August 21, 2023

Today's Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:48-18:9, Acts 27:9-26

The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. (Isaia 56:8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Outsider. Foreigner. Doesn’t belong. Outcast. These words describe exclusion. These words create division: if you are out, that means you are NOT in. If you are ‘in,’ there is a temptation to breathe a sigh of relief and do whatever is necessary to maintain the ‘included’ status. To be left out hurts; no one desires to be slighted, forgotten, cut off, or left behind. 

In today’s reading, there is a wild declaration from God: He is going to INCLUDE those who were on the outside of Israel. He was going to not only gather the ‘outcasts’ of Israel, but also include those ‘others’ too. That hardly seems fair; they must be ‘outsiders’ for a reason. And by their exclusion, we can be sure that our inclusion is secure…right? How radical of an idea that those who have been on the outside of God’s mercy can suddenly be included! 

In our sin, we create labels for ‘others.’ We struggle to not self-justify our status as ‘better-than-others’  based on external descriptions (at least I don’t sin like that person) or a false sense of earning our place with God (I go to church every week, so I am definitely ‘in’). We can become complacent in the reality of our own former status as ‘other.’ Before our Baptism, we were dead in our transgressions and alienated from God. We were without hope, certainly not able to earn a spot or make for ourselves an ‘in’ with God. We were the outsiders - the foreigners - the outcasts - the other. 

God in His mercy sent His Son to pay for our sins, give us new life, and declare us as His. This was not earned by us. This was not a negotiation we won. This was His plan for our salvation. In our Baptism, we are made alive, given God’s name, and declared ‘in’ with Him. We live in our Baptism for eternity. He claims us for eternity. 

But what about the worry that including others might take from us what we have? This is unfounded and unnecessary. Jesus died to pay for the sins of the whole world: He has more forgiveness than we have sins. Therefore we joyfully share the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection with all of our neighbors, knowing that God’s mercy is for them abundantly - just as it is for us!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

God would not have the sinner die; his Son with saving grace is nigh.  His Spirit in the Word declares  that we in Christ are heaven's heirs.  (God Loved the World So That He Gave, LSB 571:3)

-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.