You Have Been Set Free by the Truth.

Reformation Day

Revelation 14:6-7

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

            Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

            Freedom.  It's a precious commodity.  So many in today's world seek freedom.  We certainly have seen the boat rocked on this word in the last 40 years.  I am free to love, peace, man.  I am free to do whatever I want with my body and if that is to abort the child growing in me, hey I'm free.  I am free to love whoever I want in whatever way I want.  So don't tell me that living with my girlfriend outside of marriage is a sin.  Or as the latest big case from the Supreme Court has tried to dictate, I am free to "marry" someone of the same sex.

            And some will try to misquote Christ, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."  Which they say is a license to engage in sin.  But my brothers and sisters, this is not the freedom that Christ speaks of.  Nor is this the freedom that the sainted Dr. Martin Luther began to bring out 498 years ago.  No, the freedom we speak of is much more real than that.  Your freedom comes through the truth of who Christ is and what he has done for you.

YOU HAVE BEEN SET FREE BY THE TRUTH.

I.

            Now you should consider yourself a slave.  More precisely, a slave to sin.  For in fact Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin."  And I'm not talking about what some would consider huge sins like I mentioned just a moment ago.  I'm talking about the weight of the crushing law.  If you simply have outright hate for another person, that's slavery to sin.  If you have unabashed lust for another person, you are a slave to sin.  If you cannot use God's name in a proper manner, you are a slave to sin. 

            I want you to look at the Jews in our text as a great example of those who think they have done nothing wrong and yet in every way are guilty.  "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone."  Ha, what a lie!  Not only have they been enslaved in the past, they were, in a way, at that moment as well!  They had been conquered over and over again.  And more pointedly, they had been enslaved in Egypt, for 400 years!  The Jews had also been led off into exile to Babylon for 70 years!  And now they were conquered by the Romans.  How slow of mind they are!  How these people lie through their teeth!

            But we are this slow as well.  You watch the news today and think well I'm glad I'm not like those people.  I'm definitely not as bad as them.  And that is very assuredly what these Jews did.  They forgot what God had done for them and they simply were glad to be children of Abraham.  God had made them his people.  He had given them the truth, the promise of the Savior.  These people were given life by God, chosen by God to be his people.  They received the sacrament of circumcision which God used to show them that they were his people. 

            They forgot that it was God who had chosen them and kept forgiving them.  They and their descendents showed disdain for the Lord by worshipping false Gods, and we do it too.  For example, I greatly enjoy sports.  I'm a soccer coach for one of my sons' team.  Two weekends ago we had a big tournament for our soccer organization, AYSO.  But I told my team we wouldn't be playing in it because the championship rounds run Sunday morning.  I expressed my displeasure to a couple of board members at their decision to not block off Sunday morning because they had asked why we weren't participating.  And one lady, upon learning that I am a pastor said, "oh God will forgive me for missing one Sunday for soccer."  What's the problem?  She had allowed herself to willingly become a slave to soccer.  It was more important for her to have her soccer match then receive Christ's Word and Sacrament.  She had distorted the truth.

            The Jews had the same problem.  They had become slaves to the Law because they thought they could keep the Law.  That is what Paul preaches against in our epistle text.  Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped.  The Law exists to keep us from saying we're ok, from saying God will forgive me no matter what I do.

            Unfortunately, You and I do this too often.  Instead of the Law causing you to shut your mouths before you say anything that would condemn you, You open your mouths and need to insert your foot.  For what we say today is that it doesn't matter what I do wrong, Jesus died for me.  It's the exact same thing the Jews were doing, "We have never been enslaved to anyone." While, in fact, it was getting worse they forgot what the promised Messiah would do. And today, the truth continues to be distorted.

II.

            But why this harsh reminder?  It is so that Christ may set you free from the self-delusion that we have today thanks to our sinful, corrupt nature born in us.  It's the hope that we read of in 1 Peter 2 "Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." This is the Gospel that is to be proclaimed to those who dwell on earth.  This is the truth that sets you free.  For despite as Paul tells you point blank, you have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, there is an additional truth.  You are his disciples and have been given the gift to know the truth of Christ's Word.  You are delivered from this bondage to sin.

