"Death Put on Notice" Roger Topping Funeral Sermon, (John 11:25-27, Psalm 25, 1 Cor. 15) Feb '15

1.      Dear family and friends of Roger.  Grace, to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  May the God of all hope fill you with His comfort and peace through the power of His Holy Spirit as your mourn Roger’s death at this time.

2.      Today we are here to remember our beloved brother in Christ, Roger Topping.  Many of us gathered here today probably have some memories of Roger.  Along with his wife Karen, Roger was known for his love of horses and dogs.  Roger served his country through the National Guard for the State of Wisconsin.  He also worked many long years for the Waupaca County Post as a Lithographer.   He was married to his beloved wife Karen for 43 years and their marriage was blessed with three boys.  Roger was in a lot of pain near the end of his life, but God gave him comfort by the Gospel through the Word of Christ that was preached to Him from early in his life at Trinity Lutheran Church of Waupaca.  The place where his family brought him to learn more about Jesus and to believe in Him as his Lord and Savior from sin, death, and the power of the devil. 

3.      Funerals are terrible affairs.  Losing a loved one invokes sorrow that is rarely felt in life.  Such is the case at Lazarus’s funeral here in John 11.  Lazarus’ sisters, Mary & Martha, are grieving deeply, as those gathered here today for Roger are.  And like at most funerals, many come “to console them concerning their brother” (vs. 19).  I can only imagine what was said.  Maybe it was the standard funeral fare.  “He’s in a better place now,” one might have said.  Or “At least he’s not in pain anymore.”  But such statements still do little to stop the sorrow that the death of our loved one can bring.

4.      Then Martha spots the one man who could have brought real relief to her grief.  Comfing down the road, Martha sees Jesus.  And Martha decides she needs to have a word with Jesus concerning His absence in their time of need.  So she rushes to Jesus and says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (vs. 21).  Jesus responds, “Your brother will rise again,” (vs. 23).  “Oh great,” Martha must have been thinking, “another pious platitude.” And so she answers, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the Last Day” (vs. 23).

5.      One pious platitude deserves another.  Jesus speaks of the resurrection of Lazarus and Martha responds, “Yes, yes, that fine and good.  He’ll rise again on the Last Day.  Everyone knows that.  That’s what I learned in confirmation class.  But that doesn’t help me now.”  Martha misunderstands Jesus.  Jesus is not in the business of giving out trite statements that might be helpful someday.  Jesus continues, “I am the resurrection and the life” (vs. 25).  Jesus takes the future tense promise of the Last Day’s resurrection and brings it into the present:  “I am the resurrection and the Life.  Death has been put on notice.   Jesus says, I am here to bring life!”

6.      These words of Jesus that He is the resurrection and the life must have given Roger comfort in the midst of the pain he experienced near the end of his life.  Not just the pain of the death of his beloved wife, Karen, a few months ago, but also the pain of his body failing in health.  But, the Psalmist reminds us in Psalm 25:16-18, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.  The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.  Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.”  Like Roger near the end of his life, and Mary and Martha the sisters of Lazarus who had died here in chapter 11 of John’s Gospel, the world is full of people who are in suffering and pain.  Because of all of this suffering and pain, how could Roger and us who are gathered here today in grief over Roger’s death, know that God cares about us, much less looks upon us.

7.      In Isaiah 43:1 the Lord says, “I have called you by name, you are Mine.”   By name the Lord called Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jeremiah, Mary & Joseph, the disciples, Mary Magdalene, and our beloved friend, Roger, and Jesus stayed by them all their days.  Likewise, God promises His presence to every troubled and distressed soul.  He promises us comfort in the midst of our grief through the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead for the forgiveness of our sins.

8.      But, some of us may wonder, “Shouldn’t I hide from God because of all my rebellious thoughts, all my sins?”  If it were not for Jesus and His sacrificial love on the cross, you, me, Roger, and all of humanity, would tremble in fear in God’s presence, for we are unholy because of our sins and our shame.  But God’s Son Jesus died and unholy and shameful death, becoming sin for us, that we may be holy and whole in Him.  Jesus touches us with His healing hand, He draws us to His loving hearth, and He blots out all our sins. 

