Chapter VIII.
28. The fifth petition follows: “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive302
| 302 The present with the Vulgate, Textus Receptus, Teaching of Twelve Apostles. The perfect is found in א, B, Z, etc., and adopted by Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort, and Revised Version.
|
our
debtors.” It is manifest that by
debts are meant
sins, either from that statement which the
Lord Himself makes, “Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost
farthing;”
303
or from the fact that He called those men
debtors who were
reported to Him as having been
killed, either those on whom the
tower fell, or those whose
blood Herod had mingled with the
sacrifice. For He said that men supposed it was because they were
debtors above measure,
i.e. sinners, and added “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise
die.”
304
Here, therefore, it is not a
money claim that one is pressed to remit, but whatever
sins another may have
committed against him. For we are enjoined to remit a
money claim by that
precept rather which has been given above, “If any man will sue thee at the
law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also;”
305
nor is it necessary to remit a
debt to every
money debtor; but only to him who is
unwilling to pay, to such an extent that he wishes even to go to
law. “Now the
servant of the
Lord,” as says the
apostle, “must not go to
law.”
306
And therefore to him who shall be
unwilling, either spontaneously or when requested, to pay the
money which he owes, it is to be remitted. For his unwillingness to pay will arise from one of two causes, either that he has it not, or that he is avaricious and covetous of the property of another; and both of these
belong to a
state of
poverty: for the former is
poverty of substance, the latter
poverty of disposition. Whoever, therefore, remits a
debt to such an one, remits it
to one who is
poor, and performs a
Christian work; while that rule remains in force, that he should be prepared in
mind to lose what is owing to him. For if he has used exertion in every way, quietly and gently, to have it restored to him, not so much aiming at a
money profit, as that he may bring the man round to what is right, to whom without doubt it is hurtful to have the means of paying, and yet not to pay; not only will he not
sin, but he will even do a very great service, in trying to
prevent that other, who is wishing to make
gain of another’s
money, from making
shipwreck of the
faith; which is so much more serious a thing, that there is no comparison. And hence it is understood that in this fifth petition also, where we say, “
Forgive us our
debts,” the words are spoken not indeed in reference to
money, but in reference to all ways in which any one
sins against us, and by consequence in reference to
money also. For the man who refuses to pay you the
money which he
owes, when he has the means of doing so,
sins against you. And if you do not
forgive this
sin, you will not be able to say, “
Forgive us, as we also
forgive;” but if you pardon it, you see how he who is enjoined to offer such a prayer is
admonished also with respect to forgiving a
money debt.
29. That may indeed be construed in this way, that when we say, “Forgive us our debts, as307
| 307 Not “because,” nor “to the same extent as,” but “in the same manner as.” It is interesting to note the contrast between the spirit of Christianity and Islam as indicated by a comparison of this petition with the prayer offered every night by the ten thousand students at the Mahometan college in Cairo: “I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed. In the name of Allah the compassionate, the merciful, O Lord of all the creatures! O Allah! destroy
the infidels and polytheists, thine enemies, the enemies of the religion. O Allah! make their children orphans, and defile their abodes. Cause their feet to slip,” etc.
|
we also
forgive,” then only are we
convicted of having acted contrary to this rule, if we do not
forgive them who ask pardon, because we also wish to be
forgiven by our most gracious
Father when we ask His pardon. But, on the other
hand, by that
precept whereby we are enjoined to
pray for our
enemies, it is not for those who ask pardon that we are enjoined to
pray. For those who are already in such a
state of
mind are no longer
enemies. By no possibility, however, could
one truthfully say that he
prays for one whom he has not pardoned. And therefore we must confess that all
sins which are
committed against us are to be
forgiven, if we wish those to be forgiven by our Father which we commit against Him. For the subject of revenge has been sufficiently discussed already, as I think.
308
| 308 See Book i. chaps. 19, 20.
|
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
