shocks to the system

Periodically I use different forms of the Eucharistic Prayer for All Saints’ principal Sunday service. (Currently, we are using the “Star Trek” prayer [Prayer C], so named because of the words: “the vast expanse of interstellar space . . . and this fragile earth, our island home.”)

Hearing old, familiar ideas and themes spoken in different words can be a useful shock to the system, as it is a potential antidote to the natural tendency of frequently repeated ritual to become stale and mindlessly automatic. (Perhaps “automatic” is not a bad thing, but “stale” and “mindless” worship is less than ideal.) More importantly, it also has the potential of opening our hearts and minds to perceiving in new ways to the goodness, beauty, and truth of the gospel.

For me, the least comfortable change to the liturgy is when I substitute the contemporary version of the Lord’s prayer (“Our Father in heaven . . . your kingdom come . . . save us from the time of trial . . .”) Subconsciously, I believe that there is only one version of the Lord’s Prayer, the correct version: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy Name . . .” And on my deathbed, there is no doubt that these are the words I will pray. But the reality is, there is no “best” translation of the prayer. In fact, it could even be argued that our beloved traditional version contains a number of inaccuracies.

The Greek word translated as “trespasses” literally means “debts” (which is how it is rendered in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the version used by all mainline denominations [Episcopal, Presbyterian, ELCA, Methodist, etc.]). On the surface, this would seem to be a significant difference. One word denotes the commission of an offense (either moral or legal), while the other is a financial term.

Clearly, though, Jesus is not using the term literally. The debts that we are asking God to forgive are not monetary. So what does he mean?

The word “debt” (in both Greek and English) simply means “something that is owed.” And what we owe God is not unlike what we owe one another:

Why do we get upset when others are rude to us or treat us with contempt? Because deep down we know that, as human beings, we are created in God’s image and are thus deserving of respect (cf. Psalm 8:4-5, “What are humans that you are mindful of them, / mortals that you care for them? / Yet you have made them a little lower than God / and crowned them with glory and honor.”) Therefore, what we owe one another (and what divine law demands) is to love our neighbors as ourselves—which includes “respecting the dignity of every human being.” And when we fail to meet this obligation—either through sins of commission, by hurling insults, or through sins of omission, by failing to affirm the value of our neighbors—we incur debts that need to be forgiven.

Trespasses, sins, debts—they’re all the same. No need to split hairs. The bigger picture is that we are all in need of forgiveness.

And it is to the bigger picture that “shocks to the system,” such as periodic changes to the liturgy, are intended to draw us. What uncomfortable changes have you experienced that have helped you to see the bigger picture with fresh eyes—to gain a clearer vision of the essentials of forgiveness, gratitude, and love?