9.      Even if the pain continues, like the pain over Roger’s death and the recent death of his wife Karen as well, our burden is made lighter because we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  His love and power will see us through every difficulty and bring us a ray of light even in the darkest night.  And so, we can rest and sleep knowing that He’s watching over us with His tender care every hour of every day.  We can rest easy because Jesus has put death on notice.

10.  When I was in grade school, if one of us misbehaved my teacher would write his or her name on the board to put that student on notice that a behavior needed correction.  If the bad behavior continued, my teacher would add check marks behind that name.  One check marked equaled a missed recess.  Two check marks equaled staying after class.  And after three check marks, you were out to the principal’s office.

11.  In John 11, death is put on notice.  And later, after three days, it is out.  Jesus conquers death by His resurrection.  As Paul writes, “Death is swallowed up in victory…  Thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (1 Cor. 15:54, 57)!  This is where we draw our comfort and strength through the promise of eternal life that we have through our Lord Jesus that our beloved brother in Christ Roger has received through faith in Him.  Through Jesus we will see our dear brother Roger and all the saints who have gone before us in the Christian faith again.  I pray that these words of the Lord may encourage you in your Christian faith and also in your hope that we will all be together with the Lord Jesus forever.  Amen.      

 

“The Greatest of These Is Love” 10 Commandments, Exodus 20.1–17, Feb. ’15, Sermon 1 Lenten Midweek

1.                         Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Have you ever thought, if this is Luther’s Small Catechism, then there must be Luther’s Large Catechism? You’re right; there is. And if the Small or Large Catechism or both of them would be unfamiliar to you our Lenten series this year should help. Our forty-day tour is entitled “Taking On Something for Lent: Luther’s Catechisms.”  It was Pastor Luther’s love for the people that motivated him to write these catechisms. As he visited congregations he was dismayed to find that people who called themselves Christians didn’t know God’s Word. They didn’t know the 10 Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and even the Apostles’ Creed.

2.                        Martin Luther desperately wanted people to understand what God had done for them in Jesus Christ. Through the catechisms, they would begin to learn God’s Word. They would learn the sternness of God’s commands and the sweetness of forgiveness. And even today, one of the best ways to learn what’s taught in the Bible is to learn Luther’s Small Catechism.

3.                        Lent is a time for spiritual discipline. Often people will choose to give something up for Lent as a spiritual discipline. Instead, this Lent, you may want to take on something. Let me suggest a spiritual discipline for you to consider: Read from Luther’s Small Catechism every day and read through Luther’s Large Catechism once. This will make the Lenten season a blessing for you. Okay? If you don’t have a Small or Large Catechism, I as your Pastor will be sure to get you one so that you can read them.  Let’s begin.

4.                        Everybody wants to find love. And, with good reason, right? In 1 Cor 13:13, the apostle Paul writes, “Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” No question—love has a lot going for it. And 1 Corinthians 13 is a great place to go looking for love. Remember? Paul has those beautiful words about how love is patient and kind; love doesn’t envy or boast; it isn’t arrogant or rude. If we want to find love, we can learn much from this chapter.  But I want to suggest a better starting point to learn about love. How about God’s Law in the Ten Commandments? Hmm. Now that may not sound so lovely. The Law. The 10 Commandments. All the fuzzy feelings people get when you say “love” can disappear when you say “10 Commandments.” “Thou shalt”—you better do it! “Thou shalt not.” Don’t you dare! Where’s the love in that?

5.                        Jesus saw God’s love in the 10 Commandments. In Matthew 22, He summarized all the Commandments with these words: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (vv 37–40).  The first three commandments (no other gods, not taking God’s name in vain, remembering the Sabbath Day) tell you that you are to love God. How? With all your heart, soul, and mind. The last seven commandments tell you to love your neighbor as yourself. Love defines how we are to relate to one another. If we love our neighbors—our father and mother—we’re going to honor them (the Fourth Commandment). If we love our neighbors, we’re neither going to hurt nor harm them (the Fifth). We’re not going to steal from them (the Seventh). We’re not going to take their spouses or their good names (the Sixth and Eighth Commandments). We’re not going to covet their things that we can’t rightfully have from them (the Ninth and Tenth Commandments). This is the greatest way to live. This is love.

