From The Book of Common Prayer:
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for the day is far spent and the evening is at hand; be our companion in the way. Enkindle our hearts and awaken hope, that we may know Thee as Thou art revealed in the Scriptures, and in the Breaking of the Bread. Grant this for the sake of Thy love. Amen.
“O Christ, Word of the Father most high, who wast made flesh to dwell among us, enter Thou into our hearts, we beseech Thee, that we who have been redeemed by the mystery of Thine Incarnation, may remain united in the communion of peace eternal.”
Mozarabic Collect
In about five hours I will be boarding a plane bound for Charlotte. There I will connect to Philadelphia. Then it is on to Scranton where my oldest sister will eventually pick me up. The last time I visited her was under similar circumstances. My sisters and I had gathered to see dad for what we thought was the last time. The diagnosis was lung cancer. By God’s grace the disease has been in remission for over three years.
However, for the last few months my dad says he is “tired” a lot more. Recently, he has repeated the phrase “living on borrowed time.” While the death of my aunt a couple months ago is part of the reason we are convening to talk about “the future” (i.e., my dad’s business affairs, personal wishes, etc.), I wonder once again if this will be the last time we meet face to face? Please pray for us, especially that the walls would come down and that we could have an open and honest discussion about everything.
Abba, Father, fulfill the meaning of Thy name towards Thy servants; do Thou govern, protect, preserve, sanctify, guide, console them; let them be so enkindled with love for Thee, that they may not be despised by Thee, most merciful Lord and most tender Father.
– Gallican Collect
By the sincere working of the Spirit most of us really WANT to sing the hymns, pray the prayers and extend the blessings as they are written, but we are so passionately addicted to ourselves that we simply do not (cf. Romans 7).
Below are some of the Trinity Hymnal selections that readily come to mind (please feel free to add to the list with your own observations by using the comments).
| What We Want to Sing | What We Really Sing |
| #32 – Great Is Thy Faithfulness Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! |
Great Is My Faithfulness Great is my faithfulness, Lord, unto thee! |
| #701 – Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It! | Reformed, How I Love To Proclaim It! |
| #295 – Crown Him with Many Crowns | Crown Us with Many Crowns |
| #370 – Revive Thy Work, O Lord | Revive My Work, O Lord |
| #461 – Not What My Hands Have Done | Look What My Hands Have Done |
| #461 – Not What My Hands Have Done Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul |
Not What Thy Hands Have Done Not what thy hands have done can save my guilty soul |
| #498 – Jesus! What A Friend For Sinners! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, he is with me to the end |
Jesus! What A Friend For Sinless! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, I am with him to the end |
| #585 – Take My Life, and Let It Be Take my will, and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine |
Take His Life, and Let Me Be Take thy will, and make it mine; it shall be no longer thine |
| #55 – To God Be The Glory To God be the glory, great things he has done! |
To Us Be The Glory To us be the glory, great things we have done! |
| #674 – I Need Thee Ev’ry Hour I need thee ev’ry hour, in joy or pain |
I Need Thee almost Ev’ry Hour I need thee almost ev’ry hour, in just my pain |
| #649 – More Love To Thee, O Christ | More Love to Me, O Christ |
| #37 – All That I Am I Owe to Thee | All That I Am I Owe to Me |
| #44 – How Great Thou Art | How Great I Art |
| #353 – I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord | I Love My Kingdom, Lord |
Related malapropisms:
| What We Want to Pray | What We Really Pray |
| Our Father, who art in heaven: hallowed be thy name; thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven … | Our Father, who art in heaven: hallowed by my name; my Kingdom come, my will be done in heaven as it is on earth … |
| For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen! | For mine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen! |
And the classic Aaronic Benediction from Fiddler on the Roof:
| Blessings We Want to Extend | Blessings We Really Extend |
| May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord cause his face to shine upon you … | May the Lord bless you and keep you very far away from us! |
If there is any humor to be found here (largely the self-depricating kind), it is in admitting that I have actually caught myself repeating (several times) some of these malapropisms in worship (classic Freudian slips). In fact, I must confess that for the last hour Matthew Smith’s voice (from the Indelible Grace IV album) will simply not go out of my head: “More love, more love, more love to me …” Sounding somewhat like the word intended, it is ludicrously wrong given the context. It’s all about who? What seems like a harmless mistake is instead after reflection a view into the depravity of my heart and picture of my need for grace.