August/September
2009
- Vol. 32
On
the Lord's Prayer
From
a sermon by Gregory of Nyssa, 4th
century
Who Art in Heaven
These words I think have a very deep meaning.
They remind us of
the homeland we have abandoned, of the
citizenship we have lost.
In the parable of the young man who left his
father's house, went
off the rails and was reduced to living with
pigs, the Word of God shows
us human wretchedness. That young man did not
find his one-time happiness
again until he had realized his moral
degradation, had looked into his
own heart and had pronounced the words of
confession.
These words almost agree with the Lord's
Prayer, because the prodigal
son says: `Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you.' (Luke
15:21) He would not confess himself to be a
sinner against heaven if he
were not convinced that the homeland he had
left at the time of his going
astray were not in actual fact heaven.
By this confession of his he makes himself
worthy once again to
stand in the presence of his father who runs
towards him, embraces him,
and kisses him.
The conclusion is this. To return to heaven
there is only one route
and that is to admit one's sinfulness and seek
to avoid it. To make the
decision to avoid it is already to be
perfecting one's likeness to God.
| Introduction
Sermons
on God the Father
»
I
believe in God the Father,
by Augustine of Hippo
»
God
is
Father, by Cyril of
Jerusalem
»
The
Foundation
Stone of the Soul, by
Cyril of Jerusalem
Sermons
on the Lord's Prayer
»
Our
Father, by Gregory of
Nyssa
»
Who
art
in Heaven, by Gregory of
Nyssa
»
Hallowed
by
thy Name, by Origen
»
Thy
Kingdom
Come, by Origen
»
Thy
will
be done, by Origen
»
Give
us
our daily bread, by
Gregory of Nyssa
»
Forgive
us
our trespasses, by
Cassian
»
And
lead
us not into temptation,
by Origen
»
But
deliver
us from evil, by Cyprian
of Carthage
|
