Trespasses, Debts, Sins . . . Which Is It???

I have recited the Lord's Prayer in a number of different places, in a number of different settings, at lots of different times. From worship services to gym locker rooms (yes, I remember saying the Lord's Prayer as a junior high basketball team before a game--strange, on a number of levels), I know me some Lord's Prayer. "Our Father, who art in heaven. . . " I could say it in my sleep.

The part that is really interesting to me is: "Lord, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespasses against us." Or is it "our debts?"

We were at a church in Georgia for four years. We said the Lord's Prayer together every Sunday morning. I got used to the way we said it. Then we moved to Huntsville. And yep, we say it together every Sunday morning. Only we have a different word for trespasses/debts than what I had gotten used to. So, yes, that has taken some getting used to.

I am preaching at a youth camp this week. We recited the Lord's Prayer tonight. Instead of trespasses . . . or debts . . . I heard many people gathered together here tonight say: "sins (and those who have sinned against us)."

Okay, let's all get on the same page. We all need to decide what we're going to use. I don't care what it is we use: whether trespasses, debts, sins, whatever. But someone just decide it and tell everyone, including me. Then we can all say the Lord's Prayer together . . . the same way . . . and it will be beautiful and sweet and all that sappy stuff.

The reality, of course, is that our different wording for what we are asking God to forgive us of shows the variety within the Christian faith. God created us that way. And it's beautiful. Unfortunately, too many within the Christian faith demand uniformity. But God has been calling us away from that from the beginning, from the creation stories, from the Tower of Babel, and on and on and on. We're created different and unique. And that's good.

So next time I recite the Lord's Prayer with others, maybe I shouldn't get frustrated when the person beside me uses a word different than me. I need to fight that temptation to stand up and declare that we all need to pick the same word and stick with it. We can all use different words. And that's okay.