...As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us
Dean
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 trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
The above is a popular traditional English version of what is known as the Lord's Prayer. It has been translated into hundreds of languages, and is probably the best known and most often repeated prayer in the Christian religion. I've even known some Jews who use it.
I had a deacon in church recently point out something interesting about the line, "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." I'd always thought of those as two separate statements, as in, "God should forgive me, and I should forgive others." But the language is actually stronger than that: it's asking God to forgive us to the same extent that we forgive others. If you can't forgive others, you can't expect God to forgive you. It's not two separate statements on forgiveness, it's one statement: forgive me as I forgive others.
It's not always easy, following things like this.
When is it ever easy?
Further, I believe that when we forgive we must forget. If we do not forget we never really forgave. When the Father forgives us He casts that memory from His mind as far as east is from west. Who are we to do any less?
We are called to forgive and forgive often. And as God casts the transgression from His memory so too should we.
And woe to the hypocrite that seeks revenge for transgressions done against them but asks for forgiveness when they are the transgressor!
The translation is complicated by the fact that in the different Gospels, the following text differs. Matthew continues by discussing the forgiveness of debts while Luke continues in discussing the forgiveness of sins.
BTW the word translated in “daily” i.e. “daily bread” is virtually a hapax legomenon, a word that only occurs once (appearing only in Matthew and Luke's versions of the prayer)and, in fact, nobody really knows what it means. Some have suggested that it was an accounting term. ἐπιούσιος (epiousios) has also been related to the word for substance, ousia, and may mean something like “necessary for life”. Wording in early non-canonical scriptures supports this translation.
The difficulty in translating even the most fundamental and universal of Christian prayers is one of the things that makes me skeptical about Biblical literalists.
A challenge to be embraced.
There is no universally embraced translation of the Bible. That's one thing the Muslims have on us: they just keep their original Arabic version of the Koran and tell you you should learn Arabic if you really want to understand it. (Although we know now that there were divergent versions of the Koran in the earliest years.)
When is it ever easy?
I've been thinking about that since you posted it, and I think I have an answer: if you practice forgiving others, it becomes easier and easier to do, and at some point you start to notice that the burden of forgiveness is a lot lighter than the burden of resentment, i.e. holding a grudge.
Jesus did say that his yoke was light, did he not?
I find that asking God to relieve me of the burden of resentment is rather liberating. It takes work, but it gets easier as you go.
DanielH: I have to think on that, but, holding a grudge against someone for something they did to a friend or relative seems unhealthy to me at some level. I guess it would be a question of context.
Dean, it is not a question of "holding a grudge," but more one of punishment: if someone assaults my neighbor, I should turn him into the police, not keep quiet and pardon him, against the wishes of my neighbor.
The church I was grew up in made the switch from “debts” to “trespasses” around the mid 70’s. It was officially a United Methodist church, but it had started as Brethren, and made a slow transition starting in the 1910’s (a VERY slow transition, I guess).
I remember some grumbling about the word change at the time, but eventually everyone embraced it. But it caused some problems for some of the older folks, who had been saying “debts” by rote all their lives.
My grandfather was the closest thing to an elder in the church. He always sat in the front row (on the male side), and he tended the “score board” that listed that day’s attendance and offering collection. When I was around 10 or 12 years old, I left my parent’s side and started to sit with my grandfather.
One Sunday a few months into the transition, my grandfather slipped and said “debts” instead of “trespasses”. And with impeccable timing, in the brief silence following the word “trespasses”, he blurted out a not so silent exclamation of “SH!T!”
Some chuckles ensued, but the prayer continued till completion.
After the “Amen”, the preacher looked down at my grandfather and said, “Jake, I don’t know if that qualifies as a debt or a trespass, but rest assured, it is forgiven!”
There are two meanings of easy which we have to distinguish:
(1) Not requiring much effort.
(2) Not tiring one out much.
I submit that it can become easy in sense #2, but never in sense #1.
I'm reminded of a quote by some famous cyclist (according to google, Greg Lemond): "It doesn't get any easier. You just go faster."
Being good is work. It's true that as one becomes a better person, you have only the work of being good, and not that plus the work of struggle against your sinful habits. But even the most holy creatures are always tempted; but they always overcome their temptation.
But it must be born in mind that not all sin is caused by weakness of the flesh; otherwise angels could not sin.
Very wise, and I concur, both with what you said and with what you meant. We forgive debts and we offer Mercy, we do not excuse evil or forget about Justice.
That too is wise, though I also understand Chris' point. Hard remains always hard and without practice the muscles atrophy, but with exercise the limbs grow strong, as does the soul.
It is always hard to lift the heavy object, but wiht exercise the heavy object becomes far less the burden.
If you forgive others their transgressions, your
heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others, neither will
your Father forgive your transgressions.
The one thing this phrase should not be considered is a bargain with God or an attempt at compelling God. God may forgive us our failings or he may not. In the prayer, Jesus urges God to do so. But is that really the point?
After all, in the end, it matters not who I think he or anyone else is praying to, but who I am praying to.
It has always seemed to me that the people who are most unforgiving are the ones who have been most insistently reluctant to forgive themselves.
Children are free because they don't carry guilt. Many religions believe that at age seven a cloak is laid upon a child and that from that point on they have a karmic burden--that you can virtually see the weight of the cloak slightly alter the child's posture.
This may be a rather liberal interpretation, but I believe not-forgiving to be a sin; sins are forgiven by repentence, and not-forgiving is unrepentent sin. It is a little redundant to say God will not forgive unrepentent sin.
As a non-Catholic, I do not believe salvation is overwritten by sin. (Not to say this is strictly a Catholic belief, but I think it originated there, or at least was there first). I don't believe anyone is capable of unsaving what God has saved. The verses that say drunks, liars and homosexuals won't get to heaven I suspect means that you can't carry that part of your life or identify in the Holy presence because it literally won't survive.
If I'm off base here, it might be fodder for one of your "what is religion" posts.
I'm trying to say that even those who sin get to go to be with God, even with unforgiven sin, but their works and life will be purified as if by fire that burns out what cannot exist in the presence of God. There might not be much of you left, but some "part" will continue eternally.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.