Monday, January 4, 2010

The Lord's Prayer Corrected (if mission is stricken)

It is crucial that we not forget that the words of the Pater Noster are not meant only for our private devotion, but also to be said out loud, in public, such as in worship. Reciting the Lord's Prayer in a community of other followers of Jesus recommits us to service in the world on behalf of God's reign. Otherwise, we do dishonor to the prayer itself, as is illustrated in this "corrected" version of the Lord's Prayer, reposted from Dave Hackett's Frontier Blog:
This creative and deadly insightful version of The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) appeared in the 1912 missionary publication, The Korea Mission Field. My thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Moffett for spotting this gem. I've reproduced it as it was printed.

THE LORD'S PRAYER CORRECTED

For the use of the man who doesn't believe in Missions.

Our Father Who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy
Kingdom come.
Thy
Will be done on Earth
As
it is in Heaven.
Give us (me) this day our (my) daily bread.
And forgive us (me) our (my) debts,
As
we forgive our debtors.
And lead us (me) not into temptation,
But deliver us (me) from evil:*
For
Thine is the Kingdom,
And
the power,
And
the glory,
Forever
. Amen.

____________________
* Interestingly, the 1912 version didn't strike the words "from evil" (which I have). Perhaps in 1912 an acknowledgement of evil was so pervasive no one would have linked it with mission?

No comments:

Post a Comment