August 23, 2026 - Isaiah 51:1-6 - Proper 16

Summer is over already, at least in the school sense. Paul is already back to school and our family is falling back into the school year rhythm. We’ve been so busy that it hardly felt like any time at all. There’ve been dozens of projects that needed doing. Some got done. Others are in progress. Still others will just have to wait. Something always seems to pop up that needs to go right to the front of the line.

I keep thinking that after we finish one project or another, life will get a bit easier for a while. I was reading someone who was commenting on that very statement. He pointed out how life is nothing but saying, “Life will get easier after we do (fill in the blank), over and over until you die.” I’m gradually realizing the wisdom of that observation.

It just never seems to end. I’m sure that’s probably true even in retirement. Just because you don’t have to go to work every day doesn’t mean the rest of life suddenly stops. I know many of you retired folks have long to-do lists that you pick away at as fast as you’re able or inclined to. When will you ever be done? Not until you’re dead and buried.

If only our problems were just a list of mundane problems. Unfortunately, life is full of spiritual problems too. Hopefully, as Christians, we aren’t just trying to fix the house, prepare the meals, host the relatives, and otherwise attend to the various projects that life has in store for us. We’re also trying to be more compassionate, more thankful, more gracious, more humble, more of all of the things that Christians are called to be.

That ends up being a full time job all on its own. It’s not one we tend to actively think about. When something goes wrong or our sinful inclinations get us into trouble, sometimes that’s when we remember what sin does and how damaging it can be. Do we put those problems on our to-do list? Occasionally, but not nearly as often as we should.

Ben Franklin had a plan for dealing with the various character flaws he saw in himself. He saw 13 areas that he felt needed improvement. He thought he drank too much, talked to much about himself, and that sort of thing. So he took 52, for the weeks in a year, divided by 13, and came up with the nice, round number 4. For four weeks, he would devote his attention to one of these particular flaws and work on it constantly. After four weeks, he’d move on to the next one. It wasn’t that he expected to achieve perfection in an area in four weeks, but after he went through the whole cycle, he’d start again.

Each year he would go through the same cycle and each year he planned to get better. It’s a commendable plan. Anyone who works to better themselves has set themselves on a noble course. But, Ben Franklin, for all of his good qualities and all of his contributions to our country, never managed to achieve the goal of his project. He could go through his yearly cycle, year after year, pursuing the same 13 problem areas and he’d still never achieve perfection in even one of them. He might do better, but he also might not. He could make some improvement one year only to find he has fallen back into old ways the next year and has to work his way back up again. All of this work to try and achieve an unachievable goal.

Like trying to run a marathon while you’re stuck on a treadmill, the goal is out there. You can see glimpses of the end every now and then, but every time you gain a little bit, you later find yourself falling back. Faced with that kind of never ending trek toward an unattainable goal, it’s no surprise that many don’t even bother.

But, Ben Franklin was a very focused and capable individual. Most of us aren’t wired quite like he is. Aiming to be like Mother Theresa might be a little too much for a starting goal. Maybe we can find something that is a little more reasonable, a little less ambitious. Maybe something like just praying regularly, just talking to God once a day. How about reading the Bible? It could be even something like making it to church every Sunday.

Just like Ben Franklin, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. But, even your strengths aren’t perfect, and your weaknesses...well, I’m sure they leave a lot to be desired. Each of us knows our own weaknesses. We try and hide them from each other. We try and hide them from ourselves. We try and excuse them. “I may not be a very patient man, but I’m very generous.” Good! I’m glad you’re generous. I’m glad you have that going for you, but that doesn’t actually fix the problem. Your generosity doesn’t cover for your lack of patience. Even if it did, I’m sure you have times when even your generosity isn’t as great as it should be. Even your generosity needs work, and that’s a problem. There is no such thing as “good enough” here. There is only perfection or there is failure.

“Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples. My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples.”

