‘Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us.
Do not cause us to be tested but save us from the Evil One.
Yes, if you forgive others for their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you for your sins.
But if you don't forgive others, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.’
Matthew 6:12-15 (NCV)
What better way to start a reflection than by opening with verses from the prayer that Jesus taught us: The Lord’s Prayer.
Have you, or will you, pray it today? If we consider its central place in Christian worship services, personal prayers, and numerous Christian traditions over centuries - it's become one of the most spoken texts in human history.
Possibly repeated use can be both a blessing and a challenge. Reciting the Lord’s Prayer by heart has a beautiful communal and personal significance. It connects people across generations and cultures, creating a sense of unity. However, when anything is memorised and repeated frequently, there’s a risk of it becoming a rote ritual, potentially losing its depth and meaning for some.
But the power of the prayer really lies in the intention behind it, and today we are thinking about the difficult challenge of forgiveness. When somebody hurts us, when someone does wrong by us, or when they hurt or harm someone we love, to consider forgiveness is one of the hardest things to face.
Consider this story from Liz Stone on the Forgiveness Project website (www.theforgivenessproject.com): "Liz at 17 was living with a man who beat and strangled her until she lost consciousness, then handcuffed her to prevent escape. It took her 2 years to find the courage to leave. In time she met and married a man who taught her that love is gentle and kind. She turned her heart and will over to God and arranged to confront and forgive her captor. Liz says: “As I attempted to tell him why I had come he began to deny everything. Dropping my head briefly I began to wonder if I could really still forgive him.
"Softly the answer came; ‘forgiveness is mine to give, his reaction is irrelevant’. With a power that swelled inside me, I again met his eyes and said, “I FORGIVE YOU”. Handing him a letter I had written, I walked away. I wrote that my experience with him had taught me more about the resiliency of the human spirit, the love of God and his awareness of each one of us, the power of forgiveness, and the beauty of second chances than anything else I had ever experienced. I told him I forgave him because I no longer wished to be held captive by those memories.
"By forgiving him, I feel liberated.
Forgiveness is the key that liberates the captive.”
Heavenly Father, Forgive us our sins, bring healing and peace to our souls. Help us to extend the same forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Amen.
Debbie Wilson
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