A Somewhat Self-Indulgent Rumination on Mundane Parts of My Job

I’ve talked before in a sermon about how difficult it is to lead the Lord’s Prayer during worship. It’s such a well-known, oft-spoken prayer, so much so that I always fear that I’ll lose focus and lose my spot in the prayer. I’ve definitely messed up the Lord’s Prayer while standing in front of a congregation of people who have a (very reasonable) expectation that I know this incredibly basic thing. It’s embarrassing, but it comes with the territory of spending a lot of time standing in front of people and talking.

But there’s another aspect of the Lord’s prayer that I think doesn’t get the proper amount of attention – people all say different words and it throws off my cadence!

I am, and always have been, a debts/debtors person. I’m not saying that debts/debtors is the superior version of the Lord’s Prayer, but it is the version that I’ve been saying for as long as I’ve known how to say it. Along with those words, there’s the rhythm of the prayer. BAH-bah bah, bah BAH bah ba-ba, ba-ba-ba bah bah bah.

You know the rhythm. Sometimes I will even unconsciously tap my toes to the rhythm while I’m leading the prayer. Don’t watch for it. If you do, I’ll start to feel self-conscious.

But there are times when I am not well served by the rhythm. The most recent example of this was this past Sunday, when I was leading worship at Caledonia First Presbyterian Church as part of the Presbytery-wide pulpit exchange. Everything went well on Sunday; the congregation was welcoming and friendly, my sermon was at least adequate, they had cookies. But they had the wrong rhythm! They use sins/sins against us instead of debts/debtors. So instead of, “Bah BAH bah bah bah, bah BAH ba-ba-ba bah bah,” it was, “Bah BAH bah bah bah, bah BAH ba-ba bah ba-ba-ba-ba-ba”

Completely different! But I’m a professional, so no one even noticed my feet tapping a completely different rhythm.

But at least in Caledonia, everyone was using the same words. There are moments where there is absolutely no way to get a consistent cadence. I’m talking specifically about weddings and funerals. When I’m leading worship on a Sunday morning, the majority of the people who are there are folks who are fairly familiar with the community practices. But on those special occasions? I have no idea who is there, nor what they’re accustomed to saying, nor if they will consult the version of it printed in the bulletin. As the person leading the prayer, there is no easy solution. My two options are: 1) Barrel through the trespasses/trespass against us folks or 2) Leave a lengthy pause after I say debts and leave all the debts folks wondering if I fell asleep on the job.

There’s no good solution, so what I end up doing is some lukewarm half measure that confuses the debts people AND the trespasser folks. Nobody ever said this was an easy job.

Peace,

Jeff

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We’d love for you to join us at Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church, where we embrace faith, community, and even the occasional toe-tapping prayer. Come be part of our welcoming congregation this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for worship and connection. You’ll find us at 1200 S. Winton Road, Rochester, NY 14618 in the heart of Twelve Corners, Brighton. If you have any questions or would like to say hello, give us a call at (585) 244-8585 or send us an email through our secure contact form. We’re always glad to hear from you!