Hi Friends,

There’s a segment in Sesame Street that I remember from childhood.

It begins with a catchy jingle where Grover sings, “one of these is not like the others”. Then it teaches kids to identify what doesn’t fit in. Two circles and a square. Two red frisbees and a yellow frisbee. You get the picture.

The Lord’s Prayer deals with some weighty life issues. But one line has stood out to theologians consistently over the centuries as an incompatible addition. Here’s the lineup:

Holiness, forgiveness, deliverance, the Kingdom of God, bread.

Cue the music… “one of these is not like the others…”

Origen, one of Christiandom’s foremost early theologians concluded that Jesus couldn’t possibly be referring to actual bread in this weighty prayer. Too banal. Too human. Too unlike the deep, spiritual matters that surround this phrase in Jesus’ prayer. He concluded that the only way to read this passage is to presume Jesus means spiritual bread.

It took archeological discoveries of antient shopping lists and letters for the tide to shift. Yes, they found actual shopping lists, as in “don’t forget to buy straw and chickpeas and fresh bread”.

It became accepted at this point that yes, Jesus is urging us to pray for bread. Yeast, sugar, flour, salt. And that it be bread for today—fresh bread, meeting immediate bodily needs.

Are you in need today? Do you need God to break in so you can buy groceries or pay for school or rent? Is your body in need? Jesus canonized a prayer teaching us to ask Him for these things.

He is that serious that we ask for it, unashamedly.

And I take back what I said about it being “not like the others”. Because in listing each thing He addresses in His prayer, it’s as though God is saying this to us who hear it:

“I care about this, and I care about this, and I care about this…”

Forgiveness, deliverance, bread pulled from the oven. Not so different to God. He cares for the body, soul, and spirit. We are to come, and we are to ask.

Jesus, thank you for teaching us how to pray. Thank you for caring for our practical needs. Give us this day our daily bread.

–Anna

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​