The Lord's Prayer, Part Two

I recently wrote on the Lord's Prayer, specifically on “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven” and the need for those who would follow Jesus to work to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth. There's a second part of the Lord's Prayer I'd like to talk about:

“Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” (Matthew 6:12 ASV)

Various translations use “debts” or “trespasses” in place of “sins.” But that's not the pertinent word here. The pertinent word is “as.” The dictionary definition of “as” is:

To the same extent or degree; equally.

So, when we pray the Lord's Prayer, we are really saying:

“Forgive us our sins, to the same extent or degree we forgive those who have sinned against us.”

If this doesn't make it perfectly clear that we are to be forgiven only to the extent we have forgiven others, Jesus goes on to say:

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15 ASV)

Ouch. Count on Jesus to spell it out for us in no uncertain terms.

Forgiving people is hard. When someone has done you wrong, when you have suffered at another's hands, it seems natural to want to “get even.” It seems natural to hold a grudge against those who do us wrong. But this is not what Jesus tells us to do. Jesus tells us to forgive those who have done us wrong, and even goes so far as to say that if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us.

So what do we do when we find it hard to forgive? I wish I had all the answers. I am still having a hard time forgiving the people involved in an incident that took place several years ago. It helps to remember that I have also wronged others, and of course I want them to forgive me. So, the Golden Rule applies here: “Whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them.” (Matthew 7:12 ISV)

Prayer can help, too. If God wants us to forgive, it seems reasonable that he would expect us to call on him for the strength to forgive, and that he would give that strength.

Perhaps forgiving can be made easier if we remember that the primary beneficiary of forgiveness is the forgiver, not the forgiven. When we have been wronged, we carry the memory of that wrong, and its pain, with us. When we forgive, although we still have the memory of being wronged, we can leave behind the pain associated with it. As theologian Lewis B. Smedes tells us, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

Remember that forgiving doesn't always come easily, and that you may have to forgive someone more than once. If you find yourself feeling the same resentments and pain again, maybe you need to “re-forgive.” Remember too, that forgiving does not always heal the relationship. Some relationships cannot be healed, probably some relationships should not be. But forgiveness will always heal the forgiver, and open the way to forgiveness for ourselves.

I think we often say the Lord's Prayer by rote, without really thinking of what it means. Jesus only taught us how to pray once, when he gave us what we know as the Lord's Prayer. It seems to me that if Jesus only taught us one prayer, we should give more consideration to it; we should examine it to see what else is in it. Before the next time you say the Lords' Prayer, think about what the words really mean. Is there anything else in the Lord's Prayer that you've been missing? What actions do the words of the Lord's Prayer call you to?

Be like the plants

Almost anywhere there are sidewalks, you will see plants growing from cracks in them.

A few miles from where I live, there is a rock cliff, several hundred feet high, and several hundred feet wide. Growing out of the face of that cliff is a pine tree.

While riding my bicycle along the highway one day, I saw a cornstalk, perhaps two and a half feet tall, growing from a tiny crack in the pavement.

Plants are persistent. They will try to grow anywhere. They will find any little crack and sink their roots into it. Sometimes they will live long lives, surviving on the tiny bits of nourishment that fall into their crack. Months or years may go by without rain, but as soon as the rain falls, the plants spring back to life. If their best efforts fail, and they are unable to survive, when they die they will leave their bodies in the cracks, to become soil, to nourish the next plant to come along.

We who are working to make the world a better place must be like the plants. We must plant ourselves in every tiny crack. We must be persistent. Even when it looks as though there is no chance of success, we must carry on our work. And if we should fail, know this: like the plant who dies, yet opens the crack and leaves its body for the next plant to grow on, we will have opened the crack for those who follow us; we will have left something behind that will nourish those who follow us. Our work will never be in vain.

The Lord's Prayer

Have you ever said the Lord's Prayer? I imagine most of us have. I think it's important to consider what this prayer means, since the prayer comes to us from Jesus himself, who instructed his followers to 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. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

I'd like to focus on a portion of this prayer:

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in heaven.

I think this is very significant: Jesus told us to pray for God's kingdom to come, and for God's will to be done, here on Earth. So let's think about what that might mean, for God's kingdom to come, and for God's will to be done, here on Earth.

Do you think that there would be any poverty or hunger in God's kingdom? Doesn't seem very likely, does it? Then, do you think that it is God's will that there is poverty and hunger here on Earth? No, I think it's fairly safe to say that the poverty and hunger that exist here on Earth are not in accordance with God's will.

What about war? Is there any war in God's kingdom? Not a chance, and if the kingdom of God is to come to Earth, doesn't that mean that war on Earth will have to end? Is it God's will that there be bombing and killing and destruction? Certainly not! Then if God's will is to be done, doesn't that mean that the bombing and killing and destruction on Earth will have to end, in order to make Earth like heaven?

We could probably come up with a fairly large list of things that we currently find here on Earth that we can be sure will not be found in heaven. We could probably think of dozens of things that are currently widespread on Earth that are not in accordance with God's will.

