Sermon for The Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 2025

“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go and be reconciled to your brother first.” 

So, then, who is your brother? Perhaps your brother, in this case, is the same as your adversary. Because Jesus, who says these words, is ultimately your adversary, for He expresses the Law and the judgment of God. And yet you know He is also your Brother. He has become incarnate. He has come to earth to rescue you. Yet, He has something against you. He as much as says so here: He holds your sin against you. And now, since it has been preached into your consciousness, you remember. Don’t you? You remember that your brother has something against you; Jesus has something against you. So, go; be reconciled to Him before coming to the altar. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to go very far, in fact, you don’t have to go anywhere, for it is by faith that reconciliation is gained. Because He has done the work of reconciliation for you, as it turns out. He was going to the altar with you. He went to the altar in advance. For you must think of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ as the true altar of God. 

Think of the Cross and this altar as being one and the same: the place of sacrifice. That is why He went first to the altar: to sacrifice Himself, to shed His sacred blood to redeem the world, to redeem you, to take away your sin, your murderous, lying, stealing, coveting heart, to take away the blot from before the judgment of God. That is why He went to the altar first. 

Readings:

• Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-17

• Epistle: Romans 6:1-11

• Holy Gospel: Matthew 5:17-26

Sermon: