When I first came to Creighton, I befriended a group of medical students who enjoyed studying on the same floor as my lab in the Biology Department. Most were evangelical Christians who took their faith seriously. As a cradle Catholic, I held stereotypes of evangelicals as 6-day creationists who constantly asked if you were saved. But as a newly ordained Jesuit priest I felt called to facilitate their spiritual life. For example, when they couldn’t gather in their usual place for daily prayer, I invited them to use my lab. I still recall the surreal experience of praying with a small group of evangelical Christians in my biology lab with the sounds of bubbling aquaria and chirping crickets in the background!
Once I was invited to lead their prayer group and I choose to conclude with the Lord’s prayer, reasoning that this must be the one prayer ALL Christians share, especially Christians who lean towards a literal interpretation of Scripture: “This is how you are to pray.” To my surprise, they did not know this prayer by heart, explaining that such “liturgical” prayers are not part of their everyday prayer experience. Despite my ministerial faux paus, I remained a part of their prayer group until they graduated and went their separate ways.
As St. Paul reminds us, it’s easy for Christians to get confused and led astray. Paul had to deal with so-called “superapostles” who came to Corinth and claimed that Paul was not a true apostle, implying that his teaching and spiritual guidance was false. The Corinthian Christians believed these “superapostles” and rejected Paul, deeply hurting him. To Paul’s credit, he does not lash out at the “superapostles.” In today’s polarized world, we can easily imagine someone hurling insults at their opponents and sowing discord.
But Paul doesn’t do this. He makes himself vulnerable, expressing his love for the Corinthian Christians. Why? Perhaps because Paul was grounded in the Lord’s prayer. In a few brief sentences, this simple prayer implies a personal relationship with God on whom we depend for all our needs. It shows our humility as we experience God’s loving power while acknowledging God as our model of forgiveness and relationship with others. It unites us with Christ as we profess our membership in the family of God.
The Lord’s Prayer can function as a mantra for Christians. When we internalize this prayer, it shapes our entire life: our beliefs, our behavior, our whole relationship with God and with one another. If we pray it constantly, it becomes the heartbeat of our lives. We will not be drawn away by those who come, as Paul says, “preaching another Jesus than the one we preached.” We will be open to those whose Christian beliefs and prayer may differ from ours. The simple model of this prayer leads us to greater unity with Christ, with our Creator and with other Christians.
Rev. John Shea, SJ
I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and first met the Jesuits as an undergraduate majoring in biology at John Carroll University. My experience of doing the Spiritual Exercises in my senior year influenced my later decision to join the Jesuits after graduating from The Ohio State University with a PhD in Evolutionary Biology in 2003. As a Jesuit, I have taught Parasitology, Zoology, Ecology, and Science and Religion. After my ordination in 2014, I came to Creighton to teach in the Biology Department.
In addition to my passion for parasites, I enjoy Doctor Who, hiking in the great outdoors, and praying with God’s word. I look forward to finding and sharing the graces from the daily readings with Creighton’s extensive on-line community.
