Forgiveness prayer

Scriptures

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 18: repentance

Parable of the Laborers

Resentment at newcomers:

• Early disciples vs. later disciples called by Jesus
• The good thief
• The Twelve vs. Paul
• Jews vs. Gentiles
• Catholics vs. Evangelicals

Prodigal Son

• The Merciful Father
• The Resentful Elder Brother

Luke 6

Luke 6:27-38

"But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit (is) that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful.

"Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Praying for Sinners

1 John 5:13-17

¹³ I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

¹⁴ And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray.

¹⁷ All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

Fr. Robert Degrandis

• "Not seven times, but seventy times seven!" (Mt 18:22).
• Robert Degrandis:

1. Forgive God: let go of resentments caused by our expectations of what God could or should have done to protect us or those whom we love from suffering.
2. Forgive ourselves. Perfectionism breeds depression. We cannot hate ourselves into loving God and accepting His mercy. Our relationship with Jesus begins with His decision to forgive us our sins and to join us to Himself--just as we really are today, right now. The enemy of our human nature torments us as an "angel of light" (2 Cor 11:14).
3. Forgive those whom we know personally: family, friends, acquaintances.
4. Forgive all public enemies.

If we hate those who hate us, we will become like them. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who injure us because it is good for us to forgive them. Resentment keeps the wounds open; mercy heals them.

Heaven's Gate

John Carlin, 1998.
Used by permission.

My friend, John Carlin, painted a picture of his two dogs as "Guardians at Gate 12." (In the Book of Revelation, there are "twelve gates to the city.")

The real guardians at the gate are not those whom we love with all our hearts but the people we find it hardest to forgive.

If we can't let go of our grudges against them, we can't enter Heaven.

For some, it might be Hitler or Stalin or Osama bin Laden or Barak Hussein Obama.

It might be someone from our family or from work.

A rapist, a murderer, a thief or some other kind of soul-slayer.

If we can't forgive those who have hurt us the worst, we can't get through the narrow gate. There is no room in Heaven for resentment.

You can't paint that picture for anyone else. They have to find out for themselves who it is who would bar the way at Heaven's Gate.