Wednesday of Pentecost 18 – Psalm 25:1-10

Psalm 25:1-10

¹ To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, in you I trust;
    let me not be put to shame;
    let not my enemies exult over me.
³ Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
    they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴ Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long.

⁶ Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

It was one of those hot, humid, summer days which afflict the residents of Missouri. We were taking a much-needed break from baling hay, sitting in the shade of a spreading oak tree. Neil, whose hay we were baling, also ran a service station in town. The farm was more of a hobby for him. He asked me with some disbelief in his voice, “you mean you don’t understand how air conditioning works?” The topic had come up rather naturally considering the temperature in the barn. I had to admit that I did not have this knowledge. Air conditioning was a mystery. One pushed the button, turned it on, and cold air came out. I can still remember him patiently and thoroughly explaining how a liquid converting to gas absorbs heat and makes air-conditioners work. As a man who fixed cars for a living, he thoroughly understood the subject.

I thought about Neil the other day. We were making ice-cream and I was pouring rock salt onto the ice. Neil had used ice-cream making as an example of the principle of air-conditioning. Against all my intuition but along the lines of what Neil taught me, ice-cream firms up faster on hot days than on cold days. The reason is that the ice melts faster. That means it absorbs the heat from the churn faster. And the cream freezes faster. You would think it would take longer to freeze ice-cream on a hot day. But it is the other way around. You must melt the ice to freeze the cream.

The psalmist asks God to teach him his paths and to make know the ways of the Lord to him. If you remember the Isaiah 55 reading from not long ago, God reminds us that his ways are not our ways; they are higher and better. I would never imagine that more salt and a hot day will get me ice-cream faster. But it does. God, who is holy and just, approaches sins and sinners with love, compassion, and forgiveness. Who would have imagined it? Yes, God, teach me your strange and upside-down ways that do not remember the sins of my youth or my middle age. Instruct this sinner in your ways and I will rejoice with your psalmist that God’s ways are steadfast love and faithfulness.

Tuesday of Pentecost 18 – Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? ³ As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. ⁴ Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die…

²⁵ “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? ²⁶ When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. ²⁷ Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. ²⁸ Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²⁹ Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

³⁰ “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. ³¹ Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? ³² For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

“You should not have put it on the table when I was coming home from school!” Indeed, his parents should have known that he was coming home from school in a bad mood and would fling his pack onto the table and thereby bump the vase off the table and onto the floor. It was surely his parents’ fault that the vase now lay broken on the floor. At least in that teen’s logic it was their fault.

In Ezekiel’s day the people were in a terrible Exile and felt that they had been punished for their parents’ sins. That is the meaning of the proverb Ezekiel quotes, the fathers eat sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge. God rejects this line of reasoning. You cannot blame someone else. That is a truth which we would do well to remember. It is not just children who like to blame their parents. Many of those who march and even riot in the streets claim that the injustice of the past makes violence and destruction permissible in the present. On the other side of that equation, some imagine that because they did not directly participate in oppression, they have no responsibility to help the neighbor in need. Both are wrong.

The soul who sins shall die… Because the mortality rate for being human remains stubbornly at 100%, Ezekiel’s words should make anyone who would pass the blame to another hesitate. I knew a man who had been born with a degenerative disorder which trapped his sharp mind in a body which progressively robbed him of mobility, speech, and control of basic bodily functions. It was not fair. Had he inherited some genetic defect? Should he blame his parents? Was there some environmental cause – should he blame the nearest factory? If anyone had a reason to be angry and bitter, it was this man. He was not. He was in fact a ray of sunshine wherever he went. He had heard the last line of this text. God takes no pleasure in the death, suffering, or misery of anyone. He had heard God’s gracious invitation in Christ to turn and live. His problems were his own problems. God saw them and offered his help. He took that help and lived the life God had given him in joy, knowing that in God’s time, at the resurrection of the dead. God would make everything right again. We cannot undo the past, but we can love our neighbor in the present. Ezekiel called his generation to see that their own lives were distorted by sin. Yes, they suffered in the current situation. But the real question was then and remains today, what shall we make of this situation. Blaming another solves no problems. Repenting, changing, turning to God, and living – that has a future.

Monday of Pentecost 18 – Prayer of the Week

Prayer of the Week

Almighty God, You exalted Your Son to the place of all honor and authority. Enlighten our minds by Your Holy Spirit that, confessing Jesus as Lord, we may be led into all truth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

The “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams is one of the few contributions to the Science Fiction genre which is also comedic. In one scene the main characters of the story land on a planet and find the capital city in a military lockdown. The downtown area has been evacuated; soldiers ring the central plaza with weapons at the ready, all trained on the courthouse. Within that building is a harmless man. He had been summoned as a witness and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And he did! He told the whole truth, all of it.

