330. Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. I.
Lord, make us lowly of heart. Amen.
Gospel Lesson, Luke 18, 9-14. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican: I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
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God grant that this gospel lesson today may make us in truth lowly of heart! However, it is our habit to feel sure in advance that we are not Pharisees; and so the Lord’s words of correction make no impression on us. Nevertheless, assuming that you are not a Pharisee, but a humble Christian, there still is something of the Pharisee in you; for our nature is proud and self-righteous, and we each and all still have flesh and blood. See yourself reflected in the words of the Lord today, and let yourself be humbled. Perhaps you may, after all, be one of the Pharisees! But if you will permit the word to enter your heart, it shall bring you as a needy sinner to your knees at the Lord’s feet.
The great fault of the Pharisee is that he does not come into the presence of God. His mouth, to be sure, speaks with God; but his heart is far away from him. This is heard in his speech; he does not speak of the relations between God and himself, but makes a comparison between himself and other men. I do not mean to say that it always is wrong to institute such a comparison; for God has presented these two men to us, in order that we may see ourselves in them. We must, however, at all times do it in the sight of the Lord! The Pharisee did not know the righteousness of God, and did not see the holy eye which saw him; he knew no law but that of self-love; — he had knowledge of, but still he did not know God’s commandment of love, — and therefore he seemed to himself to be righteous. In reality he is evil; he is proud, selfish, conceited, vainglorious, and without mercy; but, for himself, he does not doubt that he is a good and pious man, very near absolute perfection. Deplorable blindness! But such is man; are you aware of it? The Pharisee thanks God that he is not as other men are, sinful and wretched, but fears God and is blameless according to the law; and yet he is in fact worse than others, and defiles the holy law of God by his self-appointed worship. But it is dangerous to tell him so. Jesus did it, in love laying bare the sins of the Pharisees; and therefore they became his sworn enemies, and were of the opinion that they had the best of reasons for it. Words fail to express in how strong a network of lies and self-deceit the devil entangles the poor self-righteous and proud human heart. For God’s sake, pray the Lord to enlighten you! Perhaps you are “pious,” and hold yourself aloof from the world because you are too good for it; or you are not and will not be one of the “pious,” because you regard yourself as better than such Pharisees. I exhort you, whoever you may be, to pray the Lord to give you light and to make you humble. Whether you are one of the “pious” or not, you may be a Pharisee; and you are one, in fact, if your heart do not all the time pray the prayer of the publican.
The Pharisee did not ask mercy, and did not receive mercy; but the publican stood before God, and knew his sin, and sued for mercy, and received forgiveness. The publican did not compare himself with others; God’s presence was so vivid to him that he knew of none but the Lord and himself. Had he compared himself with other men, he would have said: I am the greatest of all sinners. His penitence is earnest, and his prayer sincere. You and I do not have as deep a sense of sin as he had, nor are we as strong in prayer. But if you with upright heart acknowledge yourself to be deserving of the wrath of God, and sincerely sue for mercy, and have the earnest purpose to renounce all sin; then you shall, like the publican, go “down to your house justified.” You never become too good to pray: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Take note, however, of this comfort in the midst of your sorrow on account of your pitiful Christianity: As long as the prayer of the publican continues ever to rise from your heart, you continue to be one of God’s children, whom he has taken into favor and justified. — Give us, O Lord, this humility, this longing for mercy, this gift of prayer, and this righteousness. Amen.*
To thy temple I repair;
Lord! I love to worship there,
When within the veil I meet
Christ before the mercy-seat.
From thy house when I return,
May my heart within me burn;
And at evening let me say.
“I have walked with God today.”
331. Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. II.
Lord, give us humility and true faith;
so that thy gospel may save us. Amen.
Epistle Lesson, 1 Corinthians 15, 1-10. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
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Here we learn what is the sum and substance of the gospel; namely, that Christ died for our sins, and was buried, and rose again the third day. Herein is healing for the poor heart weighed down by sin. Christ took our sins upon himself, and died for them in our stead; witness of which is borne by the whole Old Testament also, from the promise concerning the seed of the woman, and the story of the blood of Abel, to John the Baptist, who points to Jesus, saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Death, which we deserve by our sins, has been suffered; a fact testified to by all scripture. Is not this a message of joy, the true gospel? Our sin and death are buried and have disappeared in the grave of Jesus. That Jesus died and was buried is established beyond controversy. It came to pass exactly as the scriptures had foretold; not one passage only, but all scripture; for this truth is the subject matter of the whole Bible. His resurrection also is established by incontrovertible evidence; and this likewise according to the prophecy of the scriptures. The risen Savior was seen so clearly and so often that the unbelieving disciples were compelled to believe. On one occasion he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part were living at the time when Paul wrote this. The gospel of your redemption from sin and death, of your Savior’s victorious atonement and atoning victory, of the resurrection of our precious Lord from the dead, is not uncertain; it is sure, and you may build on it with your soul’s full confidence. Do it, and you shall be saved by this faith. No matter who you have been, or what your heart and conduct may have been, you shall be saved, if you believe. For the death of Jesus Christ, — a death which his resurrection turned into a victory, a victory over sin and death and the kingdom of the devil, — is a full redemption for all and a ransom for all possible sins. Therefore all who know their sin have all their sins wiped out by faith in him. Paul had been a persecutor, a blasphemer, a scoffer, and here he calls himself “one born out of due time”; and yet he had received mercy. Can you doubt that Paul had received pardon for all his sin? Do you doubt that Paul is saved, and that he now dwells with our Lord Jesus in heaven? Now, why was he saved? Do you think that it was by reason of his being a highly gifted preacher and a zealous apostle? Or was it because he labored more than the others? or because he suffered and strove more than any other for the gospel? No; his glory in heaven is the greater by reason of these things and by reason of his great humility; — for “he that shall humble himself shall be exalted;” — but salvation itself is his by means of the heart’s simple faith in the gospel. A lost sinner, he found his only comfort in the truth that Jesus bare our sin. The discipline of grace preserved him in his humility, and the comfort of grace kept him in this faith unto the end. You and I, dear Christian friend, hope only in the grace of God through the blood of Jesus; we shall as surely be saved; for the gospel shall not fail. Shall the promise of God fail any who believes it? Nevermore; it cannot be!
God, give us humble and believing hearts, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*
The Gospel shows the Father’s grace,
Who sent his Son to save our race:
Proclaims how Jesus lived and died
That man might thus be justified.
May we in faith its tidings learn,
Nor thanklessly its blessings spurn;
May we in faith its truth confess,
And praise the Lord our righteousness.
[TLH 297, LSB 580 (listen here); alt., ELH 233 (listen here)]
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.