Happy Misunderstandings

Yesterday I was meeting some friends for coffee, one of whom came significantly later than the others.  Long enough later, in fact, for the rich brown elixir to have had its usual effects.  As my friend arrived, apologizing for his tardiness, I was rising from the table to respond to the call of nature.  My friend interpreted my action as a move to a welcoming embrace.  The said embrace being completed I announced my intention to go to the bathroom.  He felt a little awkward at misunderstanding my rising from the table. But, I say, a happy misunderstanding between good friends.

Reading the collect from the Book of Common Prayer on Sunday reminded me of another happy misunderstanding.  The collect, in its revised and modern form (USA 1979) reads like this:

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

As it stands the picture of God both before me and behind me delights and encourages me.  But in earlier editions (in this case Canada 1962) the older 16th century language is preserved and it reads a little differently:

Lord, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Laying aside the 16th century lisp resulting from the thees and thous, the word that is really different is prevent in the place of precede.  Five hundred years ago, prevent meant to go before, to precede -  as the modern editors were aware in updating the text.  But my first time reading the older version, being the child of a different century, I understood the modern connotation of prevent - to keep someone from doing something.  Another happy misunderstanding.

There are many things that I would ask God to prevent me from doing.  Most of them involve words that too easily flow cynically or sarcastically from my tongue.  But that is only one example.  I do want the grace of God to go before me, to precede me, but I freely invite him also, where necessary, to prevent me as I am still in the process of learning to prevent myself.  Still my tongue when its words would hurt.  Withdraw my hand when it would act precipitously.

Kathy Mattea sings a song with this "prevent" theme.  The song is called, "Till I Turn to You."  Here is the chorus:

Won't you blind my eyes when all I see is temptation

Break my stride when I'm running from the truth

And tie my hands when I reach out with desire

Go on and do what you must do

Whatever you must put me through, till I turn to you

Prevent me, O Lord. Go before me, and where necessary, stop me, that I may be continually given to good works.