No one could bear that whole truth which he told. At first it was alright, but soon no one could tolerate it. They evacuated the building and called in the military. It was just too much for people to hear the truth. Adams, the author of the story, was noting how convenient lies are for us and how much they seem to make our lives easier. We can tell ourselves that we are basically OK when we are not. The truth is hard to bear. Adams does not think we can stand it. He wrote that in 1979, over 40 years ago. What would he say about this time in which we have “alternate facts” and wild conspiracy theories abound?

Are you truly ready to pray this prayer? We ask God to enlighten our minds so that by the Spirit’s guidance we be led into the whole truth. That truth will have some difficult things to say about you and me. We are not OK. Our problems go very deep and are inescapable. The solutions are unpleasant and, frankly, unbearable. This is where we need the other parts of this prayer. The enlightenment is an act of the Holy Spirit, and we are led to the truth confessing Jesus as Lord. We can bear the truth of ourselves and confront reality only at the direction of that Spirit and in the light of Christ’s work. Otherwise, like the people on that planet in Adams story, we must flee the truth.

Friday of Pentecost 17 – Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

I have friends who own and operate a vineyard and winery in Sonoma County, California, near Healdsburg. They had to flee from the fires which ravaged California a few years ago. Their vineyards survived but there was a moment when they wondered if their business had burned to the ground. Would their venerable label pass out of existence? There is much to pray for in this world. I am sure you have your own list. That day they surely had their prayers answered when they came back and found their business and vineyards saturated with smoke but still standing.

There is one thing I know, however. The love of God is completely separated from the economy of our lives. We cannot earn God’s love and we cannot put that love into a scale which corresponds to our situation. Like the workers in the vineyard I find it difficult to get my head around this truth. I would rather like to think that God has in fact seen my consistent worship, my tithing, my service on committees and in activities of the local parish and that this life should make a difference in my status in God’s eyes. He should notice that I am in church and all those folks who drive by on Sunday morning are not in church. That should make me a little bit more lovable to him. It does not work that way. God has seen those good things I do, and he has delighted in them. His love for me, however, is in no way dependent upon them. He loves the self-destructive heroin user who has not ever been in church as much as he loves me.

When we are getting steamrolled by the world, there is another side to this which can bring us comfort. The afflictions which we endure in this time are no sign that God loves us less. They may be warnings for this world to repent or simply his providential work, but they are not a measure of his love for us. There is only one measure of God’s love for his people – a cross and an empty tomb.

If life has hit you hard, as it has afflicted many, know that I and others are praying for you and God’s people are called upon to come together to help one another. Our prayers will be answered with very human instruments. Do not fear. God has never stopped loving you. I cannot promise how that love will play out in your life. I am no prophet that way. I can, however, assert with all confidence this truth. God loves you. He will never stop loving you. That is a forever promise.

Thursday of Pentecost 17 – Philippians 1:12-30

Philippians 1:12-30

¹² I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰ engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

I have long enjoyed the work of Gary Larson, creator of the Far Side. Did you know he grew up Lutheran? The image you see here is one of my favorites. I think Larson must have read this passage from Philippians at some point and been inspired to draw this cartoon. Paul is in prison. He has enemies within the Christian community (vss. 15-17). If you read a little further, he is facing capital punishment. His life might be poured out like a drink offering (2:17). But, like this fellow pushing the wheelbarrow in hell while he whistles, he is joyful.

I want some of that joy and right now. I could really use some of that joy which persists through terrible times. It seems like with politics, social unrest, weather, and natural disasters, the world has a desire to deprive me of any joy. We had two days of hot, dry winds not long ago. Some of my favorite plants in my yard got scorched. Was that really necessary?

 Now, however, we come to the truth of the matter. What is the secret of Paul’s persistent joy? Perhaps vs. 20 is the best place to find it. Christ has completely displaced Paul as the center of his life. It is as if Paul is a planet which orbits Jesus now, instead of being the center of his own universe. For Paul that meant that the sufferings he endured, even the death which he faced, was not dimming the light which brought him joy. That Light, which is Christ, would shine no matter what happened to Paul and Paul believed that he would once more bask in that Light at the resurrection of the dead.

This means that my sorrow at the death of the plant in my back yard needs to be reconsidered. Was it ever my plant and my back yard? Or does it belong twice to God? Once because he made it, twice because he redeemed it. I may not always be able to see how the events of my life or this world work bear their fruit. But it is not about me. It is about the Father and his Son, Jesus. That does not mean I am not important to him, but my rescue will not be on my terms or on my schedule. It may well also be at the resurrection of the dead. But that is OK. No one can steal that joy from me.