            And what is the promised truth of Christ that sets you free?  You are justified by God's grace it's a free gift.  To justify means to be made right, put in a right alignment once again.  For we are completely off the straight line of holiness.  This is the truth.  Christ came to save sinners of whom I am the foremost.  You are the foremost.  You and I need saving, redeeming.  We need to be bought back from our slavery to the devil and sin.  When we realize that our sin enslaves us we confess that sin for he has already bought us back.  That is what it means to be redeemed by Christ.  You are bought back from your own sinful self. 

            And the purchase price was high.  So high, you could never pay it.  no one who is only true man could make the purchase price.  But that person also had to be true God.  Perfect.  Sinless.  And that's the truth. Christ came into this world, both true God and true man to buy you back from being lost in this sinful world, born into sin and he claims you as His. 

            You are free.  Freed by the blood of Christ.  It cost your loving God his life.  His blood, shed for you, for the remission of all your sins as he hung crucified.  We need this truth. Our life depends on it!  And how does the truth come to you?  By words, by it being spoken to you.

            Remember our hymn of the day, in verse three we sang, "one little word can fell him." Who?  The devil!  And that Word is no ordinary word, it is Jesus.  The Word made flesh comes and does what he promises.  It is Jesus who crushes the devil head, even while Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins. While suffering on the cross he defeated the Devil.  That's why Jesus says in our text, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.  Jesus was telling these disciples know that they need to wait for the whole answer that he was in process of finishing it, and that it was coming soon. It's the truth we continue to be taught today.

            And guess what, you have that truth now.  There are no multiple truths.  This is no buffet style faith where I will take what I like and leave what does not appeal to me.  Martin Luther blessed us with the truth we needed to know once more.  There is one truth.

            And there is no more wait and see. The work of salvation is done.  Now the only future work is that we will continue to receive his blessed gift of forgiveness.  Can you picture Luther's eyes opening up as he reads this blessed Epistle text and realizes what it means for God to give us Christ as a propitiation by his blood?  That propitiation means that God's wrath has been set aside, appeased by an offering, and this final propitiation is Christ's blood. It is this very precious body and blood of Christ that he invites you to eat and drink of often. 

III.

            You are freed by Christ alone, freed to abide in His Word.  It is this same message that we confess today.  You are part of God's holy house and all are invited to be members of it.  You have been released from the bondage of sin.  But not just released, claimed.  You are adopted into God's holy house through your blessed baptism.  It's why we continue to remember our baptism, making the sign of the cross.  We are reminding ourselves that we are not released from slavery in order to sin more, nor are we orphans in this world but that we are pulled from slavery and put into a family.  You belong to the family of God.  You are part of God's house. 

            And so what does it mean to be part of God's house?  We are cared for.  We are first clothed in our robes of white in baptism, dressed as part of God's holy house, and therefore he doesn't see the corrosive, harsh, grunginess of our sin.  instead he sees you as perfect children, for that is what you are because of Christ.  He also provides a roof over your head, as Jesus says, he has gone to prepare a place for us, but in the meantime Christ gives you a place to dwell.  We tabernacle we temporarily dwell here in the house of the Lord.  He has provided a place of refuge, a place that you call home, his holy sanctuary. 

            It is here that he teaches you like a father teaching his child.  He teaches you the one truth.  He is not satisfied with half-truths or out-right lies that some would say are ok as long as you believe in Jesus.  For our Lord and Savior knows that these can deceive you  and lead you away from himself.  So he invites you here to himself to hear His Truth.  And don't forget what else happens in the house!  He feeds you.  You're invited to come here often and eat and drink.  It's why the early church, every time they gathered, celebrated the Lord's Supper, because here is the promise of life, of forgiveness, of Christ giving himself to us, in this miraculous and beneficial way.  He feeds you himself for the forgiveness of all your sins.  It is this precious meal that Christ knew you needed for the sustaining and strengthening of your faith. 

