Saving Mercy

This sermon was preached at Glenwood and Canoe Ridge Lutheran Churches, Decorah, Iowa on July 14, 2019. It’s based on Psalm 25:1-10 and Luke 10:25-37. If you’d prefer to listen to it, find it at https://soundcloud.com/stacey-nalean-carlson/.

Psalm 25:1-10

¹To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
²My God, I put my trust in you; let me not be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³Let none who look to you be put to shame; rather let those be put to shame who are treacherous.
⁴Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths.
⁵Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long.
⁶Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, for they are from everlasting.

⁷Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions;
remember me according to your steadfast love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.
⁸You are gracious and upright, O Lord; therefore you teach sinners in your way.
⁹You lead the lowly in justice and teach the lowly your way.
¹⁰All your paths, O Lord, are steadfast love and faithfulness
to those who keep your covenant and your testimonies.

Luke 10:25-37

²⁵Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” ²⁷He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
²⁹But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³²So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ ³⁶Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” ³⁷He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

There are seasons of life in which we are the ones in need of rescue–beaten down, half-dead from grief and loss, desperate for healing mercy for ourselves and for those we love. These are the seasons, in my experience, that yield row after row of prayer.

Our psalm for today is a prayer. And if we were to look at it in the original Hebrew, we could see that each line begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Joel LeMon writes about this psalm: In short, the psalm claims that God shows us the way. God provides the way out of danger, the way to live in harmony with others, the way to order our lives. And this psalm shows us how to pray.¹

With this form—each line beginning with the next letter of the alphabet and some words repeating themselves from line to line—the psalm becomes a prayer to be taught and learned, written on one’s heart, memorized so that it can go with you and guide you wherever you go, no matter the season of life you’re experiencing.

So today, at a loss in this season for proclamations filled with certainty and void of doubt—I’ve written a prayer in the form of Psalm 25. Each line begins with a successive letter of the English alphabet. Today, when you leave, you’re welcome to take a copy of this prayer with you. Listen for the lines that resonate with you. Consider re-writing the ones that don’t.

In the season in which you find yourself, what is the prayer of your heart? What words, inspired by the Spirit, express your hopes, your longings, your faith, your need for a God who hears the cries of our hearts? This is your invitation to write those words down on paper and, memorizing them, to write them on your hearts so that they go with you wherever you go.

We worship a God who draws near to us, and to this world, with saving mercy in every season. Let us pray.

Above all else, I trust you, gracious God.

Be worthy of my trust, I beg you now.

Create my vision. Calm and carry me.

Don’t ever leave me here to dance alone.

Embarking on this journey, I am lost.

Fix my heart, my mind and eyes on you.

Guide me through this wilderness of grief.

Hallow all my doubts and hush my fears.

I wait for you, O God of saving grace.

Journey close beside the ones I love.

Keep them close to your eternal heart.