Review of the Book, "Ama Namin: The Lord’s Prayer in Philippine Life and Spirituality"

 

Review of the Book, Ama Namin: The Lord’s Prayer in Philippine Life and Spirituality, edited by Timoteo Gener Jason Tan (UK: Langham Global Library, 2023).

First, thank you for inviting very much for this invitation to be a reviewer of Ama Namin and to be around its launching.  It’s a great honor.

Ama Namin Goes Viral

What perfect timing! The Ama Namin has gained significant traction on social media, thanks to a drag queen's rendition. At the same time, the Catholic bishops have recently issued guidelines regarding the appropriate hand position during the "Our Father" prayer at Mass. Until yesterday, a few social media pages with a considerable following spread the message that it is incorrect for the faithful to extend their hands while reciting the Our Father during Mass, in a manner similar to the priest. In response to this, the bishops have released an official statement affirming that there is no issue regarding whether or not to raise one's hands while praying the Our Father during Mass.

Three Versions

As many of us are aware, the Our Father has several versions. Tim Gener highlights this in his essay (chapter 9 of the book): one in Luke and another in Matthew with a doxology.  If we consider the version in Didache as a distinct tradition, then we have a third version.

In any case, it shows the openness of the  Lord’s Prayer as the late Professor Ulrich Luz, wrote in his long commentary in the Hermeneia series. I quote: “It is the openness of the Lord’s  Prayer that is its real strength. Countless human beings have been able to find a home in the Lord’s Prayer for their own hopes and petitions and to enter into that home. At the same time, however, the Lord’s Prayer guided their praying. Thus, I proceed on the assumption that the openness of this prayer is intentional.”

Creative Tension

I was asked to say a few words on “what I find helpful and what the book Ama Namin can contribute towards the strengthening of the Philippine church and her continuing engagement with society.”

 In relation to the task, I remember the first theological book on the Our Father that I read when I was a seminarian some 38 years ago. The book was written by the controversial liberation theologian Leonardo Boff with the title: The Lord’s Prayer: A Prayer of Integral Liberation (1983).  Boff shows in that small book that the Lord's Prayer can help us to maintain the religious and political dimensions of our faith in creative tension, avoiding deadening reductionisms

I think that is what the Langham scholars wanted to do in this book. It’s interesting how they explicate (himay-himay, Rico’s word) in a contextual reading of the Ama Namin preserving the creative tension between eschatology and lived-experience.

As we know, the Our Father is an eschatological prayer. The Didache, its first interpreter, knows when it appended a doxology to it.

Even the invocation of "Our Father" in Matthew or simply "Father" in Luke, carries an intimate and personal connection, both on an individual and communal level, as emphasized by Pastor Egay, This highlights the inherent "gap" that exists between the divine and the human, which should not be violated. However, Matthew introduces a relative clause, "who art in heavens," which, in Greek, can be understood as an attribute introduced by the relative particle "HO." Pastor Rico further adds then that the singular form "Heaven" refers to our visible world, while the plural form "heavens" in the text indicates the invisible divine realm.

Ethical Dimension of Eschatology

One aspect that I found particularly valuable in this book is its sincere effort to shed light on the socio-political and ethical dimensions of eschatology by utilizing the Ama Namin as a lens. In today's theological discourse, it is crucial for us to engage with this task, as critical thinkers have pointed out the dangers of eschatology being used as a means to escape from the realities of the world, echoing Marx's well-known characterization of it as "the opium of the people." Vicente Rafael's research on the translation of prayers and doctrines during the Early Spanish Rule further underscores the significant role translations played in the process of Christian conversion and their function as a tool for advancing colonialism, as indicated in the book's title (Contracting Colonialism, 1983).

Given this context, it becomes meaningful to address the Father who resides in the "heavens" or "langit" as someone who is present in his "tahanan" or home, as Pastor Rico suggests. Praying for the coming of God's reign entails praying for the establishment of God's dwelling place here on earth, as Rolex eloquently expresses. The concept of the reign of God as the "pananahan ng Diyos" is implied in the Our Father of the Doctrina Christiana. According to Pastor Rico, within the home of the Father, we find the "ulo ng tahanan" in a state of lament, drawing from the imagery in Psalm 82.

