Our Father

A Series of Homilies by St. Gregory of Nyssa

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I. Sermon 5: The Lord’s Prayer, Ancient Christian Writers, Vol. 18, Newman Press, 1954)

Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

I. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

a.) Forgiveness as a Divine prerogative

“For the forgiving of debts is the special prerogative of God, since it is said, No man can forgive sins but God alone.” (Lk 5:21) (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 71)

b.) For man to imitate God - purity must be present

“First that we should be conscious of our likeness to God . . .then to be bold to call God our Father, and to ask that our sins should no more be remembered. . . his works have given him boldness to make this request.” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 71)

c.) Forgiveness from God is related to our ability to forgive others

“Do you want your debts forgiven by God? Forgive them yourself and God will ratify it. For your judgment of your neighbor which is in your power, whatever it may be, will call forth the corresponding sentence upon you.. .we dare to hope that God will also imitate us when we accomplish anything good - so that you too, may say to God: do Thou the same as I have done. I have forgiven the debts, do not Thou demand them back; I have had regard to him who petitioned me, I have sent my debtor away rejoicing, may Thine be done likewise.” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 73)

Q. When someone seeks forgiveness from us, and we do not respond, what are the consequences?

“By the disposition you show to him who is under obligation to you pronounce the judgement of Heaven on yourself.” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 80)

d.) What are our debts owed to God?

“The defacing of the Image and the destruction of the Divine impress which was formed in us when we were first created? . . . the departure from the table of the Father and the familiarity with the life of vile-smelling swine, the ruin of the precious treasure and whatever other sins both Scripture and our reason show us? . . . it seems to me that the Word teaches us through the prayer never to speak too boldly to God as if we had a pure conscience, however far from human sins a man might be. . . the debts owed to us <do not compare> with our sins against God. (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 75, 81)

e.) Humanity has an impure nature - (“born into sin”)

“For had he known (Pharisee) that he was a human being, he would have learned from Holy Scripture that his nature was by no means pure from defilement, for it says that there cannot be found among men who lives without stain for one day. (prov. 24:16) (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 76)

f.) The fallen state of humanity

“. . . because our first homeland is on the East; I mean our sojourn in Paradise from which we have fallen, for God planted a Paradise in Eden towards the East - when, therefore, we look to the East and recall to our memory how we were cast out from the bright regions of bliss in the East, we will have reason to utter such prayer.” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 77)

g.) No one is free the need of God’s forgiveness

“Even though one be a Moses or a Samuel, or any other man of outstanding virtue, in so far as he is a man, he does not consider these words less fitting for himself, seeing that he shares Adam’s nature and participates in his exile. . . in Adam we all die, (1 Cor 15:22)” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 77)

2. A Discourse on the Senses and the Passions - highlights our need of forgiveness

“Death is come in through the windows” ( Jer. 9:21)

“What Scripture call the windows are the senses, through which the soul issues forth to the things outside and lays hold of those it likes; and this these windows, as the passage says, make an entrance for death.”

a.) The senses are windows of sin.

“Truly, the eye is often an entry for many a death. If it sees someone angry, it is incited to the same passion; if it observes one enjoying greater prosperity than he deserves, it burns with envy . . .So the ear, too, opens windows to death. Through what it hears it admits many passions into the soul: fear, sorrow, wrath, pleasure, desire bursts of laughter . . . And the pleasure of taste is . . . the mother of each individual evil. For who does not know the indulgence of the palate is pretty nearly the root of the sins committed in the physical life. . .” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 78)

b.) The sins of the free-will and soul

“From within, He says, precede evil thoughts, and he ads a catalogue of thoughts that defile us. If therefor, the nets of sin are thus spread around us on every side, through all the senses and through the interior movements of the soul, Who shall glory, as Wisdom says, that his heart is clean?” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 79)

Note: against slavery (when talking about the wrongs of servant against masters)

“When you are burning with anger against your servant, that it is not nature, but power that has divided mankind into servants and masters. For the Lord of the Universe has ordained that only irrational nature (animals) should serve man. . . Therefore he who is subject to you by custom and law is yet equal to you in dignity of nature.” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 81)

3. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

“. . . Temptation and the evil one mean one and the same thing. . . That we should be separated from the things that belong to this world; as somewhere else he says to the disciples: the whole world is seated in wickedness. Therefore if a man desires to be free from wickedness, he will necessarily separate himself from the world. For temptation finds no opportunity for touching the soul unless this preoccupation with worldly things be held out to greedy men like a bait on the hook of evil.” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 83)

a.) The warding off of temptation through a willful act of separation.

“The sea is often dangerous on account of its mighty waves, but not to those who are far removed from it. Fire destroys but only if flammable matter is near it . . . so also he who fears the assaults of the evil one should pray that he may not fall into it . . . he asks that he may be far from temptation . . . let us rise and say to God, Lead us not into temptation - but deliver us from evil which holds sway in this world; from which we may be delivered by the grace of Christ…” (St. Gregory, Homily 5, p. 84)