6.                        Martin Luther captured Jesus’ teaching quite well in the Small Catechism, where we read the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” If you can get that down, you’ve got it made! If you could “fear, love, and trust in God above all things,” you wouldn’t need the rest of the Bible! But that’s an extremely big “if.”  In fact, failing to love God above all things is the most common sin. In the Large Catechism, Luther points out: “Many a person thinks that he has God and everything in abundance when he has money and possessions. He trusts in them and boasts about them with such firmness and assurance as to care for no one. ‘Mammon’ (i.e., money and possessions) . . . is the most common idol on earth. He who has money and possessions feels secure . . . and is joyful and undismayed as though he were sitting in the midst of Paradise” (LC I 5–7). When I see beautiful homes on TV and the wonderful locations where some people live, I can understand that the love of money often pushes God off his throne. It’s easy to think, “If I only had a little more money, I could live like those people. It would be heaven on earth.”

7.                        Lest we get smug while looking at the wealthy, Luther goes on to warn, “On the other hand, he who has no money doubts and is despondent, as though he knew no God. For very few people can be found who are of good cheer and who neither mourn nor complain if they lack Mammon. This care and desire for money sticks and clings to our nature, right up to the grave” (LC I 8–9). The love of money is just one way of having another god. For some, it’s the desire for fame. For others, it’s love of friends. You name it. All kinds of things might push God aside. This is nothing new. Whenever we love, trust, or fear something more than God, we knock God off his throne.

8.                          So where’s the love? If anything, the 10 Commandments show us that it’s misplaced. We don’t love God or neighbor as we should. The 10 Commandments force you to enter Lent understanding exactly what God’s Law says about you. They pierce your heart and conscience in the same way that they pierce mine when I read them. They declare us to be sinners. For I don’t love God with all my heart and soul and mind; neither do you. It’s this sin that leads to death, to eternal death and abandonment by God. So where’s love in the Ten Commandments?

9.                        Love can only really be found in the Ten Commandments when not God’s Law but his Gospel comes along and tells us who loves according to the Commandments.  God has not abandoned us. In our Old Testament Reading, we hear the words of Joel: “ ‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.’ Return to the Lord your God” (Joel 2:12–13). Although we (just as God’s people of old) can’t keep even the First Commandment, God tenderly invites us to return for he is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Ex 34:6). In love God gave us his Law in the Ten Commandments so that we would see our sin and our need for a savior. And Where We Do Not Love, God Does!

10.                    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). God loved you in your sin, and when the fullness of time had come, he “sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4–5).  Jesus lived under the 10 Commandments just as we do. He understood and explained them better than ever before. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that our heavenly Father requires perfection (Mt 5:48). Although you and I fail miserably in every attempt to love perfectly as the 10 Commandments demand, Jesus loves perfectly as God’s Law requires. Still, He was tempted just as we are but never sinned (Heb 4:15).  Even though Jesus never sinned, He died on the cross for your sins and for the sins of the whole world (1 Cor 15:3). God’s ultimate goal for us this Lent is that we would return to the Lord and fall on our knees before the cross and say to our Savior, “Lord, have mercy.”

11.                    The work of the 10 Commandments is to help us see our sin, to drive us to our knees before the cross of Jesus, and there receive forgiveness, life, and salvation through faith. This is a wonderful thing. The beauty of Christ’s love and sacrifice is something that we can never fully grasp in this life. It makes me want to say, “Thank you, Jesus, for your death, your resurrection, forgiveness, and eternal life. What can I do for you? Not to earn my way to heaven, but to say thank you?” And that little word love returns. Jesus says, “If you love me . . .”—Can you fill in the blank?—“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15).

