Mark 1:40 - 45 -- God's Power to Heal and Strengthen

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from him who is and who was and who is to come,

            We don’t know the name of the leper Jesus healed in this morning’s gospel reading, so we’ll give him one for the time being.  We’ll call him Samuel – a good biblical name.  He lived in pain; he felt his body slowly withering away.  He lived on the margins of society.  He had to beg to meet his daily needs.  There were nights when he didn’t have a shelter.  No one would touch him for fear of catching his disease.  But Jesus touched him and healed him.  Samuel would grow old and fall sick again later on, but for several years at least he would be able to work, to care for himself, to take an active part in life.  How Samuel rejoiced at his healing.

            Mark tells us that he went overboard.  Jesus wanted him to keep silent and visit the priests in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice and testify to people who didn’t yet believe in Jesus that God is powerful and gracious and present among them in human form.  But Samuel couldn’t restrain himself; he overstepped the bounds the Lord had set for him and talked openly about the healing God had brought him.  The rapidly-spreading news created inconvenience for the Lord, though we can be sure that in the long run he made good use of Samuel’s testimony. 

            Naaman is another leper whom God healed.  How he, too, must have rejoiced.  “I know there is no God in all the earth except in Israel,” he confessed right after he was cured.  He looked ahead to a new life in the company of the Heavenly Father.  Human nature played a part in his story, too.  The narrative shows us the formal way rulers acted toward one another, the irrational, crippling fears the king of Israel suffered from, for he thought the Syrians were setting a trap for him, and we see Naaman’s injured pride, when the Lord failed to take advantage of the chance for an impressive ceremony and chose the simplest means to cure his terrible disease.

            To digress, for a moment, we know that when he reveals himself to us, God loves to act simply.  He’s never pushy or showy.  He is direct and down to earth.  He uses the simplest of means, for example, such as ordinary water and a few special words in the sacrament of baptism.  Life can be pretty complicated.  We may think of the telecommunications system, the food chain, or the complex economic problems that are vexing North America right now.  We may also think of the complicated relationships folks sometimes get involved in.  Adult minds are trained to deal with difficulties.  But when God comes to us, he usually works very simply.  We may not understand his methods, as we do not understand how a tree develops or how a baby’s body and mind grow to maturity.  But we don’t have to know the how’s and why’s.  God invites us to open our eyes and our hearts and accept simple things from his hand.  How refreshing that he breaks through complexities and comes to us by simple, powerful, restful, and unchanging means.

            Anyway, the healings in this morning’s readings are samples of God’s power and his determination to do good.  Jesus came to earth to conquer evil, and leprosy is one feature of a fallen world that is no stranger to evil.  Nothing could prevent Jesus from carrying out his mission of healing, not even the peculiarities  of human nature or our propensity for sin.  He cured Naaman despite his pride; he healed the leper Samuel even though he knew that Samuel would create inconvenience for him. 

            God’s grace never fails.  It works for us, too.  We sin.  We run from God.  We underestimate his gifts to us.  We are rude to him and think mostly of ourselves.  Even so, Jesus doesn’t withdraw his offer of help, salvation, and pardon.  He remains our friend and invites us to turn to him for restoration.  His love for us inspires us to do our best, and if we slip, God does not.  He is faithful and true.  He doesn’t take back his promises.  Our salvation and our daily walk with him depend on him, not our own feelings, which change many times in the course of a day, or on our own good works.  God says to us, “I declare that you are righteous for the sake of my son and the faith the Holy Spirit plants in your hearts.”  Our debt is paid.  We are free and whole in God’s eyes and in the eyes of the church.

            Now, a Lutheran thinker I consulted helped me understand a little better this morning’s Gospel text.  The leper I’m calling Samuel submitted himself in an act of great faith to the Lord’s wishes.  “If you are willing,” he said, “you can make me clean.”  Samuel made a distinction between God’s earthly gifts and his spiritual ones.  He knew he was asking for an earthly blessing, which God in his wisdom and his love might withhold, as he frequently does.  He doesn’t usually provide riches at our request.  He finds ways for us to receive our livelihoods bit by bit.  He doesn’t move us to a land where there is no snow and cold, but helps us to cope with the conditions we find ourselves in.  The same goes for our physical health.  Miracles can occur, but as a general rule, the Lord teaches us good sense and wise practices; he provides health care professionals and medications to help us.  He sends ways to reduce pain.  He strengthens us to cope with illness and other physical hardships.  He doesn’t take us away from the reality of daily life.  His beloved people experience what everyone experiences.  Physical suffering can refine us and bring us closer to the Lord.  We take on a portion of what he suffered for us.  Illness doesn’t mean that God has abandoned us. It means that he trusts that we can cope.  Samuel, whose soul the Lord filled with faith, understood this.

            Samuel also understood that spiritual blessings are a different matter altogether.  Heaven always freely grants gifts like pardon and peace, strength and consolation to the soul, since it is his will that these blessings be available to us at all times.  We don’t know how Samuel came to such great faith, but his case shows how Jesus’ teaching produces the most wonderful spiritual blessings.

            We also know that the same faith can be ours – endurance, hope for eternal life, trust that the Lord intends good for us.  God is gracious and powerful.  It’s a wonderful thing to know that our sins are forgiven and that no evil can crush our souls or shatter our faith.  No matter how bad the world can be, the Bible assures us, or how close illness is to us or how great our sins, these things do not prevail.  The victory belongs to God, who is good; he passes his goodness on to us.  Life is good and much good comes our way.  We trust, like the healed leper I’ve given the name Samuel, that if we listen to heaven’s will, this goodness will continue.  God will even make good of our missteps, in his own way and in his own time.

