The Fourth Sunday after Trinity

 The Fourth Sunday after Trinity – July 13, 2025

Psalm 27; Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 8:18-23

St. Luke 6:36-42

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Judge not lest ye be judged,”[1] is among the most abused verses of Scripture, if not the most abused. It is taken to mean there is no place for harsh or negative words on the lips of Christians, as though we are commanded to live and let live. ‘Preach only the Gospel.’ ‘Be nice and the hearts of many will be turned.’

But no one who has read the Scriptures can come to this conclusion. The Bible is full of commandments to judge and condemn false doctrine – including sin. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”[2] Every pastor is commanded not only to forgive sins but to rebuke and warn against them; as well as train up Christians for every good work.[3] This requires making judgements and condemning false doctrine and sin.

This task of judging and condemning is not just given to pastors in their preaching. The Prophet Isaiah says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”[4] Psalm 119 goes so far as to command us to “hate every false way.”[5] And Christ commands the sheep to “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”[6] It would be impossible to discern between a false prophet and a true prophet if you could not judge. And how do you judge this doctrine? By comparing it to the Word of God, the only inerrant and infallible rule and norm by which doctrine can be judged.

Then what is our Lord forbidding in these words, “Judge not, condemn not”? He is forbidding judging hearts, not according to God’s Word but according to our own thoughts, preferences, or opinions. It is judging without love and mercy but according to the passions of our own flesh. The synopsis, or summary, of the Gospel text this morning is “Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”[7] But why should you be merciful as God is merciful? What should move, or motivate, you to be merciful as God is merciful?

First, you ought to be moved by the mercy God has shown toward you. Earlier in the sermon on the plain, Christ told us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.[8] Here, that command is taken a step further. Do unto others as you would have God do to you. Don’t get me wrong, it is not our mercy that causes God to have mercy on us. It is not our actions that cause God to grant us grace and forgiveness. However, what we do in and with that grace and mercy can certainly cause our Heavenly Father to withdraw the same.

Think of the parable of the unforgiving servant. A servant owes his master 60 million days’ wages, somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 billion, or over 230,000 years of work. The master has compassion on his servant and forgives his debt. But then the servant finds a fellow servant who owes him $16,000, about 5 months of work. Since he can’t pay the debt, the servant has him beaten and thrown in jail. When the master hears what he has done, he throws the unforgiving servant to the torturers and jailers until the debt is paid.

The servant did nothing to earn the compassion of his master but when he failed to show similar compassion to his fellow servant, the master returned his lack of forgiveness upon him with the same measure: pressed down, shaken together, and running over. That servant was forgiven 230,000 years of debt and yet you have been forgiven more. Your Heavenly Father sent His Only Begotten Son to die for your debt of sin and to rise again that you would no longer be a slave but a son, and that you would enjoy this inheritance for all eternity. You have been set free from the punishment of the Law and the sting of death. Such is the sweet mercy of God that has been shown to you. Such is the same mercy you’ve been called to show to your neighbor.

When we say that good works are motivated by the Gospel, this is what we mean. Though we are but frail mortals, incapable of the perfect mercy of God, we who have been set free by such a glorious love are to reflect that love in our mercy toward others. What would it say to God if you refused to show forth the mercy that you’ve been shown? It would tell Him that what He has done means very little to you. It would be an abuse of everything that He has done for and given to you. He gives you life and you would use it in service to death.

Rather, see your forgiveness for what it is. It is a new life, a new beginning, a new existence as a son of God. A son wants nothing more than a father he can be proud of and to be like his father. We have a Father who defines what it means to be a father. As His dear children, our hearts ought to desire nothing less than to be like Him, to walk in His ways and enjoy His favor for all eternity.

I’ve already hinted at the second motivation to be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful. It is because of the consequences of not being merciful. When we heard of Lazarus and the rich man, I spoke of how seriously God takes sin. He hates sin. He cannot tolerate sin to stand in His presence. He also provides the antidote to the poison of sin. His great love sends the shed blood of Jesus to be for you the medicine of immortality. As seriously as He takes sin, He equally takes your forgiveness seriously.

