Sermon English January 3rd, 2021

Worship Order January 1st 2021 German Church Atlanta

Prelude: Nearer my God to thee Welcome Psalm 100 Song: Enter in Psalm 103 Luke 6: 36-42 Song 1: Der Herr segne dich Sermon 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person?

Will not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 42 1

Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

Dear Congregation, There is this story from China that is being told: “A man lost his axe and assumed that the son of the neighbor had stolen it. He therefore watched his every move- the way he walked was just like an axe thieve. His face looked just like an axe thieve. The way he talked was definitely just like an axe thieve. Nothing, yes, nothing he did, was not evidence that he looked just like an axe thieve. Later when the man was working in the forest, he found his axe laying where he had forgotten it sometime ago. The next day he saw the son of the neighbor. His movements were no longer that of an axe thieve and he no longer looked like one either.

This story shows us how quickly we begin to judge others and form an opinion about them. How fast we make an image of somebody and how hard we try to fit them into our image of them. How easily we are ruled by prejudices and by wrong assumptions about others.

There are so many prejudices and misconceptions that determine our thinking and feeling: There are those we took on from others.

Those that we came up with ourselves, Those with which we measure others And those that say more about ourselves than about the others.

2

Arthur Schopenhauer once said: It is difficult to not become who one has been in the heads of the other people.

This also applies in reverse: It is difficult to not see the other person in the way he has always been in our heads. It is difficult, but not impossible.

Jesus knew humanity well. He watched closely and was aware of many things that the people around him did. He saw people who were working hard and who focused on their daily tasks. And yet they were people who constantly watched and judged other people.

Jesus said: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” Let’s be honest: Christians are unfortunately experienced and seen as being pretty quick to judge other people or as those who like to think of themselves as superior to others. Jesus is telling us here that as his followers we Christians should be recognized by just the opposite. We should be seen as those who leave the judging to God. C.S. Lewis once wrote an essay with the title: “If only X would change”.

And he describes the typical tension that is there in our family life, at our work place, in our daily life, with some people, when you wish: “If only this one person would change, then everything would be good.” And C.S. Lewis said: “Couldn’t it be that X is me? Not that the others could not have flaws, yet it is me that I can change the easiest. So, why don’t I start with changing myself?”

How come that we go to a party and rather start talking about issues that a co-worker has instead of talking openly 3

about our own problems and consult how to find solutions?

The basic problem seems to be that we hate to admit that something in our life is not turning out as we had imagined.

So we claim that our own children are the best, the smartest and most beautiful.

Our carrier is the best.

Our life path is the best.

And compared with that, everything that others have reached looks small and inferior.

And also it is more comfortable to gossip about all the problems of others rather than having to deal with one’s own life crises. And so Jesus says: “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”

Jesus must have known that his words could easily be misunderstood. And therefore he put a first sentence quasi like a header that should guard against misunderstandings: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” To be merciful, to forgive. Only if you put this at the beginning does the appeal to not judge receive it true meaning.

To become merciful, one needs to know oneself. You need to get to know your own weaknesses. You need to admit that you make mistakes and fall short.

As parent we can admit when we make a mistake and say we are sorry.

As marriage partners you can pause and look within: “What did my partner mean when he gave me this feedback? Where do I have a blind 4

spot? As a boss you don’t pretend you know everything.

The lack of these abilities Jesus called “Blindness”: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? Whoever does not see his own flaws and mistakes is just as blind as the person he tries to lead. In the end both fall, and none of them gains anything.

And Jesus becomes even more graphic: Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? How can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

I translate his words as: “I could be wrong”. Some of you might know the quote: “I could be wrong, I’ve been wrong before.”

When we are honest with ourselves, we know: There is enough that we could be judging ourselves about. Yet as clear as Jesus’s instructions are, as difficult they are to follow. Jesus knew that. He knew how difficult it is to remain honest with oneself and to not justify oneself by judging others and by looking down on others while elevating oneself.

While Jesus points out this behavior as problematic among people, he at the same time says: “This does not have to be like this! You don’t have to be this way. You can be different. For this is his message towards us and our addiction to criticize others and our perfectionism.

5

Jesus says: “You don’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to pretend to have the perfect family or perfect life journeys. You are people who make mistakes, who walk into dead ends, who turn around and who begin anew.”

God’s mercy is there for you, every morning anew. This promise Jesus made to us over and over. This is the center of his message as shared with us in the New Testament. Jesus tells us over and over how God looks at us through the eyes of Jesus the Christ himself, who knows life on this earth with all its problems and trials.

This promise of mercy and grace is healing for my perfectionism. For if God can accept me with my edges and corners, my mistakes and new beginnings, why can’t I do the same?

This is why Jesus call us: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”. “Start with becoming merciful, not only as God, but most of all because your Father in Heaven is deeply merciful with you. Start with practicing mercy with your brother, your sister, and also with yourself! The merciless Selfjustification that constantly assesses and judges others, is often nothing else but the desperate expression of a lack of merci with one’s self. So, first of all, in God’s name, start being merciful with yourself! Be compassionate with yourself! Then you will also become compassionate with those on your left and on your right. And your role with the invisible judge’s robe will go away by itself.

And thus Jesus does not only give directions but he also offers comforting words. In the middle of our sermon 6

text he says: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

What Jesus asks of us he does so for our own good. It will be given to you, a good measure. Jesus is not talking about a calculation: “Tit for Tat”. No Jesus means much more than that.

What is described in this biblical verse is an experience that we can make every day anew, experiences that we have in the midst of our daily life: God’s mercy and compassion are like a full “measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over”, which will be put into our lap. God is not stingy or calculating. He gives what we need, his compassion overflows. When we as Christians lives out of this overflowing measure of God’s compassion in Christ, then we live in fullness. Then we do not need our invisible judge’s robe no longer. Then we can leave the judging and condemning person behind and can become compassionate ourselves.

Jesus says: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” – not because he wants to stress us out, not because he wants to put pressure on us, but because he loves us and because he sees and knows us and says: “I love you just the way you are; and you can become more merciful than you are right now.

You can mirror God’s compassion more fully. You can do so with my strength, Jesus says, and as you try not to judge and be more compassionate, you will stumble, fall down and yet get back up. You will fall, and I will help you get up again. You will shake the 7

dust off your clothes, and you will continue the walk, and then fall again.

It does not matter, I love you anyway.

And you will get up again and again, every time experiencing my unending compassion. And particularly this my compassion and mercy with change you more than anything else.

Jesus calls us: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” – may God help us.

Amen And the peace that surpasses all our understanding may keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen

Gross ist Deine Barmherzigkeit Short meditation Be my sanctuary Intercessory Prayer Song 2: Sing unto the Lord Blessing Amazing Grace

8