Matthew 18:21-35;
Isaiah 30:18-26
The Petitions of the Great Litany: “Have
mercy”
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Waiting, patience, grace, forgiveness,
and mercy – what have these to do with each other? I say to you much, indeed
everything! They are nearly synonymous with each other as each has its
foundation and origin in love. They are qualities and attributes of our LORD
and God who has revealed Himself and defined Himself as love. They are His
nature and in accordance with His proper will, which is to say that He is and
He desires to be waiting, patient, gracious, forgiving, and merciful to you.
Your God desires this because He is love.
Isaiah 30:18 says that “the LORD waits
to be gracious to you.” But, why does He wait? What is He waiting for? If He is
gracious, and if He desires to be gracious towards you, then why not simply be
gracious, now? He waits so that you will receive His grace for the free and
perfect gift that it is. This is to say that He waits for His Law to do its
work upon your heart and to crush you that He may heal you. By nature, you are
inclined to trust in yourself and in your own devices, in material goods and
possessions, and in the strength, wisdom, and will of men. But, these gain you
nothing spiritually and they cannot give you forgiveness, life, and salvation.
Therefore, the LORD sends you “the bread of adversity” and “the water of
affliction” that your eyes might be lifted from the earth and from your own
flesh and be set to focus upon your “Teacher,” your Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, and that your ears might be opened to hear above and beyond the din of
your own thoughts and the counsel of men and listen to His voice.
Then “your Teacher will not hide Himself
anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word
behind you, saying, ‘This the way, walk in it’, when you turn to the right or
when you turn to the left.” He was always there, but before your LORD’s
gracious intervention you did not see Him. He was always there, but before the
LORD’s gracious intervention you did not hear Him. He was always there, and He
is always there with you, wherever you go. He is the path you walk upon when
you hearken to His voice, His Word, and when you open your eyes to see your
Teacher whom your LORD has set before you. He is the Way, and the Truth, and
the Life apart from whom there is no other way to your Holy Father. It is
grace, a pure and holy gift you did not deserve, that He gives you. It is mercy
that spares you what you do deserve, what you confess in the Divine Service,
“temporal and eternal punishment.”
And yet, still, the LORD gives you –
yes, He gives you – “the bread of
adversity” and “the water of affliction” – the LORD gives you trial and
tribulation. And, this is both gracious and merciful as well a serious
application of His Law. Through these, the LORD disciplines you: He breaks up
your hardened heart that it may receive the Gospel. He trims, prunes, and
purifies your faith so that it trusts in Him and His Word alone. He makes you
to be fruitful, bearing good fruit in accordance with His will, serving your
neighbor, and glorifying His Name before men and angels. However, the wounds
that He inflicts are not delivered in anger and haste, but in love and mercy.
It is for your own good. After you have been broken and crushed in spirit, then
will He bind up your brokenness and heal the wounds inflicted by His blow.
You see, there is a great deal of love
and care involved in the LORD’s mercy. Thus, when you pray, “Have mercy,” you
are praying for much more than deliverance from the adversity and affliction
the LORD sends upon you. In truth, you are not really praying for that at all,
for, the LORD sends adversity and affliction upon you because He loves you and
cares about you and does not desire that you should walk upon the broad and
easy path that leads you away from Him into death and damnation. He disciplines
you in love, the way you discipline your children that they may learn and grow
from their mistakes and be safe from harm and danger and mature into adulthood.
Thus, once again, your prayer in the
Litany, “Have mercy,” is also a confession. You confess that the LORD is your
God and Creator and that He is indeed merciful, that He loves you and will do
all that is necessary to care for you and protect you, even discipline you when
necessary. When you pray, “Have mercy,” you submit yourself willingly to His
Fatherly care, trusting in His love, mercy, and wisdom. When He sends you
blessing, you reply, “Thank you Jesus.” And, when He sends you adversity and
affliction, you also say, “Thank you Jesus.” Like faithful Job you confess,
“The LORD giveth, and the LORD taketh away; Blessed be the Name of the LORD.”
But then, a significant part of the
LORD’s blessing upon you is that you also may be a blessing to others. How do
you bless others? You bless others in the same ways in which you have been
blessed – you show them love, kindness, patience, charity, grace, forgiveness,
and mercy. Moreover, you can only show them, you can only give to them, of that
which you have already received yourself. Truly, you can only love with His
love. You can only give with His gifts. You can only forgive with His
forgiveness. Likewise, you show others mercy as you have received abundant and
continual mercy from your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thus, there is no limit
to the forgiveness you must show a brother, for there is no limit to the
forgiveness you yourself receive through faith in Jesus Christ. This is why your
Lord exhorts you saying, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For
with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” What you receive is
the LORD’s; so, likewise, what you give is the LORD’s. The LORD shows you
mercy. Be you also, and always, merciful to your brother and neighbor. This is
not a work, but it is a fruit – a necessary fruit. For, if the fruit is not
present, then neither is the love that produces the fruit. First, you must
acknowledge and confess what you have received. Then, you must freely give to
others as you have freely received. But, what you give is the LORD’s, and with
the LORD there is always and continually more.
“Have mercy,” you pray. “ I AM, and I
do,” He replies.
In
the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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