Happy Sunday!
I've been working on my book on prayer, and this weekend I'm writing the chapter on the Our Father (the Lord's Prayer). I was doing a little comparison between Luke's version and Matthew's version (Luke's version is "missing" a couple lines). It's very consistent with my theory that Matthew writes his gospel after Luke's and is correcting or clarifying. So Luke has given an abbreviated version of the Our Father (one which didn't stand the test of time in liturgy & private practice), and Matthew then gives the more complete version - which the Church fathers all use without exception, and which they call "the most excellent (i.e., perfect, in the sense of complete) prayer."
So it occurred to me that, as one of the disciples, Matthew is not just writing this prayer as another part of the story that needs to be remembered. Since Jesus had taught the disciples this prayer, it's reasonable to assume that even during the time of Jesus' ministry, they were praying the Our Father - I mean, why would they not? So Matthew would already have it memorized. Luke learned it and reproduced it, but not as one who had been praying it verbatim for years. Matthew, on the other hand, was already in the habit of praying the prayer from memory before he ever wrote his gospel - as I think we can assume all the original apostles did.
Now I know that some scholars would balk at this based on their skepticism about the authorship of Matthew - but the whole "anonymous gospels" myth has been thoroughly debunked by Brant Pitre, among others, and so there is no good reason to doubt that Matthew was actually written by Matthew.
I'm back, up and running, and ready to go - I should have a new JOURNEY episode within the next week or so - and because you are my loyal peeps, here is an exclusive, just-for-you, behind the scenes SNEAK PEEK into my new office:
This was for March 24th, recorded for the Ascension App
Thanks for your patience - here is our next installment of The Journey - it's session # 96, but I'm also calling it PART 1 of a "miniseries" on John chapter 6.
Whoever watches it first, please let me know if it looks good or if there are any problems with it - I get through the first two sections of the text on the feeding of the 5,000.
Enjoy!
I mentioned in The Journey that I wrote a song based on Isaiah 2, which is one of my favorite OT passages:
In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain, and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it. Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
I hope you like the song!
