• Benny Nalkara,CMI

The sixth petition in the Lord’s prayer is a plea for the protection from the temptations (Mt 6:13; Lk 11:4). It follows shortly after a plea for daily bread (i.e., material sustenance), it is generally seen as referring to not being caught up in the material pleasures given. This petition has prompted more theological comments than any other sections in the Lord’s prayer.

In this petition, we come across two important words, “lead into” and “temptation.” The Greek word that’s used here to denote “temptation,” is peirasmos. In different contexts it can mean temptation, testing, trial, experiment or of course it can actually mean “solicitation to sin.”    In its New Testament usage to tempt a person is not so much to seek to seduce him into sin, as it is to test his strength and his loyalty and his ability for service.  The temptation can be a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threaten long-term goals. The “temptation “can be also a “test” to prove one’s loyalty or character. In the Old Testament we read the story of how God tested the loyalty of Abraham by seeming to demand the sacrifice of his only son Isaac.

When we make this petition, referring to the temptations, naturally the story of the temptations of Jesus comes to our minds. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Mt 4:1). More than a seducing, the temptations faced by Jesus were to prove and to testify the identity of Jesus that he was the Son of God.  It was a moment when Jesus was distracted from his sense of mission by the Satan by giving puzzlements connected to the needs, safety and glory of life. Jesus was always vigilant about the potential trials and temptations he had to face in his mission and always warned the disciples of this danger. At Gethsemane, in the last moments of his life, he urges the disciples: “watch and pray that you may not come into temptation (Mt 26:41; Lk 22:46). Jesus reminds us of this possible situation in life by giving this petition in prayer.

The verb eisphero is used to denote “to lead.” Eisphero (literally  eis (in/into) and phero (bring/carry) means bring/carry (something/someone) in/into. Some say that the Greek word for “lead” in the Lord’s Prayer means “do not allow us to enter into temptation”. Others say that God will always provide a way out of temptation, but it is ultimately up to the individual to choose to resist it. The popular translation of the petition, “do not lead us (into temptation)” might generate the internal question “Is it possible that the God Himself may lead us into temptation by His own will?” This may probably be embarrassing or even incomprehensible for the faithful. Taking into consideration this fact, Pope Francis, following other earlier and also modern translations by theologians, suggested a softened translation, “Do not let us fall into temptation”  implying that the people aware of their weakness for possibly committing a sin  are begging God do not let them fall into temptation.

Actually for what we are urged to pray while praying this petition? In some translations it’s rendered as “do not subject us to the final test.” Jewish Apocalyptic writings speak of a period of severe trail before the end of the age, sometimes called a “messianic woes.” So, in this background, this petition which asks that the disciples be spared of that test, points towards helplessness of the human person and the trust in the power and mercy of God. The prayer also reflects the early Christians’ quest for reassurance and clarity on the problem of evil in the world and human’s responsibility for withstanding temptation. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire,” writes St. James (1:13-14). The First Letter of Peter, written to encourage Christians who were suffering, observes that God allows the believers to endure various trials (peirasmoi) to prove and to enhance their quality of faith.

“Lead us not into temptation,” conveys a sense of dread that we will fail utterly to fulfill the vocation we have been given and may even turn from God in despair. We need to understand this petition in the wider context of the prayer, “Our Father,” which is also an identity pronouncement of a believer as the child of God. In fact, we pray for the strength to withstand all the temptations that take us away from living our identity as the children of God. When we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” our earnest petition admits our need for transformation, even as we beseech the Father “not to mete out more than we can bear, not to let us slip from his hands.” Temptations are designed to make us stronger and better men and women, stronger and finer children of God, who are aware of this identity.