Leviticus 19, 1-3.13-18.33-34

Verse of the week:. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”( Matthew 25,40b)

Epistle reading: 1 John 4, 7-12 kjv

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Gospel reading: Luke 10 25-37 kjv

25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Sermon

The sermon text for this Sunday is a small piece from a long series of God's instructions for human coexistence.

The people of Israel are on their way through the desert from slavery in Egypt to the promised land, that God has painted before their eyes.

Moses climbs Mount Sinai and God gives the Ten Commandments – the words for life that are intended to protect life and lead to life.

In chapters 17 – 20 of Leviticus we learn about God's desire for Israel to live holy lives in all areas of their lives. God has given his people laws so that they can live a holy and separated life, both religiously and socially.

In addition, in Exodus 2 and Leviticus we read many words, many individual commandments that God gives his people.

Exact calculators counted a total of 613 commandments .

And in the middle of this entire list are the words that we are hearing today as the sermon text. This passage makes it very clear: God does not give the commandments and instructions just like that, not as an arrangement that is arbitrary, that can be changed at will, or that he would change. He associates himself to these instructions.

The sermon text is part of the so-called “Holiness Law” and is found in Leviticus, 19

Sermontext: Leviticus 19, 1-3.13-18.33-34

19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

3 “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

13 “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.

14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.

15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.

18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

God wants the people to pay attention to his commandments and to keep them.

This is also clear in our sermon. For here God speaks through Moses: “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.’

What is holy or sacred to me? This question cannot be answered easily: the family, Sunday, peace or the church? Can one command somebody to be holy? Doesn't this quickly result in hypocrisy? “You shall be holy!” That's the title for the whole chapter 19.

God continually emphasized that Israel, as His people, should be holy. God's children should live holy lives like God.

The word “holy” is not just any pious word, but in this word lies the entire mystery that God has revealed to us humans. The origin of this word is already mysterious. In Hebrew we find the word “kadosh” meaning holy. It

literally means “to separate”. The word “holy” has always been a word that mysteriously called God to mind; the Bible only uses it for God and things related to God. God told his chosen people through Moses “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” The apostle Peter also interpreted this sentence to Christianity (1 Peter 1:16). And Jesus taught his disciples “You shall be perfect, as your Father who is in heaven is perfect,” (Matt. 5:48). God is holy, perfect, divine, good, right, pure - all of this is contained in this mysterious word. Only God himself determines what is perfect, good, right, pure and holy.

And we? Don't we often experience ourselves as imperfect, hopelessly overwhelmed? You don't have to work for holiness. It is a gift and it is a fruit, only if it remains holy to us: the human-loving and kind God.

We can best understand the word holy if we consider three sentences that say something about God's relationship to us humans: 1. We should be holy. 2. We are not holy. 3. God makes us holy. The entire history of God's salvation and humanity hangs in these three sentences. In these sentences we encounter God's entire law as well as the full gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

The essence of holiness is love. Namely, to love God and to love your neighbor and to love all of creation. Jesus said, “Love one another!” This is the way of life for the holy people that God desires.

Specifically, God wants us to honor our parents, keep the Sabbath, and worship God instead of serving idols.

At the heart of these laws is the well-known commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love of one's neighbor is an inner attitude from which someone is prepared to help his fellow human beings, to make sacrifices for them, to "do something out of [pure, Christian] charity."

What is meant by charity?

Compassion or mercy (Charity) is the act of helping other people. It includes any active, unselfish emotional and volitional deed and action aimed at the well-being of another human being and not necessarily emotional sympathy.

We are commanded to show charity not only to those close to us, but also to strangers. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. ” (Matt. 5:47, 48). And for today's Gospel parable, Jesus deliberately chose a good Samaritan as a model of charity - a Samaritan, for whom the Jew who fell among the robbers was a stranger and a believer of a different faith.

The term “mercy” in the German language is “Barmherzig”. It contains the word “heart”. Heart has a lot to do with love. Love is the central basic quality of GOD. However, where the basic motive of love is missing, and our actions are indeed ment to be good, they may even benefit my neighbor and they may even serve a Christian purpose, but CHRIST does not become visible to the neighbor. If CHRIST is not the origin of our actions, we will exhaust ourselves and, like a burned-out wick, will eventually go out.

The verse of the week tells us: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Help, to the “least of these brothers” is a service to Jesus himself, and in the same context Jesus said: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt. 25:35).

A clear and simple principle of charity is: If I meet a person who needs help, and if I can help him, then I should help him - regardless of whether it is a relative or a neighbour or a stranger or a foreigner. Charity initially doesn't care about the political and social problems that come with it; Charity always acts regardless of the person. It comes from God.

Other verses in this chapter end with the refrain: “I am the LORD.” Because the LORD is holy, and because men are created in the name of God, those who are called to imitate God's holiness, should do this by treating their fellow human beings with mercy and love.

It describes much more what it can and will look like, if we allow ourselves to be guided by God's view. To see each other and the others through God's eyes and to meet each other with honesty.

Not only should you be “holy,” you already are. Let it radiate from your life, through you and into the whole world.

Then this world can and will become a place of salvation for you and for the people you meet.”

I am the Lord your God! We can truly be grateful that we have such a Lord.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, may guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.