As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Sometimes I think we forget to whom we are speaking when we enter into prayer. We are addressing the Most High God: the one, to whom in the Lord's Prayer, we speak 'may your name be most holy'. Then we go on to ask that the holiness of the Creator and Redeemer God spill over into a holy kingdom, both in the age to come and in our age as well. In our Lord's Prayer we pray that God's holiness be all in all, everywhere, in, with, under and among us.
So we pray that the holiest of gods, will bring into existence the Holy Kingdom in our time and in our place. That is our starting point - at least in our prayer. Our lives do not reflect the pervasive holiness of God because we live in a kingdom that is not God's kingdom....not yet, not now...and yet, we need to remember that
.......we are not negotiating a labor contract.
Forgive us our sin, as we forgive those who sin against us. This is not a quid pro quo arrangement where 'if you (God!) do this, I will do that'. It is not even a veiled criticism of our poor attempts at living holy lives. It is not a punch list of things we want God to do for us.
No, it is a description of what God's kingdom will look like when it comes to us in its fullest reality. Everyone will have their daily bread. Everyone will taste the sweet nectar of forgiveness. Everyone will be protected from evil. That's the kingdom we long for. That's the kingdom God offers. That's also our call into kingdom work.
When we hold God's name above all others, more holy than temporal power and riches and whatever else floats your boat, then we will be actively working to bring in a kingdom where everyone is fed and everyone is forgiven and everyone is protected.
Which brings me back to "forgive us our sins as we forgive others". Forgiving others is our starting point: we practice forgiveness even as we stand before God and beg for God's mercy. We live forgiveness in our lives: in small irritations and with our enemies. We are forgiving people as we look to God for God's forgiveness. It's all of one piece: the two are joined in a unity of God's desire and will.
Most of us know that we want a great deal more forgiveness from God than we are willing to give to others (who should have known better......). Our willingness to forgive lags far behind our desire to be forgiven.
But then, this world lags far behind the glory of God's kingdom......for which we pray in the Lord's Prayer. Each time we offer up to God those ancient words, we are taking up, once again, the calling of our baptism, a call to be an active worker for the kingdom of God. We become prayer partners with God: working to feed all, forgive all, and protect all. As we pray we remind ourselves that what we want for ourselves, we actively work to provide for others. That is God's kingdom. That is love of neighbor. That is forgiveness of all.
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