Sermon for September 13th, 2015

Luke 11:1-4

1He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3Give us each day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins,for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Matthew 6:7-13

7When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.

Teach Us To Pray: Debts and Debtors

Today's sermon is about sin and forgiveness--the fourth phrase in the Lord's prayer.

In a monastery, novices usually go through a period of testing before becoming monks, in order to determine if the monastic life is really a good fit for them. Well, four young novices were at the end of that period, and so their superior told them they would have to undergo one final test: Go out into the world for one night...and sin. You cannot fully appreciate God's grace and forgiveness unless you have experienced it firsthand, so go and sin.

So the novices go out, and the next morning their superior asks each one to report his sin. The first novice nervously steps forward and says, "Last night I took the monastery's van and drove it over the speed limit. Then when my brothers implored me to slow down, I thought some pretty not nice things about them."

The superior said, "That's it? That's the best you could sin? Well, I guess it's something. Say one Hail Mary and drink three sips of the Holy Water, and God will forgive you."

Hearing this, the second novice was feeling pretty smug that his sin would outdo his brother's. He stepped forward and said, "I drank all the communion wine, got roaring drunk, and called the Abbot a bad name. Then I punched brother Roger in the nose."

His superior smiled a little, but then said, "Everyone knows that Brother Roger had it coming to him. Say five Hail Marys and drink ten sips of the Holy Water, and God will forgive you."

Hearing this, the third novice was sure his sin would outdo the first two. He told the superior how he had stolen some money from a little old lady, and used it to spend the night in a house of ill repute.

The superior seemed pretty impressed: "Now that's some serious sinning there. Say ten Hail Marys and drink half of the Holy Water, and God will forgive you."

By now the fourth novice could hardly contain himself, and was nearly doubled over in laughter. The other monks were trying really hard to think what he possibly could have done to outdo them all. The superior sternly told him to get a grip on himself, and report on just how he had sinned.

With a final snicker, the fourth novice composed himself and said, "May God forgive me, Superior. Last night I peed in the Holy Water."

Forgive us, Lord, for our bad jokes, just as we forgive others who joke badly in our presence!

Debts vs. Trespasses Matthew vs. Luke vs. Liturgy

F - First, God R - Really Big Things E - Everyday Things S - We're Sorry H - Help Us