Lent 5

 

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

There's one more enemy left for Jesus to fight, to conquer this Lent. One last tussle for Him. We've seen Jesus resist sin – resist His own temptation, teach us of our own. We've seen Jesus stare down Satan and show dominance over all the devil's minions. The old three foes are Sin, Death, and the Devil. Death remains – death is the enemy that Jesus must conquer and defeat. Death is what Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem to destroy. Three times Jesus has told His disciples that He's going to Jerusalem to die – to deal with death – and three times they have refused to believe. And this points to a harsh truth that we don't like to acknowledge – we don't think we should have to deal with death, we don't really believe that the wages of sin, our sin, ought to be death.

We enter into our Gospel lesson in the middle of an argument. But who is it that Jesus is arguing with? Surely they must be really terrible people, Pastor! Do you hear how He lays into them? Earlier in John 8 we get the set up. Verse 31 reads, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This is the text we get come Reformation Day – and Jesus isn't arguing with pagan villains, with societal pariahs. Jesus is talking to the “good” people, the people who actually kinda figured that He was the Messiah. And a terrible problem arises when Jesus says that He is going to free them – free them from sin and death. It's a problem because these people say, “We don't need that!”

I am going to ask you do so something quite hard today. When you hear this argument in the Gospel lesson, don't think of Jesus arguing with those people – it's Jesus arguing with us. With people exactly like us – the pious, church going, bible hearing people. Oh, surely not, Pastor! Well, honest question: Ever get mad at God? Ever grouse and complain about how things are unfair? Ever pass blame? And remember, I'm a pastor, I listen, I hear. Moreover, I know my own thoughts, my own grumbling. And all of this discontentment with God, when it boils down to it is this: we don't think we deserve punishment for our sin. Not the punishment, not the wages of sin, not death. I mean, maybe that jerk over there deserves some punishment because he's really bad... but me, surely not me!

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My Word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. So, do you want to deny that Jesus is describing you and me right here, you and me according to our sinful nature? To our gut? To the way we react and respond to stuff, responded this past week? We live in a world where people can't bear to hear anything uncomfortable. That includes us. We routinely lie to ourselves. About our appearance, our health, our family and friends, our behavior, their behavior. While you live in this earthly, mortal life, you will struggle against sin – everyone who sins is a slave to sin, and the wages of sin is death – and you can't get out of it. If I stand up here and say, “Alright, don't sin this week!” - every one of you will. And you'll try to excuse it, or think about covering it up, or pass the blame. That's what it is to be a sinner. And perhaps you're a more polite sinner, and maybe you're more disciplined – maybe you only grouse about your neighbor instead of killing him – that's nice... but you're still a slave to sin, and your flesh is in love with lying to itself about sin, and you're still stuck on that sinful roller coaster ride that always, which ultimately ends in one place – the grave. What does a pastor do? I hear people confess their sins – either honestly (Pastor, I did this and I feel bad), or confess their sins via denial, grousing, lamenting, blaming – all of that a confession of being stuck in sin. And then I bury them when they die – and that's the way it goes until some other sap whose heard my complaints and blustering buries me one day. The wages of sin, our sin, is death – and we can't work our way out of it on our own, no matter how many protestations we might make.

And apart from Christ Jesus, apart from God Himself becoming man and doing something to rescue us from Satan, coming to pull us kicking and screaming away from the crumbling, burning mess of a world, sin and death would be all that we would have. And we see all around us what people who have only sin and death do – they stick their heads in the sand, they complain, they hope for some technology to save them from whatever uncomfortable or undesired aspect of reality is hitting them today. Pleasure after pleasure gets devoured and leaves them empty. Leaves us empty, because our flesh plays that game so often, too.

But do you see what Jesus is doing here? Yes, He's having an argument, but what is that? You can't bear to hear My Word, your sinful flesh hates it – so I'm going to come to you and I'm going to speak that Word to you again and again and again. You're going to hear My Word over and over. Why? Why is Jesus so insistent on having His Word preached over and over to the stubborn, the pigheaded, the poor miserable sinners who sin by their own fault, their own fault, their own most grievous fault like you and I?Well, Jesus has a plan, because He knows the truth. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My Word he will never see death. Woah, wait a second Jesus. We thought we sinful people knew denial! What is this – we might try to pretend that we're not going to die – but in the end we will admit it. Everyone dies. Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet You say, 'If anyone keeps My Word, he will never taste death.'” Come on now, I'll grudgingly admit that there were some people better than me, and they died. I might lie to myself but I do know deep down that I can't earn my way to living forever. Who do you think you are, Jesus? Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Who do you make yourself out to be? Do you hear how the question is framed? That we make ourselves what we are, that we fashion and cultivate ourselves an image, an identity. That we “glorify ourselves” - we give ourselves glory and worth and meaning. That's the heart of sin – that we think our worth, our value, our reality comes from ourselves, that it's something that we create. No. Who you are, your life, your value, your existence, your glory – it doesn't come from you. It isn't defined what what you make yourself out to be. “You can be whatever you want to be” - that's what we tell ourselves, and legally there's some truth to it, but Jesus here is dealing with something far more profound, something eternal, something longer than 30 years of work and a gold watch at the end. Jesus is who He is. The Father testifies that Jesus is the Son, the Savior. This is My beloved Son with Whom I am Well pleased. And you – you are who you are because God has made you, and God has given you so many gifts of body and soul, because God continues to bless you and pour blessings upon you and come to you over and over again even in spite of and against your sin. The question isn't who Jesus makes Himself out to be – the question is who is Jesus going to make you out to be.

