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Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

One of the first things that you and I remember getting caught at and punished duly by our parents was telling a lie. But probably the second one was probably taking something that wasn't yours, whether it was a friend's, whether it was your sister's or brother's, whether it was someone from down the street. And the motive behind taking was that you like what they had, you didn't have what they had, and you could come up with some reason why you deserve what they had, and they didn't necessarily need it. And it becomes more crass as we grow older possibly when we said, "Well I was going to give it back to you sooner or later." We just kind of forgot about giving it back.

But isn't it interesting the great amount of words that our Lord spends in this Gospel reading which is from the Sermon on the Mount regarding possessions in this life? I mean a great amount, and how He keeps casting this in two different lights…the things of this world that God will provide, and the things that God alone wants us to seek, which He also provides but came at a much greater cost, the cost of His Son about whom we read in the Old Testament reading from Isaiah. It is interesting indeed.

I'm sure Pastor Neumann and other seasoned veterans of the Cross can tell you stories of families that are torn asunder upon the death of the last parent where there is inheritance or possessions to be distributed among the siblings. And it doesn't always have to be money. It's that specific pocketknife, or that .22 rifle, or maybe that broach or that ring or necklace, or the toolbox. And all of a sudden something that they've never mentioned, never had any care for, never even made note of becomes penultimate…that you have to have that thing, and families are torn asunder.

Well lest we think we are above that, we ought to wait and see. If you have already experienced about that which I am describing, then you know how real it is. How interesting indeed then that when our Lord teaches us the perfect prayer, there is only one petition that has anything to do with the seventh commandment, and that is "Give us this day our daily bread." Daily bread. And yet think of the amount of time you and I spend in prayer to God about those earthly matters, those possessions, those things.

Well then note how we give gifts when we give gifts. We give gifts and then we watch to see how they handle the gift that we gave. If they don't use it in the manner and in the very means in which we gave it, then we are upset with them having given them that gift! That is not a gift! Gifts don't have strings, unless they're something other, and that is usually what happens.

It even happens when that plate gets passed in this church and other churches, and we wonder, Are they using the money in the manner in which I think they should use my money? Whose money? For that matter, have I used my own money, let alone the church, have I used my money in a manner that is godly all the time? And have I used my money that I haven't given to the church when I could have, should have, and ought to have…? And as you can see, the seventh commandment does plunge deep within us all.

Luther's second half to the meaning, which is always such a profound part of all of his commandment meanings, the first half is the obvious. We should not steal anything from anybody. It's the second half that really does bite us because we can claim we have not done anybody wrong by taking it from them, but have we always been willing to give to someone else, and not when they deserve it? That is another matter indeed, for we could give wisely with God's gifts, as if His giving us gifts is wise indeed, my goodness, how do we handle those gifts that He gives us? Not always so wisely, and yet we worry and are spun up, and pray about it, and stew about it, ulcers about it. It even affects our moods.

And then another event happens in people's lives. They get older, and we who are wanting to give them a gift are stumped as to what to give them because they have everything. And we forget sometimes the most important gift we can give them…kindness, encouragement, praiseworthy words, mercy, and grace.

How hypocritical indeed are we because we want to value and honor ourselves as not being thieves, but we're willing to steal someone's honor with talking about them, but not to their face. Or if to their face, "we're just being honest!" That is like honesty with a club. It's still honesty, but it sure does come at a greater [slap!] than gentleness. Yes we love to pride ourselves on many attributes, and they're our standards that we love to pride ourselves on, and not God's.

In serving our neighbor with our words, which is what the eighth commandment is all about, it's also stealing, stealing someone's honor or reputation. And you all have read the stories and have heard the stories and have been a part of those stories when someone misconstrues you and paints you in a certain light, and it's almost irreparable. And those are words. Indeed.

He spends a great amount of time on the things of this world, and it's oftentimes the things of this world that gets us to be a little upset or envious, or however we wish to say it, and we speak other things about other people. We're not happy for them. We're not pleased God has given them those gifts. We begrudge the fact that the Giver gave gifts to someone who doesn't seem to be worthy of such gifts and doesn't seem to be handling the same. Think about how we talk about people. We all talk about people…their choices, their deserving or not deserving such gifts. And all the while, God is still calling us to not bear false witness.

We love for people to explain everything in the kindest way about our behaviors, and our idiosyncrasies, and our quirkiness, but do we not also give the same to others for their idiosyncrasies, and their quirkiness, and their oddities? Oh, we have to have a standard! Well according to that text in the Old Testament, the standard was meted out, and it was given, but it wasn't given to you. That standard of justice was given to the One crucified about whom Isaiah wrote, the innocent Lamb of God whose forgiveness we drink deeply at, and are misers about always giving it out to others, especially the undeserving.

We wish to receive all of His bountiful gifts, but we don't always wish to give them out to someone else because we don't want to aid and abet bad behavior. And yet a sinless God giving gifts to sinful people could also be construed as aiding and abetting sin could it not?

Fear not, little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, but the kingdom has no value or worth in this world by the world's standard, hence why we gather here to be reminded of such treasures that await us and that are ours now.

Why would He say, "Sell your possessions and give to the needy"? Why would He say, "Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, no moth destroys"? Exactly that. Because He is a gracious and loving God who according to the world's standard foolishly punished an innocent man, God in the flesh, Christ Jesus for guilty as sin people who steal and who bear false witness. For what purpose? To create His children, His Church, and to call them by His name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In the name of the One who has died for you and rose again, Jesus, Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.