            My reading about this morning’s text brought another familiar Christian theme to mind: never give up on something worthwhile.  We want good things to come to us – health, friends, faith.  We want to do good with the talents God has given us.  We hope to be useful, to help others, to be joyful of heart.  It’s almost a rule of life, though, that opposition raises its head as soon as we reach for the good.  Obstacles appear out of nowhere.  Human nature gets in the way, either our own or somebody else’s.  We can get discouraged or settle for less than the best.  We can say that to make an extra effort is to strive in vain.  But God uses Na’aman and the leper Samuel to remind us that a lot of good comes from submission to God.  He is the source of everything; the source is good and it’s on our side.  The Lord will help us create the good things we hope for and even better things than we now imagine – for our families, for our work and leisure.  God plants in our hearts a desire for improvement and for his leadership.  We won’t give up on what’s good if we focus on Christ.  So often we want to do things on our own, for this is part of the secular way of life that surrounds us.  We can go part way by ourselves, but not nearly so far as the Lord wants to take us.  Every good gift comes from him.

            So we stick with our Lord and Savior, trusting that he will carry us along the way not just today but always.  What hopes he will pour into our hearts.  What strength he will give us.  What courage to keep on with good things and never to quit.  In his name we rejoice and give thanks.  AMEN.

The peace God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.  AMEN.

                    

Mark 1:29 -39 Healing

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

            Jesus’ miracles in this morning’s gospel text give us a chance us to think about the subject of health.  I’m sure we’ll all agree that health is a big concern.  We often have someone’s physical well-being on our minds, either our own or somebody close to us.  The Bible assures us that God knows about our frailty, that he will strengthen us to bear up, and that he performs wonderful acts of healing.

            Jesus’ healing miracles in the four gospels give glory to God and show us the nature of the Savior’s power.  He is the Lord of both our spirits and our bodies.  His acts of healing also show us that God is on the side of good health. Illness is part of life.  It’s one of the effects of sin that come with being alive on the earth.  Everyone gets sick from time to time; we know what illness is.   Children and seniors are both susceptible to sickness.  We get sick if we don’t take care of ourselves.  If we adopt certain unwholesome practices, illness comes to us.  We don’t say, though, that every disease is the result of a specific act of sin, for germs and bacteria don’t follow a moral code, nor do we say that our illnesses are signs that God is angry with us, for disease is like rain: it strikes the just as well as the unjust.  Illness goes along with life on earth: we can’t do anything about it.  God can, though, and he does.  He is a healer.  Jesus defeated the devil, who is the ultimate cause of illness; Jesus heals and restores. 

            We know something about how God’s healing works.  Miraculous cures do occur in today’s world, and we are thankful to God if he has worked a miracle on our behalf.  As a general rule, though, God works by intermediaries.  He uses doctors and nurses and other health care workers to provide for us.  He sees to it that they are well-trained and wise about the body.  They are often compassionate, especially after they get to know us, even in today’s hectic environment with lots of cutbacks.  It’s God’s will for us that we listen to our doctors and follow their advice.  I once heard a man who I’m sure never crossed the threshold of a church door say that he hated his doctor.  Doctors are human and busy; they have a lot on their minds; they make mistakes.  But they are servants of God, whether they know it or not, and on the side of life.  If we do not like or trust our doctor, we ought to forgive and find another one.  Whatever the case, the Lord sends doctors to help us; he blesses us as we follow their guidance.

            The Lord also gives us the privilege and power of prayer.  He hears our prayers for our own healing and for others who are sick.  The letter of James advises us to pray for one another, that we may be healed.  “The prayer of a righteous person,” he says, “has great power in its effects.”  We pray for the sick of St. Peter’s every Sunday and we pray in private at home.  Prayers work and sometimes surprising healings do take place. Jesus invites us to keep on bringing our concerns to him. 

            Another sign that God is on the side of healing is that he blesses our use of the common sense he gives us.  We live moderate, balanced, orderly lives, with proper attention to diet, exercise, and the need for rest.  We don’t push ourselves beyond our limits.  We older folks don’t give way to the notion that we are 20 years younger than we actually are and push ourselves like someone in his or her twenties.  Younger people thank God for the good years he’s given them, while they remember that they are flesh and bone, not steel, and that all flesh is grass, destined to perish.  Heaven blesses sensible living.  This has always been the case and always will be.  One of Solomon’s proverbs says, “Good sense wins favor...a prudent man acts with knowledge...wisdom dwells in prudence.” 

            Now, along with gospel stories of healing, our readings include an excerpt from the book of Job, who at one time in his life was greatly afflicted with diseases and other losses.  His case encourages us to look at the question of health from a more spiritual point of view.  What do we do if the gift of good health is taken away from us or from someone we love?  We notice from the story of Job that the Bible doesn’t tell us that we ought to give up and suffer in silence.

            Job was a unique case. The devil afflicted him, you remember, in hopes of winning a bet with God.  Satan claimed that Job was faithful only because he had every good thing life could offer.  But if he took away family, riches, and health, the devil argued, then Job’s faith would evaporate.  God allowed Job to suffer as a test of his faith and to win the bet with Satan.  Job railed and sputtered, but he held onto his belief in God’s goodness toward him.  “I know that my Redeemer lives,” he affirmed.  The Lord gave him the gift of steadfastness. He believed that no matter how unfortunate he was at a certain point in his life, he would eventually see God face to face.  His trust received its reward.  God appeared to him at the end of the story and blessed the last days of his earthly life even more than his beginning.

            We can apply the story of Job to ourselves.  For one thing, Job never knew about the dispute between God and Satan.  He didn’t know that he was playing a part in a cosmic drama with supernatural dimensions.  From this point of view, we know more than Job did.  Life has its mysteries that our Heavenly Father instructs us to trust will turn out well.  Somebody said that the life we see now is like the back side of a tapestry.  Scripture tells us a lot, but we see knots and colored threads, a few dim patterns, not the whole design.  The big picture will become clear to us in the next life. Life is fragile; health can be uncertain.  We don’t know why.  But everything serves a good purpose that God understands in full.  We ourselves play a part in a cosmic drama.  The point is to hang on.  Meaning will come to us in God’s good time.