There’s one thing every little kid at an amusement park dreads: that sign next to the entrance to a ride that says, “You must be this tall to ride this ride.” You get up to the front. You stand next to that big ruler and you find...you’re still too short. You stand up really straight. You stand on your tippy toes and it still isn’t enough. The safety harness for the roller coaster needs you to be a certain height to work and you aren’t there. Maybe someday you will be, but you’re here now. You have the opportunity now and that opportunity may never come again. Your chance is here, and you don’t measure up.

“My righteousness draws near...my arms will judge the peoples.” God holds out his hand to compare your righteousness to his. Do you measure up? When the time comes and he is there to judge, will be righteous enough to join the group, or will you fall short?

We gloss over our shortcomings because we don’t like dealing with them. They are constant reminders of our failure to measure up and how far away from the goal we are. But every so often we are confront with that failure. Sometimes it becomes so obvious to us and to everyone around us that we can’t just ignore it. The shame and disappointment all come flooding back. We see firsthand how our failures do more than just keep us from riding the roller coaster. We hurt people. We hurt ourselves. We bring sadness and ruin. When God comes to judge, you’ll only get one shot. If you don’t measure up, you don’t get to ride. You’ll never get another chance.

It’s a pretty scary prospect when you think about it, when you realize what’s really at stake. I’m sure Ben Franklin didn’t make it to the goal, even using his helpful system. What chance does anyone else have?

God’s answer here isn’t what we might expect. If you aren’t doing well at this undertaking, growing in virtue and righteousness, and you needed help, there are plenty of people out there who would be happy to give you suggestions and advice. The Ben Franklins of the world with their plans for self improvement can help you build good habits and do better. God could offer those same kinds of suggestions. He could help you structure your life so you’ll be better. Sometimes he does. That’s a part of what his Law is all about. It gives you a direction. It gives you reminders of what to avoid and what you should do instead.

But that sort of thing isn’t what he says here. He doesn’t give a plan. He says, “Look to Abraham and Sarah.” What do they have to do with anything? Can they help me? No, not really. Neither of them off any plans or advice. They don’t write any self help books. In fact, they make some of their own dumb mistakes. They certainly don’t measure up either. What good are they? The answer is none at all. That isn’t why God points to them. He doesn’t point out anything they did. He points out what was done for them. God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations and that Sarah would bear a son even in her old age. Abraham heard that promise and believed it. He trusted that God would do what he promised. That trust was counted to him as righteousness.

God never tells us to stop trying to do better, but he also knows we’ll never hit the mark necessary. The goal will always be unattainable for us, because our sin continually pushes the goal out of reach. You will never be perfect. You may do better on some days, but better isn’t perfect.

We sin daily. We fall short daily. We fail to live up to the standards set for us daily. Sometimes we don’t even bother trying to do better because we know perfection is unattainable. Other times we think we can get there all by ourselves. Whether it’s defeatism or pride, we compound our own sins. We fail to be as compassionate, as generous, as patient, or as faithful as we need to be. Then we don’t bother trying or we figure the problems are entirely fixable on our own.

For all of those sins and more, we are condemned. We thank God that salvation isn’t found in us or in our efforts. Salvation is found in the promise made to us by the God who grants us righteousness through the holy and righteous savior. The promise made to Abraham brought him righteousness and salvation. The promise made to you in baptism brings you that same righteousness and salvation. Where your righteousness falls far short of the mark, Christ’s righteousness is more than sufficient. In baptism, you are given his robe of righteousness to put on.

While getting better is still a goal you ought to have, your life is no longer dictated by your failures. God’s promise is not dependent on your contribution. Christ’s righteousness was earned entirely without you and given entirely to you freely. God promises that it is yours. It is no longer your righteousness that must be compared to God’s, for you have God’s own righteousness.

God’s righteousness will never be dismayed. It’s a harsh statement to those who have only their own righteousness to display. God’s righteousness will always be superior and you will never measure up. But, to those who have God’s righteousness, the statement is our comfort and confidence. The righteousness God has given us will likewise never be dismayed. It will stand up to any and all scrutiny. Through it, we receive the salvation God bring, his eternal salvation that last beyond the age of the heavens and earth. Those who stand on their own will vanish and wear out as the heavens and the earth do, but God’s righteousness and his salvation will last forever, and he has given them to you.