12.                    Oh! That’s how Christians can use the 10 Commandments—to show our love and thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for us on the cross. This is why we worship God and serve him only. This is why we call on his name with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. This is why we come to worship on Sunday. This is why we honor our mother and father. This is why we help people who are in need and are hurting. This is why we’re careful not to take that which doesn’t belong to us, or even think about taking it. This is why we’ll respect another’s marriage as we respect our own. This is why we help people protect their good names. This is why we rejoice when others may have more than we have. All because we love Jesus for what He’s done for us in love.  This is what Lent is all about: Jesus. This is what love is all about: Jesus loving. And as we take on Luther’s catechisms this Lenten season, we’ll discover that this is what they’re all about: Jesus. Amen.

 

“In His Glory” Mark 9.2-9, Transfiguration Sunday, Feb. ’15 Series B

 

1.             Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Somebody is “in his glory” when he’s at his best: when he most clearly shows who he is. When do you think your mother is most in her glory? Let me give you two choices. Is Mom most in her glory when she’s all pretty—ready to go out to a nice dinner? Or when it’s the middle of the night and her hair is all messed up, but she’s taking care of you because you’re sick? It’s nice that my mother is pretty, but I’ll never forget how she took care of me when I was sick. That’s when she showed how much she loves me. That’s when she was in her glory.  The message from God’s Word this morning looks to the Transfiguration of Jesus in Mark 9:2-9 and is entitled, “In His Glory,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.             Jesus says right after Judas leaves to betray him in John 13:31, “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” Jesus, the Son of Man, is glorified, because he’s going to be arrested, suffer, die, and rise for you, me and all people. Jesus’ glory is his cross. Even in the radiant light of the transfiguration, the cross is where Jesus is at his best—where he most clearly shows that he loves you and bears the punishment we deserve in order to save us. Jesus died on the cross to forgive and save you. Jesus died on the cross because he loves you and everyone.
3.             Imagine being in Peter, James, and John’s shoes. For a long time, they’d seen Jesus do wondrous things. They’d seen such glory! They’d seen Jesus heal many, cast out demons, feed a couple of huge crowds, walk on water, still a storm, raise Jairus’ daughter from death, make blind eyes see. They’d heard his clear and deep teaching. They’d come to believe that he is Christ, the Son of God. But now for the last six days, they’ve been in shock, because he began to teach them, plainly.  Mark 8:31 says, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Peter objected. Jesus called Peter “Satan.” Then the transfiguration! Divine light. Such glory! Talk of suffering and death had to be a big misunderstanding right?
4.             No, the purpose of the transfiguration was to confirm what Jesus had just told them, that His Greatest Glory Is His Sacrifice for You.  The Lord gives a sight of his glory a foreshadowing of his sacrifice.  We live in a broken world.  We see the wrongs and pains of others and are struck by our inability to solve the world’s problems.  In the fading glory of Moses’ face, it could be seen that no one can keep the glory of God’s Law as the Apostle Paul speaks about in 2 Cor. 3.  In the mirror of God’s Law, given in a cloud of glory on Mount Sinai, we see our sinfulness. 
5.             In the transfiguration, Jesus appears in glory as God’s Son, the coming sacrifice.  Mark 9:2-4 says, “²And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.”  Here Jesus is transfigured in divine light and Moses and Elijah point to Jesus—of whom all the prophets wrote.  But, Moses and Elijah are fully alive. How so? Because the one with whom they stand will go into death to bring us through to life—a foreshadowing of his sacrifice.
6.             The Lord gives a word of glory, a conversation of his sacrifice.  Peter wants this beautiful scene, rather than the frightening one to follow.  Mark 9:5-6 says, “⁵And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.    A week before, Peter had been afraid and confused after he heard Jesus explain his need to suffer, die, and rise again.”  Now Peter was confused after hearing the words of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah as they talk about Jesus’ “departure.” That was nothing other than his trip to Jerusalem to sacrifice himself on the cross.  Instead of such talk, Peter offers to build tents.
7.             The cloud of God’s presence surrounds the scene and gives critical words in Mark 9:7 where God says, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”  The cloud of glory had appeared many times in the Old Testament. It marked God’s presence.  The Father proclaims again that Jesus is the beloved, eternal Son sent to save all. In answer to Peter’s confusion, he says, “Listen to him.” Jesus knows what he’s talking about when he says he’s going to the cross!  Peter later reflected on the transfiguration as confirmation that Scripture is light and truth in darkness in 2 Pet 1:17–21.  Yes, it’s all about Christ’s sacrifice.
8.             Week after week, our Lord shares the same glory with us here.  The sights and sounds of his sacrifice.  We come here sometimes confused and afraid after a tough week.  We’ve been shocked by terrible news.  We’ve surprised ourselves with our sins and the good we’ve left undone.  Here the Lord gives us a sight of his glory, a glimpse of his sacrifice.  By showing us Moses and Elijah with Jesus, he gives us a glimpse of the heavenly glory his sacrifice has already given those who have gone before in faith, giving us also hope and encouragement. He brings us into their presence, for they are with him. Heb 12:22–24 says, “²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
9.             Here the Lord gives us words of his glory, words of his sacrifice.  He teaches us his plan to rescue us through Jesus’ cross and resurrection.  As Moses and Elijah pointed to Christ, so every reading, hymn, and word of the service points us to Christ and him crucified.  It is Jesus we listen to as the pastor follows Paul’s course.  Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:2, “We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” Paul would know nothing among us but Christ sacrificed for us (1 Cor 2:2).
10.             “Listen to him.” Listen to Jesus, who left behind the glory he deserved for the greater glory of delivering us from the eternal death we deserved. He came down from the mount of light to Mount Calvary to die in darkness. He left the joyful company of Moses and Elijah to be abandoned by all in our place. He suffered all our darkness to bring us through his resurrection to light forever. See “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). Transfigured, crucified, and risen for you and for all. There is no greater glory!  Amen.

