Lord's Prayer: As we (maybe) forgive others

"Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors."

I don't know anyone who has a problem with part A of this phrase; we like and understand "forgive us our debts". Its part B of the sentence that sends us to commentaries, dictionaries, and any other "aries" we can think of. I typically do that when I have no idea what the verse means or - this case - I know what it means but prefer to act like I don't.

If my heart beat in Jesus - rather than letting his dictate me  - maybe this verse would read, "forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven the debts of people we really, really like and who have not hurt us too deeply." Its those deep wounds that present the problem because once I am hurt deeply, I can turn the other person into a demon in my mind. Once I achieve the feat of converting them from being a human into being a demon, then they are basically evil personified. This allows me to not be responsible for forgiving them; after all, evil needs to be judged, condemned, and avoided. So the verse becomes "forgive my sins as I judge, condemn and avoid certain people." It is so much easier.

Over the past year, rather than wrestle with who or what needs to be forgiven, I've tried to embrace the heart of Jesus behind the phrase. This means my heart now prays, "I want to be a forgiving person." It really doesn't matter who the other person is, this is my choice. The debt - the wound - can be legitimate or illegitimate, one-time or on-going, deep or superficial; it really doesn't matter. The issue at stake is not the offense committed against me, who the other person is or even what their intention was. The issue is who am I. Will I hold poison in my heart or do I have the heart of Jesus?

Am I a forgiver?

Mark 6:7-28; Bad Ending

I read this morning of Jesus calling the twelve and sending them out. I was struck by the immediacy of the sending. We tend to call people into our community and then beg them not to leave. When a person does rise up who wants to be a missionary (the Latin term for apostle or "one sent out"), we immediately ask how much do you need? That is code for "how little can you survive on so that we can spend most of our money on ourselves while spending as little as possible to keep you alive?"

As I read the next story, seeking a broader perspective or completion for the first story, I was struck by the abrupt ending. John's followers and surely John himself were praying for deliverance. Then, for no apparent reason, John's life was taken. It was taken by the powerful on a whim. To satisfy a grudge held by a God-less woman, John was killed. Even the one giving the ultimate order knew it was wrong.

Yesterday I watched as a few good young men were passed over and disrespected in a sporting event by their own coaches. Most of the fans were oblivious; the young men were deeply hurt. As I read the story of John, all I could think was that life often has bad endings. As much as I want to explain it away or give it a nice theological package, the bottom line is that for John, his followers and a few young men yesterday, life was totally unfair while for a few ruthless powerful people life was fun.

I hate stories like these. I hate bad endings. When I read them or experience them, they make me hope that heaven and hell are not just metaphors. They make me hope that the story is really not over and there is another ending yet to come.

Romans 15:1-6; Others

To bear the pain of another, to feel insulted whenever another is put down and to do everything possible to build the other up, these are what the text calls living like Christ. It is all about living in relationship with the image of God in others. What can I do to enhance the image in others? How do I take away some of the pain others feel that is covering up that image?

That really does not sound much like some of the superficial arguments presented from pulpits these days. Nor does it look like what society thinks of Christians. Petty arguments and judgmental attitudes are quite out of place here. Regardless of what is correct or not in an argument, the very fact that an argument exists demonstrates a lack of living out the goal set forth in the text. That is not to say that error should be tolerated and sin permitted. Rather it has everything to do with the attitude, manner and motivation for treating it.

Oh how simple and yet how hard to live out our calling.

Luke 20:9-19; Conflict

Jesus did not answer in a politically correct way to the teachers of the law and the priests. He then moved to an offensive posture and told a parable about them that basically called them dishonest and murderous. Again, not very politically correct.

To this blunt statement regarding their hearts and their future he added his interpretation of Psalm 118:22. His application was that whoever comes into contact with him will either be broken or crushed, humbled or destroyed.

Somehow we have lost our vision of this Jesus. We see him as the one who fills "a God shaped hole in your heart". We sing songs calling him the "darling of heaven". I might be wrong but I really don't think anyone listening to him that day would have used either of those terms for him. They are not wrong terms, they are just incomplete. It seems that from his own words, anyone coming to Jesus should expect some form of painful transformation.