The 'Star Trek prayer' in Elizabethan idiom
Maybe you've heard of the Anglican Service Book. Published by an Anglo-Catholic church in Pennsylvania, it's essentially Rite II of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer rendered into Elizabethan idiom. I once had a look at it through interlibrary loan, but it's way too expensive to want to own a copy. Most of it is available on Google Books, but the eucharistic canons are omitted (because why would you buy the cow if you can get the PDF for free?). And the one canon from Rite II that the authors of the ASB didn't even bother to include in the print version was the so-called 'Star Trek prayer,' Eucharistic Prayer C.
I'm here to rectify that glaring omission. I think the language of Cranmer and Shakespeare and King James (or his translators, at any rate) are perfect for prayer in the Final Frontier. So for your liturgizing pleasure, I have re-written Eucharist Prayer C in Elizabethan idiom. Enjoyest thyself.
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them unto the Lord.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.
It is meet and right so to do.
Almighty God, Ruler of the Universe, thou alone art worthy of glory and praise.
Glory be to thee for ever and ever.
At thy command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.
By thy will were they created and have their being.
From the primal elements didst thou bring forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. Thou didst make us the rulers of thy creation. But we turned against thee, and betrayed thy trust; and did turn one against another.
Have mercy, O Lord, for we are sinners in thy sight.
Once and again, thou didst call us to return. Through prophets and sages didst thou reveal thy righteous Law. And in the fullness of time thou didst send thine only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill thy Law, to open for us the ways of freedom and peace.
By his blood, he reconciled us; by his wounds are we healed.
And therefore we praise thee, joining with the heavenly chorus, with prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and with all those which in every generation have looked in hope to thee, to proclaim with them thy glory, in their unending hymn:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
And so, Father, we who have been redeemed by him, and made a new people by water and the Spirit, now bring before thee these gifts. Sanctify them by thy Holy Spirit to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.
On the night he was betrayed he did take bread, gave the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it unto his friends, saying, Take ye and eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
After supper, he did take the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, Drink all of ye this: This is my Blood of the new Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. As oft as ye drink it, do so for the remembrance of me.
Remembering now his work of redemption, and offering unto thee this sacrifice of thanksgiving,
We celebrate his death and resurrection,
as we await the day of his coming.
O Lord God of our Fathers: God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Open our eyes to see thine hand at work in the world about us. Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name.
Risen Lord, be thou known to us in the breaking of the Bread.
Accept these prayers and praises, Father, through Jesus Christ our great High Priest, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, thy Church giveth all glory, laud, and honour, from generation to generation, world without end. Amen.
And now, as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to say, &c.
I'm here to rectify that glaring omission. I think the language of Cranmer and Shakespeare and King James (or his translators, at any rate) are perfect for prayer in the Final Frontier. So for your liturgizing pleasure, I have re-written Eucharist Prayer C in Elizabethan idiom. Enjoyest thyself.
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them unto the Lord.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.
It is meet and right so to do.
Almighty God, Ruler of the Universe, thou alone art worthy of glory and praise.
Glory be to thee for ever and ever.
At thy command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.
By thy will were they created and have their being.
From the primal elements didst thou bring forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. Thou didst make us the rulers of thy creation. But we turned against thee, and betrayed thy trust; and did turn one against another.
Have mercy, O Lord, for we are sinners in thy sight.
Once and again, thou didst call us to return. Through prophets and sages didst thou reveal thy righteous Law. And in the fullness of time thou didst send thine only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill thy Law, to open for us the ways of freedom and peace.
By his blood, he reconciled us; by his wounds are we healed.
And therefore we praise thee, joining with the heavenly chorus, with prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and with all those which in every generation have looked in hope to thee, to proclaim with them thy glory, in their unending hymn:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
And so, Father, we who have been redeemed by him, and made a new people by water and the Spirit, now bring before thee these gifts. Sanctify them by thy Holy Spirit to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.
On the night he was betrayed he did take bread, gave the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it unto his friends, saying, Take ye and eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
After supper, he did take the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, Drink all of ye this: This is my Blood of the new Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. As oft as ye drink it, do so for the remembrance of me.
Remembering now his work of redemption, and offering unto thee this sacrifice of thanksgiving,
We celebrate his death and resurrection,
as we await the day of his coming.
O Lord God of our Fathers: God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Open our eyes to see thine hand at work in the world about us. Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name.
Risen Lord, be thou known to us in the breaking of the Bread.
Accept these prayers and praises, Father, through Jesus Christ our great High Priest, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, thy Church giveth all glory, laud, and honour, from generation to generation, world without end. Amen.
And now, as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to say, &c.
Comments