So then, how would you like God to consider you? Do you wish that He would overlook your besetting sins, those against which you struggle but still find yourself falling into? Of course! Then you should also be willing to overlook such sins in your neighbor. Do you wish to escape the loveless judgment of hell? Then do not judge your neighbor without love. On the last day, do you want God to commend your righteous and merciful deed to your neighbor, making no mention of your sins, as He does with the sheep at His right hand?[9] Then, whenever you can, speak well of your neighbor to the best of your knowledge. Before others and in your own heart, put the best construction on everything that he does.

Do not wish that God would remember your sins no more, keep no record of your sins nor add them up, turn His anger away from you, smile upon you, and hurl all your guilt into the depths of the sea, then turn around and keep tally of your neighbor’s sins against you so that you can use them against him at the opportune time. With the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

The final motivation to be merciful as our Father is merciful as presented in our text is the burden of our own sin. You know the depth of your own sin. You know which temptations to which you are likely to succumb. In this knowledge, the temptation to lovelessly judge your neighbor is twofold. There is the temptation to judge those with similar sins. The man prone to anger is especially angered by another man prone to anger. One who steals is often the first to judge another thief. The opposite temptation is also true. It is very easy to judge someone who is tempted to sins that you are not tempted toward. Such self-righteous indignation boils over from a lack of sympathy.

Yet to be ever mindful of the burden of your own sin ought to move you to show compassion and mercy toward your neighbor. It is humbling to ponder your own sinfulness. This humility can then drive your attitude toward others. It is a somewhat slight example but think of the person who cuts you off in traffic or quickly pulls out in front of you. How easy it is to condemn them for driving recklessly. And it is true, what they’ve done is dangerous. What you don’t know is their child was just flown into the city for emergency surgery; or he has just learned of the infidelity of his wife; or he is a first responder who just received an emergency call that pulled him out of bed during his time off. And besides, who among us hasn’t missed a stop sign, unknowingly cut someone off, or even purposely broken traffic laws?

The point is that you know what it is to be a sinner, and you know what a sinner needs. A sinner needs to be forgiven. A sinner needs mercy. It is not your duty to determine the eternal fate of every person you encounter, but to love God and serve your neighbor. There is a time and place to judge and condemn false doctrine and sin, but there is also a time to remove the plank from your own eye first. Attending to your own sin prepares you with a humble heart to seek the reproof, correction, and instruction of your neighbor.

Your Heavenly Father has had mercy on you. By right, there is only One who may even call Him His Father, for Christ is the only True Son of the Father. Yet in His infinite grace and mercy, He has given to you everything that is His own, including your adoption as a child of God. In faith toward Him and in fervent love toward your neighbor, be merciful, even as your Heavenly Father is merciful.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Luke 6:37.

[2] St. Mark 16:15-16.

[3] 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

[4] Isaiah 5:20.

[5] Psalm 119:104, 128.

[6] St. Matthew 7:15.

[7] St. Luke 6:36.

[8] St. Luke 6:31.

[9] St. Matthew 25:34-40.

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity – August 14, 2022

Psalm 54; 2 Samuel 22:26-34; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

St. Luke 16:1-13

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What man intended for evil, God meant for the good, to save many people alive.[1] Such is the assessment of Joseph when reflecting on how his brothers tried to kill him and he ended up a slave in Egypt. Joseph is one of very few people in the Old Testament who is portrayed as being nearly flawless. He is a prophet of God and works faithfully for his masters in Egypt. Even when Potiphar’s wife repeatedly tempts his flesh, Joseph remains faithful to God and his Egyptian master.

Being thrown into prison, Joseph is such an exemplary inmate that he is eventually given charge over other inmates. Such loyalty leads to him being made the second most important man in Egypt, steward over all that belongs to Pharaoh. Joseph had complete authority over everything in Pharaoh’s household, having the complete trust of someone the Egyptians believed to be a son of the gods. Joseph is the picture of the ideal, the faithful steward.

The steward in today’s parable is found to be much less deserving of faith. This steward has authority similar to that of Joseph. He has complete control over all of his master’s possessions. He may do with them as he sees fit. The primary concern of the master is that the steward uses his possessions to increase the wealth of the master. Yet this steward has demonstrated himself to be wasteful. He is the prodigal steward, using money that doesn’t belong to him to indulge the lusts of his flesh in food, drink, and women. He is like the prodigal son throughout the first half of that parable.