So you want to talk about Abraham as the example? Okay. “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” Abraham was called friend of God. Now, you read Genesis, and you see that Abraham was indeed a sinner. But the Word of the LORD came to Abraham, and over and over again the LORD focused Abraham on the promise – I will make you, O Abraham, a great nation, and all the nations of the world will be blessed in you, because this is where the Messiah will come from. From your family – that's where the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world will arise. And Abraham rejoiced. And yes, Abraham was still a sinner, and so the LORD had to come to Abraham again and again, bringing the promise again. And Abraham would hear the promise and rejoice – rejoice when his aged hands held Isaac, rejoice when Jesus shouted to Abraham that the ram would be a substitute for Isaac there on the mountain. And all of this driving to another day on another Mountain, Mount Calvary, where this time the Father would not spare His Son, and Christ Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world would take them away by bearing them up upon Himself and dying. So that Abraham lives. So that Abraham would see Christ Jesus, so that all the saints, all the redeemed, would see Jesus' day and rejoice. Abraham saw it, Abraham saw the resurrection that Jesus won for him, for all the prophets, for all the saints, that Jesus wins for you. That Jesus is determined to win for you, even while you're running around next Tuesday all up in whatever griping, grousing stupid sin pops out as it always does.

Because Jesus comes to earth ultimately for one reason. To die, so that with His death the hold of death and sin upon you would be broken and shattered. So that the story of mankind would not be just “and he died.” That's the constant refrain of those genealogies that we don't like from Genesis. Nope – that's going to change. God Himself comes, and He is going to die... and on the third day rise to new life – and now that is your story. That is the promise that Jesus has made to you. It's the reality of your life – you've been baptized already into Christ's death – dead you arise to new life, a new creation. Even now the New Man within you fights and struggles against your sinful flesh – we sin, we kick ourselves – we get tempted, we fight against it, sometimes well, sometimes not so well. That's the story of every saint, every believer, every one who is redeemed. And eventually, you'll die. Your old sinful flesh will be put in the ground. But Jesus has come, and Jesus goes to the Cross, and He dies, and He rises – and because He does that – because Jesus strides to Good Friday and because Jesus strides from the tomb on Easter, you will rise utterly freed from sin, and the rejoicing of that day will be so far beyond any rejoicing we have yet known.

Why? Because Jesus is God Almighty come to save you. Before Abraham was, I AM. And He is going to be your God, God for you. Put down your stones, you don't get to control Him. Jesus knows what is He doing, and He's going to do it for you. And He's going to keep bringing you His Word – pouring upon your head in the waters of baptism, pouring into your ears by the Word of forgiveness, placing His promise upon your lips in the Supper, even until the day where along with Abraham and the prophets, and the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven you not only sing but you see Jesus face to face, your own eyes and not another, my heart faints within me, and sin and death are done and Satan is long gone and remembered no more and there is the Lamb upon the throne, for the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign and we are at His feast forever. That's what Jesus is doing for you, even if your sinful flesh doesn't like it one bit. Tough, Jesus loves you, and His plan is to bring you Salvation. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Midweek Naaman

 

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

At the risk of sounding like a broken record this Lent, Naaman was a bad, bad man. In fact, most any Israelite who heard that he had leprosy would have said, “Good, I hope it hurts.” Naaman is the top general of the kingdom of Syria, a nation that threatens and attacks and raids Israel – and not just to get money or supplies. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. They are taking slaves, child slaves. And Naaman is the guy who is running this, this little Jewish girl is now his slave. Naaman is a bad, bad man – and it would be understandable if he were hated and detested. At least that would be the way of the world.

But this little Jewish slave girl, who in terms of the Christian faith and life outshines any of us, speaks. Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy! What faithfulness! What compassion! What understanding of God – knowing that the Lord desireth not the death of a sinner, knowing that the Lord God blesses all creation, knowing the power of the Word of God!And amazingly, Naaman listens. He goes to his king, the king gives the trip his blessing – although the king of Israel (who wasn't that faithful, if at all) is skeptical and weeps. It's all a pretext for war! Well, it could be, especially if you keep ignoring the Word of God, King – but not today. Because Elisha hears of it, and Elisha the prophet says, “Send Naaman to me.”

And Naaman goes to Elisha's house, “And Elisha sent a messenger to him saying, 'Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you will be clean.'” Now, this is fantastic, and we don't notice it. There are two things promised – first, healing. The flesh shall be restored. But there's more than that – you will be clean. To be clean means that you are fit and able to come to the worship of God. If you were unclean, you didn't go to the temple or tabernacle; you stayed away. Not only will you be healed, Naaman, you will be fit to worship the LORD God.

And Naaman's annoyed. One of my favorite bits of Scripture is Naaman saying, “I thought that he would surely come out to me, and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.” What do you mean I just go and wash, and I don't even see the prophet. Where's the production? Where's the show? This is like going to the doctor's office and the secretary tells the doctor you're here, and then she walks back and says, “Take two asprin, and don't bother calling in the morning because you'll be fine.” Doesn't Elisha know who I am? Isn't there going to be some spectacle, something showy? And this is so true of who God is and who we are as sinful human beings. God gives His blessings of both body and soul in subtle ways. Our daily bread is rarely given to us in showy ways – most of the time it's just from the grocery store. And as for being made clean – water and the word – Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?” For our baptisms here we don't even use special water from the Jordan – it's Herscher tap. Woo-hoo. But most importantly, it's the Word of God – and the Word of God is powerful and does what it says, whether it's spoken by a little Jewish slave girl, or a prophet's servant, or a called and ordained servant of the Word, or any baptized child of God. And Naaman is going to learn that, again, thanks to some servants.