Wednesday of Pentecost 17 – Psalm 27:1-9

Psalm 27:1-9

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me
    to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
    it is they who stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
    yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
⁹     Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    O God of my salvation!

“I’m gonna beat this,” she told me with fierce determination. In truth, her words were somewhat coarser, and this is a devotion, so I will not tell you exactly what she said. The cancer which had been diagnosed and was growing in her body was the enemy. David speaks of evil doers who assail him and devour his flesh. That is a pretty good description of cancer. Luther spoke of three great enemies of the Christian: Sin, Death, and the Devil.

Today we face many foes: political unrest, perhaps even violence. Threats have been made against public officials on both sides of the political divide. We see economic worries, geopolitical tensions, and far more. I remember a few years ago when an ominous yellow cloud of smoke descended upon the city of Portland. At least one of my colleagues was forced to abandoned his church building and spent several days wondering if it still stood. People I know lost their homes to the inexorable advance of flames. Today as I think of that moment of terror, it seems like a distant event, because so many other terrifying days have intervened. What is the disaster of the day? Hurricane? Earthquake?

David speaks of confidence. The Lord is his light and salvation. Who will make him afraid now? The enemy will stumble and fall. Here the Christian needs to make a careful parsing. David knows he will spend eternity in the house of the Lord. My friend who gritted her teeth and fought courageously against cancer eventually succumbed to it. Did that mean that God had failed? Hardly. Her resurrected body will be cancer free, and free of any other ailments for that matter. She had a touch of arthritis in her hip. You could see it in the way she walked up steps. On that glorious day, David’s confidence in this psalm will perfectly describe her.

Everything, our very lives, hinges upon the grace of God. Look carefully at the final verses of this psalm. David knows it. He can have the best retirement plans, the biggest nest egg, take immaculate care of his health, and all will be for nothing without God’s favor. He has and yearns for the grace of God. Such is the life of the Christian.

Tuesday of Pentecost 17 – Isaiah 55:6-9

Isaiah 55:6-9

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I am a devotee of the dad joke, the terrible pun which causes children to groan. Once, while driving along I-84 in Oregon, I asked my children why the students in Pendleton did not study fractions. They looked at me rather perplexed until I pointed to the large sign advertising the Pendleton Roundup, a major annual rodeo event. My daughter, aiming a look of utter scorn at me, said, “Dad, you are the reason God doesn’t talk to us anymore!”

In terms of dad joke responses, this was golden. It also speaks, however, of an assumption which permeates even our Christian sensibilities. It does sometimes seem like God has rather put an end to the voice from heaven technique which he used in the Old Testament. We are not there with the disciples at Jesus’ feet listening to his parables. God seems so distant. Isaiah urges us to seek the Lord while he may be found and to call upon God while he is near. Did we miss our chance?

It is good to remember that God spoke very little from clouds and mountain tops in the Old Testament. Most of the time he spoke through prophets and writings. Generations of believers were born, lived, and died between those events. John, in chapter 6 of his Gospel account, tells us that after Jesus declared himself to be the Bread of Life many of those following him checked out of the Jesus movement. The twelve disciples remained but many did not. To those who left, Jesus did not appear to be a divine manifestation. The nearness of God is not found in a preternatural voice from heaven. Indeed, the people of Israel at Sinai wanted to distance themselves from the One who spoke. They sent Moses alone up the mountain. The presence and accessibility of God is found in the fact that he welcomes sinners, people like you and me. We may confess to a fellow Christian our sins, our weakness, our fear, our frailty, and know that God hears that. What is more, he promises us that in the words of that baptized Christian who forgives us, comforts us, and loves us despite our condition, God has spoken to us.

Seek the Lord. He does not think of sin the same way you do. We know that because Jesus died on a cross to save you from it. He has risen from the grave to hear your prayers.

Monday of Pentecost 17 – Prayer of the Week

Prayer of the Week

Lord God, heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Human beings are trusting creatures, and this trait has only been amplified by the complexity of the world in which we lived. I have a neighbor who believes just about everything that shows up on her screen. The latest is that tomatoes cause arthritis, but we have heard from her any number of ideas which, in the moment, are fervently trusted. But it is not just my neighbor. You probably know someone who so believes in dietary supplements that their innards must surely be galvanized from all the zinc pills they have taken. It is unlikely that they arrived at these ideas or behaviors on their own. At some point they trusted someone.

This has only been exacerbated in these days of internet conspiracy theories. One credentialed doctor says masks are bad; another says they are necessary. Should you get the vaccine or is it some means for the government or big pharma to do something wicked to us? A while ago news reporters at fires in Oregon reported that they were themselves attacked because the rumor was spreading among rural Oregonians that the fires had been intentionally set the same liberal media to promote climate change conspiracies. A conspiracy about a conspiracy! Multiple state and local officials vociferously denied this. Even the FBI came out denying this was the case. Who do people trust? Did folks in southern Oregon believe the rumors or the government? Whom would you believe? In times of fear that gets even harder to sort out.

