“Be Reconciled to One Another As Fellow Jesus-Believers”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear fellow reconciled Jesus-believers, grace, mercy, and peace
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord [Amen.]
“Forgive we now each other’s faults
As we our faults confess,
And let us love each other well
In Christian holiness.
“Let strife among us be unknown;
Let all contention cease;
Be God’s the glory that we seek;
Be ours His holy peace.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
845:3-4)
Epistle
Reading..........................................................................................
Philemon 15-16
15For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might
have him back forever, 16no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a
beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the
flesh and in the Lord.
Prologue: What is your “RQ”? Better yet, have you ever had your
“RQ” measured to determine its health and vitality? In case you don’t know
what an “RQ” is, well, it’s sort of like “IQ”, which stands for
“Intelligence Quotient.”
There are several ways to define “Intelligence Quotient.” For
instance, Google.com defines it as “a number representing a person’s
reasoning ability (measured using problem-solving tests) as compared to the
statistical norm or average for their age, taken as 100.” Dictionary.com
defines it as “a measure of the intelligence of an individual derived from
results obtained from specially designed tests. The quotient is
traditionally derived by dividing an individual's mental age by his
chronological age and multiplying the result by 100 IQ. Merriam-Webster
Learner’s Dictionary defines it as “a number that represents your
intelligence and that is based on your score on a special test.” Finally,
Wikipedia says: “An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from
one of several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence.”
But I digress. The question-of-the-day that looms before us is
not about “IQ” but about “RQ.” “RQ” stands for “Reconciliation Quotient.”
Our “Reconciliation Quotient” measures our willingness to confess our sinful
words or deeds that we said or did to another person and ask for
forgiveness, as well as our willingness to forgive someone who has said or
done something wrong to us. Unwillingness to do so falls under the
condemnation spoken by Jesus in today’s Gospel Reading: “Whoever does not
bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. So therefore,
any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
(St Luke 14:27 & 33 ESV) You see, reconciliation, simply speaking, is the
repair or restoration of a relationship that was damaged or broken by sinful
words or actions by the simple but oh-so-very significant action of
confession and absolution. It’s what we do at the beginning of each Divine
Service when you confess your sins and receive God’s forgiveness through the
absolution declared by God’s spokesman, the pastor. And that, my fellow
sinners forgiven-by-God, is what today’s petite but powerful Epistle Reading
is all about, namely, …
“Be Reconciled to One Another As Fellow Jesus-Believers.”
Our Synod Catechism states that “Confession has two parts. First
that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is,
forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly
believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.” That
catechetical explanation goes on to state: “Before God be should plead
guilty of all sins, even those we are not aware of, as we do in the Lord’s
Prayer; but before the pastor we should confess only those sins which we
know and feel in our hearts.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation.
Copyright © 1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages
217f.)
You see, the purpose of this brief book of the Bible which,
incidentally, can be entirely read in a matter of just minutes, is “To
reconcile Philemon to his runaway slave, Onesimus, who had become a
Christian.” In fact, the Gospel Themes of this little letter are
“Comfort/refreshment; reconciliation; [and] forgiveness.” (The Lutheran
Study Bible. E. A. Engelbrecht, Gen. Ed. Copyright © 2009 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 2094.) Reconciliation—repair or
restoration—of the broken relationship between Philemon and his slave,
Onesimus, who had run away and in the meantime converted to Christianity,
was the apostle Paul’s goal. He desired to help Onesimus accomplish what
was stated in today’s Introit: “Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works. Put false ways far from me and
graciously teach me your law!” (Ps 119:27 & 29 ESV) In order to succeed in
that goal, Paul realized and set forth the fact that …
I. Reconciliation Flows Forth From God’s Grace and Peace. (1-14)
1To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2and Apphia our sister and Archippus
our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: 3Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I thank my God always when
I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear of your love and of the faith
that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, 6and I pray that the
sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every
good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 7For I have derived much
joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints
have been refreshed through you. 8Accordingly, though I am bold enough in
Christ to command you to do what is required, 9yet for love’s sake I prefer
to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ
Jesus—10I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my
imprisonment. 11(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed
useful to you and to me.) 12I am sending him back to you, sending my very
heart. 13I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might
serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14but I
preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness
might not be by compulsion but of your own free will.
Those essential elements of God-given grace and peace from which
Jesus-believers’ reconciliation with each other flows also serve as the
God-blessed result of reconciliation. Recall that Saint Paul began all his
letters both to individual Christians as well as groups of them with
heartfelt greetings that contained those essential elements of grace and
peace. He did so with his Christ-redeemed heart, a heart of sincere
Christ-like care, concern, and compassion for those to whom he wrote his
letters.
