By Beth Langstaff
During the semester break, we have been busy planning the next International Symposium, which will be held here in Tübingen at the beginning of October 2018. We are excited to announce the topic: "The Lord's Prayer: Origins, Significance, and Reception" / "Das Vaterunser: Ursprünge, Bedeutung und Wirkungsgeschichte." Fourteen scholars from around the world will be discussing the Lord's Prayer, asking and addressing questions such as: How should we read the Lord's Prayer as the centre of the Sermon on the Mount? What is the relationship between prayer and faith in the New Testament? What did early Christians such as Origen teach about the Lord's Prayer? Does God tempt anyone? We'll be introducing the speakers in the following issues of The Word and The World.
The Lord's Prayer is found in two of the four gospels, in Matthew 6:9-13, in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, and a shorter form with slightly different wording in Luke 11:2-4. Another version is found in the early Christian summary of teaching and church order known as the Didache:
"Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our debt, as we also forgive our debtors;
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is the power and the glory forever."
(translation by Michael W. Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers, 3rd. ed.)
The Didache urges its readers to pray like this three times a day — not a bad habit!
