As we approach the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus I'm reminded of an interpretative variation within the Lord's prayer. I'm most familiar with the following version from my Scottish protestant upbringing:
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;
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power,
And the glory,
Forever.
.....whereas, I've noted when attending Anglican or Catholic services the lines in red are replaced so the prayer is as follows:
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;
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Now I am no expert in this area, but I assume the variation in words used for the translations - 'debt' as opposed to 'trespass', 'debtors' as opposed to 'trespassers' - represent synonyms for 'sin' and 'sinners' (as used in other versions of the prayer).
If one believed in the power of prayer, it struck me that the literal translation of the Lord's prayer, as applied to Cyprus, within a world awash with debt, and suffering from the trespass of Turkey and Turks, might be crucial. As countries/societies/people suffer from the debt crisis it's worth remembering those Cypriots still suffering from the trespass enforced since 1974, and their removal by the squatting trespassers. However, the different versions of this Christian prayer also mention 'forgiveness' of debtors or trespassers. In the event of a political solution in Cyprus can forgiveness be applied by the predominantly Christian majority to the trespassers? And does the current world debt crisis offer opportunities for an end to the Turkish trespass?
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