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Compare Mark 11:25-26; Luke 11:1-4
Today’s reading is “the Lord’s prayer,” as it’s called.
It deserves a book. (It’s received books.) And I’ve actually thought about writing one. But not today. Not here.
It’s passages like this that tempt me to violate my self-imposed rule not to try to post exhaustive commentary but to limit myself to merely an observation or two. I simply don’t have time to do more, and I would soon be unable to do this at all if I were giving an unsustainable amount of time and energy to it.
So I’ll confine myself to one brief point:
“Forgive us our debts,” goes the prayer, “as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
This strikes me as a rather dangerous prayer. Those who pray it are essentially recognizing the divine standard of forgiveness, and stating their acceptance of it:
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
That’s a demanding rule.
So, in order to cheer us all up, I end with a joke:
“Lead us not into temptation,” says one wit. “We can find it easily enough on our own.”
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