Our Father...

At our Springs' gathering at the Y yesterday, our competency (focus) for the day was prayer.  I've been spending some time with our Kidsplash! group (1st thru 5th).  We discussed the story of Jesus' prayer when he taught the disciples about prayer.  The catch was that we used the Message translation.  If you've spent any time here, you know what a fan of the Message I am, so this was perfect for me.  But it was weird.

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are. 

Set the world right;

Do what’s best—

as above, so below. 

Keep us alive with three square meals. 

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. 

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

You’re in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze in beauty!

Yes. Yes. Yes. 

If you are like me, you're thinking, "What?  That's not it!  This is how it's supposed to go."

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

Some verses just seem to be said better in the King James than anything else.  Or do they?  I admit that I was more comfortable with the older version.  But most of the kids in the room didn't recognize it either.  So they are coming at the prayer with completely new eyes and ears.  Try to step back from your history and see which might be better.

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name" - well, I can see three words immediately that my 7 year old doesn't use...and neither do we.  They are good words, but they require some explaining.  Why not use words that don't need explaining.  "Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are."  Reveal may not be a big 7 year old world, but it is an everyday word worth learning.  ROUND ONE - The Message.

"Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."  There is that thy again, but kingdom is a good word for kids and for adults.  Garin loves the word because it evokes images from Prince Caspian, Aslan, King Peter and the gang.  "Set the world right; do what's best - as above, so below."  I really like the first part, but am a bit bothered by the inference that the kingdom of God is "up there" and we are "down here."  Not sure if it's a deal breaker, but it creates more questions later.  ROUND TWO - King Jimmy

"Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:" - Daily bread is a bit of an outdated phrase to me and debts and debtors seems more financial, but I really like the lead us not into temptation - it implies that God is at work ahead of our going and I like that a lot.  "Keep us alive with three square meals.  Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.  Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil."  I wasn't crazy about the square meals until watching my daughter listen to it.  She knew what that meant.  I love the phrase about being forgiven.  I think it lines up much better with the biblical teaching of forgiveness - which is Christ's sacrifice, once for all sin.  When we understand our position of forgiveness, it prompts us to forgive others.  Keep us safe from ourselves resonates with where I am and where our kids are as we are providing them with boundaries for their protection, also.  It's a good teaching point.  Don't like the Devil here, but I understand it.  I prefer evil, because I like the presence of evil, since the Devil is not omnipresent, like our Protector is.  Just me though.  ROUND THREE - The Message

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen." - Thine...but that's it here for me.  Requires teaching, but it's the kind that needs to be taught.  "You're in charge!  You can do anything you want!  You're ablaze in beauty!  Yes.  Yes.  Yes."  I love it...easy to picture.  Easy to understand.  Priority is priority.  When we pray, we pray with Father at the center, not us and not our wants or needs.  He is the beautiful one.  Not as rhythmic as the KJV, but easier understood and more emphatic to me.  ROUND FOUR - The Message

Well, I may like the meter of the King James, but I like the ability to understand the Message.  Enlightening for me.  Just thought I'd share it with you.