Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text is the Holy Gospel reading which has already been read.

Dear friends in Christ, Heidi and I have potty-trained two children, and the conclusion of that training is always a happy day. Changing diapers gets old, and the potty-training process is a royal pain, even with Pull-Ups. If diapers and potty-training are trouble, then could you ever imagine choosing not to potty-train your children, but instead to them in diapers indefinitely? That would be ridiculous.

So we train our children in basic things, like using the potty, so they can eventually become self-sufficient, more productive, more grown up, like we are. And this training is not automatic but is a long and arduous process. We have a sense of relief when they are fully trained in the tiresome things we have to do for them; and as we train them in all sorts of other things we gain a sense of satisfaction and pride when our children put our training into practice by being good students, good spouses, good citizens, and faithful Christians. On the other hand, we experience disappointment and shame when we fail to train them correctly, or when they fail to put into practice the good training we have given.

It is not so different in God's household. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus is speaking directly to His disciples, that is, baptized Christians who believe in Jesus and follow Him, justified children of God through Christ's righteousness alone. And Jesus wants God's children not to remain in infancy or even adolescence, but to grow up in Him and become fully trained. As children of God, all of our training should come from Him, and in our Gospel reading, Jesus gives us the pattern we should strive for. He says, "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher." So our calling as disciples of Christ is to become like our Teacher, Jesus. We can never rise above Him but must always be His students. We should learn everything He has to teach us and live by His teachings, so that we become like Him. And this will include basic training in the Christian faith, as well as advanced training throughout our lives.

Over the centuries the Christian Church has settled on certain forms of basic training for Christ's disciples. The technical term for this training is "catechesis," like the word "catechism," which is usually the basic textbook for catechesis. Over the centuries various catechisms have been produced based on the Holy Scriptures, and none is better than Luther's Small Catechism. In its six chief parts the Small Catechism provides the essential knowledge every Christian should have, and it lays out what Christians should practice: the Ten Commandments show what to do and not to do; the Apostles' Creed shows us what to believe about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and all He has done to create, redeem, and sanctify us; the Lord's Prayer teaches us how to pray; Baptism, Absolution, and the Sacrament of the Altar show us how to receive Christ's gracious forgiveness and presence in our lives in the Christian Church.

So in the Lutheran Church our "boot camp," our basic training for young Christians, is done through home devotions and Sunday School and confirmation instruction, where we learn basic Bible stories and the Catechism. And for those who come into the Church as adults, we teach the same things in a different form through adult confirmation. And confirmation instruction is great, but it's only basic training, not the full training Jesus describes in the Gospel. There's a lot more to learn and to do after basic training.

Military training doesn't just end with boot camp, and graduates from college usually aren't fully prepared to do the job they're hired to do. Rather, after getting basic training, you need advanced and specialized training because in your vocations you are going to run into things that you don't know or understand, or things you can't do. Many adults go "back to school," or have continuing education in the workplace; the military offers advanced courses; and informally, we train ourselves by studying or by seeking out the help and advice of those who are more experienced in our vocations, whether that deals with a certain trade, or cooking, or parenting.

The Christian life is similar. After basic catechesis and confirmation we are going to run into situations we don't understand, or doctrines that seem unclear to us, or we struggle with practical application of what we have learned, so we need continuing learning and growing by becoming more fully trained in Christ's Word. You don't remain 7th-8th graders forever, and hopefully you mature and grow after middle school, so your level of knowledge needs to grow, and as Jesus puts it, you need to become more and more like your teacher Jesus as you go through more training in life and doctrine.

The Greek word that is translated "fully trained" doesn't just mean to be taught, but also to be built up, finished, completed, polished up. It's not just head knowledge, but an entire way of life. Jesus means that the disciple won't be like His teacher until He has gone through thorough and rigorous training. Jesus wants us to learn to think and act like Him - becoming like Jesus means not just to know His doctrines but also to practice them - He wants you to grow to have a character like His, so that following Him and imitating Him are second nature, innate, spontaneous, almost unconscious.

This doesn't happen simply by spending two years in confirmation class and then going your own way. It also doesn't happen by trying to live by some catchy slogan like "What would Jesus do?" (Remember the WWJD craze from years back). Nor does this happen by mumbling the prayer of Jabez or some other faddish spiritual exercise. Jesus says that the completion of our Christian lives only happens by training, that is, by deeply learning Christ's Word and then practicing your faith in Him; living in repentance, struggling against sin, praying, worshiping, receiving His forgiveness and help in the Sacraments, and loving your neighbor as yourself, living by the example Jesus has set for you, which you learn from His life and Word in the Gospels. A good teacher models traits, and doesn't just teach words; as the saying goes, "actions speak louder than words." And Jesus is the Great Teacher, the ideal example for every Christian. We are not just to listen to Him, but also be trained to imitate Him in His love and mercy and forgiveness.

If you want to teach your kids to be lazy, or alcoholics, or abusive, or foul-mouthed, then just act those ways in front of them. If you want your kids to get caught up in an immoral life, then let them hang out with people who practice such vices. St. Paul knew what He was talking about when He said, "Bad company corrupts good morals." On an individual level, if you want to turn your own mind into a cesspool, then just immerse it in pornography, trashy TV, or gossip. The company that your mind and body keep is going to train you in a certain way, so that you become like your teacher.

