Mercy and Motivation: Baptized for this Moment
Mercy is the privilege of the Church in this world. We are charged by Christ to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the poor and needy. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful (Lk 6:36); Jesus will answer them, saying, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it [show mercy] to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (Mt 25:45). Luther writes, “If I have goods and do not expend them, do not give food, drink, clothing, etc.; that is, if I am greedy . . . I am not a Christian” (AE 30:278).
Now the Church is present where the Word is preached in its truth and purity and the Sacraments are given according to Christ’s institution. And where the Church is, there will be mercy. She is the body of Christ. She is merciful even as her Lord is merciful. Indeed, Christ is Mercy Incarnate (Jn 1:14)!
Don’t misunderstand me, however. Feeding the poor, clothing the naked, etc. these things are beneficial and they are necessary. After all, we live in this world. We are in need of all that is meant by “daily bread.” As is our neighbor. And God, in His mercy, because of His nature (who He is), He gives daily bread, for without it we die. “He uses us to be ‘daily bread to one another,’ as Luther once remarked. That is, we are daily bread to our neighbor even as our neighbor becomes daily bread for us. Such is the wondrous design of our Heavenly Father” (Pless, A Small Catechism on Human Life, 29). For a church to reject mercy is to reject Christ. But mercy is not the Gospel. The Gospel is the Gospel; that is, the preaching of the forgiveness of sins in the Name of Jesus. The Gospel must be preached. [Jesus said] Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation (Mk 16:15); Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel (2 Cor 9:16)!
Mercy shown is an extension of the Gospel preached. We have received freely in the Gospel, so freely we give in acts of mercy. In other words, in Christ you have been given all things – forgiveness of sins, eternal life, everlasting salvation, hope, peace, love, rescue from death, deliverance from the devil and hell, the grace of God, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, in short, heaven itself – you are free! Free from working and scraping to attain heaven. Free from striving to please God and get right with Him. You have been made right with God on account of Christ. That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men’s trespasses against them (2 Cor 5:19). You are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection for you. You are washed up in the forgiveness of sins; cleansed by Mercy Incarnate. You are free! Free to serve your neighbor in love and mercy, as you have been loved, as you have received love and mercy from God our Father in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is your vocation as “Christian.” To be a little christ to your neighbor. You are baptized for this moment! To love without the threat of punishment, to be merciful without cost because God has shown mercy to us without payment. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the merciful sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 Jn 4:10-11).
So why do we only show mercy if we can reach some quantifiable goal we have set for ourselves? It is written, If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth (1 Jn 3:17-18). What is our obligation to our brother in the faith? Is it the same to our neighbor who is not a Christian? What is mercy to a fellow Lutheran? One who is not a member of our congregation? Regarding this verse, Dr. Luther writes:
There are several degrees of love: an enemy must not be offended, a brother must be helped, a member
of one’s household must be supported. You know Christ’s commandment concerning love for one’s
enemies. But you owe more to a brother who loves in return. He who has nothing to live on should be
aided. If he deceives us, what then? He must be aided again. But you owe most to those who are
yours. “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned
the faith and is worse than an unbeliever,” says 1 Tim 5:8. It is a common rule that he who has goods
and yet is not moved does not have love (AE 30:278).
We are often too busy “counting success” in the manner of the world than simply doing what we are privileged to do. We feel like failures if we don’t increase attendance in the Divine Service through mercy work. But the poor and homeless can sense this desperation in us and have come to resent the Church for it. We don’t show mercy expecting a transaction; i.e. “I will help him if he comes to church;” or even, “I feed the poor because it makes me feel better and teaches me gratitude.” This is wrong and it is sinful.
We show mercy simply because of the undeserved mercy and love we have been shown in Christ Jesus our Lord who came to seek and save the lost, and because our neighbor needs us – no string attached. We have been set free! We eat and drink without money and without price. Therefore we are free to love without cost. Free to give ourselves away to our neighbor in need. Free to love recklessly, without appreciation, without expectation, without the “strings.”
