One of my classes this term, Spiritual Formation, has focused for most of the last half of the term on the Lord's Prayer, with readings from several different authors from N.T. Wright to Lauren Winner to John Dominic Crossan offering reflections and close readings of the prayer. I guess under those circumstances, and with my hymn-antennae activated with last week's singing of a hymn of mine and the release of the new Presbyterian hymnal content list, some form of poetic-hymnic response was hardly surprising, if not quite inevitable.
So I will throw the four of you out there some raw meat. Here 'tis, in its still fairly unpolished form. It is part paraphrase and part trope of the prayer, with some metrical shoehorning as necessary. It fits with tunes like GORDON ("My Jesus, I love thee") and FOUNDATION ("How firm a foundation"), but as the day goes on I find myself drawn to a pairing with ST. DENIO ("Immortal, invisible, God only wise"). Make of it what you will, comments welcome.
Our Father in heaven, all glorious above,
Your name be all-hallowed and honored with love.
Let Your kingdom come and Your will now be done,
Just as in your presence, here under Your sun.
Give us on this day just the bread that we need,
And let not this grace drive our hearts into greed.
Forgive us our sins as we also forgive,
And in this forgiving, Lord, teach us to live.
Do not lead our souls near temptation’s allure;
From evil’s great power Your deliv’rance be sure.
For Yours is the kingdom, the glory and power,
As long as we live, every day, every hour.
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