But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, 'Wash, and be clean?'” Master, um, this is good. No, really, it's a good thing. This is fantastic – believe what he says, live accordingly! Repent, turn away from your petty anger and be healed. And Naaman does. He washes, and is healed. And this story is so emblematic of how stupid our sin is, how silly our opposition to the Word of God is. We will make mountains out of not even molehills but anthills. We will be tempted to come up with every stupid reason in the book to plug up our ears – but the word of God spoken to you is a great one. The LORD God takes care of your salvation, and He gives it to you freely. Christ Jesus handles everything required to cleanse you of your sin and give you eternal life. You don't have to do any homework, there's no payoff you have to bring after you hear the absolution here, or after a sermon, or even after the blessing to leave. You just say, “Amen” - Yea, yea, it shall be so. What God says stands. Repentance is simply when we get turned away from our sin – whether it is the consequence of our sin or our tantrums that we throw – and we get focused again upon the Word of God and the forgiveness, life, and salvation that it brings.

I love the story of Naaman – and we hear it every year just before Lent – but they always cut the reading off at verse 15. We are going a little be longer tonight and getting the rest of Naaman's story. Naaman returns to Elisha, and actually gets to talk to Elisha this time, and he says, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” What faithfulness! But Elisha turns down the gift – no gift, not now, because you're new to the faith, and you might think this forgiveness thing is transactional. “God washed your back so now you gotta wash His.” Nope – this is a free gift to you from God, not by works or donation so that no man may boast. That's not how you live as a believer in the LORD – you're a free man in the LORD. And Naaman starts thinking things through – If not, please let there be given to your servant two mules' load of earth, for now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD. Again – I will amend my worship. My job keeps me from coming to Israel, to Jerusalem, and I'm away from the priests and the Levites – but my worship will be to God alone.

But then a problem. In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant; when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter. I'm going to have to go with my king to his pagan temple – and I'm the one who helps him get up and down when he bows before the throne – it's my job. Um, yeah, this is messy and bad. Ideally I wouldn't, but I have obligations. What does this mean? How will this work out? And Elisha simply says this – Go in peace. You get it Naaman – bridle you tongue, don't cause a scene, be a good servant because as a servant you are under your king's authority – but remain faithful. Life is messy – the LORD understands, and He excels at cleaning up the messiness of life, as your now clean skin shows. You know the LORD, you know His love – go in peace. Same thing we hear even to this day – the peace of of the LORD be with you always, in fact.

Do you see, my dear friends? God takes real sinners living real, messy lives and He brings them to repentance is remarkable ways, by the Word spoken by the lowest, the most humdrum sorts of people – spoken by a servant. Repentance isn't a giant show. Naaman doesn't get a spectacle; he can't even give Elisha fantastic gifts and prizes. Repentance changes your life, but not necessarily in earth shattering ways – you are no longer of the world, but you are still in it. Naaman still goes home to Syria, because that's where God has placed him. You are here in (Herscher/Bonfield), that's where God has placed you – enjoy the life He gives you here. But enjoy it as one who has been repented, who has been turned away from sin and unto God's mercy – turned again and again, even until that day when Jesus Christ turns our eyes unto Him evermore in the resurrection of the Last Day for the life of the world to come. We may be dust, but we are His dust, and He will make us live. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Lent 4

 

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +
Lent 4 – the calm before the drastic rush towards Good Friday. We don't see an obvious fight today – there's no shouting, no dire tension. A great feeding, instead. Joyous, even. And yet, Christ Jesus fights something subtle here. Jesus provides for us, for our bodies and for our souls. And yet, the temptation ever since the fall has been to doubt this, to be consumed by fear and worry. But it's all good – Jesus takes care of you. Listen.

“After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius. And a large crowd was following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick.” So, here’s the situation. Jesus has been healing, and so the crowds are following Him, wanting to see what He would do next. Miracles, signs, wonders. And so there Jesus is, and the people are following. “Jesus went up on the mountain and there He sat down with His disciples. Now, the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.” And now here’s the full set up. Jesus is sitting with His disciples, and John notes for us that Passover is coming. Passover, the celebration of God’s deliverance of His people from bondage in Israel. Passover – the start of the Exodus, where God would feed His people in the wilderness for 40 years with manna, with bread from heaven. This is the setting, these are the things that should be in the back of the disciples minds as Jesus begins to teach them, to instruct them.

“Lifting up His eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him, Jesus said to Phillip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’ He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.” And like any good teacher, Jesus begins to test His disciples. He starts with Phillip. Alright Phillip, where do we buy bread to feed these people? And it’s interesting to see how Phillip responds. “Phillip answered him, ‘Two Hundred Denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’” And Phillip gets it half right. Oh, he speaks correctly – a denarius was basically enough to feed your family for a day. Let’s say that you could use that to feed ten people well. We could almost feed 2000 people with the cash on hand, Jesus, but there’s more than 2000 there. Phillip is thinking totally and completely in terms of money, in terms of commerce. In that sense, there is no hope – only lack, only our inability. But the problem is this – the Passover is at hand, the time of focusing upon God’s deliverance of His people is at hand. And this connection, this point slides right by Phillip.

