Forgive us O Lord . . .

We are constantly in need of the healing and forgiving Spirit of God in our life. We shape the way our eyes and other senses make sense of the world, our relationships, the people we mix with, the judgements we make about people and things through our own petty prejudices, often taking the line of least resistance in order to maintain a level of comfort and stability that maintains our perceived ‘well being’ and our own ‘rightness’ about how we understand the world.

If we feel our comfort or view is ‘threatened’ we immediately take action using strategies we are probably not even aware of. We possibly ignore what has been said, we might have heard what was said but because the eyes of our prejudice view the other person and say “I am cleverer that that person, that person is less important than I am,” or “I earn more,” our sense of security remains unthreatened. What violence we create within ourselves often without realising.

Why not break this cycle of violence ? Maintaining this perceived level of comfort, well-being, rightness, call it what you will, can permeate every level of our lives, personal, professional and spiritual. Recognise this principle is a part of your personality. Make no judgement about it, whether it’s good or bad, right or wrong but acknowledge it.

When Jesus said “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour,” (matt 25:13) it could be said that we need to be awake and aware to who we really are – just as vulnerable and in need of the forgiving, healing presence of God as all those we sit in judgement upon.

Don’t forget the “Parable of the Unmerciful Servant” in Matthew 18 : 21-32. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ Again "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us."