Rev. Beth, thank you very much for your insights on the Lord’s Prayer & for your invitation to rewrite it! For many years, I have used it as the beginning of my morning prayers & evening prayers, & little by little, over the years, it changed.
For a while, “Father” was “Father/Mother” (or “Mother/Father”), but I think of God as more than a parent, or teacher, or pastor, etc. — to me, “God” is both familiar & all-inclusive. So I begin “O God, Lord of Love & Peace & Heaven, hallowed be thy Holy Spirit.” I regard Heaven, Love, Peace, & Holy Spirit all as aspects of God, with Holy Spirit as the aspect of God that people welcome into their hearts & through which they communicate with God.
I too wrestled with the word Kingdom & didn’t like any substitutes, so I think of Kingdom as a worldwide spiritual community that also includes a spiritual Heaven. I like your understanding of “bread,” “test/temptation,” & mutual forgiveness — all 3 of which I have pondered, but you gave me new insights.
My favorite part of your article was about Jesus teaching the disciples what kind of leadership their community would need — “it will be embodied in the practice of kenosis, the pouring out of self for the benefit of others.” 🙏
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with the prayer of Jesus, Karen. I appreciate you pointing to the problem of gendered language for God as "Father," a stumbling block for so many!
Broadening one's view of God to include this world, the next, the Spirit, along with Love and Peace is lovely! We can't expand our sense of who God is enough - there's always more to include in our understanding of the Divine.
Hi Rev. Beth, Of course the more time I have spent with the Lord’s Prayer, the more I have questioned each word. “Forgive” seems to be simple, but has many layers — some things are not so easy to forgive, in our hearts, even if we can say “I forgive you.” I like your idea of mutual forgiveness as compared to an ancient hierarchical forgiveness. “Temptation” is another tricky one — I really like your idea that it’s “the all-too-human impulse to power,” as opposed to rules in the commandments. As for “bread,” I ended up thinking of it as a metaphor for all the everyday blessings we receive, but I was delighted to read your idea that it’s “about sustaining life at another level.”
I give thanks for brothers & sisters of faith, worldwide, who are living in God’s Kingdom & praying together in the Holy Spirit. Thanks, Rev. Beth, for your open mind, allowing some word changes in a Bible prayer. 🙏
These are all a bit tricky, as you observe, Karen. What helps me as I work with the language, especially for this prayer, is knowing that the Bible has two versions, Luke and Matthew, which are quite different. Also, remembering that is was written (a) in Greek, so some translation is necessary, and (b) some 60 or so years after the fact, meaning no one was taking dictation in the moment. The words are as sacred as we think they are, no more and no less.
I also lean on people who know more than I do, like Tiede, or Crossan. And many more, of course.
Reading this felt like watching someone gently detonate centuries of imperial theology with a smile and a PhD. Thank you for reminding us that Jesus didn’t come to found a regime but to unravel one. The “kingdom” wasn’t a reboot of Caesar’s playbook. It was a jailbreak from the whole system.
I love the idea of putting “kingdom” in quotes. Might as well put “church” and “Christian nation” in them too while we’re at it. If the prayer of Jesus is really about mutual forgiveness, daily becoming, and sidestepping the ego’s power-hungry tantrums, then no wonder empire has always tried to make him into a mascot.
Thanks so much, VMB! Holding the "kingdom" language in tension with the "not-kingdom" intention of Jesus is challenging, but necessary. And I love doing the same with "church" (which he never intended to create) and "Christian nation" (even less so!!).
Rev. Beth, thank you very much for your insights on the Lord’s Prayer & for your invitation to rewrite it! For many years, I have used it as the beginning of my morning prayers & evening prayers, & little by little, over the years, it changed.
For a while, “Father” was “Father/Mother” (or “Mother/Father”), but I think of God as more than a parent, or teacher, or pastor, etc. — to me, “God” is both familiar & all-inclusive. So I begin “O God, Lord of Love & Peace & Heaven, hallowed be thy Holy Spirit.” I regard Heaven, Love, Peace, & Holy Spirit all as aspects of God, with Holy Spirit as the aspect of God that people welcome into their hearts & through which they communicate with God.
I too wrestled with the word Kingdom & didn’t like any substitutes, so I think of Kingdom as a worldwide spiritual community that also includes a spiritual Heaven. I like your understanding of “bread,” “test/temptation,” & mutual forgiveness — all 3 of which I have pondered, but you gave me new insights.
My favorite part of your article was about Jesus teaching the disciples what kind of leadership their community would need — “it will be embodied in the practice of kenosis, the pouring out of self for the benefit of others.” 🙏
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with the prayer of Jesus, Karen. I appreciate you pointing to the problem of gendered language for God as "Father," a stumbling block for so many!
Broadening one's view of God to include this world, the next, the Spirit, along with Love and Peace is lovely! We can't expand our sense of who God is enough - there's always more to include in our understanding of the Divine.
Hi Rev. Beth, Of course the more time I have spent with the Lord’s Prayer, the more I have questioned each word. “Forgive” seems to be simple, but has many layers — some things are not so easy to forgive, in our hearts, even if we can say “I forgive you.” I like your idea of mutual forgiveness as compared to an ancient hierarchical forgiveness. “Temptation” is another tricky one — I really like your idea that it’s “the all-too-human impulse to power,” as opposed to rules in the commandments. As for “bread,” I ended up thinking of it as a metaphor for all the everyday blessings we receive, but I was delighted to read your idea that it’s “about sustaining life at another level.”
I give thanks for brothers & sisters of faith, worldwide, who are living in God’s Kingdom & praying together in the Holy Spirit. Thanks, Rev. Beth, for your open mind, allowing some word changes in a Bible prayer. 🙏
These are all a bit tricky, as you observe, Karen. What helps me as I work with the language, especially for this prayer, is knowing that the Bible has two versions, Luke and Matthew, which are quite different. Also, remembering that is was written (a) in Greek, so some translation is necessary, and (b) some 60 or so years after the fact, meaning no one was taking dictation in the moment. The words are as sacred as we think they are, no more and no less.
I also lean on people who know more than I do, like Tiede, or Crossan. And many more, of course.
Blessings!
Reading this felt like watching someone gently detonate centuries of imperial theology with a smile and a PhD. Thank you for reminding us that Jesus didn’t come to found a regime but to unravel one. The “kingdom” wasn’t a reboot of Caesar’s playbook. It was a jailbreak from the whole system.
I love the idea of putting “kingdom” in quotes. Might as well put “church” and “Christian nation” in them too while we’re at it. If the prayer of Jesus is really about mutual forgiveness, daily becoming, and sidestepping the ego’s power-hungry tantrums, then no wonder empire has always tried to make him into a mascot.
Grateful for this lens. Less crown, more towel.
Thanks so much, VMB! Holding the "kingdom" language in tension with the "not-kingdom" intention of Jesus is challenging, but necessary. And I love doing the same with "church" (which he never intended to create) and "Christian nation" (even less so!!).