Andrew decides to give it a shot. “One of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barely loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many.’” Andrew thinks again in terms of resources. Maybe we can scrounge food off of folks – look, that little kid brought a lunch – what Andrew describes is basically two sandwiches – these are little rolls of bread, small fish. It’s a pound of food, not 5. And actually, this is the answer that a lot of the liberal scholars today give – oh, this story is nothing more than all the people seeing this boy bringing food to share, and then everyone shares, isn’t that so nice, peace and love, kum bay ya. Except that’s not what the text says. Even Andrew is dismissive of the idea of gathering resources from the crowds. Think about it – these are crowds running off after a miracle worker – they’ve dropped what they were doing and took off after Jesus to see if He was going to do something astonishing or amazing. And sure, some nice mom packs a lunch for her kid who happened to have come home and ask permission before going, but that’s not the normal here. There is no cash, there really are no resources. And the disciples are thus stumped.

“Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ Now, there was much grass in the place.” Of course there’s much grass in that place. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, He makes me to lie down in green pastures. John is telling us that something Messianic, something Divine is coming! It’s on the eve of Passover, there’s been signs all over the place, it’s Psalm 23 come to life! “So the men sat down, around 5000 in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples, ‘Gather up the leftovers so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments from the five barely loaves, left by those who had eaten.” And the miracle occurs. There, out and about, God provides bread, provides food for His people. Abundantly. With excess to spare.

So, what then do we learn from this? What then do we see? What is the lesson we are taught? Well, the first and obvious lesson is that yes, God does provide. When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we aren’t just whistling Dixie. God does indeed provide for us all that we need to support this body and life. And this is something that God is interested in doing, that He delights in doing. When Jesus sees the crowds, His question is not whether or not they will be provided for, but how. It is to be assumed that these folks will be provided for, because that is what God does. And indeed, this is something that we should ponder and rejoice in. God has provided for us. Amidst all the dangers of this life, in the middle of uncertainty, God has wondrously provided, and it’s only our worry or greed that would lead us to think other wise. And note this – Jesus doesn’t provide for the crowd because of anything they have done, or because they are good – He is going to have to flee from them in just a few moments. Rather, He provides simply because He is God and He is good. This is what we confess when we confess that God is our Creator – not just that He made stuff way back when in Genesis, but that He has made me and all creatures, that He still provides for me, even to this day, all that I need to support this body and life.

But again, this is only the start, the beginning of God providing for us. Yes, He provides the normal, everyday things that we need… but we need more than just food and clothing to support this body and life. Man in a fallen world cannot live by bread alone, for we are oppressed by sin and Satan and death. We are in need of the promised Savior, the Messiah – and the crowd gets this, almost. They do get that what Jesus does in Messianic. “When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said, ‘This is the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Again, because we aren’t as versed in the Old Testament as they were, we sort of miss this. We today understand that the feeding of the 5000 is a cool miracle, but what the crowd understands is that with this miracle, with this sign, Jesus sort of just tops everyone in the Old Testament. Yes, there was manna in the desert, but that appeared on the overnight and we had to gather it. Here Jesus just gives. Yes, when Elijah lived with the widow, the flour and oil never ran out, but that was food for three. This is for over 5000 people. In one fell swoop Jesus upstages both Moses and Elijah, He tops them, He trumps them. The wonders of the Old Testament give way to what Jesus does.

But then, the crowd misses the point too. “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him King, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.” How do you like this? You feed the people, and suddenly they become a rebellious mob wanting to overthrow the government. This is emblematic of what happens so often – there is the sign, people are amazed… but then they want to run off in the wrong direction. They see the sign, and think that this should point not to redemption and forgiveness, but rather to leisure. If Jesus feeds us for a day here on this grass, imagine what could happen if He were to rule the world! They wanted Jesus to be merely a better version of the Roman Emperors, giving better bread and better circuses. But again – not the point. God provides. God provides what we need, truly need, both for now, but also and even more wondrously for eternity.

All those things in the Old Testament – the Passover, the Manna in the wilderness, Elijah caring for the widow, they point forward to the coming of the Messiah, who would not merely provide for our body and life for a brief time in this life, but redeem our bodies from sin and death and give us true life, life that lasts through all eternity. It was not an accident that this takes place on the Eve of Passover – for that is the great foreshadowing of Christ’s death for the sins of the people, the spotless Lamb whose blood will lead us out of bondage to sin and death. It’s no accident that John writes, “Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks” because Christ our Lord gives us life and salvation in His own Holy Supper, in His Body and Blood even to this very day. God is not content to merely care for you for a few 70, 80, 90, 100 years. He is determined to be your God and Lord and Savior for all eternity, and so Christ Jesus will not let Himself be made merely into an earthly king, not merely a distributor of temporal blessings. Oh, He will give blessings, but that is no effort at all for Him – for all of creation is His. No, the greater wonder is this. Christ comes to be your Savior, who provides for you what you need both now and for eternity. He feeds you your daily bread, and then by His Word He forgives you your trespasses, preparing you to forgive others in His Name and to resist temptation. By His death and resurrection, you are truly delivered from evil, not just the evil of the day, but you are bound for the new heavens and the new earth for all eternity.