 

 

 

“The Heart of Jesus’ Mission” Mark 1.29-39, Epiphany 5B, Feb. ’15

 

 1.      Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message today this 5^th Sunday after Epiphany is taken from Mark 1:29-39.  The message is entitled, “The Heart of Jesus’ Mission,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.      A little boy returned from his first day at school with a request from the teacher. She asked the children to bring a copy of their birth certificate to school to be sure their records were accurate. Although she explained what a certificate was, it was a pretty big word for the little guy to remember. But he understood the idea. Bouncing into the house with his important message, he shouted, “Mom, tomorrow I have to take my excuse for being born.” God has purposes, not excuses. A purpose for sending his Son, a purpose for calling us to faith, and a purpose for keeping us in faith, we see this today in Mark 1:29-39.

3.      Here we see that Jesus’ first day of public ministry—the Sabbath—is a busy one. Given the endless series of things to which Jesus attends, we sometimes imagine that He’s too busy for us and our problems. But Jesus knows and cares for each of us individually. He actually commands us to lay all our needs before Him and stands ever willing and able to help us.  Jesus shows us the heart of His mission today in Mark’s Gospel.  His purpose for coming was to seek and save the lost, to heal us from our sickness of sin through the preaching of the forgiveness of sins. 

4.      Mark 1:29-39 says, “29And immediately [Jesus] left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.  32That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.  35And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.”

5.      Although Jesus performed many great miracles, he didn’t come primarily as a miracle worker. Although he healed many sick people, he was not primarily a healer. Although he cast out many demons, he did not come primarily as an exorcist. No, Jesus’ mission was to redeem the world, to seek and to save what was lost. No wonder he felt such a need to go on and to share that message with more people. After all, his message was nothing less than the message of eternal life through him.  Along with His suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus impacts the world by the preaching of His Word.  This is the heart of Jesus’ mission.

6.      But, where did Jesus’ preaching fit into his total ministry?  The Gospel of Mark tells us.  Jesus has been at the synagogue at Capernaum.  After worship, He enters into the house of Peter and Andrew with James and John.  Jesus finds Peter’s mother-in-law stricken with a fever.  He lifts her up, and the fever leaves her and she begins serving them.  Then at sundown, after the Sabbath ends, Jesus, receives crowds who continually bring those afflicted by illness and demons.  He heals many and casts out demons.

7.      Then Mark shows us our Lord Jesus early in the morning.  He leaves the disciples to pray in solitude.  He’s hunted down by the disciples.  He then announces the heart and purpose of His mission.  Let’s go to neighboring towns so that I might proclaim the kingdom of God there too.  That’s why I came here, Jesus says!