            Take the question of Job’s friends.  They came to him with lots of advice and conversation, but they didn’t really understand.  People believed in those days that illness was the punishment for sin.  If he suffered so much, Job must have done something terribly wrong.  Not so. He was a righteous man.  The faith of his neighbors must have become stronger, they must have had a profounder understanding of God’s love, after they witnessed the conclusion of this phase of Job’s life.  God’s blessings returned as mysteriously as they were taken away.  Since they loved to ponder and talk things over, Job’s recovery must have given them plenty of food for thought and conversation.  The Lord uses our faith, too, as a testimony to our neighbors and our families, even to doctors and nurses and healthcare workers, when dark and painful moments come and we hold onto the Lord's promises to us. We Christians trust that God doesn’t use our illnesses to punish us, but that they come as a necessary feature of a sinful world.  We accept them as a test he will help us pass.  He comforts us and promises better days ahead.  As Paul wrote, we pass the comfort we receive on to others.  This happens automatically.  God’s light shines through us for others to marvel at.

            The book of Job also gives us an indirect lesson about Christian care for people who suffer from ill health.  Job’s friends were pious men.  They meant well and didn’t speak from malice of heart.  They spent time with him, but they brought him little comfort.  They lacked a deep understanding of God’s love, which we ourselves see at work in Christ, so they spoke platitudes that didn’t help.  The Lord took note of this when he said to one of them near the end of the book: “My wrath is kindled against you and your friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

            This is not the case with us.  We spend time with friends and loved ones who are sick.  We pray with them. We may read passages from the Bible or comfort them with Christian words from our well-stocked memories.  Sometimes it’s best just to be silent or listen with understanding.  We are practical people, so we don’t try to interpret, especially things that we don’t really understand.  But we do understand that the God who came to heal is present everywhere in the world.  He promises not to let eternal harm come to those who trust him.  We know these words from Psalm 91: “When he calls to me, I will answer him; will be with him in trouble, I will rescue and honor him.  With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

            Yes, it’s true.  The world is full of difficult things, and very little is guaranteed.  Job experienced this firsthand.  “Has not man hard service upon the earth?  Are not his days like those of a hireling?”  He speaks from the extremity of pain, but even we ourselves hear of people whose burden is as heavy as his.  Earthly misfortune is not the last word for believers.  God is different from the world.  He is powerful; he is good and full of love.  The prophet Malachi wrote that for those who fear his name, he comes with healing in his wings.  “You shall go forth leaping like calves from the stall,” he says.  The Lord may make us wait.  He may test our spirits.  But healing comes.  God promises in Christ that the conditions of this life are temporary and that perfect bodies and minds will be his gift to us in the everlasting kingdom that awaits.

            We need to remember, though, that Jesus is much more to us than a miracle worker.  Health and healing are never for us ends in themselves.  Jesus is the end and goal of our lives.  He calls us not to fix our hearts on any earthly blessing, but on him.  Jesus is our savior, whether we are well or ill.  He holds us in his embrace no matter what the state of our health.  We thank him for his wonderful healing powers.  We especially thank him for the forgiving of our sins that is the doorway to salvation.  We ask him to keep us focused on what is most important.  Health is rightly a big concern, but health is not our God.  Jesus is.  All our concerns are resolved in the one who died for us on the cross.  Our hope comes from him.  We ask him for healing.  We also ask him to keep us in the faith that saves.  In his name we rejoice.  AMEN.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.  AMEN.                                                                                                

Jesus, Our Teacher

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

            You probably know that our Sunday readings come to us on a three year cycle.  Many of our Gospel readings came from St. Matthew last year.  This is the year of St. Mark. For the next two Sundays, for example, the church brings us into the beginning of Mark’s Gospel.  We will see our Lord preaching and teaching and working miracles.  We watch him as he reveals himself to the people of his time.

            We join him this morning at the synagogue in Capernaum.  He is our teacher.  Teaching is a demanding profession.  Teachers master their material and how to present it.  Teachers can do us a lot of good, especially when they challenge us to use our brains in ways that are new to us.  If a teacher is good and we’re listening, he or she can also encourage us and lift us up.

            Jesus was this kind of teacher, only more so.  Can you imagine what it must be like to have God as your teacher face-to-face?  Mark says that the folks in the synagogue were amazed.  He wasn’t using the word in the everyday sense, as we might say we are amazed when the Maple Leafs or the Raptors do well.  He meant really and truly amazed, astonished, astounded, filled with wonder.  I have to be honest and say I don’t know when I’ve ever experienced that kind of amazement. 

            Jesus spoke with authority.  He didn’t rely on the opinions of experts or get bogged down in minor details.  He spoke from the heart of God about his listeners’ needs and heaven’s loving care in such a way that his hearers believed that what he said was true. 

            What did Jesus say to them?  Mark’s Gospel moves along rapidly; he doesn’t always include what we might want to know.  If we look at the fourth chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we find what Jesus said on a similar occasion.  He applied a passage from Isaiah to himself: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me.  He has appointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”  Imagine what the people must have felt.  He wasn’t an upstart or deluded; he didn’t make claims he couldn’t back up.  He may have told the people at Capernaum, as well, the words we heard last week: “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe.”  Surely, he told them that they were saved not by their own diligent efforts to keep the law, but by God’s grace through faith in him.          

