Some time ago, we started a “Progressive Christianity” study series at BUC, to which a number of people have now contributed. I continue to encourage people to consider making a contribution themselves.

In relation to the intersection between faith, lived experience, and your understanding of the world:

If you have long been puzzled, or annoyed, or troubled, or conflicted, or passionate about something, then why not invite the rest of us into your musings?! Why not take an hour or so and put your thoughts down on paper, and see where it leads you? If you believe it might be helpful for others to hear, why not share it?

I have recently been reflecting on the Lord’s Prayer, that iconic prayer of the Christian faith. This is an excerpt from the preamble to a study I have written, entitled The Lord’s Prayer-Unpacked and Remixed!

This study is a reflection on the famous prayer which Jesus is said to have taught his disciples, when one of those disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us how to pray” (Luke 11:1-4). The prayer he taught them is also recorded in Matthew 6:9-13.

This prayer is still used today, some 2,000 years later.

For some people, the prayer continues to have deep meaning.

For others, however, some of the language employed can be challenging, or even a barrier between the person who is praying and God. Some of the words of the Lord’s Prayer (e.g. Father, Heaven, Kingdom, and even the word sin) may, in 2024, literally get in the way of faith in God for some people. And this, I believe, is the antithesis of what Jesus sought in teaching the prayer.

This study explores the verses of the Lord’s Prayer, examining the literal words, reflecting on what Jesus may have been getting at in using these words, and how that deep meaning might be “mapped” onto new words that better resonate with our modern-day understanding. The study ends by presenting, side-by-side with the Lord’s Prayer, a Lord’s Prayer “Remix Version” for your further reflection.

The PDF of the study is attached, together with the link below:

https://blackwooduc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/PCS-007-Lords-Prayer-Remix-Version.pdf

 Michael Dowling