8.      But, what does Christ’s preaching of the Word mean for us?  Jesus’ healing . . . is, a proof of his preaching.  Through His Holy Word, Jesus heals our minds, bodies, and souls.  He shows that he is the ultimate Preacher, and Prophet.  Mark shows us that Jesus’ preaching . . .  is eternally genuine, true, and omnipotent.  Jesus heals our greatest illnesses—rejection of his will, unbelief, sin, and death.  This is just as impactful for our world today as it was when Jesus himself spoke.

9.      Here in Mark 1:29-39 we are reminded that the miracles of Jesus were viewed by the Savior primarily as ways to emphasize and substantiate his preaching. It was the preaching—the message of forgiveness through his work as the Messiah—that was always most important. Better than anyone else, he knew that the miracle of bringing a sinner to faith was more important than even the most dramatic healing or exorcism.

10.  And, how does Jesus’ preaching and healing, the heart of his mission, continue to impact us today? Like Peter’s mother-in-law, we are touched by Jesus in order to serve out of faith and love.  Like the disciples, we’re invited to hunt down Jesus at Bible studies, devotions, in Holy Communion, in Confession and Absolution.  Like the crowds, we may always bring others to be spiritually healed by his touch and preaching—at worship, Bible studies, Baptism, Holy Communion.

11.  God empowers believers (his Church) to respond by the Holy Spirit through his Word.  The Holy Spirit empowers believers to continue the preaching of Christ Jesus (be about the mission of the Church).  By the same Word we preach, Christ enables us to go and make disciples of all nations.  The Word of Christ validates our forgiving the sins of repentant sinners.  Thus, through our preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments, Jesus continues to heal the sick of soul.

12.  Mark also reminds us that although Jesus has much more to do among the people of Capernaum, He makes time for private devotion and then insists on moving on to visit other towns and villages. His steadfast obedience to the right priorities stands in sharp contrast with our own tendency to lose focus, allow others to set our agenda, and put lesser things above what is most important. Given our weaknesses, it’s reassuring that Jesus keeps things straight.  He sticks to the heart of his mission. Jesus’ highest goal was, and is, to fulfill the Father’s command that He save the lost.

13.  Jesus came to preach Good News, this is at the heart of His mission, and Jesus still does that through preachers and his body of believers, the Church.  Amen.  Please pray with me.  Lord, teach us to turn to You in every need. Then give us grateful hearts so that, after receiving Your kindness and healing, we thank and serve You.  Preserve us, O Lord, from misplaced priorities. Keep us focused on Your Gospel, which is the heart of Your mission, so that we may know and do what is pleasing in Your sight. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Knowledge Puffs Up, but Love Builds Up” Mark 1:21-28, Genesis 11 & 1 Cor. 8, Lutheran School Teacher In Service @ Christ West Bloomfield, WI

 

1.      In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  We’re in a blog world where every person has a voice and an opportunity to be heard. Finding information today is easy. Discerning the quality of information isn’t easy, that’s what we’re trying to teach our children in the classroom, how to use proper discernment with information using technology. The disciples recognized the authority of Jesus teaching, so did the demons in the healing miracle here in Mark 1:21-28.  Mark 1:22 says, “And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”  Study this Jesus and His message of salvation recorded in the Bible and you too will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!  The Scripture readings we heard a moment ago  might help us in understanding how we might use technology as Christians.

2.      Sometimes as Christians the devil often tempts us to think that we’re better than other people because we’re more devout in our Christian living than those around us.  Maybe we think that we’re better than someone else because we’re not as lazy as they are or because we know more than they do.  There are many times in our lives that we may feel we’re superior to those around us.  But, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tells us that as Christians we’re not to think of ourselves more highly than those around us.  He writes in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3, “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.”

