April 26, 2016
The Lord’s Prayer

What does this mean?–Answer.
We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor deny such petitions on account of them; for we are worthy of none of the things for which we pray, neither have we deserved them; but that He would grant them all to us by grace; for we daily sin much, and indeed deserve nothing but punishment. So will we verily, on our part, also heartily forgive and also readily do good to those who sin against us.” (Small Catechism)

“A prayer for forgiveness of sin is also required…but on this point special stress was laid by the Jewish sages of old. “Forgive thy neighbor the hurt that he hath done unto thee, so shall thy sins also be forgiven when thou prayest,” says Ben Sira. “To whom is sin pardoned? To him who forgiveth injury” (Derek Ereẓ Zuṭa). Accordingly Jesus said: ” “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25). It was this precept which prompted the formula “And forgive us our sins as we also forgive those that have sinned against us.” (LORD’S PRAYER, THE: By: Kaufmann Kohler)

The Greek word for sin is “hamartia” – it comes from the sport of archery. It means literally to miss the mark. To sin means to miss the mark of how G-d wants us to live – how we are to love G-d and love our neighbor. As such, we are always missing the mark – no matter how hard we try, we will not be able to stay away from sin. It is an impossibility. Therefore, when we pray for forgiveness, we are to come to G-d already having forgiven those who have sinned against us. It is not “Well if G-d will forgive me, then I will forgive my neighbor.” Instead it is “Lord, I have forgiven my neighbor, and as such I pray for your forgiveness of my sins.”

One of the sins of all of humanity is to hold a grudge – it is a way we can convince ourselves that we have some control over our relationships. “So and so hurt me and so I will not forgive them until they seek forgiveness.” This kind of thinking constipates our faith – and our relationship with G-d. Forgiving others has nothing to do with the person we are forgiving, and has everything to do with our relationship with G-d. When we do not hold grudges, we can get on with forgiving and letting those things go, so that we can focus more time on loving G-d and serving our neighbor.

Pastor Dave