            This clear message is what Luther wanted you to have today.  Be free from the doubts of your sin.  Do not allow your sin to trouble you.  Do not think that you are still a slave to sin.  Yes, even when weighed down by your sin, do not let satan cast doubt into your mind because there is no doubt that your sins have been paid for.  It is this faith that we confess out into that world, right out there.  The many out there are declaring we have never been enslaved to anyone, how is it that you say "you will become free."  Their thought is no different, but your confession provides comfort and truth.  Jesus sets you free from the works you try to do to earn forgiveness.  We need not embrace what the world says, we need not work to earn the love of God, instead rejoice.  You are free.  You are freed by the truth.  And that truth is Jesus Christ he came into this world to die for sinners like those Jews, like you, like me, and our neighbors outside these doors.

            Today is a reminder that many are still slave to sin.  You don't have to go far to find them.  They exist amongst your family and friends, they may even be you.  For those who would deceive themselves and think they are living a good life and Jesus will love them and save them because of it are most certainly the ones who are endangered to be enslaved to their sin.  What a tragedy to have such a blessed truth and not confess it to those who have fallen away and have been deceived by their own false self-justification. 

            My brothers and sisters in Christ, take heart in the Word.  Our Bible is not full of holes that would lead us to doubt Christ's promises, in fact, it is such a powerful Word that there is no doubt as to what it says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Abide in Christ's word. 

            For what is Christ's Word?  He came to save us from our sins.  And this he has most certainly done!  You are freed through the blood soaked works of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to save you from your sin.  As proof that this is the truth, he rose from the dead, and appeared visibly, triumphant over the grave, so that you may be as well, as you abide in this truth.  That is what we will celebrate next week, on All Saints Day, we are victorious over the grave because of Christ.  This truth of freedom is for all people.  Continue to trust and proclaim this truth!

THE LORD GOD SENDS YOU A PROPHET TO SAY, "THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD." TO SAVE YOU. Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Mark 6:1-13 and Ezekiel 2:1-5

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Psalm 123

Ezekiel 2:1-5

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Mark 6:1-13

            Grace, mercy, and peace be to you, from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.  Pastors are not perfect people.  Shocker, right?   So why do we have them?  Do we really need pastors?  We've seen the sins that the pastor commits.  We definitely read about it in the paper or hear about it on the news.  We may have seen how he grew up, how he acted as a youngster and now he's preaching to us? Man, the pastor even does the same things he tells us are sin. 

            My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, you don't know the half of it.  Pastors are horrible sinners.  Even worse so because they are acutely aware of the Law and its demands.  And when they hear that Law they know they are guilty.  Guilty to the core.  They need to hear the Gospel.  They need to hear from your lips, "I forgive you." when, not if, they have wronged you. 

            But guess who else is guilty?  You.  Today's Gospel text reminds us that the Word of God is offensive.  As you heard the words of Ezekiel you heard of the rebellious house.  Today, the Lord sends pastors to His rebellious houses to save His people. 

THE LORD GOD SENDS YOU A PROPHET TO SAY, "THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD." TO SAVE YOU.

I.

            It sounds ridiculous but think back on our Old Testament text again,  "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me to this very day.  The descendants also are impudent and stubborn."  A rebel.  We're certainly acquainted with rebels.  During the Civil War, the Confederates were called rebels.  Maybe you've called a child a little rebel.  What is a rebel?  It is someone who revolts against what has been mandated. 

            The sad thing is that in Ezekiel, God calls the nation of Israel rebels.  Which should be considered a low, low blow.  These were his chosen people. They are the people who are supposed to worship God alone, who are to have no other Gods.  Instead he calls them impudent and stubborn.  Meaning they have become disrespectful and ill-mannered to the point that they will not move from their sinful ways.  And indeed they were.  As you read the Old Testament you see they embraced teachings of false gods, they avoided going to the temple for their sacrifices, to receive God's gift of forgiveness. 

