Enduring Mercy
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Mercy is the primary characteristic of our God. It is what
separates Him from all pagan deities, all false gods. He does not punish us
according to our sins. Instead, He rewards us for the goodness of His Son,
Jesus Christ. He does not count us as rebels, but as sons and daughters,
brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, who have been adopted into His own
household in the waters of Holy Baptism, whose sufferings will end and in whom
glory will be revealed. God is good; His mercy endures forever. Nothing can
separate us from this great love.
So Jesus commanded: “Be
merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” That is a Law statement.
It is something God expects of us. As those who have received great mercy, the
forgiveness of all our sins, we are to be merciful. It is important that we
notice that this is Law. It is the knowledge of sin. Being merciful justifies
no one. The primary way that God uses the Law is like a mirror. He uses it to
show us our sin. God expects us to be merciful. Thinking on our behavior and
attitudes, we see that we have not been merciful. We have been greedy and
self-serving. We must repent: we must turn from our sin; we must turn toward
God. When you do not show mercy; when you do not reflect the light of Christ
toward your neighbor; when you do not turn toward God, you only hurt
yourself. God doesn’t want you to hurt yourself. He wants you to enjoy life
lived in His grace and mercy, to bask in the freedom from sin.
Thanks be to God, there is more to this sentence of Jesus
then just the command to “be merciful.” He
continues: “Be merciful, just as your
Father also is merciful.” The mercy of the Father is the power of God unto
salvation. God is merciful, and so we are saved. The good news is not what we
are to do, or what God expects of us. Rather, the good news is who God is: the
merciful One. The good news is that God has shown mercy to us. While we were
yet sinners, completely undeserving of any love; while we were loveless and
unlovable; He loved us. He sent His Son to us, even though He knew we would
murder Him. He could have rightly punished us. Instead, He was merciful. And by
our hateful, violent crime, He has worked our salvation; He has made us His
sons and daughters. The innocent Blood of that holy Victim does not cover us
with guilt the way that Abel’s blood stained Cain. Instead, the blood of Jesus,
shed by our violence, covers our violence. It removes our sins. It washes us
clean. The Son went willingly to this death to spare us the penalty we
deserved. He is merciful. This good news of God’s mercy in Christ is the power
of God unto salvation. Believing that Jesus has suffered for us; believing that,
for His sake, our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given
to us; we are saved.
Having been forgiven, we forgive. Having received
compassion and mercy, we are free to live in compassion and mercy. We have
something bigger than ourselves, something worth giving. Christ works in us. He
makes us like Him. He uses you to extend His mercy to others. His suffering,
death, and resurrection is lived out in the lives of His saints.
So “give thanks unto
the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.” He has had pity
on us. He does not punish us according to our sins. He rewards us for the goodness
of His Son, Jesus Christ. That mercy is administered from this holy altar
in the fellowship meal of love and mercy. Christ feeds us with His own body,
murdered and resurrected; He feeds us with His blood, shed and living. This
mercy removes all transgression, all guilt, regret, and shame. It is not merely
a token of His love; it is His love. In the name of the Father and of
the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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