Deliver Us from Evil

I thought the line of the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil,” was a cry to get us out of trouble, asking God “up there” to rescue us from whatever awful thing we may be facing “down here.” I remember after 9-11 a well-known Evangelical pastor wrote a prayer entitled “Do It Again, Lord”, which was calling on God to pull off an Exodus-level display of power and destruction against those who just terrorized the American people. At that time and in that moment, I felt similarly, yet with a nagging uneasiness at the same time. Asking God to bring terror on the people who brought terror (who were also asking God to bring terror on us) seemed out of tune. Out of alignment. Yet I didn’t have much of a framework to help me think differently.

Aramaic scholar and poet Neil Douglas-Klotz offers insight into the meaning of “Deliver us from evil” from the perspective of the culture and language that informed Jesus:

“The Aramaic word, Bishna, does refer to evil but in the Hebraic and Aramaic sense of unripeness or inappropriate action. The roots point toward a sense of what delays or diverts us from advancing, as well as a sense of inner shame for not producing good fruit – the right action at the right time. [The Aramaic word] Patzan could be translated loosen the hold of, give liberty from, or break the seal that binds us to... Don’t let us be deluded by the surface of life, but neither let us become so inward and self-absorbed that we cannot act simply and humanly at the right time. The prayer reminds us that sometimes our ideals – including those of holiness, peace, and unity – carry us into the future or the past and make it difficult to be in the present where help is needed now.”

Douglas-Klotz goes on to offer a poetic interpretation of this one line based on his understanding of its roots:

“Remembrance”

Don’t let surface things delude us,

But free us from what holds us back

(from our true purpose).

Don’t let us enter forgetfulness,

the temptation of false

appearances.

(To the fraud of inner vacillation –

like a flag tossed in the wind –

alert us.)

But break the hold of unripeness,

the inner stagnation that

prevents good fruit.

(From the evil of injustice –

the green fruit and the rotten –

grant us liberty.)

Deceived neither by the outer

nor the inner – free us to

walk your path with joy.

Keep us from hoarding false wealth,

and from the inner shame of

help not given in time.

Don’t let surface things delude us,

But free us from what holds us back.

Catholic priest, academic, and spiritual writer Romano Guardini (1885-1968) offers his take on the line as well, complimenting in some ways Douglas-Klotz’s ideas:

“An evil that is oppressing me now does not come out of the blue. It comes from words that were spoken before; from ineptitude, negligence, and evil deeds of the past. The wickedness of the heart takes tangible shape in the world. It becomes distilled into evil, and emerges to confront someone somewhere else in the form of scandal, hindrance, or an oppressive atmosphere. The evil I have to contend with is a distillation from past evil that comes from others or myself. This evil, then, enkindles further evil, which bears new seed of evil; one arises continually out of the other, and so the evil chain is unending. As with our personal history, so it is with history in the large sense. Wars are not started by the force of nature, but by selfishness everywhere: by hardness that thought only of its own advantage; by indifference to the fate of others; by greed for power; by vainglory; by inordinate ambition; by greed for possessions; by the mysterious urge to oppress others, to torture, to destroy. When the last war started, its force had been accumulated from the wickedness of millions of hearts, from the evil in the depths of the human race.

The suffering that oppresses humankind everywhere confronts the individual as a universal evil; it does not originate from the earth or from the necessities of nature, but from humanity. When we ask ourselves whether the earth has room and bread for all, there can be only one answer. Nevertheless, many have neither room nor bread, because the real evil does not stem from nature, but from the coldness and hardness of selfishness, the negligence of the indolent, the thoughtlessness of the superficial and pleasure-loving. Therefore, the petition “Deliver us from evil” means: Grant that the rightful chain reaction may be broken by which evil continually arises out of wickedness and, in turn, engenders new evil.

But universal evil can be broken only in each heart that gives itself to God and undertakes to care that Love’s will be done. True, a tangled skein of evil exists, but to be entangled in it is not blind fate. Redemption has come to all and can be realized in each one. The freedom of the children of God can be awakened in us from God, and the power of the Redemption, emanating from liberated hearts, can penetrate the chain of universal evil.”

As I have been reflecting on this line this week, an awful bible story came to mind because it embodies the principles offered by both authors quoted above. The account of David and Absalom (2 Samuel 13-18) is tragic on many levels, rooted in many other stories that were once seeds long before they became oak trees capable of lynching. At the end of the story, David passionately inquires, “How is my son, Absalom?” If only David had asked this question a decade earlier, perhaps his son wouldn’t have attempted a coup and murder of his father, the king.

Douglas-Klotz’s focus on the theme of unripeness embedded in the Aramaic, coupled with Guardini’s recognition that no evil happens in isolation causes me to shudder. If only David would have read these quotes! If only, had he read them, would he have had the courage and resolve to do the right thing at the right time. It’s easy to pick on David from the comfort of our distant space and time. But what about ourselves?

We are all David, aren’t we? Haven’t we all had moments in our past when we should have said the thing that needed to be said, or showed up, or been more curious? Would Charlie Kirk still be alive if people in his assassin’s life would have come alongside? Would Charlie Kirk have become known for his at times hateful rhetoric and embrace of conspiracy theories if someone in his life would have spoken up or showed up? Would you have chosen differently, thought differently at critical moments if someone had spoken up and showed up for you? While we are personally responsible for our decisions, we must not be unaware that our decisions have been deeply informed by all that has happened to us. Until we are aware, we are our influencers’ puppet. Even when aware, it is difficult to get rid of the puppeteer.

None of us are perfect. We are complex organisms, we human beings. We are sometimes heroic and at other times cowardly. Sometimes full of passion and other times out of gas. Being honest helps us maintain a healthy perspective.

Is there something you need to say to someone? Is there somewhere you need to show up for someone? Will you choose to do what needs to be done instead of defaulting to unripeness? Will you awaken to the lure of love and break the chain of universal evil?

A couple of weeks ago I offered a wonderful poem by Rich Orloff. Below is another that I found insightful for this teaching. May you stay grounded, humbled, honest, and courageous, knowing you are loved completely, forever, just like everyone else.

A Vessel of Love and Light

by Rich Orloff