Text: Luke 6:36-42
“Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 “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.” 39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

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Dear fellow redeemed in Christ,

“If someone else is a thorn bush, capable of nothing but scratching, let him be a thorn bush. I won't let that turn me into one.” That was Martin Luther’s counsel in a sermon he preached about 500 years ago. Luther was preaching on the words of Jesus before us today. And he was emphasizing the fact that as Christians we are to be merciful, even when others are not merciful to us. In fact, that will be when our faith is really tested: when we are called upon to be merciful to those who are irritating, hurtful, obnoxious. Do not become irritating yourself, just because someone irritates you. Do not become a hurtful person just because someone else is hurting you. Do not become obnoxious, mean-spirited, vengeful, hateful, just because others do those things to you. Rather, “be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

Now obviously it is much easier to say this than to practice it. But we must learn how it is that we can even begin to work at such a life of mercy. Jesus points to how it all begins in our lives: “just as your Father also is merciful.” That phrase is what makes all the difference in these words of Jesus. Jesus is not telling us to do good works that spring from ourselves. He is not telling us how a good life will get us to heaven. What He does is ground everything in the mercy of God. Without the mercy of God there is nothing for us. There is no good, there is no mercy, there is no life. God’s mercy changes everything.

The mercy of God is Jesus Christ, His life of compassion and His death for the sins of all. God shows His mercy toward us in the life and death of Jesus. Jesus healed many people of terrible diseases while He walked this earth. Why did He do this? Was He thinking that people would like Him and want to pay Him back somehow? No. He did it because it is who He is. He is the God who is merciful, kind, compassionate. His love for people showed itself in how He treated those in need. Jesus also went to death on the cross. Again, why did He do this? He did it to pay what we cannot pay. He did it to erase what we cannot erase. Our sins are a debt that must be taken care of before we can receive life, salvation. Jesus, in mercy, took care of that debt. Jesus on the cross is the great sign of God’s mercy, His love for each of us, the forgiveness of sins.

It is only with this knowledge of the work of Jesus for you, and your trust that this merciful work of Jesus is your certainty of salvation, that you can then begin to show mercy to those people whom God has put in your life. And that is what you are to strive to do: “be merciful, as your Father is merciful.”

Judge not. Condemn not. Forgive. These are the actions that are given to you to live in your life with the others around you. But as I’ve said before, we need to do so while still living in our vocation, our station in life, whatever that may be. What I mean by this is: as a parent there are times when mercy must be overruled by judgment. For example, if your child is caught shop-lifting or is bullying other children, it is not your job to be merciful at that point, but to make sure your child learns about justice, about the need to be responsible for actions that harm others. It doesn’t mean you do not forgive, but there are consequences for sinful action which we must learn. A police officer is not in the role of being a mercy-giver to someone who robs and assaults another person. Rather, the police officer is in the role of bringing the law to bear on that person in order for justice to be served. The commands to judge not, condemn not, and forgive apply to our everyday lives, but not necessarily when our occupations demand judgment and condemnation. There is a tension here that as Christians we must learn to recognize and deal with.

With that being said, the words of Jesus do find application throughout our days in this world. Judge not and condemn not, forgive, these are words which direct how we might think of others who are rude to us on highways, or who annoy us in shopping centers, or who are cheering for their team at a ball game and being offensive in their remarks about your team’s players. You do not allow their rude behavior to affect you. Remember: “If someone else is a thorn bush, capable of nothing but scratching, let him be a thorn bush. I won't let that turn me into one.”

Certainly there is great application for this in the relationship between husband and wife, between brothers and sisters, and all sorts of other home situations. Mercy is to be the hallmark of the Christian home, what sets it apart from other homes. Its not that non-Christian homes will have no mercy or care for others. They certainly will at many times. But the difference is in the foundation for the Christian’s mercy: the Christian knows the mercy of God the Father, a mercy that is completely undeserved.

Consider for a moment what you deserve from God by how you treat your wife or your husband, or how you think, speak, and act towards other members of your family. God has every right to come to you and say: “well, you are certainly not showing mercy and forgiveness to these people, so here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take back your Baptism by which I washed away all your sins, I’m going to take back the Body and Blood of My beloved Son which was given to you to eat and drink for the remission of your sins, I’m going to make sure the pastor never says again: ‘by the authority of God and my holy office I forgive you all your sins;’ and I’m even going to go back in time and undo the life of My Son and His death for you. Nothing, no mercy, no forgiveness for you because you show no mercy, no kindness, no charity toward those people I have placed in your life.” “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”