Today on Liturgy Friday we are meditating on the Kyrie, the next step in the Liturgy. So far, in the Liturgy, we have gone through the Invocation, Confession and Absolution, the Introit, and now arrive at the Kyrie. This is the point in the Liturgy when the Celebrant reaches the altar, and now, with the entire assembly cries out, "Lord have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us." From the Invocation to the Kyrie, we see the assembly of believers crying out to our God to serve us, not His wrath, but in His mercy. The Divine Service is the cry of God's Children to be merciful on them and forgive them. We see this reality carried out in the prayer of the Kyrie.

The Kyrie comes after we are absolved of our sins as baptized children of the Triune God. But why do we continue to cry out for mercy? We've been forgiven and identified as God's Children in the liturgy already. Why then do we keep speaking the same stuff like a broken record? Well, St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote to St. Titus saying, "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." St. Paul makes the point that we are saved, not by works we have done, but according to the mercy of God. In the same manner we are made children of God, not by our works or decision, but by God's mercy, so we are forgiven not according to our merits, but Jesus' merit, so now we continue to cry out for God to be merciful, meaning don't look upon our works, but judge us and save us according to Your grace and mercy. The Kyrie is our continual pray and cry that God judge us according to His mercy, not by our works. This is the summary of the entire liturgy, that we are saved and judged by God's work, not ours.

My friends, you and I are saved, not by our works and merits, but by Jesus our Lord. He is our sacrificial Lamb who went uncomplaining forth to the cross and died in our stead, taking our place under the wrath of His Father, in order that we may be rescued from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Jesus delivers the grace of God to us by being merciful to us in His death on the cross. Our confidence is not in our good works or progress, but rather is in the good work that Jesus did for us in His obedient life, vicarious death, and glorious resurrection from the grave.  This is the Gospel truth that must be proclaimed into our ears until Jesus calls us home to Himself in heaven. This is the Gospel truth that the devil wants us to forget, the world wants us to reject, and the Old Adam wants us to ignore. We are saved, forgiven all our sins, because Jesus is merciful to us, died for us, baptizes us, communes us, and absolves us all of our trespasses. In short, we will live forever with God, not because we've earned it, but rather because Jesus is merciful and forgives us. This is why we pray the Kyrie Eleison in the Liturgy, because we are saved not by our works, but by Jesus' mercy. Let us continue to pray this Christological prayer as we continue to receive all the good gifts of our merciful Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Peace be with you. May the devil be silenced, the world be hushed, and the Old Adam be drowned anew so that you hear only the voice of your Savior Jesus hears our cries for mercy and says, "Be at peace. I am merciful, you are forgiven," Amen.

Jesus' Sheepdog,

Pastor Hull