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Thy will be done ––the most meaningful words ever spoken?
In this the sixth post on the Jesus Prayer, we look at what may be the most consequential words of the prayer. Words that give meaning and purpose to the universe and our own lives that most of us seek. When Jesus taught his followers to pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” for many he provided an answer to their deepest questions: who am I and why am I here?
The Aramaic translation
We turn again to the website “Jesus Spoke Aramaic” to attempt to understand the translation that most conforms to the Aramaic language Jesus spoke. Previously I mentioned that nine million people today speak this Syriac language, but that is apparently incorrect. Two readers called my attention to this and with further research I found it appears they are correct that today there are probably fewer than a million who speak this ancient language and contemporary variants that was common in the Israel of Jesus’ time.
Remember that Aramaic, like Hebrew, is read right to left. Here, as before, we find that in this part of the prayer Jesus is making statements of fact, not presenting requests. The Father is in heaven. His Name is holy as the sky is blue. We do not ask that His Name may be made holy, it is holy or set apart. His kingdom will come. We do not ask that it will come, for why would…
