Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Whenever we pray the Lord's Prayer, we ask for our daily bread. What is that, anyway? This sermon considers just that question. Are we only asking for food... or for something far deeper? What do you think?

In our travels through the Lord’s Prayer, we have finally arrived at the point at which we’re going to ask for something for ourselves. We haven’t done that yet. Until now, we have focused our prayers completely on God. We’ve acknowledged God’s relationship with us – and our relationship with God – and we’ve prayed that what God wants might actually happen. “Thy kingdom come” and “thy will be done” are the language that we use to pray for that, but those requests are actually two sides of the same coin! ”Come on, God, bring it on!” we’ve said. “We can’t wait for the wholeness and peace of your kingdom!” And that is all that we’ve asked for so far. But now, we begin to ask for ourselves. We ask “Give us this day our daily bread.” “Our daily bread.” What is that, anyway? Is it literal bread? Are we asking for a nice loaf of Pepperidge Farm thin sliced wheat? Do we just want food to fill our stomachs? Or is “our daily bread” something more than that?

In both the Old and the New Testament, the word “bread” is frequently a symbol for more than just food. Sure, sometimes it means literal “bread,” but “bread” often stands for basic human needs. It can mean “food” in a generic sense – any food, not just bread. After all, we all need to eat food in order to survive. Other times, “bread” means basic physical needs like clothing or shelter. And sometimes, the word “bread” has a spiritual meaning. When Jesus tells his followers in the gospel of John that he is the “Bread of Life,” he doesn’t mean that he is going to literally fill their empty stomachs with himself. On the contrary, he takes great pains to explain to them that if they are only looking for physical food from him, they should go someplace else. The bread that Jesus offers us is spiritual, meant to feed the hunger of our souls. (If you want to see what Jesus says about being the Bread of Life, you’ll want to read John 6.)

So, what does “our daily bread” mean here in the Lord’s Prayer? Are we asking for food, or for something else? Maybe it will help us to find the answer if we look at another story that both Matthew and Mark have included in their gospels. Actually, it’s a set of stories – two stories that have been stuck together because they’re meant to be read together. Each story helps to throw light on the other one. The clue that tells us that these stories go together is the language that Jesus uses. In both stories, Jesus asks someone, “What do want me to do for you?” In other words, “What do you need?” As we consider these two little stories, listen for the Lord’s Prayer echoing in the background: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

The main characters in the first story are two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John. Tradition calls them “Sons of Thunder” because they were in-your-face kinds of guys. James and John never beat around the bush! You always knew exactly where you stood with the two of them. In this story, they come strutting up to Jesus like they own the world. “Teacher,” they begin, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask!” Well, that’s some nerve! It reminds me of the teenager who comes to his parents on the day before Thanksgiving with an enormous Christmas list that includes the brand names of all the gifts and where they can be purchased. “This is what I want for Christmas,” he says, “and if there’s room under the tree, I can give you some more ideas.” But their nervy request doesn’t seem to throw Jesus off his game. He simply replies, “What do you want me to do for you? What do you need?” Their request is stunning. “We want you to let one of us sit on your right hand and the other on your left hand in glory.” In other words, they want all the glory of God’s kingdom for themselves. They want Jesus to appoint them his top advisors – two junior Messiahs who will share the power when Jesus finally takes over. They want glory and power and prestige. And Jesus says, “No.”

Now compare their request with the one in the second story of the pair. The main character in the second story isn’t one of Jesus’ disciples at all. It’s a man named Bartimaeus, a blind man who sits along the road to Jericho and begs for whatever scraps he can get out of the people who pass by. Bartimaeus doesn’t strut up to Jesus and ask for glory. He can’t even see Jesus! Other people have to tell him that Jesus is passing by! But when he hears that Jesus is there, he starts to yell over and over at the top of his voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus asks him the very same question that he asked James and John. “What do you want me to do for you? What do you need?” But how different his answer is! Bartimaeus doesn’t want any glory. He isn’t interested in power or prestige. He just wants to be able to see something! And what is Jesus’ response? “Go,” says Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” “Immediately,” says the gospel story, “immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus along the road.”

What a difference in these two little stories! In both, someone wants Jesus to act on their behalf. In both, Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you? What do you need?” In the first story, the request is for power and glory. Those may be things that we all want, but they aren’t things that any of us need. But in the second story, Bartimaeus only asks for what he needs – his sight. And after he gets it, he doesn’t run off and use it for his own benefit. Instead, he follows Jesus.

What do we want… and what do we need? That question that lies at the very heart of our request, “Give us this day our daily bread.” When we ask God for our daily bread, we’re asking not for what we want but for what we need. There’s a difference between those two things, and it’s a difference that many people don’t understand. Yes, you need new jeans for school. No, you don’t need $90 jeans with the name of a designer stitched across the back pocket. You may want that, but you don’t need it. We get our wants and our needs confused all the time. That’s because Madison Avenue does such a good job of convincing us that we need all kinds of things. We are surrounded by appealing images – on TV commercials, in magazine advertisements, on billboards along I-75 as we drive to Dayton. We’re told that we need the fastest car, the most stylish clothing, and the most delicious food. But we don’t need those things! What we need is enough food to survive, enough clothing to keep us warm, the love and support of friends and family, and the guidance of God. Those are our real needs. That’s what we’re really asking for when we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

There is a poem that illustrates beautifully the difference between our wants and our needs when we ask in prayer. I do not know who the author is; perhaps no one knows. We would do well to keep it in mind when we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have people’s praise.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all people, most richly blessed.