            Though it wasn’t really a new teaching, the people in Capernaum hadn’t heard it before, because experts at God’s law had buried his Word beneath a crust of regulations.  Instead of relieving burdens, they added to them and crushed spirits down. Jesus came to remove the human traditions and customs that weighed on people’s hearts and to bring them into direct contact with God, from whom salvation may be found.  John the Baptist foresaw that in Christ all flesh would see the salvation of God.  This salvation now appeared in Capernaum, the old prophesies were fulfilled in Jesus, and the people were amazed.

            As a teacher, Jesus was unique.  He taught with divine power. He didn’t just discuss salvation, he offered it to his listeners as a free gift from God’s gracious hand.  He didn’t only talk about hope and joy, he gave it through faith in himself.  He was God, inviting his hearers to come to him without conditions attached.  In this sense, he was new.  No one had ever met anyone like him before, so we aren’t surprised people were amazed.

            To demonstrate his authority, he gave the people in the synagogue a sample of what it means to teach with divine power.  He healed a man who was possessed by an evil spirit.  The Old Testament mentions the devil from time to time.  He appears in the Garden of Eden and the story of Job.  While he always acted against the interests of God’s people, he is not a dominant figure in the Old Testament. The situation was different at the time of Jesus’ ministry.  He came to defeat the devil, and so Satan was especially active in his attempts to attack the Savior.  He took possession of the souls of unsuspecting people.  He entered territory that Jesus claimed for himself – the hearts and minds of humanity, so he needed to be driven out.  Jesus accomplished this miracle in a public and unmistakable way.  The people who saw him drive out the evil spirit must have talked about it for days and days and brought other people to ask about Jesus. 

            Now, what does this incident from the first part of Jesus’ ministry have to do with us?

            For one thing, Jesus is still our teacher.  We receive his guidance in the gospels and the rest of the Bible, since he is the ultimate author of all our Scriptures.  Everything that exists has a spiritual aspect, since God created everything.  The world is filled with spiritual messages, but Jesus alone offers salvation through faith and deliverance from evil.  His love leads us through the tangle of messages that come our way to the truth.  He invites us through the Bible to rest in him; he brings us satisfaction and contentment that we belong to him and to no one else.  If we did our best to pay attention to his wisdom and instruction, we might find ourselves, like the people in Capernaum, truly amazed as his goodness to us.

            In the second place, this morning’s Gospel reminds us that there is a dimension to life that we can’t perceive with our ordinary minds.  Satan challenges God day in and day out; he uses the human race as the pawns in his game.  Paul wrote that we do not contend against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, the world rulers of this present darkness, and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.  Jesus fought the battle before us; he equips us to fight alongside him.  He gives us his armor to wear: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, together with faith, salvation, and his Word. The battle is ours to win, for Jesus promises to give us the victory.

            The incidents in this morning’s gospel point to another benefit – God’s intentions to restore.  My father used to say that he was born just before the start of the First World War, and the world hasn’t been right ever since.  The Bible teaches that the world hasn’t been right since the fall of Adam and Eve.  Thanks to God, the world keeps on going and there are many good things for you and me to take advantage of.  One of them is this: the expulsion of our first parents from the Garden of Eden prompted God to give them hope for a Messiah to come.  If the world were perfect day after day, we would have no need for a savior.  So in a sense, we are better off than Adam and Eve before the fall because the general human sinfulness has brought us to knowledge of Christ.  As a result, we live in certain, unshakeable hope of better days to come.  God promises that he will restore the conditions of the Garden of Eden in the next life, only the situation will be much better because we will reign with Christ as kings and queens of heaven, and we will sing wonderful anthems in the eternal heavenly chorus.  Jesus invites us to trust by faith that his invisible power is at work on our behalf.  He has put his brand on us and commands us to live in hope.

            The fourth benefit our Gospel text is that it invites us to think about our own lives.  What kind of people are we?  The complete revelation of Scripture is at our disposal.  Our savior has defeated the devil for us.  We are neither ignorant nor demon-possessed.  Our Savior’s blood washes us clean.  We live in faith and hope.  Jesus commands us – he gives us the opportunity to be like him.

            Generally speaking, imitation of Christ means two things – that we listen to his teachings so that we may live by faith day by day and also that we love God and our neighbors.  Our Lord doesn’t give us an easy path to follow, for Christian love can be difficult, especially if our neighbors make themselves unlovable.  But as our Lord carried on, so do we persist.  We bear our neighbors burdens; we offer Christian testimony; we learn the art of forgiveness, for this is the hallmark of every Christian.  Christian love means to want for others what the savior wants for them – salvation and life in the heavenly kingdom.

            When Jesus visited the synagogue in Capernaum, he had one thing in mind – the salvation of the worshipers there.  When he tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, he wants us to consider their eternal salvation.  We rejoice with them; we bring comfort; we speak the gospel.  We don’t whine or make unreasonable demands; we don’t indulge sinners in their folly or let them take the lead.  We don’t put our own salvation in danger.  Our task from God is to help him bring our neighbors into the kingdom.

            I don’t know what tests of Christian love you’ll face in the weeks ahead, but I do know that God will guide you.  When Jesus calls a person to represent him, he strengthens her or him.  He doesn’t call us to be doormats, who have no will of our own.  He protects us; he gives us a sense of detachment from the turmoil of the world.  He calls us to receive instruction and refreshment from his word, then he sends us out.

