Reverend Marco Ste-Marie

Our father, our bread, our forgiveness

Matthew 6:5–13

There are moments in life when prayer feels very personal.

We pray when we are afraid.

We pray when we receive difficult news.

We pray when our hearts are heavy, when decisions feel hard, when grief is near, or when we are grateful for some unexpected blessing.

In those moments, prayer may feel like a quiet conversation between our own heart and god.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

Jesus tells his disciples to go into a quiet place and pray to god who sees in secret.

God cares for each one of us personally.

God hears the prayer that no one else hears.

 god knows the tears we do not show, the worries we cannot fully explain, and the hopes we are still afraid to name.

Yet, when jesus teaches his disciples how to pray, he does something important. He does not teach them to begin with, “my father.” He teaches them to pray, “our father.”

He does not say, “give me my daily bread.” He says, “give us this day our daily bread.”

He does not say, “forgive me my debts.” He says, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

He does not say, “save me from evil.” He says, “deliver us from evil.”

Even when we pray alone, jesus teaches us never to pray as though we are alone.

“our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

Those first two words, “our father,” remind us that god does not belong to any one person, congregation, denomination, nation, or group.

God is not mine to possess. God is ours to worship. The same god who holds me also holds the person sitting beside me. The same god who loves me also loves the person i struggle to understand. The same god who hears my prayer also hears the prayers of people whose lives, cultures, experiences, and stories are different from my own.

Father” expresses closeness, care, origin, and trust. Yet, i must also state clearly that god is not male in a biological sense. The bible uses many images for god, including maternal images: a mother who cannot forget her nursing child, one who comforts like a mother, and jesus’ own image of gathering people like a mother hen gathers her chicks.

When we pray “our father,” we are reminded that we are family, not because we all agree on everything, not because we are all alike, but because we are all held in the love of god.

That changes the way we look at one another. It becomes harder to dismiss someone when we have called upon god as their loving parent too. It becomes harder to ignore the lonely, the poor, the newcomer, the wounded, or the person who feels left out when we have begun our prayer with the word our.

Hallowed be your name” is not primarily a request that people use the correct words about god. It is a prayer that god’s holiness become visible in the life of the community. A church cannot pray for god’s name to be honoured while acting cruelly, excluding neighbours, silencing vulnerable voices, or protecting harm

Then jesus teaches us to pray:

“your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The prayer is not aimed at leaving earth behind. It asks that earth reflect the will of god.

The expression “kingdom of god” may be heard today as the reign of god: god’s healing, liberating, justice-making presence among people and within creation.

This is not a prayer for my life alone. It is a prayer for the world god loves.

We are praying that life on earth would look more like the heart of god: that there would be justice where there has been unfairness, healing where there has been pain, welcome where people have been excluded, peace where there has been conflict, and dignity where people have been treated as though they do not matter.

We cannot pray, “your kingdom come,” and care only about our own comfort.

We cannot pray for god’s will to be done on earth while closing our eyes to the suffering of our neighbours. Jesus teaches us a prayer that opens our hearts outward.

Praying for god’s reign without seeking justice risks turning the prayer into words without discipleship.

Then comes one of the most ordinary and beautiful petitions:

“give us this day our daily bread.”

Jesus does not begin with great riches. He begins with bread. With what people need for today. With enough food, enough strength, enough hope, enough grace to carry us through this day.

But again, notice the words: “give us our daily bread.”

When we pray these words, we are not only asking that there be food on our own table. We are praying for the child who goes to school hungry. We are praying for the senior choosing between groceries and medication.

We are praying for the family wondering how they will pay the rent. We are praying for the person who is lonely and hungry not only for food, but also for friendship and belonging.

This is a prayer for enough.

Bread includes bodily life: food, health, housing, income, safety, companionship, and all that enables a person to live with dignity.

And if we truly pray for everyone’s bread, then our prayer begins to shape our actions.

• We share.
• We give.
• We notice.
• We make room.
• We ask what our church can do so that people in our community do not feel forgotten or abandoned.

Praying it becomes responsible for asking why some have far more than enough while others cannot meet basic needs. Food banks, community meals, fair wages, affordable housing, refugee support, disability justice, and economic dignity are all faithful places where this prayer may take visible form.

The lord’s prayer does not allow us to say, “i have enough, so everything must be fine.” It teaches us to ask, “do we have enough? Is our neighbour cared for? Is there bread for all?”

Then jesus teaches us to pray:

“forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

This may be the most difficult part of the prayer. We all need forgiveness. We all have moments when we have failed to love well, when we have spoken carelessly, held onto resentment, remained silent when we should have spoken, or turned away when someone needed compassion.

We ask god for mercy not only as individuals, but as a community.

“forgive us.” Sometimes churches also need forgiveness.

Communities can wound people. Congregations can fail to listen. Christians can speak of love while excluding others. The church can become so concerned with preserving itself that it forgets to care for those who are hurting.

To pray “forgive us” is an act of humility. It is to admit that we need god to keep changing us.

But jesus also connects received mercy with offered mercy: “as we forgive our debtors.” This does not mean we ignore harm or ask wounded people to pretend that nothing happened.

Forgiveness must never be used to pressure survivors of abuse to return to danger, remain silent, avoid legal protection, abandon accountability, or reconcile prematurely.

Forgiveness is not pretending harm did not occur. It is not giving an offender continued access to someone they harmed. It is not protecting the reputation of a church, leader, or family member.

Matthew’s emphasis is that people who ask for mercy are being formed into merciful people.

That mercy includes truth, accountability, safety, restitution where possible, and the refusal to let cruelty have the final word.

We ask god to help us become a people where healing is possible, where wrongs are named honestly, and where grace can begin new life.

Finally, jesus teaches us to pray:

“do not bring us into the time of trial, but deliver us from evil.”

There is so much in life that people should not have to carry alone.

• Grief should not be carried alone.
• Fear should not be carried alone.
• Illness, anxiety, loneliness, discrimination, loss, and uncertainty should not be carried alone.

When we pray, “deliver us from evil,” we are praying for one another. We are saying, “god, hold the one who is struggling. Strengthen the one who is tired. Protect the one who is vulnerable. Help us stand beside each other when life becomes hard.”

This is why the communal part of the prayer matters so much. Jesus does not give us words that turn us inward and leave us there. He gives us a prayer that draws us into relationship: with god, with one another, and with the world god loves.

Testing” may refer to circumstances that strain faithfulness: fear, persecution, despair, injustice, temptation, exhaustion, or crisis. “

Every time we pray the lord’s prayer, we are reminded: i am not alone, and neither is my neighbour.

• My bread is connected to their bread.
• My forgiveness is connected to their healing.
• My hope is connected to their dignity.
• My faith is connected to the life of the community.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts of this prayer. In a world that often teaches us to protect ourselves first, secure our own comfort first, and worry only about our own needs, jesus teaches us to pray a different way:

Our father.
Our bread.
Our forgiveness.
Deliver us.

May this prayer not only pass through our lips. May it shape our hearts. May it make us gentler with one another, more attentive to those in need, more willing to forgive, more courageous in seeking justice, and more faithful in loving the whole human family god holds close.

Amen.