Mercy With Clean Hands

The Lord who receives an offering also searches the heart of the one who brings it. In Leviticus, He teaches Israel to draw near with reverence, not carelessly; in the psalm, David confesses that no outward gift can stand without repentance: “the sacrifice of God is a broken spirit, and a heart that is brought low God will not despise.” The holy God is not mocked by ceremony, yet neither does He abolish service. As Irenaeus says, “thus is it, therefore, also His will that we, too, should offer a gift at the altar, frequently and without intermission.”

What gift, then, shall we bring? Isaiah commands separation from uncleanness; Luke answers with mercy that crosses the road, binds wounds, spends oil and wine, and bears another man’s burden. The priest and Levite had nearness to sacred things, yet passed by. Their hands may have been clean from contact, but their worship was found empty. The neighborly Samaritan, however, offered a better sacrifice: costly compassion.

So the readings agree. Repentance must be real, separation must be real, and mercy must be real. If you would bear the vessels of the Lord, do not touch what defiles; if you would ask for mercy, show mercy; if you would offer worship, bring also obedience. Christ sends laborers before His face still. Let your prayer be joined to alms, your confession to amendment of life, your reverence to active love for the wounded man set before you today.