The Seasons: A Poem

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Sunrise over Amazing Grasses Family Farm The mad Artist wields His brush, Painted colors rush, To life and give flush, Before the quiet autumn hush. The life seems to pour, As colors fall to the floor, To be seen no more, Outside the dark, grey door. Brightness from below, Sun upon the snow, High, cold clouds blow, Flakes and ice appear to grow. The man melts with little seen, Underneath, pale, grey green, Hides life in dark unseen, Waits for warmth and to careen. Buds on branches show, Patience starts to grow, Trickles, streams and veins flow, Bringing fruits of melted snow. Sprung to life it springs, Bees, birds, sound rings, Lush green flings, Its gift bounty brings. Green growth gives one last rush, Underneath the Painter's brush. The mad Artist wields His brush, before the quiet autumn hush. More poetry is available from James M. Hahn in  The Last Dragon and Other Poems  available now. My new book of cryptogram puzzles " Secret Messages from the Saints " is avai
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The Our Father in Jeopardy?

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Matthew 6:7-15

On a recent episode of Jeopardy, fans and viewers were shocked when none of the
contestants were able to fill in this blank, "Matthew 6:9 says, 'Our Father Which Art In Heaven', This 'Be Thy Name.'"

What is, unbelievable? Is this a cultural commentary on Christianity today? I believe so, but we'll save that for another time.

In today's Gospel Jesus teaches His disciples the prayer that we commonly call the Our Father. Again, this is part of The Sermon on the Mount, some of Jesus' most important instructions for living the commandments and not simply following the letter of the law. 

The original Ten Commandments given to Moses, written by the hand of God, were these:

  1. I, the Lord, am your God.  You shall not have other gods besides me.
  2. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.
  3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day.
  4. Honor your father and your mother.
  5. You shall not kill.
  6. You shall not commit adultery.
  7. You shall not steal.
  8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
  10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

The first three of these commandments deal specifically with God. The remaining seven deal with our neighbor.

Jesus condenses and summarizes these 10 Commandments into two:

He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

The Our Father is a continuation of this idea:

Loving God: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Loving Neighbor and Self: Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

St. Augustine, taking things a step further, narrows it down to one commandment; love. He is often quoted as saying, "Love and do whatever you please." This sounds good to modern ears but the full quote is a bit more challenging. 

“Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”

If we step back and take a look at all of this from Genesis to St. Augustine we not only see a beautiful continuity of teaching but an ever-increasing challenge to love God more fully. In a sense, the 10 Commandments are like milk for an infant people just learning to love God. The words of St. Paul could be placed in the mouth of Our Heavenly Father addressing the Israelites in the desert - I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. (1 Corinthians 3:2)

At that point in salvation history God could not simply say, "Love and do what you please" or even "Love me with all that you are and your neighbor as yourself." He had to start with baby steps, spelling things out for His people, gently leading them over the course of history to a deeper understanding and a more mature love.

In the three chapters of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is actually explaining the love behind the commandments. He is showing that these are not arbitrary rules put in place by an angry God but rather guardrails (or baby gates if you prefer) to help His people stay close to Him. Today, we often joke and say, "explain it to me like I'm a 5 year-old". This is exactly what Jesus is doing - You've heard that your not supposed to kill but you shouldn't even be angry or unkind because those things lead to killing. You've hear that you aren't supposed to commit adultery but you shouldn't even look with lust upon another person made in God's image and likeness because that can lead to adultery. Etc, Etc,.

The Our Father is a way for us to internalize everything from the milk of the 10 Commandments to the solid food of St. Augustine's one commandment to simply, “Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”

Depending on where we are in our walk with the Lord we may need milk or we may be ready for meat or we may need a combination. The Our Father is that combination that we can feed on daily, meditate on often, and live each moment.

What is, hallowed? (That's the answer to the Jeopardy question for those who were still wondering.)


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