What’s the Standard of Mercy? – Trinity 4

Trinity 4 – Luke 6:36-42

“What’s the Standard of Mercy?”

INI

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” That’s the beginning verse of the Gospel text, and that’s really a summary of the main point. We are expected to show mercy in the same manner and degree to which the Father shows mercy to us. Mercy is defined as “the divinely required attitude of man to man.” So, God’s disciples are expected to be merciful, that is undeservedly favorable to other people. But why are we merciful? Because we were first shown mercy by our heavenly Father. His mercy is freely given to sinners each day – without limit, and without judgment of who qualifies for it.

         So, we must ask ourselves then – what’s the standard of mercy that I should show to others? What’s the lowest bar and threshold someone should met before I show them mercy? I mean, we shouldn’t just allow people to walk all over our mercy, right? Kindness towards others can only take so much before it retaliates with jealousy and retribution, right? Should we refuse someone mercy, because we don’t think they deserve it? Should we refuse mercy if they don’t align with our worldviews? Should we refuse mercy to someone if they’ve been incarcerated? Should we refuse someone mercy if they take advantage of it? Should we refuse mercy to someone at the street corner begging for work, change, or a meal, if all we think they’ll do with our charity is go buy drugs or alcohol? Should we refuse mercy to a family member to keep a grudge ongoing? Should we refuse mercy to someone if they don’t reach the moral standard that we’ve set for ourselves?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you are a blind man, leading another blind man into a pit. You’ve placed yourself, the disciple, above the teacher – who is God Himself.

In the Gospel text, Jesus tells us to not judge or condemn people, and we will not be judged or condemned by God. What does it mean to judge or condemn someone? This is misunderstood by non-Christians to mean that you can’t disagree with someone’s actions because that’s you “judging them.” Yet, Jesus also teaches us to use Matthew 18, that we should go tell our brother their fault when we’ve been wronged by them. But does that mean that we’re judging them? Of course not! Our Lord urged us to do this for the sake of peace in the community! But what this means is that we shouldn’t unfairly judge or condemn others in order to acquit ourselves from some other wrongdoing. Or, to exalt ourselves in a self-righteous way so that we don’t feel obligation to serve and show mercy to them.

Jesus also urges us to forgive, and we will be forgiven on the last day as we are forgiven now. Give to others, and we will be given the gifts of God in return. Again, this is the attitude of mercy. Followers of Jesus should be as God is – for nothing is out of reach of God’s mercy.

But all this talk about being merciful, judging, condemning, forgiving, and giving isn’t to say that sin goes unpunished. It will be met with judgement on the Last Day. But that’s not for Christ’s disciples to enact now in time and history. Paul writes in Romans 12:19 “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” The Lord will take care of sin on the last day – and it’s not your duty as a Christian to exercise God’s end day judgement in real time. If the Lord choses to do that, he doesn’t need us acting outside of mercy to accomplish it.

Because often, our standard of mercy is different than God’s standard. We too often see things from a biased, sinful perspective. So, our standard for showing mercy can quickly become out of whack.

So, what’s God’s standard? On judgement day, “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned” – Mark 16:16. But that’s judgment day. Jesus says the standard of mercy we use now is the standard of mercy He will use toward us on judgment day in the Gospel reading. Jesus says, “For the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”But that’s his end times judgment standard, what’s His standard for mercy now? Well, for whose sins did Jesus die?

The Father sent His Son Jesus to die for everyone – the whole world! God’s mercy is limitless, and no one is out of reach of God’s mercy! He has mercy on the righteous and the unrighteous. On the merciful and the merciless. On sinners and the self-righteous. Christ died on the cross to give his mercy to you. And He uses His cross of mercy to rid you of any logs stuck in your own eye, so that His mercy may have its way with you, and you’d be merciful to your neighbor. Your eyes will have the clear vision to see that your neighbor who you may not like, needs your mercy.

God meets us where we are to give us mercy, but He isn’t content that we remain there. Instead, habits of self-destruction and self-absorption are replaced with habits of mercy. There’s never a shortage of mercy to be shown in the world, especially now.

If you’re not sure how exactly to share mercy in this merciless world, read the texts for today again. Paul frames our epistle lesson with this admonition: “let love be genuine.” How? “Bless those who persecute you. And do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Do not be haughty and conceited, but associate with the lowly – those who are outcasts and mistreated. Don’t repay evil with evil. Do what is honorable in the sight of everybody and live peacefully with everybody, not just your clan.” If you need more practical examples, Paul goes on to say “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” Generally speaking, “overcome evil with good.”

Be like Joseph in the Old Testament lesson. Even though His eleven brothers tried to kill him and sold him into Egyptian slavery, Joseph forgave them! Because even though they meant evil against Joseph because they were jealous of Him, God meant it for good. Because Joseph was able to save a lot of people during a season of famine – including God’s covenant people from Abraham’s lineage: Joseph’s own family! Joseph didn’t repay the evil of his brothers with evil of his own, he didn’t let hatred and wrath get in the way of love and God’s will. Instead, Joseph was merciful, because His God is even more merciful. It would appear with Joseph, that mercy has no limit. Mercy should still be shown even to those who’d rather have you dead. Jesus shows this perfectly, pleading with the Father to show mercy and forgiveness to those who crucified Him, saying “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

So, what should be your standard of mercy? If someone should bear the image of God, they are worthy of your mercy. Who bears the image of God? In a sense, everyone. God has created everyone and given them his image. And they’re all worthy of God’s love and mercy, and are shown love through the cross. So, to truly represent God to the world, our mercy needs to extend to those we’d consider unworthy of our undeserved kindness.

But to give, you must first receive. So, let us receive the mercy of God which cleanses us from all our sin, and rids us of our logs in our eyes. All this He freely and faithfully gives in His body and blood, that the standard of God’s mercy might flow in and through us.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston