The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Mark, the fifth chapter:
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him …And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. ...And Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” …[Then Jesus said to the synagogue ruler,] “Do not fear; only believe.] [And Jesus] took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” …And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
I’ll be honest and tell you that as I prepared this sermon this week, I had in mind a much different direction for this text. I’m going to encourage you to go check that direction out. Go to our website, trinitybemidji.com, go to the staff page, look at my profile, go to my personal webpage, and there you’ll see all the sermons and Bible studies I’ve posted, and you can find Wednesday, the 24th’s Bible study on this text.
But, suffice it to say, this is the story of the two daughters, one of whom was suffering from a physical malady and, because of something she couldn’t help, she was shunned, turned away, kept away from the Word of God and the forgiveness that is offered freely to the world. The second daughter, the lovely little girl in her daddy’s eyes, had died. And our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Resurrection, heals them both. He saves them both. He brings them salvation, not just physical healing, but actual salvation that will bring them to the end of time, safe and secure in the arms of Jesus.
That’s what the sermon was going to be about. And, in a way, I suppose it is. But, now, this week, we have something else to talk about, too. I know many of you are upset over the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States. I know many of you worry that our highest court has legalized sin. I know that many of you are worried that this shall begin the persecution of the Church found in America. I know many of you worry that this is the end of America as we know it.
Perhaps it is. Perhaps it should be. Perhaps America should end. America is a country built by people that wiped out the indigenous population, reducing their numbers and their ways of life to basically nothing. America is a country that not only legalized racism in the buying and selling of people of color, but then continued to fight, continued to withhold rights, and continues to have giant race-related conflicts every year. Starting in 1969, America is a country that said to the world that it didn’t care about the stability of the family or what is best for its child-citizens, it would allow no-fault divorces for anyone who wants them. America is a country that in 1973 legalized abortion in possibly one of the worst-written laws ever created, until this week, and as such, has now murdered 55 million of its youngest, most vulnerable citizens. America is a country that continues today to sell other humans, trafficking between 14 and 17 million men, women, and children a year, and not just sold to work, but sold for their bodies.
America is not the shining beacon of hope we sometimes tend to think it is, and it never has been. America was, is, and always shall be a country that continues to fall into the pit of hell, because it was, is, and always shall be a country made up of sinners. Don’t get me wrong, America is a wonderful place to live, and there are many freedoms here that you will not find anywhere else in the world. But America is not our Lord, is not our God. America is not the salvation of the world. America is not going to last forever.
But our Jesus is. And that which He does on this earth is the only thing that will last forever. When Jesus absolves a sinner, that absolution is forever. When Jesus washes a sinner, that washing is forever. When Jesus feeds a sinner His body and blood, that food is forever. When Jesus died to save a sinner, that death is good forever. When Jesus was raised from the dead to promise sinners everlasting life, that promise is forever. When Jesus comes to judge the living and dead, when He comes to raise all the dead from their graves, when He comes to renew the entire world, bringing to it the paradise that He seen from the beginning, that will last forever and ever.
America is not Jesus. America is not even Christian. America will not be the place upon which our Lord builds eternity. America is not even the place where our Lord builds His Church. That is only one thing, the confession of Peter: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That is the only thing that is foundational for the Christian. For eternal life, for eternal security, for right doctrine, for right beliefs, we go, not to any president, not to the Supreme Court, not to the Senate or the House, but we go to Christ.
We give thanks to God for this Son, that He is the one who rules and reigns with all power and authority. Do you think that anything happened in the past week that is beyond the power of Jesus? The last month? The last year? The last decade? Century? Millennium? No. Our Lord has all power and all authority and He exercises it as He will. If this week’s ruling has happened, our Lord has allowed it. He is certainly not pleased by it, as He is never pleased by sin, but He has allowed it.
But why? Because, my friends, as it has been since the day our Lord ascended into heaven, the end is near. This is not some crazy-apocalyptic-guy-with-a-sign warning; it’s what our Lord says. Our Lord warns us that the days will continue to get darker with sin. And we have seen this, yes? In the Epistle of Jude, speaking of the ungodly, he says, “These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.” We have seen that this week, even as we have seen the way those who celebrate their seeming victory over the Truth have treated those who disagree with them.
