The Atheist and the Bear
I came across this joke recently. It’s one I’ve heard numerous times before. And every time I hear it, it makes me laugh. You may or may not have heard it yourself, but either way, enjoy:
As he continued walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes. Turning to look, he saw a seven foot Grizzly Bear charging towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the bear was closing in on him. His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster.
He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear raising his paw to take a swipe at him.
At that instant the atheist cried out: “Oh my God!…”
Time stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
It was then that a bright light shone upon the man and a voice came out of the sky saying:
“You deny my existence for all of these years, teach others I don’t exist and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”
The atheist looked directly into the light.
“It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps, could you make the BEAR a Christian?”
“Very well,” said the voice. The light went out, and the sounds of the forest resumed.
And then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his head and spoke: “Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive and for which I am truly thankful, Amen.”
Give us today our daily bread
When Jesus said, “Give us today our daily bread”, he wasn’t suggesting that we make a trip to our local supermarket for a loaf of Warburtons finest bread. He was, though, making the point that it’s okay and right to consider our daily needs in our prayers. After all, without the strength we need for each day, we will find it difficult to truly do his will and serve his kingdom.
Some of the early Church Fathers spiritualized the bread to refer to the bread which was served at Holy Communion. Part of the reason at least, which is easy to understand, was that it seemed too earthly praying for something as mundane as groceries, after praying for God’s glory.
Yet, “daily bread” does mean just that, daily bread. The word, “bread” refers to that food which sustains us. And in the wider sense too, bread refers to all that we as humans need to live. Food for our next meal matters to our Father in heaven, he does concern himself with what’s on our shopping list.
The word translated as “daily” — the focus of this petition — proved to be a bewildering one for scholars for centuries. I understand it doesn’t appear anywhere else either inside or outside of the Bible. It was eventually translated because of a housewife’s shopping list that was found on a scrap of papyrus by an archaeologist a, relatively, few years ago. She had written this word for “daily” next to several items on her list. It’s thought that it meant something like, “enough for the coming day”.
With our fridges and freezers solving our longer term storage problems, we rarely need to purchase food for a single day nowadays. We store up such an abundance of food that we’ve become less aware of its production and gathering, less thankful for it.
When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”, we’re not asking for everything from the Harrods Food Hall. We’re praying for bread, the necessities for life rather than luxuries. Enough for the day to come, not enough to store up for years to come.
When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”, we’re asking not just for ourselves but other family members too. If we are given two loaves, and our brother or sister none, then our prayer for daily bread has been answered — we have to share rather than hoard. That should apply corporately as well as personally. It is said that God provides enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.
We can bring all of our requests to God, even the small, mundane, ones. We can pray for all the things that matter to us — bread, a coat, a pair of shoes; enough for the coming day. If we need them, then as well as mattering to us, they matter to our heavenly Father too.
This is the sixth post in a series offering a reflection based on each of the clauses of the Lord’s Prayer