            It must have been a wonderful thing to hear the Lord in Capernaum.  The people there must have sensed that he knew them thoroughly and that he cared about them.  He knows us just as well; he cares about us no less.  Jesus’ love for us is truly amazing.  He is present with us as we hear his word this morning.  He will watch over us as we live with him in the days ahead.  And this is another benefit our Gospel text puts us in mind of: the presence of Jesus in our lives.  He chastens, he comforts; he guides and forgives.  He doesn’t put burdens on us but makes our days lighter.  We rejoice in his presence and ask him to be with us again and always.  In our Saviour’s Name we give thanks.    AMEN.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.  AMEN.                                                                                                  

                     

                                                                

Mark 1:14-20 The City of God andthe City of Earth

Grace and peace to you from him who is and who was and who is to come,

            St. Mark’s is the shortest Gospel.  Some experts say it was written before the other three.  Mark was a companion of Peter.  Church authorities tell us that he set down Peter’s teachings so that they wouldn’t be lost after the apostle died.  Mark’s Gospel moves along quickly.  It’s full of dramatic incidents and details that bring the story of Jesus to life in our minds.  One of the main ideas he puts before us is the kingdom of God.  One expert I consulted said that the kingdom of God is the most important idea in the New Testament.  Jesus brought the kingdom to earth when he was born in Bethlehem.  When he began his ministry after he was baptized, he offered the kingdom to everyone he came to – people in towns and cities, at work and in the marketplace.  He encouraged them to repent and believe in his gospel.  Later on in Mark, Jesus compared the kingdom to seed scattered on the ground that grows by itself and also to a very tiny mustard seed that grows to become the greatest of all shrubs.  The kingdom grows and grows – without human help and in spite of the obstacles we put in the way.

            Mark tells us about some of the blessings that come from God’s kingdom – healing, guidance for living, and knowledge of the truth about God.  He is righteous and holy, also loving, compassionate, and full of forgiveness.  Jesus conquered Satan on behalf of the kingdom.  The devil’s evil has no power over people who trust in God.  Believers like ourselves who live with God’s kingdom in our hearts also receive his promises about the future – steady, balanced lives full of confidence and trust while we’re on the earth now and the joys of eternity when Jesus returns in glory.

            The Kingdom of God is different from earthly kingdoms, which are only pale reflections of the one that God has established.  Earthly kingdoms lift up and bring down their rulers, while God is forever.  Earthly kingdoms are made up of important people and ordinary folks, but in God’s kingdom, the people share his privileges.  He looks on us as kings and queens under him, and when the kingdom is revealed for all to see, we will each wear crowns and there will be no subjects at all.

            Jesus wants everyone to crave his kingdom.  He told the people of his day and ours how to gain entry: repent and believe the good news.  Repentance means to be contrite before God, with sorrow in our hearts for our sins.  Repentance takes place in us every day.  Martin Luther wrote: “The old Adam in us, by daily contrition and repentance, should be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts.”

            Faith goes along with it and is not really separate.  We think of faith as having three aspects – first, we accept that the facts the Bible presents to us about our salvation are true.  Second, we attach ourselves to the facts and surrender ourselves to communion with God.  Third is confidence  – trust and certainty, total reliance on Christ, a sure hope in God of the salvation he offers us in Christ.  Jesus came into the world preaching the way to life with God.  His preaching placed men and women under the gospel, which surrounds us.  Its power touches our hearts so that we believe it, acknowledge it, tie ourselves to it with the help of the Holy Spirit, and have the confidence in it that it deserves.

            Repentance and faith keep us in the kingdom of God.  Whatever may happen in the world around us, we trust that our destiny is tied in with the heavenly city of Christ.  Whatever they may be, the events of the day interest us, but they don’t swallow us up.  Jesus came into the world with power and grace; he makes us children and heirs of his kingdom; we look forward to his coming again.  If daily happenings threaten to shake us up and disrupt our walk with God, we remember that God’s kingdom is nearby and that we are its citizens.  The king of heaven protects us from serious harm.

            Now, I want to give you an example from the early days of the church of how the kingdom of God works.  The Book of Acts tells how the gospel and the church spread through the old Roman Empire.  Later, an emperor named Constantine declared that Christianity would be the official religion of the empire.  There were constant border wars and in the year 410 barbarians from the north broke through the defenses and captured the city of Rome. It didn’t make any difference that the conquerors were Christians themselves. People everywhere were depressed and sorrowful.  Christians who had seen their faith become number one in the Empire were heart-broken.  Society had collapsed; the end of the world had arrived.  At the same time, people who held onto the old pagan ways blamed the Christian faith for the fall of Rome.  They said that Christian teaching about forgiveness and turning the other cheek had weakened the Roman character.

            What a mess!  Would church and society pull themselves together?  No single person   could solve the problem on his or her own, but one man made a contribution that Christians today still take seriously.  St. Augustine said that the viciousness and corruption of Rome’s leaders, not Christian teaching on forgiveness, was responsible for the fall of the Empire.  Many Romans had departed from the moral standards the founders of their society had set down, people who praised the virtue of forgiveness and taught that it was better to overlook injuries than to nurse grudges.  There was nothing in Christian teaching, he pointed out, that forbade citizens from paying taxes or fighting wars or serving the state enthusiastically.  He said Christians were the best citizens because the virtues they practiced helped to make the Empire strong and prosperous.  Christians are still the best citizens today. 

            Augustine consoled Christians who grieved over the fall of the Empire by telling the history of two kingdoms or two cities – the city of man and the city of God. Cain, the first-born son of Adam and Eve, founded the city of man.  Abel, the brother he killed out of envy, belonged to the city of God.  Every earthly kingdom is bound to fall, Augustine said, because it is based on sin, its people turn away from God.  The city of man worships false, wicked, proud gods – like money and power, say, while the true God inspires mankind with love and the desire to become members of his kingdom.  The two cities came into being because of two kinds of love.  Worldly society grows from a selfish love that dares to despise even God, whereas the city of God is filled with the kind of love that is ready even to trample on itself.  People in the city of man boast that they can get along by themselves; they seek the praise of men, both rulers and people are governed by the lust to dominate.  People in the city of God rely on the Lord.  All its citizens serve one another in charity, whether they have the responsibilities of office or serve modestly in obedience.