We join the parable as the master learns of his steward’s wasteful actions and brings the accusation before the steward. There is not a moment of denial by the steward. His actions speak for themselves. He can’t deny it because his sins shine brighter than a spotlight on a dark stage. Once the account books are turned over to the master, the steward will be cast out of his position, having gained a reputation that will certainly prevent him from ever working in this town again.

Most of us are well trained in reading parables. We know to look for the “God” figure and the “man” figure, locating the forgiveness of sins or a similar description of God’s character and mercy toward man. This is especially true of the parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel. It is also generally true of St. Luke. But St. Luke also has much to say about possessions and the right use of possessions by the Christian.

The Parable of the Shrewd Steward does not have a “God” figure. The master is not standing in the place of God. Rather, this parable is revealed in the concluding sentence, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”[2] This is a parable concerning the actions of the sons of this world and how it is an example to the sons of light.

When the steward calls the debtors together, he still technically has the authority to write and rewrite the contracts of debt. Until the account books are in the hands of the master, the steward retains the authority to change them. He is acting according to the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit. This man, who has lived wastefully on another man’s wealth, is too proud to beg and is too weak to dig ditches. He is not a paragon of virtue. He is, however, shrewd.

This word, “shrewd,” has negative connotations. It sounds evil, or at least mean. Perhaps it even rings in your ears as someone who is miserly and lashes out at those around him. The original word carries no such meaning. It simply refers to practical wisdom, knowing what actions to take in a particular situation. This is different from the “wisdom” we usually think of. Wisdom is generally reserved for theoretical wisdom, that is, having the knowledge of the best course of action. To be shrewd is to have practical wisdom of the situation and knowing the best steps to take.

For example, it might be wise for a carpenter to soften the corners of a table to give it a finished, beautiful appearance. It is shrewd of the carpenter to soften the corners and the edges to reduce splintering. The wise Christian knows the value to his body and soul of attending the Divine Service every Sunday and every other day it is offered. The shrewd Christian bathes the children the night before so that Sunday morning is efficient and attends the earliest service so that the children are still slightly subdued by the early rising.

At the end of the parable, the master does not commend the steward’s lies or prodigal living. He commends his shrewd actions. The steward knows his future is bleak unless he takes action. He decides to use the remaining few minutes of his authority to craft deals with those owing debts to the master. This is not an act of revenge. It is an act of practical wisdom. By cutting the debts, the debtors will look upon both the steward and the master with great favor.

Make no mistake, the actions of the steward will cost the master financially, but those same actions will benefit the master in reputation. From the perspective of the steward, he has benefited both himself and the master in the eyes of the debtors. The master understands this and commends such shrewd actions. The steward will still lose his job but has virtually guaranteed himself a place to stay and new job prospects once he is fired. He has also strengthened the loyalty of the debtors toward the master, probably making him more money in the long run.

Do not imitate the actions of the steward in obeying the letter of the law to benefit yourselves in this world. That is not the message of this parable. The teaching of the parable to is to align your actions with your priorities for the future. The actions of the steward guarantee him a comfortable future in this world. He is a son of this world and acts shrewdly to improve his life in this generation.

You are sons of the light. What future are you prepared for? Do your actions speak of shrewd preparation for that future? Do not be anxious about what you will eat or wear or where you will lay your head.[3] These are short-term concerns, and your Heavenly Father has promised to take care of them for you. Compared to the parable, worrying about tomorrow is like the steward worrying about which path he will use to walk home after the master fires him. It is something you need to make decisions about but not something worth your anxiety.

The goal of the steward is that when his lifelong career fails, he is received into the homes of others that will care for him the rest of his days. The goal of the Christian is that when you fail, that is, when your body gives up its final breath, you will be received into the everlasting heavenly mansion prepared for you by Christ.[4] You will be received into the bosom of Abraham, gathered into the general assembly and church of the firstborn, to God the Judge of all, and to Christ the Mediator of the new covenant, whose blood of the sprinkling speaks better things than that of Abel.[5]

The steward took action toward his goal. He used practical wisdom, he was shrewd, in deciding what steps he can take to ensure a desirable outcome. How shrewd are you? It is true, there are no steps, no actions, no amount of wisdom that will give you heaven. Salvation has come unto you. You have been called by Christ and delivered from sin, death, and the devil. This was done while you were yet in your sin. Even now, as a baptized child of God, it is not up to you to keep yourself in the faith. It is not by your own reason or strength that you continue to be a Christian. This, too, is a gift of God.

