Sunday, March 06, 2011

Hauerwas: "...a people who ask for no more than their daily bread."

On page 78 of Hauerwas' commentary on Matthew, the author considers the prayer request, "give us this day our daily bread." Hauerwas looks at this entreaty through the lens of the community-of-the-called that is the church. Here's his apple-cart upsetting take:
Only on the basis of the work of Christ is it possible for us to ask for no more than our daily bread. Just as God supplied Israel daily with bread in the wilderness, so followers of Jesus have been given all they need in order to learn to depend on one another on a daily basis. Without the community that Jesus has called into existence, we are tempted to hoard, to store up resources, in a vain effort to insure safety and security. Of course our effort to live without risk not only results in injustice, but it also makes our lives anxious, fearing that we never have enough (Matt. 6:19-21). In truth, we can never have enough if what we want is the bread that the devil offered Jesus. But Jesus is good news to the poor (Matt. 11:4), for he brought into existence a people who ask for no more than their daily bread.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

an interesting perspective.