In 1932, Emmet Fox penned his interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer in his book, “The Sermon on the Mount.” His manuscript completely changed how I understood this most important Prayer.
“Our Father who art in heaven….”
How many of us have heard or read that phrase and immediately gone unconscious, getting lost in the rhythm of the rote words without thought? I know I have, even though I know there is deep, underlying meaning in every phrase of this Prayer – the one common denominator of all Christian faiths. So, this blog is as much for my benefit as it is for you, the reader. In these interesting times, I felt a strong need to revisit the Lord’s Prayer as the great Emmet Fox explains it. Let’s look at how he interprets the first six words.
Our Father
“… Jesus lays down once and for all that the relationship between God and man is that of father and child.”
I was raised a Southern Baptist. My church taught that God could be loving and kind, but also cruel and avenging. That never resonated with me. It always seemed out of accord with my inner being. Of course, this was the same church in which back pews were dedicated to chattering teenagers and the kitchen to bitter old ladies whose overheard gossip had sent my mother home in tears. So, I already had doubts about the wisdom of this church. I had good parents; not perfect, but they loved and raised my siblings and me to the best of their abilities. I have to believe that an omnipotent being would only love us more perfectly; being not angry, but supportive – allowing us to create our own lives and make our own mistakes so that we can learn from them. That’s the only explanation that makes sense to me, and is quite empowering.
“The offspring is and must be of the same nature as the parent; and so, since God is Divine Spirit, man must essentially be Divine Spirit too, whatever appearances may say to the contrary.”
Here, Fox is saying that we are all sparks of the divine. For years, Judi has been encouraging her students to say out loud, “I am a child of God with divine purpose,” and more recently, “I am the power and presence of God,” as a reminder that we are ALL God’s children and powerful creators in our own rights. Did not Jesus say that we would do greater works than He? (John 14:12) We were not born of sin; we were born of divinity! This, too, helped me to reconcile childhood anguish regarding the conflicts between church teachings and my own truth.
“The Prayer says, not ‘My Father,’ but ‘Our Father,’ and this indicates, beyond the possibility of mistake, the truth of the brotherhood of man.”
I do not understand how people can think less of others because of their skin color, religion, or other differences. I have friends who are black, Asian, Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist; friends who have multiple homes and others who work multiple jobs to make ends meet; friends with Doctorates and those with GEDs; I even have friends who have very different beliefs than me. I love them all and feel connected to them all. We are all One. This brings me a sense of peace and belonging when I remember it. BlissNinny’s vision statements explains it further.
Oneness Perspective
We recognize that each of us is a unique expression of the same Divine whole.
We feel that we are like an acapella group – each voice harmonizing with the others to create a beautiful, soulful vibration. Our individuality is necessary to add creative variety, yet should not be confused with separateness. There is no “us” versus “them,” because in the big picture, there is no “other.” Although God, by whatever name you call the Divine, may have split itself into infinite sparks of consciousness in order to enjoy the experience of individuality and find the value of community and relationship, there is only Oneness.
Quantum physics also assures us that we are all interconnected, with experiments proving that just measuring the state of an electron can change the state of another electron, even if it is lightyears away. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/08/more-evidence-support-quantum-theory-s-spooky-action-distance
Who art in heaven
“…it is the nature of God to be in heaven, and of man to be on earth, because God is Cause, and man is manifestation… God is the Infinite and Perfect Cause of all things; but Cause has to be expressed, and God expresses Himself by means of man. Man’s destiny is to express God in all sorts of glorious and wonderful ways… Every feature of your life is really a manifestation or expression of something in your soul.”
For me, this reemphasizes that we are all expressions of God. Although we are One with God, we are not the same. We each have a role in creating the experience of our lives. We need a physical body with which to create on this planet, and we need our ego. As Judi says, “Ego is imperative to the experience of human life. Ego is the lens through which spirit focuses on maintaining a specific aspect, or personality, in physical existence. Without the ego, we would have no interest in remaining incarnate.” I feel a sense of purpose and comfort when I remember that I am part of God’s divine creation, expanding “all that is” with every experience.
That’s all for now
I’m going to stop there. Just reviewing the deeper meaning of these first six words of the Lord’s Prayer has been a salve on my soul. I hope it has been for you, as well.
If you would like to read Emmet’s original works, you can find it here. https://lessonsintruth.info/library/short-new-thought-writings/emmet-fox-the-lords-prayer-sermon-on-the-mount/