And now, the pause – the deep breath of Lent. God is good. Jesus loves you. He will do what He needs to do to provide for you. Food out there in the countryside – no problem. He can call forth bread whenever – even the devil knows that. But now comes the rush, the final plunge – for winning you everlasting life will be a more involved task. But Jesus goes, and Lent carries on, and He will will the battle for you. In the Name of Christ the Crucified + Amen.

Lent 3

 

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

    The human heart is a self-justification factory. When it boils down to it, we excel at crafting every sort of wild and stupid rationale for doing whatever harebrained thing we want to do. I remember growing up where I'd do something stupid, and my mom would yell at me, “What were you thinking?” “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.” But there's the problem – it seemed good inside my head, but it wasn't. It was foolish. I could spin up all sorts of reasons why it was perfectly fine to do whatever – but it wasn't. We all know this pattern, this game. In the moment, when you want to do something, the reasons start coming forth – and no matter how outright dumb they would sound to anyone else, our hearts and minds are tempted to believe the lies they spin out. And while this is the story, the pattern of silly high school hi-jinks, it's actually the story of all sin, how things quite serious, quite damaging, quite deadly can ensnare us and drive us down dark and dangerous and even damning paths. This delusion, this denial, this scourge of self-justification is what Christ Jesus attacks in our Gospel lesson today.

    Now [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” while others, to test Him, kept seeking a sign from heaven. To set the stage for today's lesson, we see Jesus casting out a demon. It's easy-peasy, lemon squeezy for Jesus. We've gone over this three weeks in a row now – Satan and his minions cannot hold a candle to Jesus; Jesus wipes the floor with them. But what of our hearts, what of our minds? Well, here we see some examples of rather foolish rationalization. Some people don't want to praise Jesus at all, so when they see a mute man speak, they have to come up with some reason to dismiss Him. And their reason is dumb – it's laughably bad. Others, having just seen a miracle, say, “But we need a sign from heaven.” Both of these are just utterly dumb. But before we see Jesus pick their self-justification apart, ponder this for a moment. They believe it. Yes, these excuses are utterly foolish – anyone else looking on and hearing it knows these gripes are utterly stupid... but they believe it. More than just believe it – they are trapped in it.

    This is the thing with our sinful delusions, with the self-justifications that we spin up. We get trapped in them. We can't see how stupid or vile they are from the inside. We've all known people who have been stuck in some of the most sad and hideous states, where they cannot free their mind, their hearts, their actions from whatever. We talk in terms of addiction today, but it's beyond that – it's temptations that keep coming back, it's a grudge that won't go away, it's things that set you off, it's resentment or jealousy that keeps popping up. And this is something every single one of us knows and deals with, not just in our neighbor, but in ourselves. We all have our own buttons that can be pushed, and then it's Katie bar the door, we're off on a roller coaster ride of folly and anger and animosity, and when we're on that ride there's nothing we can do to get off. And what Satan and the world and your sinful flesh will do is keeping pushing you to get on that ride for more and more reasons, and make that twisted track longer and longer to where you are just buckled down tight on a never ending ride of immorality and impurity and covetousness, as Paul would put it.

    So, Jesus sees these people with their foolish backbiting against Him, and the thing is, Jesus knows their thoughts. Jesus knows that they are trapped in those thoughts, that they can't see how foolish they are. Only the law of God, showing forth the mirror of their sinful thoughts, can smack them out of it. Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan is also divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Come on now, quit treating Satan like he is stupid. The old serpent is more crafty than you, stop downplaying him. Moreover – You say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. While you might be mad at Me – look around, see what others are doing in My name, listen to them. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. And as for a sign from heaven – God has come, His kingdom is here – His finger is touching the world, stirring the pot, making things happen clearly and obviously. The kingdom of God, His rule, His power is here, at work. Denials cannot change that fact.

    So, Jesus first cuts across their delusions. He spells out their folly to pull them out of their denial – and then Jesus explains what is really happening. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than [him] attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Yes, Satan is powerful – much stronger than you. Satan loves to keep you in bondage as his prize, his possession. But Jesus is far stronger than Satan, and Jesus comes tearing into Satan's Kingdom, and the finger of God flicks the old serpent down, and Jesus comes and rips apart Satan's power and fear and terror, and Jesus rescues you. And this is what Jesus is doing – all throughout the Gospels Jesus is destroying the power of Satan – even to Good Friday and Easter where Jesus rips apart the power of death itself. This is what Jesus is doing even today, in His Church, to you. Christ's Word comes and shows you your sin, but not only that – Jesus forgives you. Jesus gives you life. He baptizes you, declaring that you are His, not Satan's. He continually forgives your sins, teaches you wisdom, shows you truth, strengthens and preserves you in all good things by the power of His Word. This is the Kingdom of God at work, thanks be to God!