            The kingdom of saints doesn’t live by merely human wisdom but by a spirit that worships the true God and lives for the reward of holiness, which is that God may be all in all.  Augustine said that a shadow of this eternal, heavenly city has been cast on the earth, and this shadow is the church, which we rightly call the kingdom of God.

            The heavenly city and the earthly city have been intermingled and intertwined since the beginning of history and will be mixed together until the end of time.  The earthly city has made false gods for itself, based on its heart’s desire, out of any sources at all, including human beings – we may think of glamorous people in our day who claim the devotion of their followers, while the kingdom of God is a mere pilgrim on the earth which the true God created to be a sacrifice to him.

            Both cities make use of material things; the ills of everyday life strike them both.  They differ in what they believe in, what they hope for, and what they love.  Moreover, the heavenly city is under God’s protection.

            Augustine said that God made the universe with one purpose in mind – to create a holy society that will reach its fulfillment in heaven.  All of God’s actions point to this goal.  His rule over his kingdom explains the smallest event that happens in our lives.  He is drawing folks who trust him toward the heavenly city that is coming, where we will have an uninterrupted vision of God. The sting of life will be nothing more than a harmless memory.  No evil will touch us in heaven; no good will be out of reach.  Our lives will be one long hymn of praise extolling God, who will be all in all.  There will be no more weariness and no need.  We will spend all our energy on praise.  When we get to heaven, we will have the eternal stillness of rest in which we will see that God is God.  “Then we will be filled with him,” Augustine said, “when we will be all in all.  On that day, we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise, for this is to be the end without end of all our living, the kingdom without end, the real goal of our present lives.”

            So we live in two places at once,  southern Ontario and the great world around us, with all its strong points and weak points; we also live by faith in the kingdom of God, into which our  Savior calls us.  We take part in the events of everyday life with courage and faith, because we are children of God and citizens if his kingdom, of which the church is the earthly form.  Jesus renews us in the church.  Tired spirits grow young again in God’s kingdom.  Seeking minds find certainty and vigor.  Jesus gives us all the blessings of his kingdom; he promises to keep us in his city.  What a wonderful blessing.  All praise to God.  In his name we rejoice.  AMEN.

The peace of God which passes all understanding your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  AMEN.

John 1:43 - 51: Jesus Lifts up Nathaniel and Us

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ

            This morning’s gospel describes the beginning of the training in faith that Jesus gave to the apostle Nathaniel.  Martin Luther suggested in an old sermon that Nathaniel had been passing through a rough time and that Philip was concerned about his friend’s spiritual well-being – the same kind of concern we sometimes have for family or neighbors.  Philip knew that his own resources were limited, but thanks to Christ, he had something to offer his friend.  “Come and see.”  What could be simpler.  We may say the same to someone we have a concern for.  “Come to church with me.  Read part of the Gospels.  Ask Jesus for help.  Try it out for yourself.  Come and see.”  People appreciate friendly invitations.  It may be that our friend will respond with yes.

            Now, as concerned with Nathaniel as Philip was.  Jesus was even more concerned, and he has great power to help.  He knew that Nathaniel was a student of the Bible, and that he had a direct, straightforward character without twists or hidden motives.  He was the sort of man who lets you know what he’s thinking and feeling.  Jesus was pleased with his openness.

            The Lord knows everyone thoroughly; he cares about each one of us.  As Psalm 139 puts it, “O Lord, you searched me and you know me.”  Years ago, I used to walk past an antique shop in the city I come from and on the wall by the window was an old piece of embroidery that said, “Thou, Lord, seest me.”  I must have passed it hundreds of times on my way home from work.  That statement might be alarming to non-believers.  It’s a comfort for Christians.  Jesus sees us and knows us.  His love sustains us.  We repent of our sins, of course, but we do not run ourselves down or despair of life.  Jesus sees the best in us, as he saw the best in Nathaniel.  Picture him coming to you with words of encouragement and love, a promise to guide and sustain you and keep you safe with him until his return.

            So Jesus knew about Nathaniel’s spiritual condition.  When Nathaniel asked what good could come from Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, he meant that he didn’t know anything in the Scriptures that foretold the Messiah would come from there.  The way he expressed his thought showed as well that he was burnt out, discouraged.  Jesus knew this, too.  Nathaniel had had a lot of experience.  Life had knocked him around.  His hopes and dreams were tarnished.  He was suffering from the blues.  Jesus didn’t judge him.  He offered to be Nathaniel’s God.  He lifted him up.  He gave him something substantial that his thoughts and feelings could cling to.  He awakened Nathaniel’s zest for life by showing him that God intended to heal his wounded soul.

            Nathaniel wasn’t bitter or faithless.  He didn’t bear grudges or claim that the world was out to get him.  He believed as soon as Jesus came to him.  He accepted the Lord.  He trusted his promises.  He knew that he was in the presence of God and that God would make all things right.  “I know that my redeemer lives,” Job said in the middle of his terrible suffering.  This is what Nathaniel believed.  The Redeemer who would make all things right had come.

            The presence of Christ lifted him up.  Jesus knew there would be times when Nathaniel would not be so lifted up.  He would become discouraged again, and so Jesus gave him something to hold onto that would work for him no matter what was waiting for him on the road ahead.  He said that Nathaniel would see heaven’s angels ascending and descending on the Son of man.

            This is not the way we usually think or speak, and so we ask what Jesus meant.  He was referring to the time Jacob dreamed about a stairway between earth and heaven on which angels moved up and down.  The Lord stood at the top of the staircase and said to Jacob: “Your descendants will spread out to the west and the east.  I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.  I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”  What a wonderful gift to Jacob’s spirit.  Wherever he went, he could trust that the Lord would be right beside him, carrying him through the rough spots and rejoicing in his good days, and all the time he would be drawing him to an eternal destiny that Jacob could see only in part but that God could see clearly.