Jesus is your Savior from sin, death, and hell, and also is your Great Teacher in life. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus and become more like your teacher (which is exactly what Jesus wants for you), then immerse yourself in Jesus Himself as He comes to you through the Christian Church to teach in the Word and Sacraments.

Jesus commissioned His Church to make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching them everything He has given us to teach and do. So our congregation must strive to teach all of Christ's Words, but training is a two-way street; the trainee must be willing to learn. So first of all, it is imperative that Christians put themselves in training by regularly attending and participating wholeheartedly in Divine Services. This is the main place where Christ's training goes on. When people who call themselves Christians neglect to receive Christ's Word in the Church, then they are saying, "Jesus, I'm already fully trained. I don't need any more instruction, because I know it all and I practice my faith perfectly. No thanks, I don't need forgiveness of sins either." So any time you are thinking of neglecting Christ's Word and Sacraments, just ask yourself, "Am I fully trained?" Be honest, and repent.

Many times over the years, our children have picked up a book and brought it to us, and without even asking just climbed up in our laps because they want to hear us read to them. With Sam, it's really funny because he'll walk over and actually stand a couple feet in front of us, turn around, and back up to sit down. There's something comforting about being read to, but it's also an important part of our training in comprehending language and learning to read.

When we come to the Divine Service and participate in it with our minds and hearts, we are coming before Jesus, turning around, backing up, and sitting down in His lap so that He can read to us and teach us through the various parts of the service. We also sit down at table with Him in the Lord's Supper so that our Savior can feed us with His very body and blood. And, of course, this is all very comforting and is an important way that Christ trains us up in His doctrine and way of life. He also gives us advanced training as we sit at His feet in Bible Class to learn the Holy Scriptures. Yes, Bible Class also is a gift Jesus gives you to help you become fully trained, so don't reject the gift your Teacher offers you.

This morning I have dwelt a lot on the training process for Christ's disciples, and not so much on what the fully-trained disciple looks like. In other words, what should be our goal? What are our objectives? What does it mean to be "like Jesus"? In truth, those questions can only be answered gradually, over time as you continue to learn Christ's Word. But if you were looking for a short summary of what it means to be like Jesus, He gives it to you in the Gospel reading when He says, "Be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful." Or it can be translated: "Become merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful." This tells us the Father's character, Christ's character, and what our character should be.

There is wonderful Good News in this phrase because Jesus tells us that our Father is merciful. God is truly your Father, because He showed His mercy to you in sending His only-begotten Son into the flesh to lead a perfect life in your place, suffer for all your sins and the sins of the whole world, and then rise to prepare a place for you in heaven. The Father has shown His mercy to you by giving you life and sustaining you along the way, but most of all by adopting you as His child in Holy Baptism, where He has washed away all your guilt and united you with Christ's death and resurrection, saving you for everlasting resurrected life. God has given you the Holy Spirit to preserve you in the one true faith and also to lead you into good works. Not only does God pardon you but He also gives you the power to begin a new life, putting to death the old sinful flesh and rising up to newness of life.

Look at how merciful God has been to you! He has held nothing back, but has given His Son and the Holy Spirit to you; He has given you His greatest treasures, forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation in the Kingdom of God. And Jesus exemplified that mercy in His ministry. Last Sunday we learned that Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them; two weeks ago we heard of His invitation to the eternal banquet that goes out to the poor, the lame, the blind. God's mercy falls short of no man. From the cross, Jesus prayed for His enemies, "Father forgive them…"

And so that takes us back to God's will for your life, as you become like Jesus, like the Father: "Become merciful has your Father is merciful." "Become merciful" means that you should treat other people the way God in Christ has treated you. A few verses earlier in Luke 6, Jesus says that the Father "is kind to the ungrateful and the evil." Even while we were enemies of God, He sent His Son to die for us; even while so many people continue to be hostile to God today and refuse to repent and believe the Gospel, He still provides sunshine and rain to the evil. His kindness is meant to move us toward repentance, and His kindness is meant to be the pattern for our lives as well.

A disciple who does not show mercy to others is not showing evidence that he believes in or wants the Father's mercy. There is a practical response to God's mercy, as Jesus puts it in the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Or in today's Gospel reading, He says it even more pithily: "Forgive, and you will be forgiven." On the other hand, God's judgment is reserved for those who don't believe, those who refuse to forgive, who are not merciful like their Father. Of course, this doesn't mean that we are supposed to become total pacifists, or set all prisoners free, or stop disciplining our kids - but it does mean to forgive sins, to put away anger, not to avenge yourselves, but to leave it to God's judgment, just as Jesus did while He was suffering and dying on the cross for your guilt.

A fully trained disciple will be like Jesus, merciful; a full trained disciple will be one who is completely what God wants you to be, summed up in the attitude of "Become merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful." So I conclude by asking the simple question: "Are you fully trained?" I know the answer already. So don't neglect all the training our Lord wants to give you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.