We might choose, in Lent, to fast from brooding on wrongs, old bitterness and resentment...
When we pray in the words Jesus gave us, we say, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive forgive those who trespass against us...
We ask the Lord to use the measure of our own willingness to forgive as the measure by which he might forgive us...
That might be a dangerous prayer for us to offer...
Lent is a time to unburden old grudges and gripes, to lay those burdens down...
Lent is a time to unburden old grudges and gripes, to lay those burdens down...
Forgive our sins, as we forgive,
You taught us, Lord, to pray,
But you alone can grant us grace
To live the words we say.
How can your pardon reach and bless
The unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs and will not let
Old bitterness depart?
In blazing light your cross reveals
The truth we dimly knew:
What trivial debts are owed to us,
How great our debt to you!
Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls
And bid resentment cease.
Then, bound to all in bonds of love,
Our lives will spread your peace.
- Lyrics by Rosamund Herklots