            When Jesus met Nathaniel, he applied the story of Jacob’s dream to himself and to Nathaniel.  Angels rose up from Jesus to Heaven and came down from heaven to him.  He would pull Nathaniel out of his slump and give him a new lease on life.  Martin Luther said that heaven was open to everyone when Christ became man.  It’s open now and will remain open.  It hasn’t been closed even for half a minute since Jesus baptism.  It will never be closed again, even though we perceive the gates of heaven by faith and not with our physical sight.  With the eyes of faith, God’s children see heaven opened, and by faith we hear the voice of our heavenly Father and see his holy angels ascending and descending on us.

            When we were baptized or when we receive the Lord’s Supper or take the forgiveness of sins into our hearts or read the Gospels or hear God’s word, heaven is open, and we know that God is speaking.  No matter what challenges may come at us, we hear by faith that Jesus is speaking to us through his Word.  We call to him.  We cry out with our hearts.  Heaven is open and it will stay open.

            Jesus teaches us that we live in two places at once – on the earth with its troubles and passing joys and in heaven, too, which is our true home.  Paul wrote that our lives are hidden in Christ.  We’re still on earth, of course, when suffering and death chasten us, while our true existence is with God, which we experience by prayer and faith, by reading Scriptures and in baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

            Jesus promised that Nathaniel would see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. These angels serve te members of God's kingdom.  We treasure assurances about their presence in our lives because the world is full of trouble.  The devil torments us and clouds our thinking; sins of the flesh vex us; unbelievers can bring us distress.  Even so, we joyfully thank God for bringing us into his kingdom and for his promise that we ourselves will see the angels of heaven.

            We lift our souls to Jesus.  He encourages us to remember that we aren’t eternally dependent on things of earth, for we are guests here.  Our true citizenship is with the kingdom of God, who won’t forget us.  His angels surround each of us, so that no permanent harm will come to us.  He sends his angels up and down to carry our prayers to him and to come back to us with the message that he has heard us and will fulfill our requests in his own way and in his own time.

            So when he went to Nathaniel, Jesus offered him hope instead of despair and fulness in the place of emptiness.  He wanted Nathaniel to trust that good things do exist in the world and they can even come from a place like Nazareth.

            Jesus wanted Nathaniel to have a deeper understanding of his nature.  You’ll remember that Nathaniel called him the Son of God and the King of Israel.  Both these statements are true.  Jesus also referred to himself as the Son of man, a title with a lot of mystery in it and that he used on eighty other occasions.  It calls our attention to Jesus’ human nature and to the fact that he has this nature the way no one else does.  He is truly a man and yet more than a man – the Son of the living God, infinitely greater than man, the word made flesh, who joined our human nature to his divine nature.  The name “Son of Man” reminds us of the humility that Jesus took on and also his greatness and power, which he especially showed when he rose from the grave and ascended into heaven to be with his Father forever with his human nature.

            As man, then, Jesus understood Nathaniel’s troubles and questions, and he understands the troubles and questions we all have.  As God, he has the power and wisdom and love to solve Nathaniel’s problems and the challenges the rest of us face.  He began by taking the sinfulness of the human race upon himself and dying in our place and then, as we said, rising again.

            Jesus is the kind of savior we need.  His Word is strong and powerful.  He protects his church and blesses us with an abundance of hope.  If anyone asks us, we tell them about the good things we receive from our Lord.  His Word opens the gates of heaven.  He brings us into the company of the angels.  He makes us fellow citizens with them of his kingdom.  Our faith, our love, our Christian ways of thinking and our prayers bring us into heaven already, where in times to come our praises of God will ring out in a heavenly chorus.  Our worship, our hymns, our Christian fellowship are hints now of what the life to come will be like.  We thank Jesus for preparing a place for us in his kingdom and knowing how to bring us there and keep us there.  In his Name we rejoice.  AMEN.  

The peace of God...

Mark 1:4 - 11 -- Coping with the January Blues

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

            We’re into a new year now.  Time for reflection and maybe new beginnings.   Some folks make resolutions at this time of year and others entertain general hopes they’ll do better than they have in the past.  Not a bad practice, because it shows we haven’t given up.  We want to keep on with life and meet its challenges.  Small improvements, one step at a time – that’s the way to avoid discouragement and reach your goal.

            Still, lots of people pass through a slump after the holidays are over.  Festivities have come to an end, and we look ahead to several weeks of winter.  This morning’s texts, with Jesus’ baptism at the center, encourage us to trust, however, that life is really a lot better than it looks during the dark days of the January blues.  A whole lot better.  God’s word invites us to hope that we will cope well with the dullness of the time and also keep whatever resolutions we make, especially the ones about moving closer to the Lord and sticking with him.   We’ll examine our text, then, in search of strength for our spirits at what can be a tricky time of year.

            For one thing, we have the example of John the Baptist.  Since he was human, he may at times have wanted to live like everyone else, easy-going, in touch with the world and its interesting bustle, but God gave him the work of preparing the people of Israel for Christ and along with it a highly disciplined, even narrow, way of life.  John obeyed willingly.  He wore simple but distinctive clothing; he followed a meager diet and ate what the poor people ate; he refrained from wine and other strong drink.  He lived in the desert, away from the comforts of city and town.

            We might think of John as a hermit who came out of the wilderness to bring us an important message about the frivolity of worldly living.  Some folks listened, because there is always a minority who are offended by waste and extravagance and always some who wait patiently and fervently for the Lord.  If John were with us today, he would tell us not to set our hearts on food or computers or clothes or the TV, but to focus on Jesus.  He might tell us that one of the reasons for the January blues is that the tinsel and colored lights and merriment of Christmas have been taken away from us and we now confront the dark, bare, chilly side of life.  He would advise us not to weaken or let sentiment get the best of us, but to be strong in the Lord.  John would call us to repent of our dependency on fleeting things and cling to Christ.

