Give us this day our daily bread is interesting
It is an imperative
As though it is in Abba's power to give us bread
It is also recurrent
Daily implies every day including today
And finally it is our bread
It belongs to us
It as as if Abba has something of ours
And that's the nub
This is saying make sure we get our bread today
It is entitlement a right
We are asking Abba to see to it that we are fed
When we are not fed
something is standing between us and Abba
How about poverty
How about scarcity
How about selfishness
How about greed
If the bread is ours to begin with
we are asking Abba to clear away these possible barriers
We are assuming that Abba has the power
to conquer poverty and greed and all these other things
And so Abba does
but only as we understand the truth
We are entitled
Entitlement is not a dirty word
It refers to a right
We ask for bread and expect to receive
... our daily bread
And let us be clear
this is everything that nurtures us
Call it entitlement
Call it a safety net
But this prayer means more
Our daily bread means
our portion of what is needed to