It's reasonable then to ask: to what extent can this prayer serve as a strong statement of the reality of broken homes, God’s children who are homeless, victims of injustices, like those shot to death inside their homes in the “tokhang” operations?  Can we assert that this prayer serves as a powerful protest such forms of injustice and a desperate plea for liberation, or “paglaya” as hinted by Rolex?

Periodically, the Sacred Heart Parish-Shrine serves as a venue for conducting funeral rites and the ceremonial handover of urns containing the ashes of victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs). This compassionate initiative is spearheaded by Fr. Flavie Villanueva, an SVD missionary actively involved in the Paghilom project. The Paghilom project is dedicated to facilitating the exhumation, forensic identification, and cremation of the remains of EJK victims. Additionally, it offers vital assistance and works closely with the affected families in the War on Drugs, recognizing the profound spiritual, psychological, and financial impact they face. The primary objective of the project is to provide support to those left behind, aiding them in their journey toward recovery and seeking justice.

Here's an example of an obituary I was provided, and it follows a recurring pattern of the Tokhang: unidentified men with concealed faces, a knock on the door of a residence, the victim being shot, and subsequently, the police declaring the cause of death as pneumonia or other forms of illness.

“Victim no. 3. Garzon, Erwin; Aged: 37; Date of death: September 14, 2016; Place: Bagong Silang, Caloocan City; Killed by:  unidentified; Gunshot”

According to the testimony of the sibling, Mary Rose Garzon, who witnessed the crime: "On the night of September 14, 2016, there was an abrupt knock on Erwin's and his partner's residence. Upon opening the door, two unknown men, their faces concealed, barged in and fatally shot the victim. Although Erwin suffered head injuries, the cause of death recorded on his Death Certificate was listed as "Pneumonia."

Towards the end of the rite is the usual praying or singing of the Our Father. I wonder what Mary Rose Garzon must have felt praying the line: “at patawarin mo ang aming mga sala, gaya ng pagpapatawad naming sa nagkakasala sa amin.”

Forgive our Debts

On this matter, Jason Tan's essay on forgiveness of sins as forgiveness of "utang" presents another significant aspect that I believe can have a social impact. As we are aware, the older version likely used the term "sin," as reflected in Luke, due to its eschatological connotation. Matthew contextualizes it by employing the term "debt." In the late 16th-century Doctrina Christiana translation, the term used is "kasalanan," even though the translator must have been aware of the Latin Vulgate's rendition of "debita nostra" (our debts). Prior to the late 70s, in the Roman Catholic liturgy of the Mass and the praying of the rosary, the Ama Namin still included the term "utang": "patawarin mo ang aming mga utang, katulad ng pagpapatawad naming sa mga nagkakautang sa amin."

In the recent book by Dionisio Miranda, a Filipino moral theologian (with an earlier work cited in the book's bibliography), he argues that adopting a localized hamartiology (Filipino concept of sin) is better approached from the perspective of "utang" rather than "sala." Miranda posits that sin is a betrayal of one's "utang na loob sa Diyos," emphasizing a deeper sense of indebtedness and gratitude, rather than viewing it simply as a "sala" that pertains to the remiss of a religious obligation alone.

It’s “accountability” as Jason Tan writes, to both to God and our “kapwa.”

By understanding "utang" as a concept, we can imagine the impact it has when Filipinos pray the Our Father. It resonates with those burdened by debt; a reality faced by many Filipinos. It brings a sense of conscientization to those who lend money with exorbitant interest rates, resembling loan sharks. It also prompts reflection among Christian politicians and businessmen who recite the Our Father but may not prioritize the social and economic consequences of our national debt, which amounts to almost 14 trillion pesos. It reminds me of what one Catholic bishop wrote in response to the recent controversy surrounding the proper hand posture in prayer: "Our primary concern should be focused on the hands that engage in stealing government funds, perpetuating a culture of political corruption that directly harms the poor. These are the hands of pickpockets and high-ranking public officials involved in plunder, and they are the hands that warrant our prophetic condemnation. The act of stealing, regardless of scale, is an offense to God."