The prayer is not so much a prayer for the ability to trust but that God would call us out of our foolish incompetence so that we trust in His abiding grace and act accordingly. The latest health or diet craze will not save me. God will. The latest conspiracy theory about some plot by the government or big pharma or big tech will not grip me in fear, but assured of God’s grace, I can go about the hard work of discerning the truth in this complex world. God has my life in his hands. No one can snatch me from him. That starts with a baptism in which, vulnerable, incompetent, and utterly helpless, we were washed with life-giving water and God expressed his amazing love to us. There is the news to trust, news upon which, aided by the Holy Spirit, you can build a life of joy and confident service.

Friday of Pentecost 16 – Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 18:21-35

²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

I knew man once who was driven mad by guilt. That can still happen in some parts of the world unencumbered by reality TV and the mentality of victimhood which seems to excuse any misdeed. This man did not claim to have been abused or otherwise the victim of some injustice. He had committed insurance fraud and he knew it. This truth ate at him. Years later he started doing irrational things, mostly around money. He would see a good deal on socks at Walmart and buy whole cartful. He would concoct wild schemes to buy his neighbors’ farms and radically expand his modest operation.  

Finally, his family and friends intervened, and a counsellor drew out of him a confession of his sin, now decades old. All his erratic behavior had been attempts to raise the cash to make right his theft of insurance money. The counsellor, being a Christian, realized that this was out of her league. She called his pastor. His pastor heard his confession and absolved him of his sins. And his madness cleared. He was still a little odd, but he had always been a little odd. Everyone was relieved to have his eccentricities back, to be honest.

This little story of the man driven mad by guilt hinges on faith. He believed that his actions had consequences, even if he had not been caught in his fraud. He also believed that the absolution spoken by his pastor was a real thing, an action which removed his guilt. The man in this story which Jesus tells does not believe. He acknowledges his debt to be sure, but he does not believe the king when that king forgave his debt. He accosts his fellow servant, demanding money, right now. He is trying to raise funds to repay the forgiven debt. It is a little mad of him. Jesus would have you shake your head in wonder at his foolish behavior. But is not our grudge-bearing, vindictive, score-settling, moral bean-counting behavior any different today? Jesus warns us that such behavior is rooted in a disbelief in God’s grace, and that always starts with the grace He has shown to us. Take a good look at the sins of another person today and remember that Jesus has died for that sin and that person just as surely as he died for you and your sins. Treat that other person today in the light of that reality.

Thursday of Pentecost 16 – Romans 14:1-12

Romans 14:1-12

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ² One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³ Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵ One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess to God.”

¹² So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

There are six chief parts to our catechisms, and the fifth one, the section on the Office of the Keys, needs a more attention in these days. Luther, who wrote the catechism, had been shaped by his time as an Augustinian friar. As a friar, Luther would have been expected to confess his sins regularly, perhaps daily. He took this seriously. He tells of the time his confessor told him to go out and commit some real sins before he came back to confess again. While Luther thought that the rite of penance or confession and absolution needed to be reformed in his day, he also maintained throughout his life that the rite was valuable and good for people. He was not speaking of the general confession and absolution which we do in Church. He was speaking of a face to face conversation with another human being in which you confessed your own sins to that person.

This rite has largely fallen on hard times in modern Christianity. Not many come on a regular basis to be absolved individually by their pastor. If they have committed some great sin, perhaps some would come. Many would not. There is a rite for this in your hymnal. You should look it up and consider asking your pastor for an appointed time to meet. But if you do, there is something to keep in mind. You might call it the first rule of confession: You may only confess your own sins. You cannot confess the sins of someone else. All your statements really need to start with “I” as the subject of the verb. Your confession cannot speak of what he or she did, only the deeds and failures of you, the one making confession.

I think we should revive this salutary practice, if for no other reason than the final verses of this reading. If more of us remembered that we stand before the judgment seat of God, this world would go a little better. That awareness gives one a measure of empathy for the weak. When you rely upon the forgiveness of Christ, you tend have a little more patience with the neighbor who has fallen or whose faith is weak and deformed. It is hard to stand before that divine judgment seat. How often I have heard myself or another sinner try to confess the sins of others to excuse the sin which really belonged to me or the speaker. God will have none of that, nor should we. I may or may not be able to understand the sins of another person, but understanding sins makes nothing truly better. Only forgiveness makes things better and I can forgive both the reasonable and unreasonable sins because Jesus died for them all.