Do you think that Jesus intended only that we pray about these things, intended only that we pray that God's will be done, or do you think he intended that we also work to see that it is done? If we see poverty and hunger, did Jesus intend that we merely bow our heads, ask God to end them, then go on about our business? Or does Jesus want us to take action to end poverty and hunger?

When we see the wars in this world, the bombing and killing and destruction, did Jesus intend that we should simply pray that the killing will stop, then stand about wringing our hands in despair when we see that it doesn't stop? Or does Jesus want us to take action to end war?

I think it is clear what Jesus would have us do. When we see people in poverty and hunger, we are to remember these words of Jesus: “He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath food, let him do likewise.” (Luke 3:11, ASV) Jesus intended that we take the action of giving a coat, or food, or whatever is needed, to those in need. And when we see war, we are to remember these words of Jesus: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” (Matthew 5:9, ASV) Jesus intended that we take the action of being peacemakers.

But I think the real significance of the Lord's Prayer is this: it applies not just to each of us personally, but to our systems – our social institutions, our governments, our corporations, our churches. We can all agree that there will be no poverty, hunger, or war in heaven. But why won't there be? Will there be no hunger in heaven because those who have food will feed those who do not? Will there be no poverty in heaven because those who have two coats “impart to him that hath none”? No, it will be because the systems in place in heaven will not allow for poverty, hunger, and war. If God's will is to be done regarding poverty, hunger, and war, it will mean replacing our current systems, which do allow such things, with new systems that do not allow such things.

Consider the great disparity of wealth which currently exists in the world. We currently have systems which allow some people to accumulate massive wealth, while simultaneously allowing others to remain in abject poverty. According to Forbes magazine, there are at this moment 946 billionaires in the world; 946 people who have accumulated personal wealth of one billion dollars or more. At the same time, half the population of the world, over three billion human beings, lives on two dollars a day or less. Do you think there will be this kind of disparity of wealth in heaven? I do not. Do you think it is part of God's will that 946 people have a net worth of over a billion dollars, while three billion people live on two dollars a day or less? Again, I do not. Yet, this is the situation we have today. This is possible because we have systems that allow it. If God's will is to be done in this regard, it will mean that those of us who pray “Thy will be done” must work to see that it is done.

Now, most of us are not billionaires, so let me give another example that hits a little closer to home: Let's suppose that you and I are the owners of 48 inch plasma television sets. Most likely, these televisions were built by people in what we call the “developing world” - people who, although they work long hours every day building these television sets, will never own one. These workers aren't paid enough to buy the televisions they spend 12 or 14 hours a day building. Plain and simple, you and I are exploiting these people. No, you and I don't personally own the factories where these televisions are built, and you and I don't personally decide what wages these people will be paid. But we do allow others to pay these people starvation wages. We could refuse to involve ourselves in this; we could refuse to buy the television set unless the workers are paid a high enough wage that they, too, might own one. But this would still allow the system to continue; this would still allow God's will to be denied. If we are going to say the Lord's Prayer, if we are going to pray that God's will be done, then we must be willing to do the work to see that the will of God is done. In this case, applying God's will and the rules of the God's kingdom might look like this: Instead of “Free Trade” laws – systems that allow this exploitation - we could demand Fair Trade laws – systems that do not allow this exploitation. If the factory workers aren't paid an acceptable wage, if the working conditions aren't within acceptable standards - “acceptable” meaning acceptable to God - we simply don't allow the product to be sold in our country. This is justice in the Biblical sense; this is a system in accordance with God's will. And we can make this happen. Right now, we have a system that allows people to pay these workers next to nothing, while reaping massive profits for themselves. We have that system because those who directly profit from that system have lobbied our government to create that system. But what's worse, we have that system because those who indirectly profit from that system, the people who buy those television sets - you and I - allow that system to exist. It exists because we have not refused to participate in it, and it exists because we have not insisted that our government change the system to one that is fair to the workers who build the products we buy. We must not only personally refuse to participate in systems which are not in accordance with the will of God, we must, as a body – the body of Christ - work to create systems that are in accordance with the will of God.

These same standards must apply to all the systems of our world. We must constantly look at the world around us and ask ourselves, “Is this the way God would have it done? Is this, here on Earth, the way it is in heaven?” And if it is not, we must work to change it.

Saint Augustine said, “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” I believe this is what Jesus had in mind when he taught us to pray the Lord's Prayer. I believe that the Lord's Prayer is not simply intended to ask God to make change in the world, I believe that the Lord's Prayer calls all believers to action. I believe that the Lord's Prayer demands not only that our personal behaviors are in accordance with the will of God, but that the systems we create are in accordance with the will of God, and that each of us acts to ensure that they are.

So, the next time you say the Lord's Prayer, think about it before you say it. Remember that the prayer calls for God's will to be done on Earth, as it is in heaven. Remember that the Bible is filled with specific instructions to take action: “Let him impart to him that hath none”; “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Remember that ensuring that the will of God is done will require changes not only in our personal behaviors, but in the systems which regulate our behaviors as a society. Then say the prayer, and let God inspire you and give you the strength to follow through.