            Now, John is a special case.  He lived a more restricted life even than the Lord, who went into the world and mingled freely with people, so that he could reach sinners of all kinds, but God created one special messenger to teach the urgent need for repentance, for taking time to examine the way we live and with God’s help to make improvements.  It’s especially important that we keep away from the false gods of the age we live in. 

            John gives us, as well, an example of commitment to the Lord.  He lived as he preached.  His life shows us the power of faith to overcome obstacles and irritations whether they are big or little.  Paul wrote that God’s people have the mind of Christ.  He also said that we should not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may prove what the will of God is.  If we follow John’s example and fix our minds on Jesus, we have a good chance of beating the January downturn.

            The passage from Mark also refers to the Holy Spirit.  John said that Jesus would baptize with the Spirit and the Spirit appeared at Jesus’ baptism in the form of a dove.  The Spirit works behind the scenes, so to speak.  He doesn’t call attention to Himself.  He convicts us of our sins and brings us to faith in the gospel and keeps us there.  He enlightens us and forgives our sins every day.  He will raise us up when Jesus’ returns and give us eternal life along with all Christians.

            God’s Spirit is concerned about our lives right now.  We don’t see Him, but he works to keep us strong.  The Spirit comforted the disciples in stressful times and guided them to bring the Gospel to new believers by the hundreds and thousands.  Some Christian leaders predict a burst of evangelism in the next few decades.  The Lord uses Christians like ourselves to uphold his message.  The Spirit will comfort us during the gray days of winter.  He will draw us out of ourselves and keep us from exaggerating the importance of the January slump.  He will restore our joy and our zest for life – all for a purpose.  He wants us to be active in Jesus’ name, with lives that give him glory.  The Spirit sustains a unique community in the midst of the sinful world and he works to keep us from getting down in the dumps.  We ask him to use us and to guide us safely through the January blahs.

            Now, we spoke about beginnings a few moments ago.  The passage from Mark puts before us a significant beginning in the life of Christ.  The Holy Spirit anointed him at the time of his baptism for the great and difficult work that lay ahead of him.

            Some people enjoy their daily tasks very much.  For most of us, our work involves a fair amount of drudgery.  We sometimes approach our responsibilities with sinking hearts.  This has been part of the human story since the fall, when God decreed that Adam would have to earn his daily bread by the sweat of his brow.  The ground would produce thorns and thistles.  Labor of one kind or another is part of life for everyone except those who can’t take care of themselves, and I suppose this situation makes January that much harder to bear – weeks of unrelieved work and for most people vacation time is months away.

            Thinking about Jesus at the start of his public ministry, we might suppose that he looked ahead and saw all the troubles that would come to him, the numerous difficult people he would meet, misunderstanding and outright rejection from folks he loved and we wouldn’t blame him if he said, “What a life!  You want me to serve these people and even die for them?  And without any tangible reward?  No thank you.  I’ll open a grocery store instead.”  He looked more deeply at his work, though, and understood that he had a high calling.  He was prophet, priest, and king for all humanity. He knew what Isaiah said about him – that the HF would take hold of his hand as he brought justice to the nations and strengthened weak hearts with the gift of faith.  He would heal the sick and free captives.  He would open the eyes of the spiritually blind and free millions who were in bondage to sin.  Nations would put their hope in the ways he came to establish.  Difficult though his work would be, he had his Heavenly Father’s promise that he wouldn’t stumble or become discouraged.  He would complete the various parts of his task perfectly, though at times he would struggle with his flesh to keep on.  But he wouldn’t quit, and at the end he would receive the reward of an eternal community of millions of believers who would live with him in praise and thanksgiving.

            It’s the privilege of Christians, you and I, to know that in God’s eyes we don’t live under the curse of Adam, but in the grace of Christ.  No matter how humble our tasks may seem to ourselves, everything we do – apart from sin – fits in with God’s great plan.  We share in Jesus’ mission.  We serve; we heal; we spread the truth; we bring the light of Christ – and often without visible reward or recognition.  But the blessed Lord takes note and he has a reward in store for all his people.  He encourages us, then, to persist.  He enables us to overcome the January blues.  He says to us – find what is of me in your daily work: things will go well and you will be cheerful.  January will pass quickly.

            Now, we find one more note of encouragement in this morning’s gospel.  You probably noticed that his Heavenly Father said to Jesus: “You are my beloved Son.  I am well-pleased with you.”

            It’s a great thing to be loved by God, the one who created the heavens and the earth and who gives life to everything that lives.  It’s wonderful that God who knows everything and has all power in his hands and never fades or changes his mind loves the humanity that he created.  He does not abandon us to our sins but offers us a way back to him through his Son.  He uses our faith in Jesus to adopt us as his children, brothers and sisters of the Lord.  He loves us with the same kind of love that he loves Jesus – not sentimental or indulgent, fading in and out, pretending not to see our sins, but with an unshakeable purpose.  He brought us into his eternal kingdom, where we live now by faith.  Rough patches come our way, but he promises that no everlasting harm will befall us.

            As Jesus was baptized, so were we.  Baptism is our proof that can never be wiped way that the HF claims us as his own – our personal sign of his love.  During times of turbulence, we may sometimes wonder what has become of God.  We remember during those moments that God has put his brand on us in our baptisms.  He tests, he refines, he gives us a taste of our Lord’s suffering.  He also gives us faith and he  won’t let go.  He has plans for us and a purpose for our lives.  He encourages us to spread the light of Christ.  He will not let us falter or become discouraged.  What wonderful strength he gives to those who stick with him.  We discover that our powers surprise even ourselves.  So let winter do its worst.  Our spirits are ready and mighty in the Lord.  We will not only endure, we will carry on and prevail.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.  AMEN.