            This wasn't a recent event either. This occurred from the very beginning when they left Egypt.  They immediately rebelled against God saying that they had been brought out to the Red Sea to be killed by the Egyptians.  As they marched in the wilderness they said God would starve them to death.  They were shown the wonderful bounty of the land they were to take up and they cried out that they would be slaughtered by those who lived there.  They couldn't even wait for Moses to come down off the mountain with God's Holy Law before they asked Aaron that other gods be made for them to worship.  Yes their rebellion was ugly.  This doesn't include the centuries afterward in which we get but a small glimpse into their wayward ways of chasing after false gods. 

            Yes, the people of Israel were rebels and so today continues the people of Israel.  Listen again, "The descendents also are impudent and stubborn."  That is you.  Well hold on you may say.  I'm not a Jew.  I didn't say you were a Jew, but you are the people of Israel. Peter says in his 1 epistle, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people." This was the same proclamation he made to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 7, "you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth."  You were made part of this family in your baptism.  Paul reminds us in Romans 8, that we are adopted as Children of God and later in chapter 11 that we have been grafted into Israel so that we are no longer part of the wild forest of unbelief but now belong to Yahweh.

            Yes you need your God to send you prophets, for you too are a rebellious house with the rest of God's chosen people. And today he still does, he sends pastors as his modern day prophets, not to foretell what will happen as we often think of prophets, but as forth-tellers, as ones who proclaim the Word of God, not to reveal anything new, but to make clear what God needs you to hear.

            You need your pastor, for he teaches you why you need Jesus Christ.  It is not because you are a generic sinner but because you are impudent and stubborn persisting in your sin.  Do not think that your pastor declares the Law without himself in mind, for us pastors are just like you, sinners from birth to death.  And so we are sent by God to lay out the law in its fullness so that your sin may be made known to you and that you would not persist in it, just like your pastor does for himself. 

            You need your pastor, because he is called by God to teach you the true doctrine, God's teaching.  He shows you right and wrong.  And if your understanding of God's Word is wrong, He is called to correct you in loving care so that you may not be led astray. 

II.

            For therein lies the danger for the sinner, for you.  When you sin you are not transgressing against your pastor, but against God.   The Lord sends you a pastor so that you may know the truth! Because woe to us if we do not listen to God's holy Word!  As Jesus says in our Gospel text, "If any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."  And as Jesus says in the sending of the 12 in Matthew 10, "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me."

            It is for this reason that it is crucial that the Word preached be not our opinion, nor a time of entertainment, but that it be focused clearly upon the Word of God. For this reason, when you hear the sermon, it is not, thus says Pastor Herrod or Pastor Heinecke, but "Thus says the Lord God." So that as Ezekiel says, "Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them." 

            And lest you think, well if it was Jesus speaking to us we would listen or we could get others to listen, let us recall the great sadness that is in our Gospel text. Many questioned Jesus' teaching in the synagogue one Sabbath day saying,  "Where did this man get these things?  What is the wisdom given to him?  How are such mighty works done by his hands?...And they took offense at him…And he marveled because of their unbelief.  For you see when you hear the Word of God, it truly is Jesus who you hear.  And when someone does not believe, it is Jesus who marvels because of their unbelief.

            It's not going to be amazing miracles or amazing pastors that convert people.  No, rather it will be as Abraham tells the rich man in the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead."

            And lest the church or pastors get discouraged that no one will listen, Paul say in our epistle text, "I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities."  For when he recognizes his sin and his weaknesses, he knows the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficent for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Your comfort, my comfort is not large crowds of followers but rather Jesus Christ and him crucified.  Christ's grace, his undeserved love and kindness that he died for you and me is your comfort and mine. 

            The Lord God tells Ezekiel later in the chapter, "Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house."

III.

            This is what Christ would have you hear.  You are a rebellious house. But why!  Why bring you low?  It is so that you may be brought up.  It is because the Lord God calls you His people, his heirs, his branches.  This is why you are the people of Israel.  You have striven with God and have been victorious. Not because of anything you have done, but because of what God has done for you. He has given you the key to victory, he gives you Jesus Christ.  We are reminded of this later in Ezekiel at the valley of dry bones.  We who were those dry bones have had life breathed into us, we have Christ breathed into us through the hearing of the Word and are made whole as we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit!