Yet there are plenty of actions, steps, foolish thoughts, and sins that can drive you away from salvation. Being lazy and not attending to the miraculous gift of faith you have been given is the sin of sloth. Sloth is enough to turn you away from God. Idolatry, wrath, envy, greed, pride, and lust all easily turn you away from God.

So, I ask again, how shrewd are you? For what are you preparing yourself? Make no mistake, every action today is preparing you for something tomorrow. Honestly reflect on how you spend your time and evaluate what it is that you are preparing yourself for. Are you preparing to have a conversation about a foreign war with no direct impact on daily life? Are you preparing yourself for retirement? What about when the war is over, or you find that you are retired? What if you die before you retire? For what have you prepared yourself for?

There is some debate among Christians whether video games are themselves sinful. Some say yes, and some say no. What cannot be denied is that time spent in a video game has produced nothing. Oh, it might produce the topic of a few conversations, perhaps a basis for a friendship. But what happens to that friendship when that video game is obsolete? What has happened to the foundation? Minecraft has been described as virtual Legos. I’ve seen the ability of Minecraft to help children with autism relate to the world around them. But then again, at the end of the day, if it is virtual Legos, what has the child built? Even the child with autism—he has become better able to communicate with other people on computers, but has it helped him communicate with his mother? Or his peers?

 Such leisure activities as movies, television, and even video games might have their place, but we must remember that not only do they produce nothing, they do not prepare you for anything. They are virtual—that means they are not real. If such idle activities have a place, it cannot be for a considerable length of time.

So, I ask again, how shrewd are you? What are you preparing yourself for? You do not know what will happen tomorrow, let alone next week, or in 5 years. You can plan so that you give your family the best opportunity to have a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs, but you should not be anxious over these things. They are auxiliary. What you know for certain is that death will come. So long as Christ waits to return, death will come. That is the certainty of the future. What are you doing to prepare for death?

You can select a funeral package at Bross and Spidle and you can begin making payments, but these too are auxiliary. What about eternity? With the time that you have been given, are you preparing yourself to walk further away from Christ, staring at your smartphone, your favorite 24-hour news station, and chatting on social media? It is very easy to use the settings on your phone to see just how much time you spend looking at it and even which apps are demanding your attention. Or are you making for yourself friends by unrighteous mammon?[6]

“Unrighteous” in this case does not mean “evil” but rather “that which cannot save you.” Are you using your time, talent, and treasure to build up the Church—both the building and those called by God to gather around His Word and Sacraments? Every possession in this world is mammon, it is unrighteous because it cannot save you. But all mammon can certainly damn you. It is dangerous. All earthly possessions are dangerous because they so easily become idols. Thanks be to God He has given to His children the Holy Ghost, by which we are made wise. We are wise as serpents and innocent as doves.[7]

The unbelieving world hates God; hates Christ; and hates Christians. Persecution is on our doorstep. Are you shrewd enough to handle it? Or will you fold when you get sick, when your neighbor gets sick, or the government tells you to stay away from Church? Are you preparing for a long, comfortable life on this side of glory or an eternal life with Christ? Are you willing to endure the short fires of suffering in this life to avoid the eternal fire of hell or is such delayed reward too much for you to endure?

This is the lesson of the Shrewd Steward. You have been given such wonderful gifts of God. You have been given the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. You are an eternal being, created by God to endure forever. Prepare yourself for eternal life with Christ by using the temporal gifts you have been given in the ways that God has commanded. Serve God and your neighbor by forgiving each other, covering the sins of your brother, walking alongside the erring and the weak, and by devoting your time, efforts, and treasure to the work of the Church.

