Lent 3

 

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

    An interesting thing happens as Jesus goes about in His battle against Satan. Quite often Jesus does stuff out in the open, publicly, where everyone can see. Great things! Wondrous things! Like for today's Gospel – we actually jump on in the middle of the action – Now [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. As we first see Jesus, there He is, in the process of actually casting out a demon, actually opening this poor man's lips, making things better. That's pretty cool. Perhaps pretty terrifying as well, but it's still a good thing, right? And yes, by in large the people marvel and are amazed by this... but there's also opposition. There's complaints and grousing – there are excuses. So what happens is Jesus will turn His focus to another fight He wages – and that is the attack on our complaints and our excuses, because Jesus knows them for what they really are. Listen.

    But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign from heaven. So let's for a moment consider these responses to Jesus' miracle. First – oh, He's casting out demons by Beelzebul. This, of course, strikes us as utterly absurd. They are basically saying that this is just a hoax and that Jesus is in league with Satan. Yeah, it's a lousy complaint – and Jesus will rip it apart in a few moments. But really, what are they doing? I don't think this is a well thought out, logical conclusion that they come to, nor is this just some emotional, visceral reaction. There's something deeper going on here. There's a bit of desperation here, they are grasping at straws; they are trying to come up with any excuse they can think of... to what? To not have to listen to Jesus. To be able to safely ignore Jesus. I mean, there Jesus is, just in their face, casting out a demon right in front of them. They have to acknowledge what is going on, but they don't want to. They want to safely ignore Jesus, and they are desperate to come up with an excuse, a reason, a justification for them to ignore Jesus.

    It's really the same thing for the people who are testing Jesus, who keep demanding more signs from heaven... as though casting out a demon right in front of them wasn't sign enough. This too is just an excuse, a reason to ignore Jesus. He hasn't done enough. I asked for a sign from heaven, one lousy peel of thunder, and He couldn't produce it – who cares about Him now! As though Jesus' job is cater to our whims. But there you go, more silly little reasons to ignore Jesus, just there milling around the crowd.

    And Jesus will have none of it. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every Kingdom divided against itself is laid to waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?” Oh, I'm doing this by the prince of demons? So you think there's a civil war, or that Satan has just become a toothless idiot? Because he's not. He still scowls fierce, and so on. Maybe, My friends, you aren't reading the situation correctly. But it's not Me who will be getting on your case for this – And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. Jesus points out here something that is going on – people were casting out demons in Jesus' name. This was sometimes upsetting to the disciples because the guys doing this weren't according to hoyle part of the 12 disciples – Jesus doesn't mind it at all. But to the point right now, Jesus states the obvious – if you accuse Me, you also accuse a lot of other people, including your own sons who are calling upon My Name for wondrous things. Do you see how Jesus just deftly deflates their complaints, their excuses?

    And then Jesus brings out the elephant in the room. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. No, this is the kingdom of God, the power of God at work – and if you are fighting Me, you're fighting God. There's no way around it. Because what Jesus is doing here is destroying Satan's kingdom and rescuing us – When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides the spoil. Jesus is raiding Satan's kingdom, He's blasting apart Satan's defenses, and all on a mission to rescue people, to rescue you. And you need to be on board with this Jesus rescue mission – Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. In or out. Come with me if you want to live. This is the situation.

    And here we really get to the heart, the theological root, the issue at stake. The excuses, the complaints, they are all just symptoms of a deeper problem, and that problem is self-justification. I will justify myself – I will take my actions and I will defend them no matter what. I will excuse the inexcusable, I will deflect from any wrong I've done and bring up what-abouts, and if the heat ever gets to close to me I'll start complaining and turning up the heat on someone else. Because I'm fine. I don't have any problems, I don't have any issues – why it's just you guys who are the problem. I don't need a Savior, I don't need to be saved. I don't need Jesus.

    Isn't that really what these people are driving at here? I don't think I need Jesus, I don't want to need Jesus, so I'll say He's in league with Satan. I don't think I need Jesus, so I'll say He's not good enough for me. Now, maybe you've not done this sort of self-justifying dance with Jesus, but we all know the pattern of excuse making and denial and puffing ourselves up. It happens all the time in our relationships – at work, at home. Often we come up with terrible excuses that we think are brilliant, and then maybe we can laugh at them later on once we've come to our senses. And maybe, just maybe, if we're being honest, you can think of times where you've used excuses and complaints and self-justifications against Jesus, against Church. Lord knows I have often enough. It's the common move and drive of our sinful flesh – to make excuses for ourselves, to seek to justify ourselves, to cry out that it's not our fault. And when we get called out for this excuse making, we can get really defensive. Why, yes, Jesus, you have caught me with my hand in the cookie jar, but clearly I just want a cookie, and there's nothing wrong with that, and in fact, I think I deserve a cookie!

    Here's the thing, the issue. You can't justify yourself. When you've messed up, when you've sinned, no excuse, no fasting talking will get you out of it. No denial will make reality go away. The problem of our sin is real, and we can't self-justify ourselves out of it. We can bluster, we can gripe, we can shake our heads until the cows come home, but that doesn't fix, that doesn't address, that doesn't deal with the problem. And for the physical things of life this is problem enough – Tax day is coming, you've got to actually sit down and do them. A project at school or work is coming due – you've got to get it done, quit with the dithering. But Jesus here isn't just giving a lecture on “adulting” and “being responsible” - He's addressing a very important spiritual reality. 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.” 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 that person is worse than the first. When you start making excuses about sin, about Christ, about Church, about these spiritual matters, bad things happen. Things will get worse. We see this with physical things – start a diet, it goes well, but then you gets slack, ignore the healthy routine, and you're worse off than you were before. Jesus points out that this is true spiritually as well – and the world is full of people who were baptized, who were cleansed, but then cut themselves off from Christ and His Word and they're hellions now.

    Because the reality is you need Jesus – and not just a Jesus who gives you a little touch up – but the Jesus who is with you and you with Him – the Jesus who is your King and the Kingdom of God is with you Jesus – the Jesus who is your Justification, the Jesus who is your righteousness, the Jesus who is with you and who gathers you together with all His saints around His Word and Sacraments. And I'm not whistling dixie here – Whoever is not with me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. That word for “gather” is “synagogue” - basically the word for church at the time. Or we here are a congregation – where we congregate – where we are gathered together by Christ around His Word. Because in the Church, hearing His Word, receiving His Supper, that's where we ourselves are blessed. As He said these things a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Hear the Word of God. Keep it – keep it in your heart, your mind – treasure Jesus and His forgiveness so that when Satan and his minions comes sniffing around they don't find a neat but empty house – rather they find one filled with Christ and His Word. They find a temple of the Holy Spirit.

    This is what Jesus does to you whenever He speaks His Word to you. He comes upon you with the power of God to break down your excuses, your silly self-justifications that everyone but you know are bunk – and He forgives you, and He gives you strength, and remember the very beginning – the demon that was mute. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise. The is the good power of Jesus. And there are times this is fine and dandy, and there are times when its scary because we've become aware of sin and temptations that we don't want to deal with, or even more dangerous we want to give into and delight in. Jesus knows the power of Satan – Satan is strong. But Jesus is the Stronger One, and He breaks down Satan's power – and He does this for you, for your good, even right now, to rescue and restore you. Be in His Word, and be kept safe for now and for all eternity. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +