“You can’t rewrite the Lord’s Prayer!”
By
Last week, I visited with Doug Schurtz, Morning Assignment Editor, at Houston’s KTRK-TV ABC Channel 13. I found Doug to be a really genuine guy and a great listener. He showed me the station’s newly refurbished studios and I truly enjoyed our meeting.
While touring the studios and talking with Doug about responsible spiritual care that Christian Science has provided for the past 120 years, I suddenly thought about another studio I was in about 5 years ago.
The studio that suddenly came to mind was a radio studio at Times Square in New York City. I had been lecturing in New York and Connecticut, and was scheduled to be interviewed on the Joey Renolds Show. Joey’s show starts at midnight and runs until 5 in the morning. It airs live across the United States. That night, I stepped into the studio at 2 AM.
While on the air, Joey asked the topic of my lecture. I told him I had been speaking about joy and how the healing ideas in the spiritual guidebook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, had helped me. He responded back, “Mary Baker Eddy, didn’t she rewrite the Lord’s Prayer?” Then we went to a commercial. During the commercial, Joey said, “I was in Los Angeles a couple years ago, and had a bad back problem. I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me. I was healed immediately.”
When we came back on the air, a Detroit caller to the program yelled, “You can’t rewrite the Lord’s Prayer!” Of course, the caller was right in one sense, no one should tinker with the original meaning of the message itself. We wouldn’t want the divine truth behind the words altered. It has healed people for the past two thousand years. Although our present English version of the prayer has healed many, yet, Jesus divine statement was not delivered in English, and has been translated often.
Here is the King James Version of the Lord’s Prayer along with Eddy’s spiritual sense of it as found in Science and Health:
Our Father which art in heaven,
Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Adorable One.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Enable us to know, — as in heaven, so on earth, — God is
omnipotent, supreme.
Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And Love is reflected in love;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth
us from sin, disease, and death.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory, forever.
For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over
all, and All.
How has the Lord’s Prayer helped you? Please comment.
Find Keith on Twitter:@TexasCS
Related post: 5 Simple things to make you a better healer
This blog about the Lord’s Prayer and “rewriting” it peaked my interest. Recently I attended a spiritual conference, and in preparation for it, we were asked to rewrite this famous and beloved prayer in our own words. For a moment it was a little off-putting, as I thought it would seem presumptuous.
But getting into the spirit of the assignment, I realized it was no different than when a literature teacher in school would ask a student to read a passage and then explain it in his/her own words. It always clarified the meaning and was often helpful to others listening to the explanation.
So I launched into this with gusto and was amazed at the inspiration I felt. Here’s how it came to me:
OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN,
Our God, eternal Life, who establishes harmony, spirituality, bliss;
HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
You are honored as the Almighty, as divine Spirit, Truth, and Love.
THY KINGDOM COME.
Your reign, the realm of omnipotent Mind, the atmosphere of Soul, is here and now.
THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
And Your infinite plan unfolds throughout eternity, without beginning or end.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD;
At this very moment Your whole family of sons and daughters is supplied with unlimited, spiritual bounty, meeting every human need.
AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS.
Your unconditional love for all enables us to love more and more until there is nothing left to be forgiven.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL;
Standing with Your law of divine Principle, we are spiritually strong and have dominion over every evil suggestion.
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER.
We live in Your kingdom, our true home, filled with majesty and might, embraced in eternal light for always and always.
If you decide to do this yourself, I guarantee that you’ll feel closer to Christ’s message, and it will deepen your understanding of it.
[Anne, Thanks for sharing. Really nice! --Keith]
This blog about the Lord’s Prayer and “rewriting” it peaked my interest. Recently I attended a spiritual conference, and in preparation for it, we were asked to rewrite this famous and beloved prayer in our own words. For a moment it was a little off-putting, as I thought it would seem presumptuous.
But getting into the spirit of the assignment, I realized it was no different than when a literature teacher in school would ask a student to read a passage and then explain it in his/her own words. It always clarified the meaning and was often helpful to others listening to the explanation.
So I launched into this with gusto and was amazed at the inspiration I felt. Here’s how it came to me:
OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN,
Our God, eternal Life, who establishes harmony, spirituality, bliss;
HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
You are honored as the Almighty, as divine Spirit, Truth, and Love.
THY KINGDOM COME.
Your reign, the realm of omnipotent Mind, the atmosphere of Soul, is here and now.
THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
And Your infinite plan unfolds throughout eternity, without beginning or end.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD;
At this very moment Your whole family of sons and daughters is supplied with unlimited, spiritual bounty, meeting every human need.
AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS.
Your unconditional love for all enables us to love more and more until there is nothing left to be forgiven.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL;
Standing with Your law of divine Principle, we are spiritually strong and have dominion over every evil suggestion.
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER.
We live in Your kingdom, our true home, filled with majesty and might, embraced in eternal light for always and always.
If you decide to do this yourself, I guarantee that you’ll feel closer to Christ’s message, and it will deepen your understanding of it.
[Anne, Thanks for sharing. Really nice! --Keith]
I enjoyed readin what each of you wrote so much. I’m taking this to my sunday school class today to have a round table discussion about the prayer. I grew up in Christain Science, but no longer practice it. Mrs. Eddy’s interpretation has always stuck with me though. Thank you for offering more enlightenment to it for me. Becky