A Meditative Riff on the Lord’s Prayer

Father of us all, 

Who is over all things,

Let the beauty of Your name,

The glory of Your goodness,

The faithfulness of Your love,

The brilliance of Your light,

The vibrancy of Your life

Be seen and adored and embraced

Throughout the whole world.

And so, Your kingdom come,

Your will being done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us that bread today.

And so, forgive us, O Lord,

As we forgive everyone everything.

Do not let us be caught in the snare

But deliver us from evil—

From doing evil to others,

And from evil done to us.

For this is Your kingdom,

And this is Your power,

And this is Your glory

Now and forever.

Truly, it is so.

The image above is of a Russian icon from about 1800. It is a visual presentation of the Lord’s Prayer. “The prayer ‘Our Father’ rendered allegorically over two register and five scenes each one illustrating a verse; beginning from the central scene at the top frieze, God Father encircled by archangels in a double glory standing for: Our Father, who art in heaven. The lower scenes symbolising the verses: Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil (Adam and Eve in the Paradies).” This description is from The-Saleroom.com. “Paradies” is a variation of “Paradise.”