• Benny Nalkara, CMI

The petition, “Give us today, our daily bread” (Mt 6:11 and Lk 11:3) is the first among the “we” petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. The first three petitions called for the glory of God in the second person. This petition, and the two that follow, call for personal needs to be met in the first person plural. In the “we” petitions, we turn to ourselves and our needs in the here and now. We do have our overwhelming needs and desperate problems to present before God.   And Jesus has taught us to call God, the loving Father and to ask him in a simple and trusting way. Jesus ensures us through this prayer that God takes a personal interest in each one of us and His attentive love goes far beyond the normal, caring parents.

Though this petition seems to be very short and simple, much of controversies and contentions have been taken place regarding the type and timing of the bread! The Greek word for bread is “artos” and its usage in the petition is often interpreted differently by different scholars. What type of bread it is? Is it only our material food and drink? Or is it our different material needs? Is it Jesus himself and our daily Eucharist? Jesus called himself the bread of life (John 6:33-35), and this has been taken to be a prayer that daily we may be fed on him who is the living bread. The bread has been identified with the bread of the Lord’s Supper and the bread has been identified with the spiritual food of the word of God.  People like St Augustine has interpreted that the term, “bread” includes both material and spiritual needs of human persons. And that interpretation sounds sensible.

More problematic is the “time” of the bread. The prayer includes two timings, namely, “today” and “daily.” The unique Matthean expression of Epiousion is a Koine Greek adjective used in the Lord’s Prayer to qualify “the bread.” Because the word is used nowhere else, its meaning is unclear. It is traditionally translated as “daily”, but most of the modern scholars reject that interpretation. One proposed translation for epi-ousios is “super-essential.” It signifies what is necessary for life, and more broadly every good thing sufficient for subsistence. So, instead of “daily bread,” “each day’s bread” is also used.

This petitionary prayer   reminds us of the providential care of the loving father. In a way, we are reminded of Jesus’s injunction to “ask, seek and knock” (Mt 7:7-8). Petitions were part of Jesus’ own life and he has taught to follow him in that aspect of life. As sons and daughter of God, we can see what God thinks of our human bodies, and care for them. He cares for all our needs. As William Barclay observes, it is not simply soul salvation, it is whole salvation, the salvation of body, mind and spirit, at which Christianity aims. This petition teaches us to pray for our daily bread, for bread for the coming day. It teaches us to live one day at a time, and not to worry and be anxious about the distant and the unknown future. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray this petition, there is little doubt that his mind was going back to the story of the manna in the wilderness (Ex 16:1-21) The Israelites were asked to pray for the manna for each day and were allowed to use it for each day.

The prayer to God, the heavenly father for “daily” bread tells us about the attitude of trust we should keep in our relationship with Him. Like children we should have the trust in him. A trust that we can approach him for each and everything in life at any time without fear. Like a son or daughter who waits for the father for bread at home with all confidence, we should be able to depend on and trust in him. According to some modern scholars, in the structure of the Lord’s Prayer, we find this petition at the centre so that we may understand and respect the centrality of God, the provider and protector in our lives.

The petitionary prayer, “Give us today our daily Bread,” is also a reminder for the care that we should have towards those who are hungry amidst us. Jesus has taught us to pray for “our bread” not for “my bread.” The cry of hunger of others should be the matter of our prayer also. We are given bread to break and give and to share it daily.