This is what it is to be a shrewd Christian. Learn from the actions of the Shrewd unbelievers but do not work toward their goals. Use their dogged determination toward the goal which you have already been promised, lest you should lose that eternal reward. ‘What is the world to you, with all its vaunted pleasure; when Christ and Christ alone is your treasure! The world seeks praise and wealth—all that mammon offers—yet it is never content, though gold fill all its coffers. Jesus is your treasure, your life, your health, your wealth, your friend, your love your pleasure, your joy, your crown, your all, your bliss eternally. Once more, then, declare, what is the world to you?’[8] You have Jesus.  

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 50:20.

[2] St. Luke 16:8.

[3] St. Matthew 6:25-34.

[4] St. John 14:1-3.

[5] St. Luke 16:22; Hebrews 12:22-24.

[6] St. Luke 16:9.

[7] St. Matthew 10:16.

[8] A summary of “What is the World to Me,” Lutheran Service Book #730. Text is public domain.

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity – July 10, 2022

Psalm 27; Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 8:18-23

St. Luke 6:36-42

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today’s portion of the Sermon on the Plain presents the climax of the Sermon. Jesus speaks to His disciples concerning the way they are to live—that is, how they are to imitate God. Today, we will view this text as four discreet sayings of Jesus, and then unite them in a conclusion.[1]

1. “Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” This word for “merciful” is very rare in the New Testament. It is not the request of the beggar when a powerful man comes riding into town. It is also not the word we repeat at the beginning of every Divine Service, “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.” Rather, this word is primarily influenced by the Old Testament. It is the word used in describing God who is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”[2]

This mercy is a description of God. The simplest definition of mercy is not giving someone the punishment he deserves. The mercy in today’s reading describes first the emotion of grief or sorrow at the misfortune or death of a man and then the sympathetic movement of one’s heart to help the one in need. God not only refrains from the punishment due to man in the Fall, but He is moved by love to take on the flesh of man. In this way, He can sympathize with our low estate. This sympathy moves Him to do something about our deathly condition. He joins Himself to us such that He takes on our punishment. He sees His own righteousness and delivers it to sinful man. The God who cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, sympathizes with man, and dies for him.

This is the mercy we are called to show to our fellow man and the mercy we are so terribly at showing. There is certainly generosity and kindness in the world but there is far more hatred and spite. Friendships built over decades often grow cold in an instant. Marriages that outwardly appear strong are torn apart in one night of careless anger. Human nature is not only incapable of expressing such divine mercy—it is hostile to it.

Even for the Christian, this is difficult. Think about how hard it is for someone to please you but how easily you are offended. Or how many times you expect your wife to read your mind and how quickly you are angry when she can’t. This is not mercy. It is spite, vindictiveness, and cruelty.

2. “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” These commands of Jesus are among the most misunderstood words of Holy Scripture to be found. Much like being merciful, Christ is calling us to imitate our Heavenly Father in these commands, but He is not calling us to imitate Him to the same divine degree. Put another way, do not judge the eternal fate of others and your eternal fate will not be judged. Do not condemn the eternal soul of others and your eternal soul will not be condemned. Forgive others their trespasses against you, and you too will be forgiven.

These commands are against making claims to the eternal fate of others. They are not commands against judgments and condemnations of those actions and beliefs God has judged and condemned in His Word. Rather, it is a call to remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to you. Calling on your Heavenly Father to damn a man He has bled and died for just because you are angry with him is a terrible blasphemy. Such rage and spite are easy for the perverse human nature, but it will do nothing but harm your own soul. Giving in to the temptation to wish the damnation of your neighbor is giving in to Satan and slapping Jesus in the face.

But there is a strange comfort in these words as well. No matter the condition of the world; no matter the hatred shown to you and the church by the city, state, or even your relatives; no matter the harm that has come to you on account of your faith—God will have vengeance. It is not your duty to determine the eternal fate of your neighbor. It is not even your duty to determine the eternal fate of your children. That is the duty of God alone.

What is given to you is to forgive. Forgive those who persecute you and turn the other cheek such that you would imitate the God who died for you. Such forgiveness is not what grants you salvation, but it is a necessary consequence of your salvation. When you forgive, you know that you have been forgiven.

If you struggle to forgive, pray for the strength to forgive and know that even the desire to forgive is a holy thing. The struggle you feel is the struggle between the Holy Ghost and your Old Adam. This struggle will last until you draw your final breath on this side of glory. If you had no desire to forgive, Satan and your Old Adam would have already won the struggle. There would be no conflict.