In his letter to the Christians in Rome Saint Paul also wrote:
“More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Rom 5:11 ESV) And, he
wrote to the Christians in Corinth: “All this is from God, who through
Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting
their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of
reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his
appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to
God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:18-21 ESV)
So let’s get personal this [afternoon / morning]. With whom are
you in a contentious or conflicted situation, perhaps even to the point of
division or separation? Is it your wife, husband, mother, father, daughter,
son, sister, brother, some other relative, classmate, work associate, fellow
congregational member, teacher, pastor, neighbor, or friend? Not that it
necessarily matters, but what caused the contention or conflict that
resulted in the division or separation? Was it something that was said or
done … or something someone else said was said or done? Was it jealousy,
envy, resentment, covetousness, disagreement with another person, or simply
dislike for the person?
The most serious of all contentions or conflicts that led to
division or separation is our rebellion against God with sinful thoughts,
desires, words, and actions that transgress His Holy Law as summarized by
the Ten Commandments. Left to ourselves to solve that dismal dilemma, well,
our sin-separation from God would not be repaired and our relationship with
Him would not be restored. God Himself had to do and indeed did the
reconciling. He did so by offering His own dear Son, Jesus Christ, as the
sacrificial Lamb to take away the sin of the world—your sin, my sin, and the
sin of all people of all time past, present, and future. Jesus accomplished
for us what we could not accomplish for ourselves—the repair and restoration
of our relationship with our heavenly Father—with His holy life, innocent
suffering, crucifixion death, and victorious resurrection from the dead. By
His atoning work for us He defeated sin, Satan, and death itself and thereby
reconciled us to our heavenly Father. Having done that, He now calls us to
be reconciled with each other as fellow Jesus-believers who worship and
commune together. We do that very vital activity by using the Bible’s
language, namely, “I sinned against you. Please forgive me.” and “I forgive
you. Go in peace.” We then enjoy and joyfully celebrate the wonderful
blessing that …
II. Reconciliation Results in the Benefit of Refreshed Hearts. (17-21)
17So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.
18If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my
account. 19I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say
nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20Yes, brother, I want some
benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of
your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I
say.
A refreshed heart is a heart free from the stress and aggravation
of worry, doubt, and despair. It’s a heart that’s filled with joyful
celebration that expresses praise and thanksgiving. A refreshed heart leads
to singing, dancing, eating, and drinking with those from whom we had been
separated because of sin-stained words and actions. A refreshed heart is
filled with Jesus’ love and a desire to share His love with others,
especially those who are experiencing doom and gloom.
During this 150th anniversary of the formation of our congregation
and her Lutheran school, we are experiencing joyful celebration. For 150
years God has been faithful to us, giving, securing, and retaining in us the
love of Jesus Christ. Oh, there have been, still are, and forever will be
contention, dissension, and division in this body of Christians identified
as Immanuel Lutheran Church as well as in our church’s Lutheran school,
homes and workplaces within our congregation and community, and all places
where sinful people are elbow-to-elbow with each other. Satan-inspired
bullying tactics of damaging and destructive negativity that’s manifested by
petty criticism, complaining, and condemnation of individuals, activities,
and circumstances will continue to stir up contention, dissension, and
division. That’s often accomplished with perceptions, assumptions,
accusations, and rumors that, if honestly examined, have been and would be
found to be illegitimate … instruments of the old wily foe designed to
stifle the joyful celebration of refreshed hearts. The means with which to
successfully overcome those negativities was told us in today’s Old
Testament Reading: “Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may
live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him,
for he is your life and length of days.” (Deut 30:19b-20a ESV)
Reconciliation, that is (as I stated earlier), the God-ordained
activity of confession and absolution, is the God-designed-and-given means
by which relationships are repaired, hearts are refreshed, and celebration
is restored. Such is the blessed benefit of worshipping together, praying
together, singing together, studying God’s Word together, receiving God’s
merciful and gracious gifts together, and joining together with fellow
Christians of the same faith-confession in celebrating the Sacrament of Holy
Communion, in which the Holy Spirit refreshes our souls.
So, as we continue this season of recognizing and celebrating the
countless number of good things God has given and continues giving us as a
congregation, let’s commit ourselves and strive to …
“Be Reconciled to One Another As Fellow Jesus-Believers.”
Let’s do so in the comfort and security of God’s Holy Word, in
which He speaks His love for and blessing upon us; our Baptismal identity as
children of the heavenly Father wherein we know each other as brothers and
sisters in Christ; the reassurance of Holy Absolution that God absolutely
forgives all our sins; and the joining together at the Lord’s Table, where
we receive in our mouths the real body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion
for the blessed assurance that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with
the Scriptures.” (1 Cor 15:3 ESV) Let’s do so ever realizing and joyfully
celebrating the fact that …
I. Reconciliation Flows Forth From God’s Grace and Peace. (1-14) and
rejoicing with heart-throbbing celebration over the fact that …
II. Reconciliation Results in the Benefit of Refreshed Hearts. (17-21)
After all, as today’s Gradual stated: “Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Ps 34:19 ESV) As we
bear that in our hearts and minds let’s continually pray what today’s
Collect said: “O merciful Lord, You did not spare Your only Son but
delivered Him up for us all. Grant us courage and strength to take up the
cross and follow Him.”
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Let’s join our hearts and voices together in once again singing
stanzas three and four of today’s sermon hymn, number 845.
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