Matthew 6:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

ish this treasure, held within the soul through a loving disposition of will; who consciously withdraws from material desires and thus remains unaffected by the physical trials he encounters - such a person truly offers forgiveness to those who offend him with indifference. For the goodness that he cherishes and maintains within himself cannot be taken away by anyone, as it is intrinsically inalienable, as affirmed by faith. He stands before God as a model of virtue, calling upon the Incomparable to emulate him, saying, "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;" imploring God to act towards him as he has acted towards others. For if he desires that God forgive him in the same manner he has forgiven the transgressions of others, then, as God forgives without malice, so too does he forgive those who have wronged him, remaining unaffected by their actions, and thus he refrains from allowing memories of past anguish to cloud his mind, demonstrating that he does not isolate himself from humanity, nor sever the unity of human nature. When the will aligns with the logos of nature in this way, the reconciliation between God and human nature typically follows, for a nature that willingly rebels against itself finds it impossible to accept the unfathomable grace of the Divine. Certainly, the Lord desires our reconciliation not merely to teach us to forgive those who have erred against us or to make amends for grievous offenses, but to cleanse us from our passions and reveal the strong connection between our state of mind and divine grace. It is evident that when the will aligns with the logos of nature, the free wills of those who abide by it will no longer oppose God. For there is no irrationality in the logos of nature, which embodies both natural and divine law, integrating the movement of will in harmony with it. If the logos of nature possesses no irrationality, it naturally follows that the will, moving in accordance with it, acts in alignment with God in all things. This represents the active disposition of the soul, enabled by the grace of God, who is inherently good, fostering the emergence of virtue. He who seeks the spiritual Bread in Prayer embodies this soul disposition, and likewise, the same disposition will be adopted by one who, constrained by bodily needs, requests merely daily sustenance. Acknowledging his mortality, he forgives the debts owed to him, and daily, in light of the uncertainty surrounding the hour of death, he remains prepared for the inevitable, heeding nature with his will, becoming, in a sense, a self-determined dead man to the world, aligning with the words of the Psalmist: "For your sake we are killed all day long; we are considered as sheep for the slaughter” (Psalm 43:23). As a result, he reconciles with all, so that upon entering into everlasting life, he may not carry with him the marks of the present age's decay, receiving from the Judge and Savior of all the due recompense for what he has borrowed during his earthly life. For a compassionate attitude towards those in distress is essential for their own benefit.

Thus, after completing His teaching on prayer, He reiterates this message and connects it to our communication with God, emphasizing that we must forgive those who have sinned against us. This is crucial to avoid the guilt of speaking insincerely before God.

Similarly, in the prayer of wise Solomon, we find: "There is no man who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46), and Job states: "In the hand of every man is a sign, that every man may know his weakness" (Job 37:7). Thus, the holy and righteous Daniel the prophet, in his prayers, continually confessed, "We have sinned; we have committed iniquity" (Dan. 9:5), along with other sincere confessions. To avoid any misunderstanding that he was referring only to the sins of his people and not his own, he explicitly stated, "I prayed and confessed my sins and the sins of my people to the Lord my God" (Dan. 9:20). He did not merely say, "Our sins," but included "their sins" as well, foreseeing that there could arise people who would misinterpret these matters. It is also affirmed that if anyone believes that the very words of the Lord’s Prayer, in which we say, "Forgive us our debts," are uttered by the saints in humility rather than in truth, let him be condemned. For who could endure one who prays, not to men, but to the Lord Himself, claiming with his lips a desire for forgiveness while harboring in his heart the notion that he has no sins requiring absolution?

Furthermore, this teaches about the efficacy of prayer itself, affirming that if the individual praying forgives, they too will be forgiven, and that the degree of forgiveness they grant will correspond to the forgiveness they receive (Luke 6:36-38) — particularly concerning sins against one another and our Creator, as the Lord desires. We are all fundamentally equal and collectively bound, all of us having sinned; we offer little in comparison to what we receive. By extending forgiveness to others, we ourselves obtain mercy from God.

This principle holds true. If we are reluctant to forgive our brethren for the minor wrongs they may do against us, how can we expect God, whom we continually offend in various ways, to forgive us our far greater transgressions against Him?

WHAT CAN PREVENT US FROM RECEIVING FORGIVENESS FOR OUR DEBTS? If we seek God’s pardon for our sins while failing to forgive others, we will not receive absolution. ‘If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses’ (Matthew 6:14-15). WHY DOES GOD WITHHOLD FORGIVENESS IF WE DO NOT PARDON OUR DEBTORS? God does not extend forgiveness to us if we refuse to forgive others because we become corrupt and eliminate God’s goodness and mercy from our lives. WHAT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED WHEN PRAYING THE PHRASE REGARDING ‘OUR DEBTOR’? The petition in the Lord's Prayer, ‘as we also forsake our debtor,’ implies that the one praying should harbor no animosity or resentment but rather embrace peace and love towards all. ‘If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath anything against thee: leave thy gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and bring thy gift’ (Matthew 5:23-24). WHAT SHOULD WE DO IF SOMEONE REFUSES RECONCILIATION? If the individual who holds something against us cannot be reached promptly or is unwilling to reconcile, it suffices to seek reconciliation in our hearts before the omniscient God. ‘If it is possible on your part, be at peace with all men’ (Rom. 12:18).

