Grace, mercy, and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
In
our readings, the prophet Micah asks, who is a God like you, pardoning
iniquity and passing over transgressions for the remnant of his
inheritance? The Apostle Paul said: Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am the foremost. Jesus hears the religious grumble saying, “This man receives sinners and eats
with them.” And that’s a disconnect the best wireless router can’t fix.
It’s the disconnect of thinking, “We
are better then those who don’t recycle, then those who don’t contribute to
charities, or that don’t go to church.” It’s the same disconnect that “We’re
better than those who do go to church
because that boring place is full of hypocrites.” It’s the disconnect
explaining why the most moral and important people in the community walked away
from Jesus. It’s the disconnect that
demands the church should remodel itself after culture. It is the broken line
saying the way to save youth is a strong self image, faith in yourself,
dreaming your dreams… and the church is stuck on sin. It is the broken line
when everybody is right in their heart’s desire, when the church says before
God we’re all wrong and the heart is corrupt.
This disconnect is the reason people
don’t flock to church. It’s not the flavor of the communion wine that keeps
folks away. I’m not talking about people
burnt out on the church because attending, they never got to hear the real
comfort of the gospel, heard the re-connect. The re-connect is incredibly
simple - sinners drew near to Jesus and he received them. In other words, are
sinners not only the first folks God receives, but the only people He accepts?
Jesus will receive all sinners, but
those who regarded themselves too good for their neighbors, they consistently
criticized Jesus. Those who work hardest at earning God’s approval, or who work
hardest at doing a culture’s standard of righteousness, rarely believe who it
is Christ receives. So they rarely believe they really need Jesus for why He,
the Son of God, became incarnate. They show up to grumble, like the Pharisees.
But to say, “I’m standing in a manure pile and I’ve just gone again…” is too
much loss of dignity. Yet folks with
less dignity find it easier to admit fault, don’t they? Do those with restless
regret confess more easily? Do those battered and bruised by their mistakes, their
wrongs pointed out by others, find in Jesus what they’ve lacked all along? If so, it a good thing when the law works
despair …of a save-yourself mentality, of personal righteousness, of I don’t
need God except for emergencies.
That’s why only sinners drew near to Jesus, like that saintly man named Paul…
or rather, Jesus drew near to him. Do you see yourself as Paul did? Are you
deep down, a sinner? Are you a sinner that needs a Saviour, and not only from
guilt, but from every other effect and side effect of sin in this wide, wide
world? Then you are like St. Paul
But the Pharisees thought themselves
above the common spiritual klutz. So when they heard the law they compared
themselves with others and said, “I’m not so bad.” Then hearing the gospel they
said, “ho hum.” But you sinner, regard the Gospel as your righteousness, so you
are a real saint. Only sinners can be saints. That’s what you come here, to
receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ as your own. We need to receive that
promise, even if you don’t feel thrilled each Sunday. If the thermostat is too
high, breakfast too big, the sermon too long, naps happen. On the other hand,
it’s amazing how the Gospel hits home when there’s a tragedy, a particular
need, a desire for holiness. That’s just
the way sinners are in our weakness, our spiritual dullness. Being a saint
isn’t due to our spiritual intensity or passion. Receiving sainthood is
undeserved, though it involves how we see ourselves before God because of how
God sees us before Him.
We sinners and only sinners are
declared saints by Jesus’ pardon. So we treasure the Gospel, that the Father
declares us righteous for Christ’s sake. So we put up with the inconvenience of
going to church Sunday morning. We might even open the Bible now and then to
read and pray (I hope you do this every day), and go to a study taught by the
pastor, putting up with his tangents. We do that because Jesus Christ did not
come for the righteous. He came to save sinners. And saving us, we want more of
Jesus. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who know their need of God;” and sinners
who believe and are baptized shall be saved.
Sinners who believe they are sinners, who believe in Christ’s death for
us, He declares to be righteous. Only
sinners can be righteous. Only sinners can be saints. That’s unlike the Pharisees, unlike our culture,
unlike human nature that wants to be righteous all by ourselves, or at least by
51%. But Christians rejoice to admit
that we are sinners, saved by grace, declared to be saints. And being nothing
before God yet being given everything by Him is a constant source of joy. The
angels too rejoice when one of us mortal creatures believes that re-connect.
Consider the re-connect of admitting
“I am a sinner saved by grace.” The burden of self-righteousness, of earning
God’s favor, is taken off your back. We don’t have to be better than the Smiths
or good enough for God. We can live where we are, one foot on earth the other
in heaven, free from the obligation to be what others want, and from your
spiritual self-improvement demands. It’s
not that we don’t contend against sin, it’s not that we don’t work to do well
at school and work, or strive to love our neighbor as Christ loved the church.
It is that the Father regards us as holy, pleasing, and uniformly His. All your
deficiencies will not keep you from eternal joy. In fact, He uses your
deficiencies just as much as abilities for His glory. That’s the liberty of grace, freed from any
requirement to earn anything for God’s approval. It’s the liberty that gives us
a joy to serve. Grace frees us to show mercy and live in hope of our glorious,
sinless future.
Grace is why Jesus cares for us sheep.
Sheep go deep into briar patches and get stuck. Sheep wander down ravines with
no easy way up. But the shepherd goes after us, seeking until the lamb is
found. And when found, he lays the burden on his shoulders and rejoices. He
does that for us, even if finding one lost lamb out of 99 isn’t easy. Likewise, He treats us like lost coins. In
Jesus’ day ordinary homes were dark inside, except for a couple oil lamps.
Every nook and cranny was a perfect hiding place. Yet the one seeking will not stop
until the coin is found. And that is an important point in our text. Although
the Pharisees and “sinners” were drawing near to Jesus, to hear Him, they
gathered only because He first sought them.
Consider how Jesus sought out both
kinds of sinners, the self-righteous and honest kinds. He did not separate
himself from the self-righteous, even if they crucified Him. He pleaded with
those “good guys” who mocked Him, the Son of God. The tragedy is most Pharisees
kept refusing the evidence of the law and the treasure of grace, and so ended
up in torment. So thank God when the law cuts us down to size and the gospel
gives us the size of Jesus. When we want to be righteous all by ourselves,
thank God, we are shown our sin, and called to confess and receive absolution.
He announces peace, pardon and acceptance by God. So too you were called into
Christ’s flock, disciplined by law and fed with gospel. That’s why you follow
Him and see from afar the Great Day when the shepherd presents his sheep before
the Father’s throne. After all, for thus
says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek
them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that
have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from
all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick
darkness. (Ezek
34:11f, esv)
The Shepherd, the coin-finder, the
Crucified Lamb declares us righteous. He gave us a priceless identity, joining
us to His death and life in the promises of baptism. He strengthens us to die daily to sinful
desires and live by faith. And as we
look into the chalice poured out for us, we see reflected whose we are, whose we
are declared to be, and what we shall be. We
see the love of God in Christ Jesus poured out for us in grace, mercy and
peace. We, sinners declared to be saints, have eternal life.
The peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Amen)
No comments:
Post a Comment