    And one might think that would be the end of the sermon – but it's not. Because this text goes on. And we all know why it goes on. Yes, you are forgiven. This is true. But you are still in this world, so this week, you're going to be tempted. This week, you're going to be nudged and pushed and even shoved back into self-justification and delusion. While Jesus triumphs over sin and Satan – sin and Satan still hound us, and there is a vast temptation, a vast problem that can arise. Our sinful heart, our foolish mind want to shift our confidence, our faith from being on Christ and His Victory onto something else. Listen to how Jesus describes this. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” So a person is clean, forgiven, rescued from sin – but sin is still around. Satan is still around. And Satan doesn't give up easily. Temptation, evil, wickedness returns. And what can happen? And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of the person is worse than the first. And when temptation comes, the guard is down. The house is clean but empty. Nothing else is there, nothing good is there – so let's move right back in. If we trust in ourselves, our own power, our own reason, our own strength, our own growth – we are just leaving the door wide open to Satan and to wickedness. My strength, my growth, my intelligence – me, me, me – do you hear the pride there? You know, pride goeth before the fall? That's what plays out – if we try to go it alone we are empty and vain and wide open to temptation – and if we are left to our own devices we will fall into wickedness like that.

    So what's the solution? As He said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” This is humorous – Jesus is talking, He's giving this image, this story – and while He is talking, this gal pipes up and wants to start focusing on the Virgin Mary. No, no, no – we don't run to Mary to keep us safe – listen to Jesus! But He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” Jesus doesn't want you empty. He would fill you. He would have you be His own temple, filled with Himself, filled with the Word, filled with not an unclean spirit but the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life – so that when temptation comes calling, as it will, it doesn't find you empty and alone, but rather it runs into Immanuel – God with us. And this happens by the Word, the proclamation of the Gospel. This is the Holy Spirit calling you by the Gospel, by enlightening you with His gifts, sanctifying you and keeping you in the faith. The Spirit is at work in you in your Baptism, reminding you who you are in Christ, that you belong to Him. The Spirit is at work in your through the Word, bringing again to your mind not only Christ's instructions so that you recognize and avoid folly, but also the forgiveness that rescues you from whatever sin does pop up again. The Spirit prays for you and in you and with you, opening your lips in prayer or bringing forth prayers in you that are too deep for words. The Spirit brings you to the Altar, where Christ Jesus Himself comes to you and gives you Himself so that He and He alone would rule your heart. Yes, Jesus wins! Yes, the Kingdom of God has indeed come. And it comes to you here, in the Church, in the Service, in the proclamation of God's Word. And you always need this, you always need to hear the Word – otherwise you'll hear more and more and be focused more and more upon the deadly, foolish words of the world, the devil, and your own sinful flesh, and they will try to cut you off from Christ Jesus.

    Dr. A.L. Berry was the president of the LCMS back in the late 90s, and his little catch phrase was, “Get in the Word, Missouri” It's about the only political catch phrase I think I've ever liked. Because it is true, and it is good, and it hits the nail on the head. There is a battle that Jesus fights even this day – a fight against your own sinful flesh and its desires to be trapped in sin – and Jesus fights that battle by His Word. So Christ Jesus will come to you in His Word – His Word here in His Church, His Word spoken to you by friends and family that He sends into you life for your good. And in Christ's Word the finger of God comes upon you for forgiveness, life, and salvation. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Lent Midweek - Rahab

 

Lent Midweek 3 – Rahab (Joshua 2 and 6) – March 8^th, 2023

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

    In tonight's sermon on repentance, we get to examine the example of Rahab the prostitute, who is basically the only survivor of the fall of Jericho (along with her family), as she aids the Jewish spies and basically defects to Israel. And I think it's important that before we dive into the Scriptures for tonight that we clear some baggage off the table that we have as Americans. Ladies of the night often show up in American stories, and they often tend to have a hidden heart of gold. They're just a sweet gal down on hard times, waiting for someone to rescue them – like Julia Roberts waiting for Richard Gere. Or if you like Westerns, well sure there might be that gal of ill-repute upstairs at the Saloon, but she's really just as sweet as can be, and she might just help the hero out before all is said and done.

    That's not Rahab. Rahab is presented to us in the Scriptures as a powerful, duplicitous, and perhaps wickedly scary woman. First of all, there's her house. It's the place where everyone goes – it's large, she has money and connections. She's a big wig in the world of vice. And when she gets summoned before the king of Jericho, she doesn't wilt, she doesn't shrink back, she isn't intimidated in the least. True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. She flat out lies to the King, tells him to send out a raiding party, and he listens to her. Do you see? This is a woman of power and influence. She is used to dealing with the mighty and respected by them.

    And then there is her name to consider. Often we forget the impact or significance of names – but they had importance and meaning in the Old Testament. They were liked Brands today – they were meant to covey something. And what does the name Rahab mean? Well, it was the sea monster that lived at the bottom of the ocean, it was the Abyss. You'll see this meaning of Rahab get mentioned elsewhere, along with Leviathan. Hearing someone say, “Let's go to Rahab's place” would be like hearing, “Let's go to Ursula the Sea Witch's palace” or “Let's go visit Betty Kraken.” Rahab is a woman who makes her living openly off of vice, and successfully so. Her house is in the wall – she's got a highrise, a penthouse.

    So understand – Rahab is no wilting flower – she's in charge of all of Jericho's hellraising, she runs vice there like unto a mob boss. She is a bad, bad woman with power and success, a business empire. This isn't a woman desperate to escape her wretched life – this is a woman who has it all, who has it better that pretty much everyone else, who worked hard for what she has and has been used to working hard to keep it.

