As I have been preparing messages on the Lord’s Prayer over the last few weeks, I have looked at a variety of ways in which the words in the Gospel are translated into English and how the church has used these words to shape its worship life. How we think about “kingdom” and “bread,” “forgive” and “debts/trespasses” helps us understand what Jesus wants to teach us about prayer.
I came across a translation of this prayer that considers the original language in which Jesus spoke. Dr. Neil Douglas Klotz is a scholar who has studied Aramaic linguistics and Middle Easter culture. Aramaic is the language of Jesus and all the Jewish people living in Palestine at that time. Using his knowledge and the sources available, Dr. Koltz offers the following translation of the prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13. You can find more at https://thebeautifulrevolution.org/the-lords-prayer/
O birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos
You create all that moves in light.
Focus your light within us- make it useful as the rays of a beacon show the way.
Create your reign of unity now– through our fiery hearts and willing hands.
Your one desire then acts with ours, as in all light, so in all forms.
Grant what we need each day in bread and insight:
subsistence for the call of growing life.
Loose the cords of mistakes binding us,
as we release the strands we hold of others’ guilt.
Don’t let us enter forgetfulness but free us from unripeness.
From you is born all ruling will, the power and the life to do, the song the beautifies all, from age to age it renews. Amen.
Those are very different words from what we usually say! However, sometimes hearing the same ideas expressed in different ways helps us understand the meaning that lies behind the particular words.
May we all keep the faith and keep growing as followers of Jesus. To that, we can all say, AMEN!
-Pastor Steve
Mission Service Project
On May 24, we had a group for Calvary head north to Mechanicsburg, PA to spend the afternoon packing personal hygiene kits. We were put to use at Mission Central, a warehouse and distribution center that provides all sorts of assistance to people in need. We put together 308 kits that included towels, nail clippers, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, and comb in a small packet that could be given out to individuals. Margie Wilde drove the church bus and we had a chance to get to know each other as well as provide a service to others.
We will be planning to make another trip to Mission Central again in the fall. I hope you might consider taking part in this or other service projects that are being offered through the church.
