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I. Our Father

I.1. Praying in the name of Christ

Calvin starts (nº 36) by reminding the reader of the necessity to pray in the name of Jesus. Any prayer addressed to God should be done in this way, he insists: “il faut que toutes noz oraisons soyent de nous présentées à Dieu au Nom de Iesus Christ” (Institution 379). If we call our Creator our Father, Calvin says, it is because of Jesus, His only son, by whose grace we are the Father’s children, provided that we believe in Him: “si en certaine foy nous acceptons celle grande beneficence” (Institution 379). This idea is based on John 1:12, which says:“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…”. He also ends his exposition in The Harmony of the Gospels by stressing the fundamental role of the “Mediator”: “… nous recueillons d’ici qu’il n’y a point d’autre maniere de bien prier, sinon quand nous venons à Dieu sous l’aveu et appuy du Mediateur” (Concordance 125). Augustine, on the other hand, only writes: “But now we have to consider what things we are taught to pray for by Him through whom we both learn what we are to pray for, and obtain what we pray for” (Augustine 38).1

I.2. The Father’s Kindness

Dont il s’appelle nostre Père, et veut estre de nous ainsi appellé, nous délivrant de toute deffiance par la grande douceur qui est comprinse en ce Nom. Car il ne se peut trouver nulle telle affection d’amour que d’amour paternelle. ( Institution 379)

The expressions, “grande douceur,” “affection d’amour,” “amour paternelle,” followed by “sa charité infinie,” “son amour plus grande envers nous que toute celle des pères terriens envers leurs enfants,” and “en toute bonté et miséricorde” (Institution 379), all emphasize the notion of love whose ultimate expression is God. Furthermore, to be realistic with regard to humans, Calvin indicates the fact that some earthly fathers do not have much love for their children, and some are even capable of abandoning them, but we can always count on God’s unfailing love, “Car nous avons sa promesse, laquelle il nous a donnée par son Fils, nostre rédempteur” (Institution 379). The heavenly Father is again mentioned along with the Son. Calvin wants us to constantly think of the Father and the Son at the same time. The third part of the Godhead, however, is not mentioned.

Augustine’s exposition of God’s Fatherly love is much shorter than Calvin’s. Three points may be noted in this part of his exegesis:

 1º) The Jews. In the Old Testament, he points out, the Jews are not allowed to call God their Father, because they are “still living according to the flesh” (Augustine 39): “nowhere is there found [in the Holy Scriptures] a precept for the people of Israel that they should say ‘Our Father,’ or that they should pray to God as a Father; but as Lord He was made known to them, as being yet servants” (Augustine 39).1 They did not deserve to be called God’s children, Augustine insists, because the Prophets had not failed to talk to them about God as the heavenly Father [referring to Isaiah 1:2], but they did not believe in Him: “for the Prophets often show that this same Lord of ours might have been their Father also, if they had not strayed from His commandments” (Augustine 39).2 In other words, those who did not or do not believe in God cannot call him their Father, and conversely the latter does not recognize them as his children either, and here he cites Malachi 1:6: “If then I be a Father, where is mine honour? and if I be a Master, where is my fear?” (Augustine 39).3 The theologian is referring to the whole beginning of Malachi, where God expresses hatred towards some people: “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother? says the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob but I have hated Esau” (Mal 1:2–3). Calvin’s view is quite different, for instead of thinking of Malachi, he constantly refers to Jesus, who only talks about love and never about hatred.4 Thus God is kind even to those who have not been good. In this regard, the Reformer quotes Matthew (7:11): “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him !”5 But God is all the more forgiving and good when a person repents. Quoting Paul (2 Cor 1:3):Car si entre les hommes le fils ne sauroit avoir meilleur advocat envers son père, lequel il a offensé, que soymesme, quand en humilité et obéissance recognoissant son forfait il luy vient requérir mercy, d’autant que lors un cœur paternel ne peut mentir, qu’il ne se fleschisse et esmeuve par telles prières, que fera ce Père de miséricorde et Dieu de toute consolation? (Calvin 380)To make the reader feel better God’s great love [“sa charité infinie” (379)] to all, as well as his accessibility, Calvin compares Him to human parents, quoting mainly from The New Testament. The only passages from The Old Testament are about God’s love, like Isaiah 49: 15, in which God says: “La mère pourroit-elle oublier ses enfans? Et encores ia soit qu’elle les oubliast, si ne vous oublieray-ie iamais” (Institution 380), or Psalms 27:10, which is similar. But Calvin just refers to it (Institution 379) and does not cite it. The repetition of positive notions associated with love emphasizes God’s attitude towards humans: “bonté,” “clémence,” “miséricorde,” “douceur,” “bénignité,” etc. Finally, Calvin reminds the reader of the parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15. In sum, he tries to move his reader with a strong persuasive language. When the son goes away, does the father cease to love him? The theologian’s implicit answer is “no,” for the sad father is still a father. Augustine, however, by referring to Malachi, would suggest the opposite, since Jehovah hates Esau.