    Now, listen to what we hear in verse 9. Rahab hides the spies, and before she even goes to the King she says this to them: I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land will melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. Rahab, like all of Jericho, has seen the writing on the wall. For 40 years they've heard that Israel was coming. They all knew that Israel was on their way to the the Holy Land, coming for them and their land. They heard of what happened with Egypt, they heard of Israel's conquests during their 40 years in the desert. And for 40 years the people of Jericho had lived in denial. They knew what was coming, but they just pretended it wasn't. They had 40 years in which they could have left, moved, sought out accommodations (as a few groups do – like the Gibeonites). Nope, business just went on as normal in Jericho – and for many, including Rahab, business was good. But now Israel is approaching the Jordan, and the first place they'll hit when they cross is Jericho. Time is up.

    Rahab continues: As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in the heavens above and the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you will also deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death. This is what repentance sounds like. I know who the LORD is, I know that Jericho is doomed. I know that my livelihood, my life as I had known it and enjoyed it is done. So be it. Let all that stuff, everything I cherished, let it be destroyed with the rest – simply make sure that my family and I get out alive. You spies are my hope for life. Spare us. Let us come with you. We will no longer be of Jericho, we will be with you.

    And that's what happens. We hear in Joshua 6:24 and 25, “And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the LORD. But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day. So she lives in Israel. In fact, Matthew records for us that Rahab marries into the tribe of Judah and is the ancestor of both David and Jesus. She's one of the heroes of the faith that Hebrews lists off in chapter 11. In James 2 she's an example of a woman who came to faith and then acted accordingly.

    Repentance, turning to God, means turning away from sin, no matter how appealing or profitable it was, no matter how much power and prestige it had given you. Repentance means that one hears the Word of God and reacts accordingly. Everyone in Jericho heard – but when those spies came, Rahab and her family turned from that vile pagan morass and lived. Everyone else held on to their sin until it cost them their lives. Rahab, though, saw hope, saw life with Israel – a different life than she had known, but a life amongst the people of the LORD. And it ended up being a good life for her. She had talked to kings; now she has become the Great-Great-Grandmother of kings. The temporal blessings, the wealth and prestige lost in the ruin of Jericho might not square up in the eyes of the world, but Rahab moved on to something much better than what the world was peddling.

    The world will dangle its wares before you. It will even try to exercise its wickedness through you – maybe not as dramatically as it had through Rahab in Jericho, but we all know that there are plenty of ways that we can use our various vocation and positions to cause all sorts of troubles (be they petty or grand). We know temptations to cut a corner when no one is watching, or even to be cutthroat in our dealings to get ahead. The world has its game, and it will call for you to play it well, regardless of who gets hurts. But Christ Jesus gives you today something better. You have heard what the Scriptures proclaim. This world is on its last legs – the writing is on the wall. Christ has gone into the Jordan and was baptized, He was lifted up high upon the Cross, and the stone walls of His own tomb He has toppled with His resurrection. In Christ, there is true life – life everlasting. And He comes to you to rescue you from this fallen world and to give you life. Indeed, His Word comes to you today, His Spirit is poured out upon you, pulling you away from your own Jericho, wresting you away from it and forgiving you by Jesus' blood and righteousness. Yes, there will be glitz and glamour and power that you will have to leave, but that is fine and good, for because of Jesus you have a place now in the family of God, and eternal life is yours. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Lent 2

 

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Once again in today's Gospel lesson we see Christ Jesus our Lord plunge into battle. Last week it was a battle against Satan – a battle against that evil dude over there, a battle that we could watch. But the battle today that Jesus fights, it's not an over there battle, it's an in here battle, an in the heart of every sinful fallen man sort of battle. It's a battle against arrogance and division, and suffering. Yes, the human heart is so often a wretched place – and Christ Jesus comes to heal and correct it. Listen.

Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region – pause here, because the set up here is important. In Matthew 15 Jesus has been dealing with division and bickering. The Pharisees saw Jesus, His miracles, His healings, and they decided that in response to raise a stink because they didn't think they disciples were washing their hands often enough. We have our traditions, our customs – they keep us as the good people, and Your disciples don't do them! Because, of course, the proper response to Jesus' healings is to nitpick. And Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, but the disciples are confused – isn't tradition the way that you prove you are good? Our heritage as pious Jews? And in response Jesus finally says - But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person. The heart, this is the problem, the source.

And so Jesus takes the disciples away from the Pharisees and leads them up north to Gentile country. And there a Canaanite woman approaches. Remember that the Canaanites were the various peoples that had dwelt in the holy land before the Children of Israel conquered it. These are the ancient enemies of Israel, and have been for 1500 years. Come, disciples, listen to what she says. Behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O LORD, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. Jesus is silent here – Jesus is quiet – He is listening to the what the disciples will say, how they will respond to this most amazing of events. And I say it is amazing because this is a Canaanite Woman – she's an emblem of evil. The Canaanite women were the ones who seduced all the good little boys and led them away into vile paganism that ended up getting the temple destroyed and Judah carried off to exile in Babylon. You don't hang around the Canaanite women.

And yet – hear what she says. The Pharisees do nothing but complain about Jesus and seek reasons to ignore Him – yet this woman calls Jesus Lord. She calls Him the Son of David – she asserts that David should rule her homeland and that Jesus is the rightful Heir and Ruler! Would that the children of Israel would be as faithful as this woman! And her need is serious – her daughter is oppressed by a demon. Do you get the contrast – the surprise, the confusion? Someone whom old prejudices would have assumed to be a villain makes a wonderfully faithful confession! Alright, disciples – what do you make of this?

