repaying our debt - 1st week lent tuesday

It may be translated as trespasses in the Our Father, but in the original Aramaic, sins, trespasses offenses and debts or utang use the same word.  In fact Latin use the word debts in the Our Father instead of sins or trespasses.  The fact is when Jesus composed the prayer, sins and debts are the same words.  Sin therefore carries with it a connotation that like debt it needs to be repaid. Ang utang dapat bayaran gani ang sala dapat man bayaran.  That is why we believe that because of God’s tremendous love for us, God himself in the person of Jesus paid for our sins.  The term we use is redemption – Jesus redeemed us, he bought us at such great price, the price which is his life, his blood.  We cannot fully repay for our sins.  Even a lifetime of good deeds cannot pay the price for our transgression.  Jesus has done that for us.  He paid for us and for our salvation.

The fact however remains that sin is a debt that has to be paid.  We may not be able to pay our sins in full, but we have to show at least our intention of repaying what we can.  And the Our Father is teaching us that the first step to repaying our debts is to forgive our debtors.  Learn to forgive because that way we can also earn forgiveness.

Second way of repaying debts, in the first letter of Peter.  He says, “let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins.”  What is the sign that our love is intense. St. Peter continues by saying, Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Kis-a nagabulig man kita tuod, pero nagakumod.  Peter is qualifying the help and the loving – he says it is done without complaining. Then he said, As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Each of us has varied gifts.  How are your using these gifts for the good of others and for the good of you neighborhood.  Kahapon nagmeeeting ako kay daku problema namon sa isa ka community sang seminaryo. May iban to nga nagsiling, Father tani masakripisyo kamo para sa amon.  Actually what they are trying to say is, Father you sacrifice for us so that we can enjoy what we are having right now.  Pero may isa iya nga nagtindog, Father hambala bala kami kon ano ang puede namon mabulig, mga professional man kami father kag gani puede gid kami ka volunteer bisan sa administrative work.

You see there is a big change in discussions in resolving issues when people change their point of view from Father ano ang masakripisyo nyo para sa amon, into Father hambala lang kami kay bisan administrative work maka volunteer kami.  Use your gifts, in that way your love expressed in work and service for the community can cover a multitude of your sins.

So how can we repay for our sins.  First, we cannot, but Jesus did that for us.  However we can show our intention to repay for our sins first by forgiving those who sinned against us, by not holding a grudge, by not prolonging our anger against anyone.  And second, by loving, a loving that shows itself in our works, in our hospitality and in using our gifts at the service of each other.

In this season of lent a lot of opportunities are given us to thank the Lord for offering his life for our salvation.