And this is His commandment, that we believe in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us (1 Jn 3:23). We love with no strings attached. Mercy is not the Gospel. Mercy is mercy and the Gospel is the Gospel. To choose one and neglect the other is inconsistent and hypocritical. Let us, rather, be known for both.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Mierow
Commemoration of St John Chrysostom, Preacher
Art: Icon of Jesus healing the Blind Man
Mercy is the privilege of the Church in this world. We are charged by Christ to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the poor and needy. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful (Lk 6:36); Jesus will answer them, saying, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it [show mercy] to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (Mt 25:45). Luther writes, “If I have goods and do not expend them, do not give food, drink, clothing, etc.; that is, if I am greedy . . . I am not a Christian” (AE 30:278).
Now the Church is present where the Word is preached in its truth and purity and the Sacraments are given according to Christ’s institution. And where the Church is, there will be mercy. She is the body of Christ. She is merciful even as her Lord is merciful. Indeed, Christ is Mercy Incarnate (Jn 1:14)!
Don’t misunderstand me, however. Feeding the poor, clothing the naked, etc. these things are beneficial and they are necessary. After all, we live in this world. We are in need of all that is meant by “daily bread.” As is our neighbor. And God, in His mercy, because of His nature (who He is), He gives daily bread, for without it we die. “He uses us to be ‘daily bread to one another,’ as Luther once remarked. That is, we are daily bread to our neighbor even as our neighbor becomes daily bread for us. Such is the wondrous design of our Heavenly Father” (Pless, A Small Catechism on Human Life, 29). For a church to reject mercy is to reject Christ. But mercy is not the Gospel. The Gospel is the Gospel; that is, the preaching of the forgiveness of sins in the Name of Jesus. The Gospel must be preached. [Jesus said] Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation (Mk 16:15); Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel (2 Cor 9:16)!
Mercy shown is an extension of the Gospel preached. We have received freely in the Gospel, so freely we give in acts of mercy. In other words, in Christ you have been given all things – forgiveness of sins, eternal life, everlasting salvation, hope, peace, love, rescue from death, deliverance from the devil and hell, the grace of God, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, in short, heaven itself – you are free! Free from working and scraping to attain heaven. Free from striving to please God and get right with Him. You have been made right with God on account of Christ. That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men’s trespasses against them (2 Cor 5:19). You are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection for you. You are washed up in the forgiveness of sins; cleansed by Mercy Incarnate. You are free! Free to serve your neighbor in love and mercy, as you have been loved, as you have received love and mercy from God our Father in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is your vocation as “Christian.” To be a little christ to your neighbor. You are baptized for this moment! To love without the threat of punishment, to be merciful without cost because God has shown mercy to us without payment. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the merciful sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 Jn 4:10-11).
So why do we only show mercy if we can reach some quantifiable goal we have set for ourselves? It is written, If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth (1 Jn 3:17-18). What is our obligation to our brother in the faith? Is it the same to our neighbor who is not a Christian? What is mercy to a fellow Lutheran? One who is not a member of our congregation? Regarding this verse, Dr. Luther writes:
There are several degrees of love: an enemy must not be offended, a brother must be helped, a member
of one’s household must be supported. You know Christ’s commandment concerning love for one’s
enemies. But you owe more to a brother who loves in return. He who has nothing to live on should be
aided. If he deceives us, what then? He must be aided again. But you owe most to those who are
yours. “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned
the faith and is worse than an unbeliever,” says 1 Tim 5:8. It is a common rule that he who has goods
and yet is not moved does not have love (AE 30:278).
We are often too busy “counting success” in the manner of the world than simply doing what we are privileged to do. We feel like failures if we don’t increase attendance in the Divine Service through mercy work. But the poor and homeless can sense this desperation in us and have come to resent the Church for it. We don’t show mercy expecting a transaction; i.e. “I will help him if he comes to church;” or even, “I feed the poor because it makes me feel better and teaches me gratitude.” This is wrong and it is sinful.
We show mercy simply because of the undeserved mercy and love we have been shown in Christ Jesus our Lord who came to seek and save the lost, and because our neighbor needs us – no string attached. We have been set free! We eat and drink without money and without price. Therefore we are free to love without cost. Free to give ourselves away to our neighbor in need. Free to love recklessly, without appreciation, without expectation, without the “strings.”
And this is His commandment, that we believe in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us (1 Jn 3:23). We love with no strings attached. Mercy is not the Gospel. Mercy is mercy and the Gospel is the Gospel. To choose one and neglect the other is inconsistent and hypocritical. Let us, rather, be known for both.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Mierow
Commemoration of St John Chrysostom, Preacher
Art: Icon of Jesus healing the Blind Man
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