Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness
"Who among us is worthy of Grace? We are more like the thieves [insurrectionists; stealing power from the state] who hung next to Jesus than we are like Jesus. We do not know what happened to the thief who hung on the other side of Jesus' cross - the one who, rather than asking for mercy, spoke chiding words, challenging Jesus to show His Might and Power by saving Himself and the criminals who surrounded Him. Yet the Grace of God as revealed in The Incarnate Jesus as a word of forgiveness and deep, abiding love. It is hard for us to believe in The Gracious God, in The Forgiving God, in The God Who would love us even when we disappoint and sin.
"Jesus' stories of forgiveness are legendary. Jesus spent much of His ministry describing The Kingdom of God as having different rules and different expectations rom the rules and laws and penalties of humanity. He said the The Kingdom of God is like the love freely given when a son foolishly asks his father for his inheritance, takes it, goes to a foreign land, and squanders all he has. Then, when the son comes to his senses and returns, hoping his father will forgive him, he is met with celebration, rejoicing, and jubilation because of the father's great love and ability of forgive him (Luke 15:11-23)
"Jesus said that The Kingdom of God is like a shepherd who cares so deeply for all his sheep that when one is lost, the shepherd goes in search of the lost and does not give up until the sheep is found (Luke 15:11-23). Jesus said The Kingdom of God is like a rich man who gives a party and when the other rich people are too busy for the party, the rich man throws open the invitation and invites the poor, the blind, and the lame to be part of the feast (Luke 14:16-23). Jesus spent more time talking about The Kingdom of God than any other topic or issue. Jesus' act of forgiveness while dying on the cross resounds with His teachings that forgiveness is given to all who repent and believe, even condemned thieves during their own executions. "This kind of forgiveness is a challenging notion for many of us. Part of our inability to believe and trust the forgiving power of God's Grace and Mercy is our inability to believe that other people deserve mercy. We want to judge whom God lets into heaven. Many of us are more comfortable not knowing what happened to the thief who scoffed at Jesus than knowing that an underserving thief was let into paradise. We would rather have had Jesus say that God loves the people we like and the people we say we are like, and that God does not love the people we do not like and the people we say are not like us. We would prefer if God did not love the crackheads, and addicts, the adulterers, the thieves, the prostitutes, the rebellious teenagers, and the disgruntled employees. We would prefer it if paradise were exclusively for the nice people, the clean people, the polite people, the well-behaved people, the right people.
"As Christians, we have a confessional faith, not because we are weak, but because God is Strong and God is Love. We have a confessional faith because the Grace of God is sufficient for all. There is Grace for us and for the people we do not like. We have a confessional faith because God is our Refuge and our Strength. We confess because God will hear and forgive our sins and their sins too. Our salvation is not dependent upon the preacher, the bishop, or each other, but on a Loving, Grace Giving God. We confess because God's Saving Grace will heal, restore, redeem, and forgive those whom God has created and whom God loves fiercely. All have sinned and fallen short; all have angered, frustrated, and disappointed God. God so loves the entire world that whosoever, whosoever, whosoever, believes (trusts, and wants to be in relationship with God] shall get all the Grace that God has to give. Thank God that God gives Grace and we do not.
"Jesus spent His entire ministry teaching and preaching about The Kingdom of God. One of Jesus' last forgiving acts on earth was to proclaim that a repentant sinner would be with Him that day in Paradise. Oh, Praise God!"
(The above was quoted and edited from Rev. Nancy Lynne Westfield, 'Pastoral Perspective, 'pages 334 and 336, "Feasting on The Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, " Year C, Volume 4, 2010.)
As we leave the Lectionary, Year C, Luke in 2022 and enter into the Lectionary, Year A, Matthew in 2023, one last word here from Luke's Gospel Account I find very appropriate as we enter into a NewYear-2023.
Blessings to you as we enter into the New Year of 2023. May God's Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness be yours.
The Peace of The LORD be with you always.
Sincerely, Pastor Jon Beake