Seventh Sunday After Epiphany (C) 2019

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Luke 6:32-33
Theme: Exceptional Love

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

God loves the unlovable. He does so not in a mindless, or robotic manner, but as the deepest expression of His true nature. He is not moved by outside influences. God is not drawn to that which is desirable, as humans are, rather He takes pity on the unsightly in soul. God is not motivated by anything that you have, or are, or do. The cross is the definitive revelation God’s utterly indiscriminate love. It is not indiscriminate because it’s aimless, but because it’s absolutely all-embracing. No truth could be more reassuring.

Jesus invites His followers to practice the same indiscriminate love that He models. He says, "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.”1 If our motivation for generosity is the hope that we will receive something in return then, by definition, we’re not showing unconditional love, we’re just participating in the world’s game of give and take.

Instead, we’re called upon to step out in faith, even endure being wronged and mistreated, having no expectation of reimbursement, and believing God will make good on a greater reward. Careful discernment is required here. God’s not telling us to be door mats, fence-sitters, or people with no values or convictions. When Jesus says today, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned,”2 He is not advocating an open tolerance of all things from all people. He is talking about arrogant judgment about peoples’ personal motives.

We do make judgments. We are called to do it. In fact, it’s nearly impossible not to. We must distinguish between truth and falsehood, between good and evil. This must be done not just in theory, but in practice. One of the great ironies of our age of political correctness is the hypocritical double standard about who is justified to judge. Regardless of what the world does, final authority to judge sin lies with God. But He calls us to account for our sin now. He calls us to recognize transgression and repudiate it. The Holy Spirit must convict the heart before He can truly comfort it.


What is clear is that you do not have the authority to judge whether a person is worthy of forgiveness. We are not in the place of God. It’s wise to remember that in every context. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers when they feared he would condemn them for their prior mistreatment of him, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?”3 Or the response of the king of Israel to the king of Aram over the healing of Naaman. The Scripture says, “And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me."4 Only God can forgive the debt of sin.

The relevant question for us is how we handle sin and forgiveness in relation to one another.
You do not have the permission, you are not authorized to harbor resentment in your heart against someone who asks to be forgiven. In His very next breath after teaching the Lord’s Prayer, the Lord Jesus says, “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”5 A couple of different objections are often raised to this requirement of Christian charity. Firstly, it is argued that the offender may not be sincere in his or her request for forgiveness. Therefore, animosity can be justifiably nursed because the perpetrator cannot be trusted. The demand comes forth: “They must prove themselves first!” “There must be conditions!”

This objection is easily answered. God alone can hold people accountable for the deception of false repentance. He alone has authority to condemn. He alone sees infallibly into peoples’ hearts. He alone knows, every motivation, every desire, every reason for action or inaction, habitual or impulsive. The Christian is called to step out in faith trusting in Christ’s promise. If we don’t believe God can and will change people’s hearts, then we’ve lost confidence in the gospel. That is never a tenable position.

Secondly, the objection can be raised that the offended person isn’t able to forgive from the heart, he or she is too hurt, too scarred, and the forgiveness would be hollow. This objection is more complex and reveals the genuine struggle of the heart. Last week Jeremiah reminded us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”6 The key is to remember that the validity of the forgiveness granted is not dependent upon the disposition of the one granting it. The heart might still be vexed with anger, confusion, regret, or fear, the resolution of which must be given over to God. The forgiveness issued, however, carries not only a divine mandate, but also Christ’s transforming power. Forgiveness is, by definition, the granting of an undeserved pardon. We can change the heart of exactly no one. God can change the heart of precisely anyone.

It’s surely no coincidence that clashes between Jesus and the Jewish ruling authorities often centred on the issue of forgiveness. For example, when Jesus heals the crippled man in Matthew chapter nine, He says, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he then said to the paralytic-"Rise, pick up your bed and go home."7 The Pharisees had rightly asked, “Who can forgive sins but God alone.”8Dear friends, your baptism makes you a continual benefactor of this same forgiveness. By it our paralyzed souls are given legs to spring up and compete in the race of life. By forgiveness we are freed from the burden of bargaining for God’s favour. We have nothing to offer Him. His death and resurrection supply everything.

So, you are loved with an exceptional love. This divine love is in no way dependent on you being desirable, appealing, or the least bit virtuous, deserving, or righteous. The Scripture says, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!”9 God’s love in Christ is exceptional. It is so not in the sense of being the top tier, as if a peer-group were involved. The love of the triune God is incomparable. It is unique. No one else, regardless of how passionate and selfless their love is, can save you from the threat of hell and of everlasting death. God invites you to believe, no strings attached that this is how He loves you. He invites you to taste that love in the heavenly meal. He invites you to rest in that love knowing your sins have been forgiven. That same love gives us buoyancy when we’re weighted down with the burdens of life. In our Saviour’s name, amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Seventh Sunday After Epiphany
24 February 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 6:32-34
2 Luke 6:37
3 Genesis 50:9
4 2 Kings 5:7
5 Matthew 6:15
6 Jeremiah 17:9
7 Matthew 9:6
8 Luke 5:21
9 Romans 5:10