His saints! His holy ones! That’s what you are! You need not fear anything, not even death. Robed in Christ’s righteousness, washed in His blood, you are HIS, God’s redeemed. That makes all the difference in the world. That’s what we celebrate week after week as God gathers us in His presence together with all the saints. Together we celebrate the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which has no end.

If God calls you His saint, His holy one, then is there any reason that you can’t see your neighbor in the same way? Absolutely not! So many people ditch church because of what they think of others. Perhaps someone offended them, maybe the pastor or a fellow church member. We have disputes with one another, but self-justification usually reigns. I’m right. You’re wrong. And we hold on to that vision of a brother or sister in Christ, seeing the worst in them. I’m holy. You’re not. Somehow, the worst in “ME” gets overlooked.

Each week in the Divine Service He brings us to our knees in humble confession. We each bring before Him our own sins. If you’re in doubt about yours, but certain of your neighbor’s, you’re deceiving yourself. Read the Ten Commandments. Read our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Read some of the parables in Luke’s Gospel where the self-righteous try to justify themselves before Christ. The “rich,” that is those who think they have everything, always go away empty. The apostle John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). In the absolution God forgives you AND your neighbor. Absolved, you both shine equally bright with Christ’s righteousness.

Only in Christ, can you let your neighbor’s sin go. Only in Christ, robed in His righteousness, can you see the same in your neighbor. That’s the beauty of rejoicing in the objective truth of God’s almighty and powerful, gracious Word. When the Lord has His say, it just IS. That runs true in His words of absolution, His words of institution at His Table, true in the water splashed upon your forehead together with His promise. True for you! True for your neighbor!

The saints in heaven aren’t the only ones who shine! Rejoice in who you are in Christ, dear saints of Zion. Saints before Him! Saints before one another!