I was arrested yesterday. I’d been to
this place many times before and had never recognized the sign. Caught by
surprise, the implications swept over me and I stopped dead in my tracks. Guilty
as charged. Sometimes words are so familiar that we just gloss over them without
really attending to the meaning behind the meaning. Not this time, however.
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There I was at the conclusion of my
morning’s sacred time of centering prayer - reciting the Lord’s Prayer as I do
every day....
It was the phrase, Forgive us our trespasses. How many
times before had I said this phrase? This prayer? Forgive us our trespasses.
It was the word trespasses which gave me pause. Here, then, was something to investigate.
What does trespass, in the context of
this prayer mean? Trespassing is considered being on someone else's property
without their consent.
Where have I trespassed? The
definition suggests that trespassing causes injury to the person, property, or
rights of another, committed with force or violence, actual or implied. In the
case of my arrest, there is an implication, then, of violence, of wrongful
entry upon the lands of another. Here is an offense. A sin. A wrong.
I’m reminded of the actions of our
neighbor late last fall. Though we never posted a no trespassing sign, we’d talked a couple of times with her over the years
of her encroachment on the far corner of our property. Little bit by little bit
she enlarged her yard so that her grandkids would have more space to play. We
were OK with that as that part of our acreage was undeveloped – but she knew
that we knew that that was really within the boundary of our six acre plot. Even
so, what did she do but call in a tree service to cut down five living wild
cherry trees that were technically ours! That makes for an interesting story. Said she
was tired of the branches and leaves that kept falling in her yard. What could we do? The trees were gone. It
seemed the only thing we could do was to forgive those who trespass against us.
She ended up with the bill from the tree service. We ended up with lots of
cherry wood. This winter we’ll enjoy stoking up the fire in the wood stove with
seasoned, fragrant logs. Even so, here will be a frequent reminder of our
allowance of her trespassing.
Where have I trespassed? Synonyms
of the word suggest intrusion, encroachment, infringement – a breaking in, an
invasion or offense with an undertone of violence.
As I reflect on this, a quote from
Thomas Merton comes to mind. In this context it carries a lot of weight for me
today and I wonder how my acts of trespassing fit into the picture that Merton
is talking about:
To
allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to
surrender oneself to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects,
to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than
that, it is cooperation in violence. It destroys one’s inner capacity for
peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of one’s work, because it kills the root of
inner wisdom which makes the work fruitful.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil. Amen
That's interesting....
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