Pentecost 6 Galatians 6:1-10, 14-16 Look in the Mirror
Isaiah 66:10-14 Galatians 6:1-10, 14-18 Luke 10:1-20
There was once a very poor family who had very little money. But Christmas was coming. So they looked through a Sears catalog and tried to pick out something everyone in the family would enjoy. After much discussion, they finally decided to get a mirror. A few weeks later the package arrived and on Christmas morning, they opened it and each one took a turn looking in it. The father frowned when he saw that his hair was turning gray. The mother smiled and the baby giggled when they looked in the mirror.
Then little Jimmie looked in the mirror. As he looked he was shocked by what he saw. It was the first time he had ever seen his reflection. He didn’t know whether to frown or cry. You see Jimmie had been kicked by a mule when he was too young to remember; his face was distorted, scarred and deformed. As he was staring into the mirror and gazing upon himself he finally asked in a shaky voice, "Dad, did you know all the time that I looked like this?"
The Father answered, "Yes Jimmie I knew." And Jimmie asked, "Knowing all this and seeing me like this, do you still love me?"
Now before I finish my story, I would like you all to take a look at yourselves in a mirror; not a mirror that looks at your external appearance, not a mirror that looks at whether or not you are successful in this life, but rather a mirror that reflects what you may not see about yourself or even care to look at. I want you to reflect upon all of the sinful things you have ever done in your life.
Paul says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap.” God has seen your sins all along. You cannot stand before God and hide your face from Him. Saint John (1 John 1:8-10) tells us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Now look within your selves. Let each of you test your own work, and not that of your neighbor. If you need to compare yourself to someone, use Christ as the standard for your conduct. Paul is saying that you are responsible for your own actions and conduct. Christ is the only guide; He can be the only standard. Christ is the measuring stick to use when judging your conduct. See the kind of lives he has called you to live in Christ’s actions. How do you measure up to Christ?
Look at God’s Commandments, which Jesus kept perfectly. Have you loved God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul? Have you loved your neighbor as you love yourself? Have you been sowing seeds for the Church by witnessing your faith to others or do you spend your time in idle chit-chat and gossip? Do you give of your time and talents to do the work God has called you to do or have you made yourself too busy?
If you are honest, when you gaze into the mirror of your soul you will see a deformed face starting back at yourself because when you were conceived, sin kicked you squarely in your face and severely injured your soul. You should all be like little Jimmie, shocked to see what is staring back at you. Do you stand before God the Father and ask Him the same question, “Father, knowing and seeing me for what I really am, do you still love me. Wow! No wonder so many people stay away from worship, they do not want to look in the mirror and see their face made ugly by their sinfulness let alone stand before God.
When Jimmie saw his ugliness, He could have turned away and not looked any longer. He could have run away from home and hid in the shadows. He might have imagined that because he was different, he was not loved. And most of all little Jimmie could have led a very depressed and lonely life, never knowing what his family really thought about him.
But Instead, Jimmie summoned up all of his courage; faced his deepest fears and asked his father, “Father, do you still love me?”
Jimmie’s father said, “Yes Jimmie, I still love you. Your face makes no difference. I love you because you belong to me.”
My friends, God’s love is the same for you. You are His because God is your Heavenly Father. He loves you because you are His no matter who or what you are. God loves you so much that He gave His only Son to pay the price for your sins, so that you may not perish in the ugliness of sin but have eternal life.
In fact, all of you are brothers and sisters to each other through Christ. That bond of love which holds you to God should also hold you to one another. That love is shown as you use your time, talents and energy, for the really important things in this life, things that will carry over into the next life, like worship where you bring all of your sins before God and receive His healing. Your love is shown by witnessing God’s love to your neighbors, sharing fellowship among your brothers and sisters, praying for and helping each other.
Amazing things happen when you begin to sow these spiritual seeds. The church becomes more alive and your own lives become more satisfying. There is harmony within the family that worships together. God’s gifts go beyond the forgiveness of sin. He gives you time and the desire to be involved in the really meaningful things, everlasting things of the spirit, things that lead you to the peace of knowing that your Father in heaven loves you no matter what sins you have done and no matter what sin has done to you.
Unfortunately, those who do not look in the mirror and see themselves for what sinners they really are, never come before their heavenly Father and truly ask Him if He loves them. Those who do not stand before God only have the things of this world to look forward to. And all of the things of this world such as money, power and youth will not bring about satisfaction if you do not know that you are loved. It can be very hard to look into that mirror, but the rewards of standing before your Father and facing up to your sins carry eternal blessings.
When you confess your ugliness, your deformities, your sins, before God, He wipes your sins away and heals you from all unrighteousness. Because of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, you are a new creation. You have been baptized into His triune name; your sins have been cleansed so that you may look into the mirror and see one who has been made beautiful in the eyes of God.
God restores your soul from the damage caused by sin. Then, as you stand before God at His altar, He no longer sees a deformed soul. Instead God sees a brother or sister that looks just like Jesus; free of sin. Knowing this and having faith in His promise is the only thing that gives real cause for rejoicing. And for this, we give all glory, praise and honor to Jesus. In Jesus Name, amen.