Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Relax
Theme: The manner in which you treat your neighbor has everything to do with
the confidence and faith you have in your God.
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!
Amen. Today’s Old Testament is not the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 and
Deuteronomy 5:6-21). Today’s Old Testament is a sermon on the Ten Commandments.
God Himself first preached this sermon directly to Moses. Then, through Moses’
mouth and Moses’ writing, God continues to preach this sermon to all Christians
of every time and place, including you today.
Really, there are two things that your heavenly Father is doing for you in this
sermon that He is preaching to you on the Ten Commandments. First, God explains
to you the way you must treat your neighbor in the various situations you might
encounter in your life. This part of God’s sermon is sort of a practical
application of the Ten Commandments, or a workshop on how to keep the
commandments in various scenarios:
· “You shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you
gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard
bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard.” Stated
another way, make sure your neighbor has enough to eat. If someone on your back
porch asks you for a sandwich, give him an apple and a cookie as well. Do not
be so concerned with getting the biggest piece of pie or the largest cookie; do
not worry about stuffing your pantry to bursting, even when times seem like
they are getting tougher; do not be terribly concerned about the placement of
the fence between your yard and your neighbor’s, whether it should be placed
six inches to the right or three inches to the left.
· “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to
one another. You shall not swear by My name falsely.” In short, do not take
anything away for your neighbor. Do not take away his physical possessions by
stealing from him, but even more so, do not take away nor the trust and
confidence you neighbor places in you by dealing with him falsely, by lying to
him, or by misleading him with an oath or promise you do not intend to keep for
him.
· “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him… You shall not curse
the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind.” Again, “You shall do no
injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great,
but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as
a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of
your neighbor.” In other words, treat people decently. Do not exploit their
weaknesses, especially for the purpose of your own gain. Do not mock others in
order to feel better about yourself; do not deal impatiently with those who
cannot function as well as you, and above all, do not be too impressed by those
who seem more able, more attractive, or more successful. As best you are able,
treat everyone the same way.
· “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason
frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not
take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you
shall love your neighbor as yourself.” With these last Words, “Love your
neighbor as yourself,” God your heavenly Father gives you a summary and closing
for His sermon and workshop on the Ten Commandments. Of course, God is not
going to outline for you every single event of your life and explain to you in
each case what you must do—that would make the sermon way too long. So God
gives you a five-word rule and summary of all the commandments that you can
easily memorize and remember in every situation of your life: “Love your
neighbor as yourself.”
If you are alive and breathing, this first part of God’s sermon on the Ten
Commandments probably has not been especially enjoyable or comfortable for you.
As God was going through His various scenarios on how you ought to treat your
neighbor, you probably were able to say to your self at least once—if not
several times—“Gee, I have not treated my neighbor as God commands.” If God’s
sermon did not find you guilty of treating your neighbor badly, go ahead and
check your pulse, because you are either dead or not paying attention.
As every child learns from the Small Catechism, this workshop on the Ten
Commandments that God does for you in today’s Old Testament is supposed to
condemn you and expose your guilt. God uses His Ten Commandments for you in
this way, not merely so that you will increase your efforts in doing good
toward your neighbor, but also so that you will realize and admit how
impossible it is for you truly to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Rest
assured, your neighbor likewise finds it equally impossible to love you as he
or she ought, so be certain that we are all on the same griddle together.)
What makes today’s Old Testament lesson such a treasure is the second
thing God does for you here. As I said to you earlier, there are two things
that your heavenly Father is doing for you in this sermon that He is preaching
to you on the Ten Commandments. Condemnation is only the first thing. In this
sermon, your dear Father also explains to you why it is so important for you to
treat your neighbor well. In this second thing He is doing for you—that is, in
His explanation why you should “Love your neighbor as yourself”—God gives you a
pot of gold!
What I mean is this: Did you notice how God kept repeating Himself
during the workshop. Each time He laid out a scenario for you on how you ought
to love your neighbor, He concluded the scenario with the words, “I am the
LORD.” Five times in this workshop and sermon, your God emphatically declares
to you, “I am the LORD.”
· “Leave [the gleanings of your field and the fallen grapes from you
vines] for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.”
· “Speak honestly and do not profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.”
· “Do not oppress your neighbor, such as when you curse the deaf or put
stumbling block before the blind, but fear your God: I am the LORD.”
· “Do not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.”
· Then the summary: “Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
No matter how hard you might try, you will not find a richer gift and a sweeter
promise in the entire world than the Words your God speaks to you here in His
sermon on the Ten Commandments. These Words are God’s surety and promise to
you. These Words are God’s oath to you, in which He assures you that you are
His child and that He shall care for you in every occasion of your life. With
these Words, your God is saying to you,
· Do not worry if you should lose some portion of your harvest, or if
your neighbor should eat the fruit that you planted. Loosen up! I am the LORD.
There is plenty more food for you where that food came from.
· Do not use your words against your neighbor, in order to gain something
from him. Calm down and come out of your tree! I am the LORD and you are Mine!
Your eternal health and well-being live at the forefront of My mind. Your
neighbor will not gain anything from you that I cannot fully restore, and I
place the honor of My name on My promise to provide for you always.
· Why would you want to short shrift your neighbor’s wages, or why would
you want to victimize those who have less than you? People who do such things
only end up expressing insecurity and fear about who they are and what they
shall receive. Relax! I am the LORD and you are My people—there is no place on
earth than the security of My loving care. There is nothing for you to fear.
There is no one who will receive more of My love and affection than you
receive, no one who is given more forgiveness and forbearance than you are
given, no one who gets a bigger slice of My eternal pie than you will get.
· Of course you can stand up for the life of your neighbor, even if it
costs you dearly! Don’t worry about it! I am the LORD. I have time and again
stood up for your life and I will do it again. I am the LORD who gave you life,
who redeemed your life from the power of the grave, who cleansed your life from
every spot and blemish of sin, and who secured for you life in eternity that
cannot be taken away.
“Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” In this second part of God’s
sermon and workshop on the Ten Commandments, your loving and merciful heavenly
Father is giving you a reason for the commandments He has laid upon you. By
repeating the Words, “I am the LORD,” at every juncture of His sermon, God
wants you to know that your keeping of the Ten Commandments—that is, your good
treatment about your neighbor—is not really about you. These commandments do
not intend to tell you how you can earn your way into eternal life. For that
matter, the Ten Commandments are not really about your neighbor, either. Yes,
God uses you—and He uses your use of the Ten Commandments—as a way of providing
for your neighbor and caring for your neighbor, but God truly does not need you
to get the job done. Stated another way, God your heavenly Father will care for
your neighbor with or without you.
By repeating the Words, “I am the LORD,” at every juncture of His
sermon, God wants you to know that your keeping of the Ten Commandments is
really about the God who graciously and mercifully cares for you in every
situation of your life. Stated another way, the Ten Commandments—along with
your treatment of your neighbor according to them—are really a confession of
faith. Stinginess, malice, greed: these things are for those who ultimately do
not trust and have confidence in God. But you have been given God’s gift of
faith in Jesus. He is YOUR LORD. You have nothing to worry about and nothing to
fear. God your heavenly Father knows that, when He treats you faithfully
according to His Word of promise, your attitude toward your neighbor cannot
help but loosen up.
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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