Matthew 5:43-48, CEB - “You have heard that it was
said, You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray
for those who harass you so that you
will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun
rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the
unrighteous. If you love only those who
love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and
sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is
complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete.
We
talked about several components of the forgiveness process thus far. Make the decision/intention to forgive. (Re)discover the humanity of the
offender. Let go of the notion of
punishing the offender or getting revenge.
Act honorably towards the offender. All of these components are hard work. As Gandhi says, “forgiveness is an attribute
of the strong.”
Today
we add another hard component to the process.
Pray for those who hurt you. I
waited until now to list this one because praying for the offender affirms and
works with all the components we’ve listed so far. Praying for God for the good of the other
reinforces our intention to forgive and it brings to the forefront that they are
a human being in need of prayer just like us.
It allows us to turn our hearts toward and trust God to bring resolution
and justice. This helps us let go of the
need for us to punish or exact revenge. And
obviously, it is the honorable and loving thing to do as Jesus instructs us in
the passage above.
Instead
of a question today and sentence prayer, I’d like to suggest an exercise in
praying/meditating for the wellness of others, including our enemies. Here’s the basic pattern for this.
1)
Find a quiet place where you are unlikely to be disturbed for a
few minutes,
2)
Sit in a comfortable place and posture, but not so comfortable you
would be likely to fall asleep.
3)
Take 2-3 long slow breaths, releasing any tension.
4)
Picture Jesus in the room with you and connect with His wishes for
you to experience peace, love, forgiveness, and joy. Stay with this for at least a minute or two.
5)
Picture others you know and love in the room with you and
Jesus. Imagine Jesus’s love and blessing
flowing to them as well. Join Jesus in
His sending of good things to the others in the room.
6)
Now allow others who you find it difficult to pray for in the room
too. Connect with the fact that they,
like you, are in need of all the blessings God gives.
7)
Join Jesus and others in sending love, peace, joy, and ease to
them as much as you are able.
If you find this hard, below is a link to guided meditation
prayer that leads you through the same basic pattern. Just listen and follow the instructions.
Prayer Focus: Say a
prayer for the family of the young man responsible for shooting his grandmother
and the children and teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Song: Standing in the
Need of Prayer – John Clayton and Hank Jones
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