As We Forgive
Our Father - Part 4
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Matthew 18:21-35; 6:12, 14-15
Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you, just as we also forgive those who have wronged us
Matthew 6:12 (CEB)
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
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As I was preparing for an online Lenten Contemplative Chapel Service earlier this week, I came across a beautiful chant of Kyrie Eleison (Latin for “Lord Have Mercy”), sung by the Ukrainian Chamber Choir in Kyiv several years ago. Soaking in the sacredness of this ancient music I found myself breathing a liturgical refrain buried deep in the recesses of my childhood experience in the Catholic church.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
For some, this is the kind of prayer that comes out in a desperate situation. We seek God’s mercy to get us out of a bad place, to heal us or a loved one from a terrible disease, or to forgive us from some deep dark sin that keeps us riddled with guilt, shame, or regret.
In the flow of ordinary life, however, our need for mercy rarely bubbles to the surface. After all, we are good people. We’re not out committing immoral acts in need of constant forgiveness. Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to condemn others we deem “sinners” because their so-called immoral behaviors or beliefs are unthinkable to us, even if we don’t know them or if they have not done any harm.
The problem is that the more we focus on everybody else’s “sin”, the less we are able to experience God’s mercy for ourselves and in turn, the less we are able to extend God’s mercy to others.
Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Forgive us our trespasses / sins / debts as we forgive others.” It’s easy to write off our own sin as “not that bad” compared to others and what little bit of sin we admit to is easily washed away by Jesus’ blood on the cross. But until we truly recognize our desperate need for God’s forgiveness day in and day out, it is unlikely we will be able to forgive others.
Forgiveness and mercy is not about ignoring hurt or pretending everything is OK. It is as Will Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas say, “to throw a monkey wrench in the eternal wheel of retribution and vengeance” (Lord, Teach Us to Pray, 84). Mercy and forgiveness is about breaking the cycle of anger and pain. It is being set free in the power of God’s love.
Maybe there is someone you are struggling to forgive.
Maybe there are people who it is more natural for you to judge than to show mercy.
Maybe the solution starts with breathing that ancient prayer…
Lord, have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s all we need to say.
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An Invitation to a Lenten Breath Prayer Practice -
As we sit with the “Our Father” Prayer Jesus taught us, I invite you to take one line each week and use it as a breath prayer throughout your day. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by difficulty or by gratitude, by pain or by joy, take a moment to breath a line of this sacred prayer. You may want to set a silent alarm on your watch or phone to remind you to pause and pray at least 3 times each day. Regardless of when you do it, be sure to let the prayer truly fill the depths of your soul. Repeat it, sit with it, meditate on it, until it becomes part of you. Allow the Spirit to transform your heart and mind as you pray.
Week 4: Breath Prayer Exercise
Breathe in: “Forgive us our trespasses…”
Breathe out: “…as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Amen.