2026/04/13
243. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Lord's Prayer and the Seven Blessedness I
The training of Revelation produces an entirely different effect from the training Paul gave to believers using the Old Testament and the Psalms (cf. 1 Cor 14:26). In the Old Covenant, not only is the name of Jesus absent, but there is also a tragic history in which the people of the Old Covenant missed the opportunity to call God "Father." This is the history in which, despite God's promise to David concerning his son Solomon—"I will be his father, and he shall be my son" (2 Sam 7:14) —it did not fulfil because Solomon turned away from God (cf. 1 Kings 11:1–10). This history has been at the root of their lament. Having failed to attain a father-son relationship with God, they compiled the Old Testament, to which they added the Song of Songs. That was because, although there is scarcely any mention of God in the Song of Songs, it nevertheless held the potential to bring about a dramatic shift in interpretation, substituting the love between a man and a woman for the love of God.
By adding the Song of Songs to the Old Testament, even the people who had failed to attain a father-son relationship with God could have their history reaffirmed through a passionate drama of love: God's love is poured out upon the people unceasingly; guided by that "love," and though they may stray at times, the people who yearn for God eventually encounter Him. However, when images of marriage—such as lovers, bride and groom, or husband and wife—are used as an analogy for the relationship between God and the people, there is a danger that people will eventually come to delude themselves into thinking they are God's equals. They begin to entertain ideas that would be inconceivable if they knew that God and the people were in a parent-child relationship. The Gospel of John records: "This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal with God" (Jn 5:18). Yet this is at odds with the mind of Jesus, who said, "For the Father is greater than I" (14:28).
It was a deep sense of jealousy held by those who, upon hearing Jesus' words, "My Father is working still, and I am working" (Jn 5:17), deluded themselves into thinking they were equal to God, directed towards Jesus, who had called God his Father. To them, Jesus' subsequent words, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise" (5:19), must surely have fallen on deaf ears. Their deep jealousy towards Jesus, who called God his Father, was replaced by a desire to kill him. In contrast, believers who have been brought into the new covenant accomplished by Jesus have accepted Jesus, believed in his name, and been given the power to become children of God (cf. 1:12); therefore, it is entirely proper for them to call God "Father." This was precisely the true relationship between God and humanity that God had long awaited.
Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer to his disciples. It was the only prayer he taught, saying, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this" (Mt 6:8–9). The Lord's Prayer, which begins with the invocation "Our Father who art in heaven," contains seven petitions. In the Book of Revelation, there are seven blessedness that guide believers so that these petitions may become their own (see the diagram above, "Prophetic Composition of the Book of Revelation"). As can be seen on the left of the diagram, there is a considerable distance between the First Blessedness (cf. Rev 1:3) and the Second Blessedness (cf. Rev 14:13). This illustrates that such sustained training is necessary for believers to come to understand the true meaning of addressing God as "Our Father who art in heaven" and then praying, "Hallowed be thy name."
Believers who pray "Hallowed be thy name" undertake the training of Revelation so that their own memories may be purified and they may acquire, with the same heart as Jesus, the truth that God is our Father in heaven. This explains why more than half of the training contained within the 22 chapters of the Book of Revelation is devoted to the first petition of the Lord's Prayer. Thus, the petition "Hallowed be thy name" leads to the First Blessedness of Revelation: "Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near" (Rev 1:3). Those who follow this blessedness are called to incorporate the practice of reading the prophetic words of Revelation and listening to that voice into their daily routine of attending Mass, just as naturally as drinking water.
Various events present themselves to the believers living out this daily routine of attending Mass. At times, like Jesus, who said, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head" (Mat 8:20), they will experience such a whirlwind of events that they have no place to rest. Faced with such real-life events, the consciousness of the trainee of Revelation, like the author of Revelation, begins to observe those events. Thus, the subsequent prayer, "Thy kingdom come," leads to the Second Blessedness in Revelation: "'Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth.' 'Blessed indeed,' says the Spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!'" (Rev 14:13).
Maria K.M.