3.      Paul was speaking to the congregation in Corinth and many of them had just converted to Christianity from their pagan beliefs.  They didn’t feel right in eating meat that had once been used for sacrificing to the idols they had once worshiped.  These Corinthians were worried about purchasing some of this sacrificial meat in the marketplace and offending the one true God by eating it.  It’s understandable that some Corinthian Christians who were recently rescued from idolatry would feel uncomfortable about contact with any aspect or reminder of idol worship.  The strong Christians in Corinth knew that God didn’t forbid the eating of the meat that was bought in the marketplace, because it didn’t belong to an idol, but to the Lord. 

4.      It’s here that Paul is speaking to the stronger Christians.  Sometimes knowledge or pride can stand in the way of our relationships.  As in the parable of the Pharisee and Publican, when the Pharisee thought he was better than “sinners” like the Publican.  Those who “know” look down on those who don’t know.  Those who are proud of their superior knowledge lack love for those who have less knowledge.  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.  The strong Christians in Corinth were forgetting that love is more important than knowledge.  This is how the Lord would have us live our lives.  He wouldn’t want us to offend anyone in our Christian walk, causing anyone to sin or fall away from the faith.  That’s why He wants us to live our lives carefully following Him in all that we do and making sure that we don’t harm anyone’s conscience, especially those who are new Christians. 

5.      Maybe some of your students are dealing with a bit of pride in being able to use technology better than their fellow classmates.  They might need to hear the words of St. Paul that, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”  They also might need to be reminded of what happened at the Tower of Babel when the Lord brought confusion to people’s languages in Genesis 11 when the people who were building the tower were trying to “make a name for themselves.”  It’s true that with every new invention comes gain and loss.  Such as we can see with Facebook, Twitter, the internet, tablets, and smartphones. There are advantages to having access to such an incredibly rich store of information, but speaking long before there was Twitter or Google, Malcolm Muggeridge saw the problem of having too much information where, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”  Muggeridge writes, “Accumulating knowledge is a form of avarice & greed and lends itself to another version of the Midas story,” he wrote. “Man is so avid for knowledge that everything he touches turns to facts; his faith becomes theology, his love becomes lechery, his wisdom becomes science.  Pursuing meaning, he ignores truth.” In other words, Muggeridge saw that it was possible to see so many news clips that we’re no longer seeing and to hear so many sound-bites that we’re no longer hearing.  King Solomon echoes these words when he writes in Eccl. 12: ¹² My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”   In fact, the whole book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that our lives remain empty, void, & meaningless if God isn’t at the center and put first, that includes our acquiring of knowledge through technology, what does Scripture say in light of this subject or that subject???

6.      Speaking centuries before Muggeridge, the prophet Isaiah and our Lord Jesus described their audiences quite similarly. “This is why I speak to them in parables,” said Jesus, “because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand'” (cf. Matthew 13:13, Isaiah 6:9-10).  We’re living in a time that’s complicated by towering opportunities of knowledge, news clips, sound bites, blogs, and editorials, all piled so high that we can’t see around our fortresses of facts. It’s true, we as human beings have a skill in building towers of Babel, built to see beyond ourselves but we end up blocking our vision of what really matters.

7.      We need to teach our students that instead of building towers of knowledge that make names for ourselves, we need to hear God’s vision and voice.  Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Far better than a world of mere facts is a world made visible by the Word of God & His Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

8.      In Mark 1:21–28 Jesus’ authoritative teaching and power over the unclean spirits creates a stir among the people in the early days of His ministry in Galilee. Today, we often see the same thing. People continue to be interested in and even amazed by Jesus’ teaching, and yet many fail to depend on Him for life and salvation through His death on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins and His resurrection from the dead.  We need to teach our children to move beyond just acquiring knowledge and facts through technology.  We’re working to show them that it’s through God’s Word and the Holy Spirit that we’re brought into saving faith and life.  And to base their life and faith on God’s Word as it points them to Jesus as their Savior and not in the wonders of technology.  Yes, technology is useful and it can help us in the day to day activities of our lives, but it isn’t, “the be all, end all” to life.  We don’t want it to become a false god to our children.

