Jody Baker, who wrote many Sherlock Holmes columns over the years for Chattanoogan.com, also wrote from the spiritual side.
His daughter, Julia, shared Jody's "The Lord's Prayer Parsed" after he recently died, just a short time after losing his beloved wife, Betty.
OUR FATHER
WHO ART IN HEAVEN
HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
THY KINGDOM COME
THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES
AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.
LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.
DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
FOR THINE IS
THE KINGDOM
AND THE POWER
AND THE GLORY
FOREVER
AMEN.
OUR FATHER
Dear God, when you appeared to man on earth inhabiting the human form of a man named Jesus, you brought to us new revelations of the relationship of man toward God and God toward man. You told us that we are to view you as a father who loves his children. And that each of us may have a personal child-to-father relationship with you. What a wonderful revelation you brought us when, through the words of the man, Jesus, you informed us of this relationship.
No longer were you to be viewed as a remote, thunder-and-lightning being who gave neither Adam nor Eve an opportunity to ask forgiveness. No longer were you to be viewed as a god who sought vengeance when displeased. No longer were you to be viewed as a god who demanded sacrifices to you through the flow of blood from the ritual slaughter of animals and the stench of burned flesh and dried blood upon a "holy" alter.
No longer were you to be viewed as the awful and awesome, being who would wipe out an entire civilization with a flood or would massacre all people, including innocent children clinging to their mothers, in a city because you were disturbed by the sexual practices of the adults inhabiting that city; nor one who would turn an innocent lady to a pillar of salt just because she did not heed a warning, and she looked back at the fire and destruction that you had brought onto that city.
In the form of Jesus, you told us that we may view you as a parent - one that we are to obey (for our own good); one who will discipline us if we stray with a discipline born of paternal love and not a frightful discipline born of vengeance.
If the prayer instructed by Jesus had stopped there with only the two the words OUR FATHER - if Jesus has said nothing more -- a magnificent lesson in theology would have been unfolded before us, through those two words alone. We thank you for that and for the love that is embodied within that.
WHO ART IN HEAVEN
When you appeared to us in the form of man, you instructed us that "OUR FATHER" did not mean ancestor worship of the type that had been prevalent in some civilizations. It was, instead, to inform us of the true relationship between God and mankind.
The word HEAVEN probably has a different meaning for us than it did for your people over 2000 years ago. . Dear God, we know you to be infinite - the creator of all that is and all that ever was and all that ever will be. We recognize that your domain includes the infinitely large universe and all of its contents --- the cosmos. Your domain, too, includes the infinitely small --- the particles, the energy and the forces --- even those that are within us and that are beyond the present comprehension of man. When we say "Thou art in heaven," we are saying that Thou art infinite in space and time and omnipresent in all things and in all places and in all relationships.
With this phrase we recognize and acknowledge that you are ever present and a part of each of us in whatever we do - be it good or be it bad. And there's no escaping that.
God we recognize that you are infinite - and you are infinity.
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
While we seek to know and to appreciate that you are intimately involved in our lives and in our daily living, we also recognize that we have not earned the right to familiarity. The fall of Adam story exemplifies that truth. Whether that be historical truth or an allegorical expression of an eternal truth, it is a truth that we keep always in mind. As the child must respect the father, we hold your name holy as the Father who is our God --- the God who manifested to mankind in the person of Jesus --- the God who is ever present and with us today in the form of the Holy Spirit. Thy name is hallowed and must at all times and in all circumstances be maintained as holy.
THY KINGDOM COME
THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
In these words we find, in plain and simple language, the plan which the Jesus message instructs us that we should follow as the guide for, and control of, our daily living. If all of mankind invoked your will, dear God, to be done on this earth and if each person worked toward that end then all of the other teachings of Jesus would come to fruition. And with that, thy Kingdom will come to be on this earth as it is in heaven.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
This is the first of our four requests (or prayer petitions). We know that when you manifested yourself in the human form of Jesus, the message to us was that the Father knows our needs even before we ask. But we know, too, that the Jesus message told us that we should ask it of you --- and ask over and over again. The repetition of the request often leads to the fulfillment. And we should give reverential thanks for the divine intervention of that fulfillment.
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES
AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.
This is, perhaps, the most instructive passage. We are assured, dear God, that you will forgive us of our short-comings and our wrong-doings, if --- and only if --- we forgive the wrong-doings and short-comings of those with whom we have dealings. If we do not forgive others, then we have no right to seek from you forgiveness for ourselves. That is practical. It makes good sense. If we have an unforgiving attitude or harbor a grudge against another, we certainly are not able to come to you to seek forgiveness. An un-forgiven grudge bottled up within a person is corrosive to the soul and destructive of the inner person. It renders a person unable to receive forgiveness. We thank you that in this prayer we have a daily reminder of that.
LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.
DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
Here we are asking that you give us the courage and the self-discipline to withstand those temptations that come our way in the natural course of events. We recognize that temptations may be set before us for soul growth and improvement. It is by overcoming --- and withstanding --- temptations that we strengthen and feed the soul. We view the soul as the personal divine spark granted by you to each believing individual to be a part of you within us as a part of us. We know that if we succumb to temptation or participate in evil, we do great damage to that revered and precious part of our psyche.
FOR THINE IS
THE KINGDOM
The intuition is an inner knowledge which you have instilled within us, and we know, intuitively, as did those who wrote and refined the book, Genesis, that you did create all that is and all that ever was and all that ever will be. That which you created is controlled by you and, in ancient terms, is your Kingdom. It is an all-extensive kingdom, It extends inwardly into each individual, and it extends outwardly above and beyond the universe throughout all infinity.
AND THE POWER
It is your power that balances the electrons with the protons and neutrons within the atom - that holds the planets in their orbit around our star, the sun. It is your power that propels the stars of a galaxy in a spiral and moves the galaxies across the heavens into cluster-patterns. It is your power that gives order and meaning to the cosmos. It is, also, your power that reaches inwardly to the infinitesimally tiny and expands outwardly, beyond the reach of light. to the infinitely large.
AND THE GLORY
Thine is the glory; and may we always be mindful that as your domain is infinite so your glory is unlimited and immeasurable, and it shall last… FOREVER ------
AMEN