Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 14, 2019 Romans 8:18-23; Luke 6:36-41 Today’s Gospel tells us to be merciful toward others because God is merciful. We are not to judge and not to condemn. We must be willing to forgive as God has forgiven us. It is too easy to apply a harsher standard to the conduct of others than we would like to have applied to us. I am not talking about right and wrong, but about what it takes to forgive. Every person--at some point--requires forgiveness of their failures or even of their conduct. In Ephesians 4, verse 32, St. Paul reminds us of our charge to be Christ-like in forgiveness of others “even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” We remember that God, through His son, made us His children again. If we are to live in harmony in God’s family we must be willing to forget pettiness and drama in order to accept each other’s uniqueness. It’s not always easy, but it’s something we definitely need to work on. Being open to the positive in each personality, rather than focusing on what we don’t like, is a first step. We need to remember that if we accept the moving of the Holy Spirit, then we must at least recognize the possibility that God can change hearts. We must be willing to entertain the idea that rejection can turn into loving acceptance. Mostly, when we hear a report of some particularly egregious actions or speech, we need to be slow to judge. Remembering there are two sides to every story might be a good start. We don’t need to rush to a conclusion, just to find out that we didn’t get all the facts. We can help ourselves by praying for the Holy Spirit’s power in helping us to achieve a willing and open heart to bring Christ’s message into our lives in a new and meaningful way. We need to be open to serve and must not be self-seeking. Remember Jesus’ parable of the blind leading the blind and falling into the ditch: at the conclusion he pointed out, “The disciple is not above his master, but that every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” Let us pray to reject spiritual blindness and the belief that some are better than others both socially and morally. If there is one thing that Holy Scripture teaches, it is that all of Adam’s descendants are subject to sin. What we see as “sins” in others are perhaps just a speck in our own eyes, because we hold them to a higher standard than we are willing to be held to ourselves. Someone once said, we judge quickly and forgive slowly: unfortunately, that is very true. To allow judgment and condemnation of others to separate us from one another in the body of the church aids the Devil. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he points out the need for harmony and forgiveness in the Church if we are to avoid being fragmented by hostility and disagreements and thus forward the Devil’s objectives. This is, in my mind, the reason that we hold to the tenants of the Creeds, which allow us to remember what the members of Christ’s church have always believed. We need to hold to what binds us in unanimity, rather than what separates us. No, we won’t always agree on every detail and position on an issue. But as long as we put service to Christ first, we have the assurance that God is watching over us, that His holy plan for our lives is being worked out, one imperfect step at a time. And now unto God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed all might, majesty, dominion, and glory, now and forever. Amen.