            So that when we realize that we are rebellious, that we have sinned against God, we don't remain in a state of rebellion but rather we welcome being called to repent.  We take joy that our Lord is gracious and compassionate and will call us to turn from our sin by sending us our pastor to finally deliver the gifts of forgiveness. 

            Yes, just as Yahweh sent out Ezekiel to the Israelites in order to save them from their impudence and stubbornness so also he sent out the 12 disciples out into Israel to call the people to repentance to prepare them for Christ who was coming into their midst.  Today he continues that sending as he calls pastors into the harvest field.  Today he continues that sending by placing you into your vocation, as husband or wife, son or daughter, employee or boss.

            He sends you pastors to deliver forgiveness to the repentant, to those who hear and desire to change their sin-filled ways, who know that it is only Christ who can save them from their sins. And within your vocation, you forgive one another as well.  Next week you will hear of one who remained impudent and stubborn, but our Lord never wants people to remain in such a condition for Christ came to save all.

            Oh yes, his desire is to save you.  He wants your stubbornness to sin to be pointed out so that he may save you.  Oh people of Israel, let us be reminded that you and I have already been baptized.  He has already adopted you into his Holy house and calls you his Israel.  He has already sent the Holy Spirit to create faith in you.  He has already washed you clean of your sin and though you muddy your soul with sin time and time again, hear the good news!  He sends you pastors to declare you forgiven. 

            That is good news, your pastors deliver God's forgiveness.  Hear the absolution.  In the rite of Private Confession and Absolution the pastor asks, "Do you believe that my forgiveness is God's forgiveness? And when you respond, "Yes." He says, "Let it be done for you as you believe.  In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

            This is what Ezekiel, the Apostles, and now your pastors do, they were and continue to be sent to deliver you the good news of salvation, for you!  Your Lord loves you that much for he wants you to know what Christ has done for you and have it delivered to you.  He continually sends you the good news every week, every day.  He delivers this good news wrapped up in his means of grace.  Baptism, Lord's Supper, and as you have heard today he so graciously proclaims it through the Word of God, both in preaching and in Confession and Absolution. 

            God sent Ezekiel to nations of stubborn and impudent rebels, not to be rid of them but because he loved them. He has sent you pastors and most currently pastor Herrod for the same reason.  Today your Lord and Savior delivers a message of stern warning so as to save you, to draw you to himself and thanks be to God for that!  The message is: THUS SAYS THE LORD! He alone is your savior. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen. The Peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

You Are Called to Be Merciful through Christ. Luke 6:36-42 4th Sunday after Trinity

Genesis 50:15-21
Psalm  138
Romans 8:18-23
Luke 6:36-42

            Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen. Mercy.  That's what five judges of the Supreme Court have thought they were showing in their latest ruling.  Showing "mercy" to those who wish to engage in a lifestyle contrary to nature and God's holy will and have a so-called marriage.  Their desire was to be nice, to be sympathetic and have pity on those who couldn't have their relationship defined in a way that is not part of the fundamental definition of marriage.  These five judges felt bad for people who couldn't be seen as equals in the marital realm, and rather than continuing to define marriage as between man and woman…they instead attempted to change the definition.  So now homosexual couples think that mercy has been shown to them. 

            But this is a secular mercy.  What occurred two days ago is not true mercy.  True mercy can only be found in Christ.  It is through the true mercy of Christ that you now can begin to show proper mercy. A mercy that was denied to millions of Americans today in light of the ruling.

YOU ARE CALLED TO BE MERCIFUL THROUGH CHRIST.

I.

