Lesson II On The Lord`s Prayer
Fr. Christos Christofidis, Sunday May 31, 2009

In this lesson we revisited the parable of the Prodigal Son, because the clearest picture the Bible shows of our heavenly Father is in this well known parable. We said, think of the most loving and forgiving, gentle yet strong, considerate and affirming, brilliant yet humble, unselfish and courageous father imaginable; multiply that by a million times over and you`ll begin to have an inkling of what our heavenly Father is like. In the parable of the Prodigal Son we see the unconditional love of the Father. In it, a trusting father allows his determined younger son to leave home with his full inheritance, knowing that his son`s immaturity and faulty decision-making, will get him into trouble. This is the challenge all parents experience. Though we would like to protect our children and keep them safe from making major mistakes, holding onto them can have even more damaging results than letting them go. The Father of the Prodigal then was also a wise father! This amazing person was a non controlling parent, one who allows his child to think, not simply act mechanically. He permitted his son, who was of age, to try his wings and then allowed him to return home without laying a shame trip on him.
Jesus gave us this parable as an icon of the kind of person we talk to when we pray the "Our Father". Let us summarize some patristic thoughts on these two words.
St. Euthemios Zegavenos says:" We must examine each word with attentiveness. Jesus commands us to say the Our Father in order to remember the gift of ADOPTION and to behave worthy of the title SONS". St. John Chrysostom adds: "To call God Father has its consequences. We must do the deeds that are acceptable to Him. If we do evil deeds we call the devil father". In other words we must be children of light not of darkness.
Saint Cyprian makes the following powerful comment which becomes an accuser to those  who claim that all religions worship the same God. He says: "This small word OUR that is in the Lord`s prayer it means that God is the Father of those who believe in Jesus Christ. If Jesus is not our spiritual brother how can we call God, our Father? Whoever has the Son as a brother, has God as Father. " The Son and  the Father are One in essence ".
After spending some time on the words Our Father we begun looking at the words "Who art in heaven". If it is understood the word Father denotes the heavenly Father why add extra words? Because for some it is not easily understood and in order to distinguish between the earthly fathers from the heavenly One. What does this mean? Here on earth many children do not have healthy fathers nor healthy relationships with them. For some when they hear the first words, especially the word Father, they remember their earthly father and they draw a parallel between him and their heavenly Father. We must be able to distinguish between our earthly father and our heavenly Father when thinking of God. Unless you`ve been healed from hurtful childhood emotions and memories, you will see God as you experienced your earthly father. If your human father was gone nearly all the time, you may feel God is unavailable to you.. If he was verbally, physically or sexually abusive, you will be fearful of, and unable to trust God and will want to keep a safe distance from Him. Many atheists and agnostics had poor fathers or father figures or perhaps religious leaders who represented God to them and may have disillusioned them. A chaplain in a correctional facility had said, " In my 12 years of experience in the jail ministry, in counseling and dealing with men 18yrs old and above, I find that 80% of these inmates have had poor father relationships. For the women its a little better, 60%".
This is not the way it was meant to be. Scripture says," Fathers are the glory of their children" Proverbs 17:6. That is, fathers are supposed to be such good and loving examples, godly fathers, that their children will be drawn to God.  Both boys and girls get a primary picture of how they view God from their earthly father. The importance of the mother`s role is obvious because of her closeness to her child throughout pregnancy and her continued closeness during infancy and childhood.  A child continues to get his/her feelings and emotional responses, good or bad, primarily from his/her mother. But, the point for our purpose is, that the father`s role, which is often underestimated, is vital to a child`s perception of God.
We the earthly fathers need to be very careful. Do you have any bad habits like alcohol or drug abuse, gambling, cursing, just to mention a few or any other, try to eliminate them preferably before your children are able to utter the sweet word DAD. And if your children are grown by now, it is not too late to make a difference; repent and say `I am sorry`. And if you have the habit of working even on a Sunday you need to change that habit also for the child wants to be with his father in God`s home. Remember, God the Father rested on the seventh day in order to be with His son and daughter, Adam and Eve in the garden of delight, Paradise ie. The Church.
If anyone has trouble seeing God as a loving Father, just take Jesus` word for now that He is! Next Sunday we will continue our discussion on the words "Who are in heaven". Father Christos