The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Mark, the sixth chapter:
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
A disobedient people is a faithless people. That’s the lesson for today. From the Old Testament to the New Testament to the Gospel reading, the them focuses on the call to be faithful by our Lord. What does it mean to be faithful? That is always the question, isn’t it?
One of the things I get asked most often at church is what are you going to do, Pastor, to turn things around? It’s an interesting question when people ask it. It’s interesting because, one, it reveals that person thinks things need to be turned around, and, two, usually the person asking wants to hear that you’re interested in their priorities. Mostly, when I hear this question, it’s because people are looking around and they’re not seeing the numbers here that they used to. They get upset, they get scared, they dump it all on the pastor. Mostly kidding. But, I’ll tell you this now, and for all time; I’ll give you my answer: I’m going to be faithful.
Let me just be honest. Especially in the context of bringing more people here, this means: I’m not going to worry, I’m not going to make program after program after program, I’m not going to keep trying the newest gimmicks or tactics to attract others. It means that I’m going to preach God’s Word in all its truthfulness and I’m going to administer the Sacraments rightly. It means that I’ll continue to serve and encourage others to serve, too. It means I’m going to be looking to the past much more than I am the future to determine what we need to do next. It means that I’m thinking as much of the bodies buried in our cemetery as I am the bodies being baptized. It means that I expect you to hold me to my ordination and installation vows, and I will hold you also to your promises. But mostly, to be faithful means the very first thing: I’m going to preach God’s Word and deliver His Sacraments, because that’s what Christ would have me do.
To really get at what it means to be faithful, we should figure out what faith is first. “Faithful” is an adjective; it describes something. But “faith” is a noun, it’s a thing. And every noun has its object, it refers back to something, it defines itself in relation to others. To call someone a mom means that there must be children, husband a wife, country a land mass and people. When we say faith, faith has an object: that object should be Christ. It’s not always, but it should be.
After all, I have faith that I’ll get home today after church. I have faith that the Packers will make it, at least, to the playoffs. I have faith that the SEC is going to be unfairly glorified in the NCAA. These things, I have faith in, but not the way I do my Jesus. In my Jesus, faith is a gift, it’s something that grasps onto what He gives me. Faith opens the hand to receive all the gifts from God. Faith is trust. Faith is like knowing that your dad is going to bring you up out of the water when you jump off the high dive at the pool. Faith is like knowing your mom isn’t going to poison you when she gives you a meal. Faith in Christ is trust in Him, it is to know that He is the Lord and to have His gifts do to you what they promise they will do.
To be faithful, then, is to utilize that faith. That doesn’t mean you go up to mountains and command them to move, it doesn’t mean you try to walk on water, raise the dead, heal the sick, walk through walls. To utilize your faith means that you are to have those gifts God in Christ gives to you and see how they then fill your life so that you may endure until the final day. To be faithful means to remember your Baptism, to repent and be absolved, to hear His Word, to eat and drink His body and blood. To be faithful means to set your mind on the things of God, particularly the things of Word and Sacrament, and not the gods or the course of this world.
The people of Jesus’ hometown couldn’t be faithful. They refused Him, the refused to see Him beyond what they thought they knew of Him. They would not receive His Word, they wouldn’t even receive His healing. He could do no mighty work there because they had no faith, they were full of unbelief. If Jesus came among us and told us that we would for sure go to heaven if we were all to go outside and start eating the grass like cows, wouldn’t we do it? Sure it would seem silly, but why not. If it’s Jesus and His promise, wouldn’t we do it? But, when Jesus says to the people Nazareth that they need only believe, they need only open their hand to receive, for the sake of unbelief, they would not.
Ezekiel was told that the people of Israel were rebellious. They would not believe in the Lord their God, they rejected His works and His ways and His messenger. But the truth of God’s Word yet was preached among them. It was the same with Jesus. He went to a stubborn and rebellious people. He even sent out His apostles to the people and gave them instructions if the people they saw were rebellious. Yet, when it comes to the Last Day, when Christ comes back to raise us to new life, when He comes back to judge the living and the dead, when the goats will have to answer for their rejection of Jesus, they will never be able to deny that a prophet of God was sent to them, that His Word was preached in its fullness and truth.
You see, it’s those who know that they’re sick that seek a doctor. It’s those who know they’re sinful that seek a savior. And Jesus comes to those who seek Him. His hometown friends and family couldn’t find seek Him, not just because they knew Him, but because they didn’t think they were that bad. They were faithful Jews, but not very faithful followers of God. They followed the rules, but they would not receive the Spirit. So it is today, that we find ourselves surrounded by the same.
We all know these people. Perhaps they’re even in our families; perhaps they’re even us… sometimes. We deny we’re that bad. We’re not poor. We’re not miserable. We’re not sinners. Among such as these, the good works of Jesus cannot be received. It’s not that He’s not doing them, it’s that there’s no reception. It’s like He hands you a Ming vase and you just let it fall out of your hands. The stuff He wants to give you finds no faith, and so it breaks upon you, and you’re judged by that.
The remedy to this is, surprisingly, not to beat people into submission. Whacking someone upside the head with a two-by-four does not bring someone into the faith. The remedy, the way to create faith, is the way that the Scriptures teach us: faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. How is this done? We go out in all ways, in all your goings, we create disciples by baptizing and teaching. We live our lives, we fulfill our vocations, we call our friends and family, we do that which needs to be done, we say that which needs to be said, that we might preach Christ into the lives of those who are hurting in sin. And when they will not receive it, we shake the dust off our feet, we warn them of the consequences of their choice to reject the Lord, the consequence being eternally dying.
I mean, I know we’re still trying to figure out everything that’s changed here at SPI over the last 20, 30 years. Regardless, we’ve had a decrease. Many of our friends have gone elsewhere, but I’d posit to say that the vast majority have fallen away from the faith. That’s what our Lord teaches us in His Word: many are called, few are chosen. And because of that, we’ve gone down numerically.
So, you want to know what we’re going to do here at SPI? We’re going to be faithful. You are going to have a faithful pastor who is going to preach God’s Word and deliver His Sacraments. You are going to make sure that I’m doing that. We’re going to look at how the things of Christ strengthen us in our vocations. That might mean special things at the church and school, and that’s good. But, we’re going to be faithful. Everything we do here is going to be in service to God’s Word and Sacrament, and the time which they may be found, the Divine Service. Everything else is gravy. And if God should provide growth for this congregation as we go out into the world, or even, and perhaps, most especially, come into this school, then praise be to God. And if God should continue to allow us to be faithful even as we decline in membership until it’s just you and me, then praise be to God.
If we are faithful, that is everything. Then, and only then, can we receive the gifts of God. And how do you know you are faithful? Are your ears open today? Then you are. Are you receiving Christ in His Word today? Then you are. Are you remembering your Baptism? Confessing your sin? Looking forward to the Eucharist? Then you are. My friends in Christ, you are faithfully hearing His Word and receiving Him; you shall stand with Him then on the Last Day, not answering for your sins, but hearing the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” You are faithful; you are His. 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.
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