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Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Now that was a crazy thing going on in the state of Wisconsin right now. It’s a crazy thing. Yet every system of care that man can invent, whether it’s government, or for that matter, even godly, it can be abused, can’t it? Because the participants in that method of care—those who dispense it and those who receive it—both will abuse it because of man’s sinful nature.
In the Old Testament, notice how God wanted to serve and take care of the less fortunate through those whom he blessed with much. He asked that those who had fields of wheat not completely harvest all of it, but glean only to the edge. And then those who needed would glean on their own, having enough to make their own food. And then the same thing with the grapes; they were not to pick all of them, but pick most of them and allow some to be left for those who would come and utilize it.
Now that is a great gift that God has given to his people, but we have to remember his people being his people. Just like you and me, it gets abused. There are those who say, “Well, you know, this year my harvest was not that great. I need to be wary of giving that much again. I won’t glean quite as much and leave quite as much as I left last year. I’ll glean quite a bit more this year, but I’ll still leave some.” And those who grew the grapes say, “I don’t know how good of a grape harvest this is. I may need to keep more; I’ve got my family’s college fund to think about and my other retirement. So I’ve got to think about how to utilize that wisely.”
And so, they glean a little bit more this year than they did last year. You know, they really don’t deserve it because some of those people are kind of lazy. Well, then there are the people who receive such benefits. “What’s the deal with Bob? He must be getting stingy because he used to leave a lot more on the edge of his field than he did this year.” And you know, “Bill and those grapes? Boy, he’s not leaving any more; he’s stingy as well.”
And so it is with care. Any kind of care for anybody can be abused and misused, both by the one who provides it and the one who receives it. In this morning’s Gospel reading, just like last Sunday, we’re still talking about the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus introduces these sections with, “You have heard that it was said,” and then he adds his authority, “But I say to you,” and then he presents what he’s presenting.
This morning, he adds a couple of interesting points. One, “You’ve heard it said, an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” Man understands the concept of justice. If this much is to be paid, then you ought to pay this much— not any more, but not any less. We understand justice. We quickly point out the injustices if one of our siblings got away with something that we didn’t get away with. So we understand justice, but the problem with justice is that we really don’t want that kind of justice meted out to us in regard to God’s eye. For where would we find ourselves?
But we understand worldly and earthly justice, so when someone then takes advantage of and abuses the goodness that we’re giving, we argue with God and say, “But Lord, these people aren’t going to receive it in the manner that it’s intended to, and they’re going to misuse it, and I don’t know if it’s really all that good to do that.” And Jesus says, “But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Amen. If anyone’s going to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well, and so on. Yes, we don’t want that kind of justice meted out to us when it comes to God. And yet we want that justice to be what governs our love and serving of other people. There has to be a standard.
We must then let the standard be that standard. We don’t give anything more, but we sure don’t want to give anything less. And once we create this worldly standard— not God, but a worldly standard— then we can sit back and say, “My, I am a loving person full of mercy and grace.” Just like when it came to gleaning the field, the Lord never said how much to leave on the edges of the field, did he? That he leaves for us to figure out. He never says how much to love and to serve someone else. He says to love them and serve them.
Peter had a hard time with this. Now the question would be asked, “Peter, what does this have to do with this?” Peter, wasn’t he all wrapped up about forgiveness? When Jesus offered this concept of forgiveness, he says, “But Lord, how often do I need to forgive?” And Jesus answers him, “Always.”
So how often do I need to serve and give and take care of and love and go the extra mile, Lord? Jesus says, “Always.” Notice he doesn’t set a standard for us, just like he didn’t for the Old Testament and how much they gleaned or left, and so he doesn’t for us.
And that’s a difficult place to be placed in by our Lord. We like parameters because then we can say, “I have finished it, checked the block; I have arrived.” Without parameters, why, we’re left to possibly being taken advantage of. We’re left possibly abusing and being abused. Isn’t that right, Lord? If anybody knows about abuse and being taken advantage of, it’s Him, isn’t it? He doesn’t limit how often He receives us back with open arms. He doesn’t limit how much He gives His forgiveness and mercy to those who have misused, abused, and misspent it. He just gives it often and fully.
Christ went all the way to the cross. That’s how far He went. Amen. So that you and I would never be judged by worldly justice, especially in light of our relationship with him, the just judge, who does not judge us according to worldly righteousness, but godly righteousness.
I hope you heard that one phrase in the Old Testament reading where it says, “In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.” That’s the kicker right there, right in the rear. Because we love to judge and determine whether they are merited or not merited, worthy of receiving or not worthy of receiving, and God says, “In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.” Not worldly righteousness, mind you, but Christ’s righteousness. That’s a different standard—one by which we wish to live and die, clinging to, so that we can be assured of such confidence.
In the epistle reading, Paul gets at this also in another manner. Good old St. Paul. In the last paragraph, Paul says, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age,” meaning according to the standards of the world, “let him become a fool that he may become wise in godly standards. For the wisdom of this world and how to make sure that there’s equity everywhere, the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, He catches the wise in their craftiness. And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
The measure by which we measure others— we sure don’t want that measure to be used upon us in standing before the Lord. For when he says, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” that standard would crush us. And does, does it not? So let no one boast in men.
And then Paul adds this important great good news. Listen, “All things are yours. All things are yours. There is nothing that you have to do. There is nothing that you lack. All things are yours. Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world, or life or death, or the present or the future, all are yours. And you are Christ’s. And Christ is God’s.”
That’s the standard by which we’ve been judged. And like the prodigal son who returned to the father, not deserving, but yet receiving forgiveness, you and I have all tasted and drank deep at that well. And we’re drinking from it again. This is the standard that our Lord gives to us to live out to others. Because we’ve drunk deep, and we want that standard applied to us when we stand before his presence.
All things are yours. Do not fear. You are Christ. Do not worry. Christ is God’s. Rejoice in the one who sent, the one whose justice covers us. Jesus, are we judged in his righteousness? Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding. Keep your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus, the life everlasting. Amen.