            So what does it mean to be merciful?  In Exodus 34, Moses goes up the second time on to mount Sinai to have God give the 10 commandments.  Why the second time?  Well if you recall, as he came down the first time, he came upon the golden calves and in his righteous anger, Moses threw down the tablets, breaking them.  Now Yahweh was ready to wipe the slate clean, he was ready to be rid of this whole people, in fact he said, "go up into the land of milk and honey, but I will not go with you." Basically, a death sentence.  But Moses interceded on behalf of the people and The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." And Moses responded, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

            What does it mean to be merciful?  It means to be slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness and forgiving those who sin against you.  Jesus proclaims our text today to His disciples.  His disciples had grown up with a different understanding of mercy.  The mercy they were taught was love those who love you.  Forgive those who forgive you.  But instead Christ teaches them, love your enemy, not dismiss their sins, but love them.  This is true mercy.

            Today's idea of Christianity unfortunately too often rejects this true mercy.  Instead it holds on to grudges.  It harbors hate.  It refuses to forgive.  Oh most certainly it wants to talk about love.  Why can't we just get along.  You let me do what I want to do, and you can do what you want to do.  Or I will love you as long as you let me do this…where does this kind of teaching come from?  It comes from the blind leading the blind.  I recently had a conversation with a person who asked the question why are our churches not growing?  It is because the blind would rather be led by the blind.  They don't want a true teacher.

            This is the challenge that this church and every church has.  Do we want to be taught by our beloved pastors, or do we embrace what we want to do?  What Christ teaches you today is that it is impossible to be merciful if we allow ourselves to be led by another blind person. 

            So where do we go to be fully trained?  To our teacher.  That teacher is first and foremost Christ, the church's head.  It is Christ who calls pastors into our midst to teach us.  It is here in the church where we learn what is right and wrong, what is pleasing and displeasing to Yahweh. 

            For my friends you cannot be merciful if you do not know your own sin!  And so your pastor teaches, and teaches, and teaches so that you may know.  How is your pastor to teach you though if you refuse to be taught?  Or maybe you say I don't trust him.  In both instances you are saying what to God?  I don't trust you.  For it is your Lord who has placed this man into our midst to be our teacher and proclaimer of all good things. 

            You see catechesis in the church relies on an inherent trust between catechist and catechumen.  It's why children make the best catechumens, because they are willing to be taught and to learn.  As we grow up we become distrustful and so the pastor is forced to create trust, but this is sinful that we cannot begin our relationship with our pastors as one of trust.    So how do you know if his teaching is right?  It comes back to your catechesis.

            Are you engaging in the study of God's Word?  This is the point of Jesus' parable in our text: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher."  For this reason we rely on our pastor to be taught properly, to continue to engage in continuing his education. A number of his hours each week are to be spent learning, you should expect your pastor to desire to learn for he should desire to be like his mentors, his teachers.  For this reason pastors spend years in school. 

            But it is not to be above his teacher, greater than, but to be like, for if his teacher is engaged in the Word of God, then so also will he.  But what has this to do with being merciful?  Again, you cannot be merciful if you do not know your own sin.  It is why Luther organized the catechism as he did, first the commandments.  Know your sin, know what it is in you that is sin.  Not just in a generic sense, but explore each commandment to see how you break it.  For it is guaranteed we break every commandment. 

            Why does this allow you to be merciful?  Because this allows you to know what you need forgiveness for.  When you understand the depth of your sin, you understand at what great price Christ paid for it by going to the cross, willingly.  You begin to understand the mercy Christ has shown to you.  Jesus has every right to condemn you and I to hell, we are as stiff necked as the Israelites who created the golden calf, refusing to admit our wrongs, like dogs returning to our vomit, but yet he shows and delivers to you mercy.  He not only suffers and dies for you but he gives you his means of grace by which he shows you his mercy.  He doesn't just hand you a Bible and say find it, leaving you as confused as the Ethiopian eunuch.  He gives you pastors to preach and teach this blessed Word, and through Martin Luther you have been blessed with the catechism to teach you. 

            Then Christ gives you his blessed sacraments to deliver his mercy.  He gives you his word, his absolution proclaimed by the mouth to announce forgiveness, he washes you clean  with it in baptism and he feeds you his mercy in, with, and under the bread and wine as you receive his body and blood.  Mercy is personified in Christ in his blessed means of grace.

