Romans 12,17-21. 4. Trinity

Romans 12,17-21               4120

4. Trinitatis 049

Haggai, Prophet, 520 bc

5. Juli 2020

1. O Triune God, in our Baptism you promised to be our Father – to provide for us, to help us and to love us. Jesus has washed us with his holy blood and bestowed on us the garment of His perfect righteousness. The Holy Spirit has been poured on us abundantly and is still crying in our hearts: Abba, Father! He gives witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.  Amen. (Starck 242 ¶ 3) 

2. »Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is good in the sight of all men. Live peaceably with all men. Never avenger yourselves, but give it to the wrath of God, for it is written: »Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.« [Deuteronomy 32,35] To the contrary: »If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.« [Proverbs 25,21-22; Matthew 5,44] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.« 

3. Last week we heard that Jesus’ ministry is to find those heirs who have become lost and bring them back to His Father’s house. Today we hear Jesus exhort us to be merciful even as His Father is merciful. 

4. The Apostle Paul expounds upon this theme of mercy in his Epistle to the Romans: »Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is good in the sight of all men. Live peaceably with all men. Never avenger yourselves, but give it to the wrath of God.« Wise words for the days we live in. Paul listed 16 works of the flesh in his Epistle to the Galatians, particularly: »strife, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions and division« (Galatians 5,20). Such works of the flesh are rampant in the world and our nation. It is shown to us daily on the main stream news outlets. The works of the flesh are the result of human sinfulness. Left unchecked, these fleshly works wreck havoc among our neighbors and society. Disrespect, distrust, jealousy, enmity and violence stem from the works of the flesh. Our relationships with our neighbors are harmed and the social order is threatened. Paul tells us: »The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit« (Galatians 5,17). And so we acknowledge that the works of the flesh reside in each of us, as we are sinners. Thus we confess this at the beginning of Divine Service, and absolution is spoken to us: God is merciful to us; He has forgiven us. 

5. Our neighbors and our society need the gospel. We show mercy to them because God has shown mercy to us. We show charity to those in need. We work to further justice, respect and trust where such as lacking. We are not overcome by evil in the works of the flesh because the Holy Spirit works in us through the gospel. We overcome evil with good. 

6. Yesterday we celebrated the Fourth of July – the founding of the United States. If you read histories about those days there was contention among the Colonial delegates. But they worked together, listened to each other’s concerns and signed a document that, among other things, set this new nation upon a path of unity and concord. 

7. Today we gather together publicly for the first time in over 3 months. This day is a joyous occasion for us, and we are thankful to God for preserving us and protecting us through the pandemic. We have not resumed normal gatherings but we are on our way, praying that in the near future we will be at that point in New Jersey. It is wonderful to see everyone again, and to celebrate holy communion once more, albeit observing social distancing. God has been merciful to us we are merciful to one another. 

8. „We must love our neighbor and do good to them wherever possible; but do not let those good works be your bulwark, your consolation, your bread of life or your spiritual food, by means of which you would merit eternal life and be justified before God. For the Lord Christ says here: „I am your life.“ We do not partake of eternal life by virtue of our works but solely by faith. Faith is the true partaking and eating of eternal life. When faith is present, then you already have eternal life; for faith apprehends Christ, not as an empty husk or shell but as the one who Himself is eternal life.... Thus when I believe in Christ, then faith conveys eternal life to me, and I am born anew“ (Luther 111,1.3). Christ has given us the Sacrament of the Lord Supper to give us the blessings of eternal life right now in this temple life. May we receive it with peace and joy, just as we will hear next week when Jesus called His first disciples to follow His and they followed Him joyfully.  Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who deserves thanks and praise; continue to bless us through Your Word and Sacraments, so that our faith is strengthened and we treat others with mercy.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Soli Deo Gloria

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 23: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John Chapters 6-8. Jaroslav Pelikan, Ed. Copyright © 1959 Concordia Publishing House.