And how can you hope for a favorable response, knowing the gravity and frequency of your sins against Me, the disdain shown towards My paternal authority and your duties as My child? We acknowledge this truth, Father, and we recognize it profoundly. Our transgressions are vast and severe; we feel unworthy to bear the title of Your children and we fear that these sins might create a barrier between You and us, obscuring Your divine countenance. Yet, with contrite hearts, we approach You, pleading from the depths of our being: do not judge us, Your unworthy children; do not hide Your face from us; remove all that distances us from You and prevents us from seeing You. In Your immense mercy, come to our aid and forgive our transgressions. Our Church interprets this petition in this manner and no other; when asked what we seek in this fifth petition, she responds that we implore our Heavenly Father to forgo our sins, to show no anger because of them, and not to deny our requests on account of them. In our own merit, we lack the worthiness for this, as we continuously commit grievous sins deserving only of punishment. However, it is out of His mercy that He is able and willing to grant us this forgiveness. This petition is founded upon the humble acknowledgment and confession of our great sinfulness before God, affirming that we are deserving solely of punishment. In contrast, a Pharisee who justifies himself fails to acknowledge his debts, relying instead on his good deeds to settle accounts with God, even claiming a surplus and making demands of God as though owed compensation. The fifth petition reflects the state of the publican, who, fully aware of his multitude of sins, recognizes that his only hope for salvation lies in God's grace: "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" How many reasons do we have to focus intently on the word "ours" and seek God's forgiveness for our sins! These sins burden us all; not only our personal transgressions but also those of our brothers and sisters. They not only demonstrate our own need for grace and absolution, urging us to plead on behalf of others, but also contribute collectively to the weight we bear before God, intensifying our accountability and guilt at the Last Judgment. No one lives or sins in isolation. We cannot amend our wrongs, nor can we repay what we owe to God, as each day only accumulates our debts, making us ever more culpable before His judgment. Only God can act as our advocate, releasing us from our debts using His supreme authority to pardon, declaring, "It is forgiven, it is no longer charged!" For, beyond this, He cannot rectify the evil we have done nor erase it; this is the singular, holy limitation He has placed on His omnipotence. The most serious and dire truth about sin is that with His infinite power, God has no means to absolve us from our sins other than through forgiveness, which entails leaving them unpunished. Thus, in this prayer, we request that He does not hold our sins against us, that He overlooks them in His great mercy, and that He considers the atoning sacrifice of our Savior, who taught us to pray: "Forgive us our debts," and who offered Himself as our Redeemer. May we come to know through our own experiences the profound truth that where sin abounds, grace overflows (Romans 5:20). If our Heavenly Father truly grants such grace, listening to your prayers, friend, and soothing your soul with the assurance of forgiveness, then draw nearer to your heart and appropriately reflect upon the words taught by the Master to His disciples in this fifth petition: "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors." What do these words convey, and how should we interpret them? We do not mean to suggest that we offer our willingness to forgive others as leverage for God to forgive us. Nor do we imply that our Heavenly Father should forgive us only to the degree that we forgive those who have wronged us. In making such a calculation, we would be woefully misguided, requesting merely a penny from our debtors while we owe our Father an insurmountable debt. Instead, we express our sincere willingness, as an act of gratitude for His forgiveness, to likewise forgive those who have offended us. Thus, in the words of the fifth petition, "as we also forgive our debtors," our Lord compels us to extend mercy and grace to those who have wronged us. Yet, how revealing it is, dear brethren, that as we say the Lord's Prayer, we must explicitly declare our readiness to be merciful to others at the command of the Lord. Such a promise is not confined to this petition alone but encompasses every petition within this prayer. For instance, when we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," we imply a similar promise of readiness to share this bread with others in need. However, the Savior does not necessitate that we articulate this promise in any particular way; He trusts us to recognize it in our own prayers. Only in this fifth petition does He require us to state it expressly and clearly. He understands that it can be challenging for a person to share, even a small fraction of the abundant blessings received from their Heavenly Father, but it is far more difficult to forgive the wrongs of others with genuine grace, even in light of all the bountiful favors that God has bestowed upon us. O Merciful Father! How often do we sin grievously against You by our unwillingness to forgive our debtors, failing to embody Your love for our enemies. Please bear with us; do not bring us to judgment as Your servants. Along with our previous debts, forgive us the new ones we accumulate daily, including the severe debt stemming from our callous and unyielding hearts. Through Your boundless mercy and love, comfort us with the assurance of daily forgiveness, and warm our cold hearts with the flames of Your love. Amen.

The Father discerns the words and intentions of His Son and accepts not what human arrogance has devised but what has been revealed through Christ’s understanding. Therefore, while you may express your prayers, you cannot confound or deceive God. Unless you first extend forgiveness, you will not receive forgiveness yourself.

“By the remembrance of our sins He fosters in us a spirit of humility, through the command to forgive others He eradicates any desire for revenge within us, and by the assurance of forgiveness for these things also granted to us, He instills in us a sense of hope” (Chrysostom).