Frederick Buechner wrote a book called The Longing for Home. It is a wonderful book, easy to read and filled, as are all of his books, with subtle wisdom we can take with us everywhere. Toward the end of the book, Bueckner talks of the safety and comfort of our home and of those who do not have that comfort. It is unsettling to say the least. I have been to South Africa, to India, to Mexico and I have seen abject poverty and people with no home or place to go. I have seen it on many streets and in many cities here in the U.S.
When I say the Model Prayer (the Our Father for my Catholic friends) I take the liberty of changing a few things. Hey, it’s a model not a blue print. I thank God that the Kingdom has already come and then I ask that I be able to do His will the same way it is done in heaven. I do the same when I pray about trespasses, that I can forgive exactly the way I am forgiven. When it comes to bread, I thank God for my daily bread and I ask that I never, ever forget those who have no bread.
Bueckner goes on to point out that we pray for the hungry, which is a start. We should try to feed them or make sure they are fed, as often as possible. But then he moves from, as they say in the South, ‘Preachin’ to meddlin”. That is when he reminds us that we are all hungry and want to be fed. We all have a hunger to be loved, to be noticed, to have more faith, or if you are me, a hunger to belong. I am so hungry sometimes and yet don’t even realize it. Hungry for my students to learn and be successful. Hungry for my family to be happy and safe and healthy. Hungry to be accepted by a new church. Hungry to make a difference in this world.
I think that is the true meaning of the Our Father. When I get to the daily bread part, what I am really asking is for the Eternal to satisfy all of those hungers in my life. An old hymn says, “Bread of Heaven feed me till I want no more” and that is what I want. But Bueckner doesn’t stop yet and we shouldn’t either. He goes on to point out that we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is only when we feed them that we are truly fed ourselves.
If our longings are to be met, we need to feed others. Yes, with a loaf or canned goods if that is needed, but also their hunger to be accepted, loved, appreciated and to matter in this world. When they are full, we will be full and our deepest longings will be satisfied.
TMM