The Lord's Prayer - New Zeland-Style
Sunday, July 28, 2013
This morning during my homily on Luke 11:1-13 we discussed the power and use-fullness of prayer - and specifically about the Lord's Prayer, and different interpretations and translations from the Gospels and other sources. As part of that discussion, I shared this version from the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer:
Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever. Amen.
We'll be using this version in worship the next several months. Why not continue with a more traditional version? I'm sure we'll return to that. But there is something powerful in expressing prayer in new terms - it forces us to think more deeply about what we're reciting and the meaning behind it all.