Ashana’s rendering of the prayer that Jesus is said to have taught to his followers. I have always thought that if this prayer was indeed taught by Jesus it was done so out of frustration. The followers of Jesus are said to have insisted that Jesus teach them to pray just as John the Baptist taught his followers to pray. Weary of their constant demands, I imagine Jesus offering this prayer as a kind of “Oh well if you need words, use these…” Much ink has already been spent in search of a definition of Abba, I think it is best to simply leave the word untranslated so as to capture some of the mystery of the ONE to who we pray, who is so more than language can capture. Abba of the Cosmos perhaps?
This is a great collection. The Contemporary Version should be credited to Parker Palmer. We use this, set to music, every Sunday. We call it “Our Common Prayer.”
I’ve never seen one credited to Parker Palmer??? There are several floating around on the net and it is difficult to give credit where credit is due. I’ve been collecting interpretations of the Abba prayer for years and we use several in worship.