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Pray, Forgive, Overcome

February 20, 2024

A terracotta sculptural model of Saint Matthew by Giuseppe Bernardi

Isaiah 55:6-11  |  Matt 6:7-15  |  Psalm 34:15-22

As Christians, we are called to grow into the image of God. What does that mean? After all, as Isaiah writes, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.”

Matthew’s rendering of the Lord’s prayer in of today’s reading suggests one possible attribute to work on: “… forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” If God forgives our sins against God’s self, we should follow that example by forgiving those who sin against us. And according to Matthew, these words came directly from Jesus. Whom could be a better source of the thoughts of the Lord?

That said, forgiveness of others may be natural to the image God has for each of us (called by some our “true self”), but such forgiveness is not natural in our current state. Living in the world as it is means living with an ever-present temptation not to forgive others. What then should we do?

Today’s collect suggests a starting point: In it, we pray for aid in withstanding “the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.” And the Lord is ready to assist us. After all, as the psalmist writes, “The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles.” So, one approach is to start with prayer and see where the Holy Spirit takes us.

Prayer is not the end of the task of becoming holy, as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16), but it is a step. The journey is long and may be hard; but our Lord will be with us, for these forty days, and always.

Steve Capps