II.

            Knowing your sin, knowing your need for forgiveness, you can and do deliver this mercy to others.  This is why Christ says, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"  It is not necessarily that your sin is greater than your fellow saint's but your sin should be obvious to you.  It should look like a gigantic tree piercing through your skull as you see the those ten commandments and realize that they are piercing you with the many transgressions that you have committed. 

            As you continue to grow in the faith and realize your sin, you repent, daily.  Through your repentance you receive forgiveness for all your sins, for without this Holy Spirit delivered faith all you have is sorrow for your sins, you would be like Judas crying out for mercy but having nowhere to turn.  It is only faith which grasps hold of this mercy.  It is faith which trusts in Christ to do the radical surgery of removing the log from your eye. 

            And in great thanksgiving we rejoice over all our sin being removed and it is in this thankfulness that we can then begin to help our brothers and sisters in Christ to remove the specks in their eyes.  For what looks like a speck to us is a log to them, and so we gently call others to repentance as well. 

            But what about Christ's command, "Judge not, and you will not be judged;"?  Ah yes that infamous passage,  "don't judge others," passage.  The clue of this text is in the context of the passage and who Jesus is talking to.  Hear what is surrounding it, "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven."

            Now what is the purpose of a judge?  He upholds the law which was not done by the Supreme Court on Friday and makes sure the crimes are paid for regardless of the remorse of the individual.  You see, the judging that he is referring to is first directed at the Christian against the non-Christian.  You and I do not judge the non-Christian at all.  We leave that to God.  A clear example is Paul speaking in 1 Corinthians, "For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. 'Purge the evil person from among you.'"

            So we are most certainly called to judge those inside the church, we still teach what is sin and not sin, but what is your basis for judgment?  Has the person repented of their sin.  Has he asked for forgiveness?  If so you forgive, if not, you still do not condemn, but what do you do?  you purge the evil person from among you and you still leave that person to God.  You most certainly proclaim what his actions will do to him.  You still remind him of what it means to be condemned by God. 

            How then do you know what is evil and what is not? It goes back to your catechesis.  Again as we are seeing across our beloved nation, homosexual marriage is being allowed and encouraged , those who call the homosexual to repentance are being attacked, and the Laws protecting people from their sin are being overturned as gay marriage has been declared legal by the government.  Your catechesis teaches you that homosexuality is a sin, regardless of how you feel, who is affected in your family by it, or what the media tries to talk you into.  Our desire when approaching this topic is to lead people to see the loving gift of Christ, that he has indeed died for this sin and calls us to turn away from it, just like cheating our employer of time on the job, hating our neighbor or lusting after someone who is not our spouse.  This is calling someone to repent.

            What is the goal of calling someone to repent?  To forgive.  To be merciful.  That is always, always, always our goal.  It is to lead our brothers and sisters back to Christ who is mercy.  Yes your heavenly father is merciful in a way you will never be able to fully understand, but thanks be to God that we don't have to understand it, but instead merely in faith trust it with that Child-like faith, in fact we give thanks because he delivers it to you and me freely.

            This was the mercy that Joseph showed to his brothers in our Old Testament text.  He who was nearly killed and then sold as a slave by his own brothers forgave.  Not because of anything they did to deserve it but because Joseph understood what he was receiving, he had received mercy from Christ.  This cocky, know it all kid, had come to realize that he must trust in Yahweh first and it is through Yahweh alone that mercy was shown to him.  And so this radical thought of forgiving his brothers, wasn't so radical after all, because in Christ alone he was given this forgiveness. 

            Yes, beloved by God, you have been shown mercy.  It is compassion, forgiveness.  It is given not earned.  It is showered on you by Christ, who has performed the life saving action of removing the log from your eye.  In thanksgiving you now show mercy, forgiving those who desire it.  Not to earn it but from a joyous heart, one who has received an amazing gift for that is what Christ's mercy is, it is a gift of God, so that we may not boast.  Thanks be to God. The Peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.