to fully enter into God’s presence.
As the soul progresses through the castle, it encounters deeper levels of spiritual growth and transformation, culminating in the seventh room, where it experiences a profound sense of oneness with God and a deep understanding of His love and mercy. Saint Teresa writes that it is impossible for a soul not to come forth resplendent when it has been granted a vision of the great Majesty.
Saint Teresa’s teachings on prayer and spiritual growth continue to inspire and guide Christians today. Her emphasis on the importance of love, intimacy, and perseverance in seeking God is as relevant now as it was in her own time. As Saint Teresa wrote: ‘The important thing is not to think much but to love much; and so do that which best stirs you to love.’ Saint Teresa’s writings, including The Interior Castle, continue to offer valuable insights and guidance to anyone seeking to deepen their relationship with God through prayer and contemplation.
Here are some thoughts from Saint Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle:
- ‘The important thing is not to think much but to love much; and so do that which best stirs you to love.’
- ‘The soul, I see clearly, is like a castle made of a single diamond or crystal, and this diamond is in the shape of a square. […] Anyone who looked upon it would be dazzled and stupefied by the brilliance of this crystal.’
- ‘Mental prayer, in my opinion, is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.’
- ‘The devil knows well that a person who prays is lost to his temptations, so he tries to hinder the soul from beginning to pray.’
- ‘It is impossible for a soul not to come forth resplendent when it has been granted a vision of the great Majesty.’
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King James Audio Bible | KJV | King James Version King Herod There were several individuals named Herod who played significant roles in ancient history, particularly in the history of the Roman Empire and the region of Palestine. Here is a brief overview of the most notable Herods: Herod the Great: Also known as Herod I, he was a Roman client king of Judea, ruling from 37 BC to 4 BC. He is perhaps most famous for his role in the biblical story of the birth of Jesus, in which it is said that he ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two in an attempt to kill the newborn Jesus. Herod Antipas: Also known as Herod II, he was the son of Herod the Great and ruled over Galilee and Perea, two regions in Palestine, from 4 BC to 39 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned John the Baptist and later had him beheaded. Herod Agrippa I: Also known as Herod III, he was the grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over Judea from 41 to 44 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned the apostle Paul. Herod Agrippa II: Also known as Herod IV, he was the great-grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over parts of Palestine and Syria from 50 to 100 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who heard Paul’s defence before the Roman governor Festus. These rulers, who were known as the Herodian dynasty, were not Jewish but rather descended from a Greek family that had converted to Judaism. Despite this, they were appointed as rulers by the Roman Empire and were generally unpopular among the Jewish population due to their collaboration with the Roman occupation and their often brutal methods of rule. Herod The Great Herod the Great, also known as Herod I, was a Roman client king of Judea who ruled from 37 BC to 4 BC. He was born in 73 BC in Idumea, a region in southern Palestine, and was the son of Antipater the Idumean, an Edomite who had been appointed as a governor of Judea by the Roman general Pompey. Herod rose to power after the Roman general Julius Caesar appointed him as king of Judea in 40 BC. He consolidated his power over the next few years by defeating his rivals and establishing himself as the undisputed ruler of the region. As king, Herod embarked on a massive building program that included the expansion and renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem, the construction of the port city of Caesarea Maritima, and the fortification of several cities in Judea. He also commissioned the construction of a number of palaces and other buildings, including the famous Herodium, a palace-fortress located south of Jerusalem. Despite his many accomplishments, Herod was a controversial figure who was known for his harsh rule and his willingness to use violence to maintain his power. He was married several times and had a large number of children, several of whom he had executed when they posed a threat to his rule. One of the most famous stories associated with Herod is the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, in which it is said that he ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two in an attempt to kill the newborn Jesus. According to the New Testament, Jesus was saved by his parents, who fled to Egypt, and later returned to Palestine after Herod’s death. Herod died in 4 BC at the age of 70, leaving a legacy as one of the most significant rulers in the history of ancient Palestine. Herod Antipas Herod Antipas, also known as Herod II, was the son of Herod the Great and ruled over Galilee and Perea, two regions in Palestine, from 4 BC to 39 AD. He was born in 20 BC and was named after his father’s patron, the Roman emperor Augustus. Like his father, Herod Antipas was known for his ambitious building projects, including the construction of the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee and the expansion of the Temple in Jerusalem. He was also known for his political cunning and his ability to navigate the complex political landscape of the Roman Empire. Herod Antipas is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned John the Baptist, a prominent religious figure who criticized Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law, Herodias. According to the New Testament, John was eventually beheaded at the request of Herodias’ daughter, Salome, who danced for Herod and his guests at a banquet. Herod Antipas is also mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who oversaw the trial and execution of Jesus. Although he initially wanted to release Jesus, he ultimately handed him over to the Roman authorities at the urging of the Jewish religious leaders. Herod Antipas’ rule came to an end in 39 AD when the Roman emperor Caligula exiled him to Gaul, modern-day France. He died in exile a few years later. Herod Agrippa I Herod Agrippa I, also known as Herod III, was the grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over Judea from 41 to 44 AD. He was born in 10 BC and was the son of Aristobulus and Bernice, two of Herod the Great’s children. Herod Agrippa I was well-educated and fluent in both Greek and Hebrew, and he was highly regarded by the Roman authorities for his loyalty and his ability to maintain order in Judea. He was appointed as king of Judea in 41 AD by the Roman emperor Claudius, who was impressed by his abilities and saw him as a reliable ally in the region. As king, Herod Agrippa I continued the building projects of his grandfather and expanded the Temple in Jerusalem. He also implemented a number of reforms aimed at improving the lives of the […]
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