And His disciples came and begged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” Often people will try to defend the Disciples here, saying that they are asking Jesus to just heal her already and send her off, but I think that's too gentle with them. They hear this woman's pleas, her cries – and they just complain that she is annoying them. Jesus, can't you say something to scare this braying donkey away? Chase her off for us? For out of the heart come all sorts of evil... including not even caring about a demon-oppressed little girl. The disciples are so steeped, so caught up in their own identity as Jewish men that they cannot hear or see this woman and her cries with anything close to compassion or mercy – even though she calls out to Jesus so clearly and purely.

Identity is becoming a bigger and bigger topic in our day and age, and not in a good way. We are to state our identity, perhaps change it today, and that identity supposed to determine all that we say, think, or do – who we can like, who we can care about. Find your tribe, find your group – and anyone else, tough. It's as though decades of fighting against discrimination and prejudice are being undone for the most selfish and base grabs for power and control. But, that's been the way of the world apart from Christ – break into groups, fight it out, hate, kill, destroy – then splinter your own group into new, smaller groups and keep on fighting – because that's the only way you can prove that you are good enough. After all, the disciples aren't good enough Jews – they didn't wash their hands the right way, at least that's what the Pharisees say. Is this what life is to be? Our existence on earth? Not loving and serving the neighbor but finding a reason to ignore them and despise them? Is this what we really want?

So Jesus throws the gauntlet to His disciples. I'll turn your disdain up a notch – Me, send her away? Hah! I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Well, if we are playing identity politics, and breaking down into groups and such, I can't be bothered to do anything then, guess you disciples are out of luck. This is rubbing the disciples nose in it. But what of the woman? She's just heard this dismissive jibe from Jesus. What is she to do? She doubles downs as well – But she came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, help me.” She gets in Jesus' way – she kneels, she worships before Him. Lord, help me – I'm here, right now, I need help. What faithfulness! What persistence! This woman refuses to pay attention to any of this pride/ego/identity tomfoolery that the disciples are caught in – straight to Jesus. Lord, help me.

And He answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” This is the Jesus you want, disciples? See, He'll speak the disdain you had for this woman out loud – He'll call her what you were thinking of her – she's a mangy little “female dog.” And if we live and run by the stupid fights of society today, we should all applaud, way to go Jesus, way to put her in her place! And yet, this woman, this faithful woman – she knows who Jesus is. She said, “Yes, Lord” Pause. Yes, what You say is true – I am a mangy little dog who deserves nothing from You. I certainly don't need to have anything taken from the children and given to me. But that's not what is needed here, is it? Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' tables. I know I'm lowly – that's why I'm here before You, Jesus. I'm lowly, and I need Your care – my daughter needs Your care – and it's not a big thing, not an expense for You. It's not even table scraps or left overs, it's just crumbs to You. That is how rich, how high, how worthy You are.

Do you hear this disciples, do you understand? Then Jesus answered her – her. Now, dear women, I'll deal with you. No more putting on a show for the disciples, no more object lessons for them – let's deal with you, dear woman. “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. You believe with your heart and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, for what is in the heart comes forth through the mouth, and you are saved, dear lady.

The demon wasn't the problem here – Jesus swats that little gnat away with ease. If Jesus can defy Satan and all His power like we heard last week, this piddly demon is as nothing. No, the problem, the wickedness and evil that Jesus addresses and deals with today is here – in the heart. So often we find, we search out reasons not to love our neighbor, not to serve them, not to pray for them. Instead, we will critique them and categorize them and villify them – all so that we have reason to dismiss and ignore them. Jesus' disciples don't wash their hands right – we can write Him off as a teacher. This woman's the wrong race – ignore her. And I'm sure with just a little bit of pondering we can see all sorts of parallels in our own lives today. Perhaps even right now your own sinful flesh is really striving hard to focus on how those people over their make their silly categorizations. Perhaps, but now is the time for thought on your own disdain. Confess that. Repent of that. Your value, your worth is not is how great you are or how lousy they are. Your value is somewhere else.
This Canaanite woman, she was highly valued by Jesus. Of herself, she was a nobody, a no one. Didn't deserve anything. Yet, she had faith in Christ Jesus. And that's everything. It isn't blood or race or heritage that makes one a child of God – faith brings that about. Faith that hears and clings to the gracious Word of God, over and against all the stupidity spewed forth in anger and wickedness. So remember the Word that God has spoken to you. The Word attached to Water that says while you may be a miserable sinner of yourself, you are now a child of God The Triune God has washed and redeemed you, made you a co-heir with Christ Jesus who shares in all that is His. Remember the Word of God which declares that your sin is forgiven, that you are rescued from sin and death. Remember the Word of God where Jesus says that He Himself gives you His Body and Blood for the remission of your sin. Over and against all the categorization and filing and backbiting of the world there stands the Cross of Christ Jesus – Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world – the sin of whatever silly distinctions we think up next. And all who hear what Jesus has done and believe receive the benefits of His life and salvation – as simple as that.

And so these two things will be at play in your life – your old sinful flesh will drive and push you to find reasons to sneer and look down upon your neighbor, while faith will draw you to Christ and His mercy, His mercy for you and His mercy for even those people you are told to hate, whom you might have reason to hate. And so Jesus will pour His Word upon you, to crush your sinful heart, but also to give you His life by the Gospel, by the good news of His salvation that He has won for you and for all. The Son of David indeed has mercy even upon you. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +