Communion With the Christ:: Pater Noster

“Our Father, in Heaven”

Many are familiar with the Latin term “ Pater Noster” ,which means Our Father . Pater Noster is commonly used to designate the set of scripture known as the “Lord’s Prayer”.

In the "Lord's Prayer" Jesus demonstrates that we should approach God as our Father, that is, we have a deep intimate relationship with our God that is secure and that God is approachable, and more so, our Father wants us to approach him with our needs concerns or just to spend time with him.

“ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as it is in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.And forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one."Matt:6:9-13

The "Lord's Prayer", however, is more than a just "formula" for a successful prayer or just a "liturgical pronouncement”, but rather it is the way that God sees himself toward us and the way we should see him. We should have a fatherly view toward God, because this is his approach toward us, the Great God looks upon us as his Children.

Even, from Jesus' first words of "Our Father" Jesus is declaring his purpose for the incarnation to share his Son-ship relationship with the Father with us. Even though, from Eternity past Jesus is God's Eternal Son, yet Jesus so willing extends this Holy Son-ship to us and invites us to step into this Holy Relationship and speak our hearts needs unto God.

St. John writing in his Gospel account about the incarnation of the eternal Word of God and the purpose of the incarnation.

"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Jhn: 1:12-14

The "Lord's Prayer " is an invitation for each and all of us to join in Jesus' own Son-ship and relationship that Jesus has eternally had as the second person of the Holy Trinity with his Father.

We, through our Lord Jesus, and his incarnation, that is, Jesus has given us union with himself through assuming our humanity, are brought in to this Son-ship.

Knowing God

Eternal Life is described and defined by Jesus himself in terms of a relationship not just a "condition”, "state" or "duration of existence" but is spoken of by Jesus as knowing God; a relationship.

"and this is eternal life that they might know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" Jhn:17:3

This knowing God is bound up with knowing Jesus, and this knowing is not just having knowledge of, it is not a mass of complied information, but rather it is the knowing of a person, relating to them and having a deep abiding ongoing personal bound with then. This is what Jesus wants each and all of us to have with his heavenly Father.

This “knowing” of God the Father cannot be separated from Jesus through whom the Father reveals himself to humanity. This means, we can never truly “know” the Father apart from a relationship with Jesus.

Jesus referred to God as Father and it is this very one who desires that we come to know him, and that knowing means to fully relate to, and experience him as our Father, to have a relationship with God and see in him all that a Father is intended to be. God wants us to have this relationship with him to be his to look to and trust in him. We can only have this relationship only because He Himself wants to have it with Us

God First loved Us

God took the initial steps. He looked out from eternity and brought us into being. God took the initiative and ordained all the salvation acts from the call of Abraham, the freeing Israel, and establishing the Covenant, the conquest of the Promised land, the sending of Prophets and the writings of the Holy word and the incarnation of the Eternal Son of God, Jesus' death and resurrection the ascension of Jesus' and the writing of the word all so that we might call God, Father, and receive fully all that is found in such a relationship.

"We love because he first loved us."1Jhn:4:19

Our Father wants us for all eternity, that is why this is eternal life. That’s how long he wants his relationship with each of us to last if we will but freely receive through Jesus when we hear the Gospel proclaimed.

From the beginning in Eternity past God has desired this relationship with us, it was his doing that all this was decreed. This shows us that God choose not to be God without us. That God willed to be our Father and we, His Children.

A Place Prepared

Jesus speaking in the upper room tells his Disciples, and all believers, that he personally will be overseeing our place in Eternity as a member of the household, as an inheritor of all that God has for us through Jesus.

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory"Rm:8:17

Jesus tells us that "I go to prepare a place for you" this tells us that, this is the intent the full reason of the incarnation, the death of the cross and the glorious resurrection and ascension, all so, that a place in eternity is there for us.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jhn:14:1-4

There is a place for all of us in the Father’s House. We are all wanted and invited to this place. It is freely offered to us by grace thru the proclamation of the Gospel message about Jesus and the Kingdom of God, if we will but freely receive it, and our God wants us to receive it, none need be excluded except their unwillingness to receive it through Jesus alone.

"do not be afraid , little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."Lk:12:32

This blessing of being a child of God, that of sharing in Jesus' own son-ship, is ours through Jesus alone. There is no other way apart from Jesus.

"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”Jhn:14:6-7

Through Jesus, God the Father is reclaiming that relationship with humanity which he intended, even from the very outset of creation and through Jesus we encounter and come to see the Father in his most perfect revelation possible.

"If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves".(7-11)

In Jesus God is revealing himself to us all. The Father is revealing himself that we might know him as our own Father just as Jesus prayed that we might come to know the Father.

It is through Jesus that our Father shows his eternal love to us all, even to those who do not yet believe. That when Jesus is brought to the forefront of our minds that the Father stands forth in his greatest clarity in his Holy Son.

“If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father”

A Focus on the person of Jesus is the Focus on the Father.

St. Paul, tells us that through the incarnation all of God is present within the person of Jesus, in him, that is Jesus, we see all the fullest of the Deity in body form. Col: 2:9

The anonymous author of the Hebrews Epistle tells us that it is through Jesus, who is the heir of all things, that God has spoken to us. Heb: 1:1-2

Through Jesus Christ God has spoken to us all so that when we look upon the person of Jesus Christ we can see and hear the Father and his divine love for each of us.

All Are Prodigals

God looks out at all humanity and sees his very loved ones living, struggling, going through life without knowing him. All humanity, at some point to some degree walked in this “Prodigal ignorance” of our loving God, who wants us to return to him and know his love which is gracious and unconditional.

So many still do not yet know the great God as Father, and are in ignorance of His eternal love for them. They are living as a slave in the ignorance of his love and grace. They are living in a state of not knowing the God as Father to the fullness.

Our Father watches as they hurt themselves and others as they live in this ignorance that God is there to embrace them to be their God and Father

God, like the father in the parable of "Prodigal Son" when the father saw his estranged son a far off the father ran and to embrace him. So, God looks, waits and longs and even calls out through the Gospel to and for a relationship with Humanity to be their Father.

Abba, Dear Father

Some, even Christians, feel that they push the limits of God’s love from them. St. Paul, tells us that we are we are his Children he is our Father and we are able to address our God as "Abba" . Rm: 8:12-17

In the culture which St. Paul wrote "Abba" was term of great endearment which only members of the family were permitted to call a father. We are our dear Father’s children given the right to address him as “Abba” .

"Abba" is not the cold name of only a progenitor, but the name of one who loves and is loved, one who shares what is theirs' out of love not obligation.

Nothing Can Separate Us

Some will say can God really love us like that? St. Paul tells us nothing can separate us from his love. We can reject his love, but that will never stop God from loving us.

"neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."Rm:8:39

God’s love is so deep, that he himself came in the person of his Holy Son Jesus and went to the Cross for each of us and rose from the dead that we might share in Jesus' own son-ship and be co-heirs and that we might call our God and speak the words with all truthfulness "Our Father" .

Benediction: May we each and all ever growing in that deep personal relationship with our Father, let the words "Our Father" ever be upon our lips, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.