“Pray then in this way… forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” These words, recorded by Matthew in his Gospel (6:9a, 12), are so familiar to many of us that we recite them almost without thinking.

Too often the U.S. has pressured governments in the South to accept economic conditions which benefit our own country.

We often think of the “debts” referred to here as sins, which is the word that Luke uses in his Gospel. While including the idea of sin, debt is also a literal economic term.

Ethicist Allen Verhey argues that the Lord’s prayer is full of economic implications. “To pray this prayer is to want to be part of the economy of mercy and the society of forgiveness that is like the kingdom of God.”

Later in Matthew, Jesus responds to Peter’s question about how often to forgive with a parable (18:21-35). A king forgives the debt of someone who owes him a huge sum of money. That same man then goes out and refuses to forgive the much smaller sum owed to him by another. The point is clear: we who have been given much grace and forgiveness should extend it to others.

In the international financial system, a scenario, not too unlike the parable’s, has played itself out, as wealthy countries and international financial institutions have profited from loans made to developing countries.

Often these monies have not brought about any benefits for those living in poverty. Rather, they were pocketed by corrupt leaders or spent on the military. Now, countries are caught in the trap of paying back these loans with interest.

Those of us in the United States must confess our own complicity in what has happened. We have put our trust in a free market system, believing that it would generate wealth that would benefit everyone. This has clearly not been the case. Self-interest and greed have instead driven our economic system.

Nor have we taken into account the stark difference in power between countries and institutions in the global North and those in the global South. Too often the U.S. has pressured governments in the South to accept economic conditions which benefit our own country.

We in the United States have debts to confess and stand in need of forgiveness. There is no better way to acknowledge our mistakes of the past than to be willing to extend “a new beginning”–literal debt forgiveness–to heavily indebted poor countries.

Soon the Jubilee Act will be re-introduced in Congress. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives last year, would extend debt cancellation to countries who have not yet received debt relief, and prohibits harmful conditions from being attached to debt cancellation. To send an email in support of the Jubilee Act, click here.

As Jesus proclaimed in his opening sermon at Nazareth (Luke 4:19), the year of Jubilee—God’s reign, full of justice, grace and peace—has arrived. Let us celebrate by forgiving the debts of others, even as we ourselves are forgiven.

For MCC Washington Office advocacy materials and worship resources on international debt relief, click here.