But, this is not the only sign. In fact, the world isn’t even the only place where we may find the signs of the end, that time when Jesus will come back for you. John, in his first epistle, tells us of the antichrist, and how the antichrist comes from inside the Church. It’s true. Antichrist is not a political figure; Scripturally, antichrist sits in the Church. That is why our Lutheran doctrine points this out so effectively to say that any pastor, priest, or bishop who stands in the way of Christ’s lambs hearing His voice, that man is an antichrist. And we have many antichrists all through the Church. Most popular pastors, teachers, and leaders teach false doctrine, restricting the good that our Lord would have His people hear, namely that He has lived, died, and was resurrected to redeem them from sin, death, and the devil.
The world is telling us that this age is ending, and the Church is telling us that this age is ending. What shall we do? Shall we sit in the corner and cower? Shall we give in to the world and its sinful ways? Shall we strike off into the wilderness somewhere in the untouched reaches of the government and form a little commune just for us? Shall we stop teaching the Word of God in all of its truth and purity? Shall we stop administering the Lord’s Sacraments as He has given us to do?
If only we could do some miracles everything would be better. If only we could go out and be raising the dead everywhere. If only we could heal cancer with a touch. If only we could make the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see. If only we could solve all the world’s hunger problems by multiplying some food.
But we don’t, because the time of miracles to show forth the news of Jesus Christ is gone. We don’t expect those things any more. But, in today’s text, the people certainly were expecting miracles. Why do you think they thronged around Jesus? Why do you think they followed after Him? It because they had heard of all the miracles and signs that He had done and they wanted to see more.
But, Jesus didn’t care. For those who just want to see signs and wonders, and believe me, if we could do them today, people would gather from all over to see them done, for those who gather to see, there is no faith. There is no faith for the one who only wants to see the magic trick. Jesus, at the end of the passage today, tells the people who saw Him raise the dead girl not to tell anyone. It’d be another sign and wonder that they wanted to check out. No one saw the woman who bled for twelve years healed. No one was under her robes to check it out. The healings of these two daughters was all done in private. Jesus didn’t want anyone to see.
That’s because our Lord is humble, and He has given His Church humble things to do, to say, to preach, to teach, to receive, to believe. He has given us His Word in all of its truth, and His Sacraments in all of their glory. But neither of these things look like much. They are humble, they are low. They are down where we are, giving to us Christ wherever it is that we can be found. A miracle doesn’t create; a miracle only solidifies the faith of the one who has faith. We don’t do miracles or amazing things to convince people that our Lord’s Word is right and true. We let the Holy Spirit work and create faith in whoever He wills by the Holy Word of God.
So, what are we to do? Receive the Word wherever it can be found. Receive the Sacraments as often as they can be had. The Word teaches us about our Lord and what He has done for us. It teaches us that we are sinners who are in need of a great Savior, and we have Him in Jesus Christ, the perfect God and perfect man who came to save you from all of your sins and bring you to where He is. It teaches us how to live, what to believe, how we confess. And the Sacraments strengthen us. They tell us that we are forgiven, even when we fail in our God-given vocations. They give us the strength, the courage, the desire even to go and share our Jesus with as many as will listen.
Shouldn’t we want these more? Shouldn’t you desire to hear God’s Word more? Shouldn’t you desire to receive His Sacraments as often as you can? You should. And if we don’t, perhaps we need to do some introspective investigation and find out what that means we’re confessing about ourselves.
We shouldn’t hide in a commune, we shouldn’t cower. We should hear God’s Word faithfully and desire to be taught it. We shouldn’t seek signs and wonders from God. We should receive His gracious gifts of Absolution, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper and know that our God is with us. We shouldn’t look to America as the one great source and strength of the world. We should look to God as the one who has placed Christ upon the throne, ruling and reigning over all things.
Don’t fear, little flock of Christ, do not fear; only believe. This has been a bad week for the world, but it never a bad week for those who are in Christ. We have the signs and wonders of Christ in the humble things here, and that tells us that He is still Lord and God. And because He is, He has seen the end of all things. He has told us the end of all things. And the end of all things is very good.
John says in Revelation 21:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
On that day, Christ shall remove all sin from the world, whether it is sin committed, legislated, or ignored. And He will give to those who conquer, that means you, for you conquer through His life, death, and resurrection, all of which are given to you in the Sacraments, He will give a great heritage, greater than our country, a heritage of salvation. As the two daughters received, not just healing, but actual, real salvation, so, too, have you received this. You have everlasting life, my friends, in Christ forever, no matter what the world may do, may say, or may exact from you. Take they our life, goods, fame, child and wife; let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won. The kingdom ours remaineth. You have Christ now and always. Do not fear; only believe. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment