https://assets-cdn2.dropwave.io/086174f0-efbe-400f-a3e9-b91549a26ab7/media/Rogate_ Fifth Sunday after Easter AD 2026.mp3

++ JESU JUVA ++

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

We pray. O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Story one. It’s late at night. There’s a hint of smoke in the air. You could roll over and go back to sleep, but the odor’s just strong enough to keep you wondering — Is it possible the house is on fire? So you rouse yourself out of bed and search the house. Down in the basement, you find a small fire. Satisfied simply to know the source of the odor, you walk back upstairs, curl up into bed, and go to sleep.

Story two. “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27).

Story three. A man observes his natural face in a mirror… he goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was (James 1:23-24).

Story four. A man goes to church. He listens to the Bible reading and the sermon. He takes notes. He agrees with what he hears. The truth of his own sin even moves him to tears. He knows that he is a sinner. He knows his life needs to change. But then he goes home. He carefully files his notes away. He puts his Bible on the shelf. Even though he heard God’s Word and agreed with it, it’s as though he left it behind at church.

These four little stories have two things in common. They all pay attention. But they do not act. according to what they’ve seen. They all noticed the truth, but none of them remained with it long enough to act on it. They glanced at reality. And then they turned away.

How does this work? How can a person find a fire in the basement, and just go back to sleep? How can a man think that sand will make a good foundation in a flood zone? How does someone look at himself in the mirror and immediately forget his appearance? How can anyone go to church and it have no effect on his life?

It’s because the people in these stories all had something else in common. They have become deceived. They believed wrongly and acted accordingly. They thought everything was fine. That’s the danger of only glancing at the truth. A quick glance can soothe your conscience without ever changing your life.

If you want to deceive someone, the best way is to know that person very well — what he likes and doesn’t like; his weaknesses and strengths; what he fears; what he loves; what he wants. The better you know someone, the more easily you can deceive that person. Advertisers do this all the time. Because they have all kinds of data on you, they know just how to persuade you to buy a certain product or vote a certain way.

So who in your life is easiest to deceive? Your spouse? Your parents? A sibling? You’ve probably succeeding in lying to any or all of them at one time or another. And you know the Eighth Commandment. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way. If you have lied to or about your neighbor, you should repent.

But there’s someone else you deceive far more frequently and far more deeply. It’s the person you see in the mirror. You are the easiest person for you to trick. How does this happen? James tells us, verse 22. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Your sinful flesh knows what makes you tick, what you hope, what you love. He knows your weaknesses. Better than any other person on earth, your sinful flesh knows you. He says this fool will believe anything I tell him. What kind of wickedness can I get him to fall into today? He’s so gullible.

It might seem odd to think of deceiving yourself — that you could make yourself believing something false. But it happens all the time. That’s why James has this warning today. Do not deceive yourselves. Especially — don’t deceive yourselves about God’s Word. We place great emphasis on hearing God’s Word. And rightly so. But hearing it alone isn’t sufficient.

Hearing can become another kind of glancing. Words pass through the ears for a moment and then disappear without taking root.

In the next chapter, James reminds us that even the demons believe God exists. They know what He says. They can even recite the Bible. That’s what the devil does to Jesus in the wilderness. The serpent in the garden knew God’s Word, and he quoted just enough of it to deceive our first parents into breaking God’s Word.

Hearing is good. Hearing is necessary. But God’s Word isn’t only for hearing. It’s not even only for saying what it says. It’s also for doing. James says that if you hear and don’t do, you’re like a man who looks at his natural face in the mirror and then immediately forgets what he looks like. Seems like an odd illustration. Who pulls out a mirror only to forget his own face?

But what if you looked in the mirror and didn’t like what you saw? What if something was wrong with your face and you didn’t want to think about it? Then you ignore it. You pretend it’s not a problem. You have deceived yourself.