3. “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” There are so many temptations in our age that it is difficult to name the greatest. We live in such prosperity it is almost insufficient to call material wealth and possessions a temptation. Rather, materialism is our default position. The frustration and difficulties we experience when the electricity goes out, the internet slows to a crawl, or the AC breaks down reveal how fragile we are.

It is this fragility that leads us to trust in material things. If we know that our electricity is prone to going out once or twice a year, it is more important to have a generator or two than to learn how to live without electricity. Internet slow? Better increase the speed (and the bill) rather than use it less. I’m using somewhat frivolous examples of modern conveniences, but the Holy Ghost who dwells within you is smart enough to find the deeper temptations of your heart—those fears you hold higher than God which prevent you from giving freely.

As for the measure, you must understand that Christ is promising to give you an unfair measure. He is promising to pack it down and overflow the cup which He will give to you. He is also comparing this to the measure which you use to give to one another. This giving is not strictly financial. In fact, it could apply to everything that has come before—mercy, compassion, patience, and forgiveness, as well as material giving. There are many in need in our world, all you have to do is open your eyes to find them. It is also entirely possible to give to someone who is not impoverished but who could use a gift—a gift of sentiment, forgiveness, patience, or mercy.

4. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” This parable is clearly hyperbolic but is not difficult to understand. Before claiming to judge the faults of your brother or sister in Christ, reflect upon your own faults. Beg for the mercy and forgiveness of God before you beg the repentance of your neighbor.

Very rarely do I use personal examples in sermons, but when my Beloved and I were going through pre-marital classes with our pastor, he told us that the worst fights in marriage occur when you are thinking about how she hurt you. This is the single greatest piece of advice we have ever received, and it is rooted in this parable. Before accusing your husband of being lazy because his shoes are in the middle of the floor, remember that you left the dishes until morning because you were tired last night. Then, remind him to put his shoes away because you both desire a tidy home.

The parable does not forbid calling your brother to repentance. Rather, it teaches us to first repent of our own sins that we might see the sin of our brother clearly and call him to repentance in love and mercy. It is a loving act to call someone to repentance because it means you are concerned over his eternal soul. Such a call to repentance is not to be made in a moment of anger or frustration but should be done in love. Therefore, you must first examine your own conscience. You must recognize that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness.

5. “Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” There is no mistaking that today’s text is full of God’s Holy Law, that is, God’s eternal Will for our lives. Christ is instructing all who would be His disciples. This instruction necessarily carries with it the accusation that you do not live up to this standard. You are not and will never be as merciful as your Heavenly Father on this side of glory and yet that is the standard to which you have been called.

Throughout history, many have seen this as unfair. Such a conclusion leads to either disregarding God’s Law as unimportant or unnecessary. Others have concluded that God would never command something we are incapable of doing, leading to a belief that man must work his way to salvation.

The truth of the Scriptures is neither. The truth is that you have been called to become merciful, to become holy just as your heavenly Father is merciful and holy. This is done first in recognizing that you are not merciful or holy. You cannot be merciful and holy on your own. You must recognize your inadequacy before God. This is repentance. You must first receive the mercy and holiness of God. You must first receive Jesus and the sacrifice He has made in your place.

Then, you must submit to the will of the Father. By this I mean you must recognize that God’s ways are not your own, but they are in fact better than your own. Seeing the fault in your own flesh, desire and seek the mercy and holiness that reside in the Father. By the presence of the Holy Ghost, strive to imitate your Heavenly Father not to earn salvation but because of salvation. Repent of your own sins and then call your brother to repentance so that he too might enjoy eternal life.

Claiming to be Christian in word but not deed is not enough for salvation. The heart of merciful flesh transplanted for the stony heart of your birth must change the way you think, act, and feel. This is the Christian life. It is the life of all who would be saved. It is the life of the Baptized. It is your life. It is the glorious life you have been called to live in the presence of the Holy One of Israel.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] This five-fold division is inspired by Joseph August Seiss, Lectures on the Gospels for the Sundays and Chief Festivals of the Church Year, Vol. 2, 3^rd edition (Philadelphia: Lutheran Bookstore, 1888), 743-754.

[2] Exodus 34:6; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 145:8.