 2º) God’s Grace. It all depends on God’s Grace, the Church Father writes, whether one is to be considered a son or not:And since the fact that we are called to an eternal inheritance, that we might be fellowheirs with Christ and attain to the adoption of sons, is not of our deserts, but of God’s grace; we put this very same grace in the beginning of our prayer, when we say ‘Our Father.’ (Augustine 39)6Being allowed to call God our father means that we have been chosen by Him, for we did not deserve anything. In the same manner, God chose Jacob but not Esau, according to Malachi. Therefore we must be grateful and strive to be worthy of “so great a Father.” In this way, we may obtain whatever we need from Him, “For what would He not now give to sons when they ask, when He has already granted this very thing, namely, that they might be sons?” (Augustine 39)7 How does Calvin treat this issue of election and grace? He just does not mention it here, for his present purpose is to show only God’s infinite love to all humanity.

 3º) Why do we say “Our” Father? Augustine ends his interpretation of the first part of the address to God by comparing the relationship existing between the rich and the poor with the one God has established with his children. He says that God is the Father of both, and so they ought to love one another, and especially the rich person should not despise the other but treat him like a brother:Here also is an admonition to the rich and to those of noble birth, so far as this world is concerned, that when they have become Christians they should not comport themselves proudly towards the poor and the low of birth; since together with them they call God “Our Father,”—an expression which they cannot truly and piously use, unless they recognise that they themselves are brethren. (Augustine 39)8Calvin’s much longer comment on the possessive “Our” can be divided into two parts. The first one expresses the idea that people, out of charity, ought to pray for everyone, and not only for themselves. Since God likes us all, as a good father does, the children must like one another likewise. No discrimination is allowed, for this neighborly love concerns the whole humanity and not a particular group. This idea is extremely important to note:Donc l’oraison du Chrestien doit estre ainsi reiglée et compassée, qu’elle soit commune et comprenne tous ceux qui luy sont frères en Iesus Christ; et non seulement ceux qu’il voit et cognoist aujourduy estre tels, mais tous les hommes qui vivent sur terre, desquels nous ne savons point ce que nostre Seigneur a déterminé de faire, mais seulement leur devons désirer tout bien, et en espérer pour le mieux. (Institution 381–82)9

Not only hatred is out of question, but charity should make a Christian pray even for non Christians, for good people and evil ones, for the rich and the poor, for just everybody, all the people on earth (“tous les hommes qui vivent sur terre.”) Nevertheless, following Paul (Gal 6:10), who strays from Jesus in this case, Calvin thinks that one should pray particularly for the Christians: “Combien que nous devons avoir en singulière recommandation et affection sur tous les autres les domestiques de la foy, lesquels en toutes choses sainct Paul spécialement nous recommande” (Calvin 382).10 In any case, praying for everybody in the world remains the most interesting statement made by Calvin, something lacking in Augustine. It reveals not only the universality of the Reformer’s thought, but also his profound humanism.

The second part of Calvin’s comment on the possessive “Our” is about the poor. We can compare his thought in this regard with that of Augustine. The poor, he states, should not be forgotten in a Christian prayer, because God commands us to help them:

Le commandement de Dieu de subvenir à l’indigence de tous povres est général; et toutesfois ceux qui à ceste fin font miséricorde, et eslargissent de leur bien à ceux qu’ils voyent ou savent en avoir nécessité, y obéissent, nonobstant qu’ils ne donnent pas à tous ceux qui n’en ont pas moindre besoin, ou pource qu’ils ne les peuvent tous cognoistre, ou pource qu’ils ne peuvent suffire à tous. (Calvin 382)

Since we cannot, even if we are very rich, help financially all the poor people, we can at least pray for them. The possessive “our” would thus include all the poor in the world:

Car nous ne pouvons subvenir de noz biens sinon à ceux desquels nous savons la povreté; mais nous pouvons et devons ayder par oraison ceux mesmes desquels n’avons point la cognoissance, et qui sont esloignez de nous par quelque distance et intervalle que ce soit. Ce qui se fait par la généralité des oraisons, en laquelle sont comprins tous les enfants de Dieu, au nombre desquels aussi ceux là sont. (Calvin 382)

The universality of Calvin’s thought is again shown here, since there is no geographical or cultural or religious border for him: any poor person, wherever he or she lives must be prayed for (“et qui sont esloignez de nous par quelque distance et intervalle que ce soit.”) The way Augustine presents the poor is also profound but different. He gives the example of a senator, who, like rich people in general, despises the poor. Then the theologian points out the fact that one’s social condition being fragile, someday this senator could become poor himself, and so he should be compassionate and understand the poor: “Since, indeed, he (the senator) despises that in the beggar to which even he himself may be reduced by the vicissitude of human affairs: but God never falls into baseness of character.” (Augustine 39).11 In this way, the rich and the poor are the same, both God’s children.