9.      May we help our students learn to see the power of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, that because Jesus lives we too shall live.  The gift of their baptism, that they are washed, sanctified and made holy through water and the Word of God, and the gift of the Lord’s Supper, His body and blood given and shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins.  May we help our students to see that Jesus is our ladder & tower to heaven, He’s the way, the truth, and the life.    Amen.  Prayer:  Dear Jesus, So often I fail to search your Word and rest on your authority. Give me eyes to see your truth and a heart that submits to your will.  And Jesus, move us to an unquestioning trust and mature faith in You. By the power of Your Word and Spirit, make us steadfast in the hope of glory. Amen.

 

“The Authority of Jesus” (Mark 1:21–28) 4th Sunday after Epiphany, Jan. ’12 Series B

1.                  Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word this 4^th Sunday after the Epiphany comes to us from Mark 1:21-28.  In our text from Mark’s Gospel this morning we see that the LORD’s promise to Moses that He would raise up “a Prophet” like him came true in the person and work of Jesus.  But, Jesus is more than a prophet of the Scriptures. He’s the Word of God in human flesh, and He speaks “a new teaching with authority” (Mark 1:22, 27). He enters the synagogue of His Church and provides true Sabbath rest, using His authority to cast out even demons (Mark 1:21–27). By His Word of the Cross He removes the accusations of the law and of the devil, and He cleanses our consciences before God the Father.  The message from God’s Word this morning is entitled, “The Authority of Jesus,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                  My favorite quote from Martin Luther comes from the preface to the Large Catechism where Luther writes, “Therefore, I again beg all Christians—especially pastors and preachers—not to think of themselves as doctors too soon and imagine that they know everything… Instead, they should daily exercise themselves well in these studies and constantly use them. Furthermore, they should guard with all care and diligence against the poisonous infection of contentment and vain imagination, but steadily keep on reading, teaching, learning, pondering, and meditating on the catechism. And they should not stop until they have tested and are sure that they have taught the devil to death, and have become more learned than God Himself and all His saints.^[1]”

3.                  Did you notice in that last line of Luther’s that it is important that we as Christians teach the devil to death?  What do you suppose that Luther means by that quote?  I think he means that we as Christians need to be diligent in our studying and meditating on Holy Scripture and the catechism so that we may be prepared to stand against the attacks of the evil one, Satan.  For Scripture calls the Devil a prowling lion seeking that which he may devour.  This is why we support our Lutheran Elementary grade schools like Christ Lutheran School here in West Bloomfield, WI.  Our Lutheran schools are training grounds for our children to learn, study, and meditate on the Word of God, that sword of the Spirit, to enable them to fight off the attacks of the devil.

4.                  Luther believed in the existence of Satan and his attacks on our consciences tempting us to sin.  Many theologians deny the possibility of demon possession then and now. It’s true that we today do not identify many such cases. Maybe the trouble is with us, we fail to recognize them. But we also know that Satan and his demons are wise to adapt themselves to the times. Today we find their power displayed in the human attempts to undermine Scripture and its teachings. False doctrine, cults, pagan religions, science that rejects Scripture—all these are the working of Satan. Since they attack us on all sides, we too need to turn to Christ and to the Scriptures for refuge. Jesus, the Holy One of God, points us to the Scriptures and testifies, “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).

5.                  We see in our text from God’s Word this morning that the devil is real and very much among us in Mark 1:21–28, “²¹ And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. ²² And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴ “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.”

6.                  What Jesus’ specific message was on this Sabbath day, Mark doesn’t tell us.  But, he does tell us about the impression Jesus’ preaching made on the worshipers. They were amazed, for Jesus didn’t teach as the teachers of the law did. They always referred to the interpretations of past rabbis and were particularly skillful at breaking down God’s Word into a number of legalistic regulations.   But, Jesus always proclaimed the gospel of God. He quoted no experts but proclaimed the good news on His own authority. This was one of the first lessons the disciples had to learn that in Jesus they were face-to-face with the final authority. For us too Christ is more than just a wise teacher or a model on which to pattern our lives. He’s the one who in word and deed reveals to us the undeserved love of God for sinners incorporated in His own person. His is the final word.

7.                  It’s not at all surprising that Satan wasn’t ready to let such a message and a preacher go unchallenged. It was the devil who caused a man in that synagogue to cry out against Jesus, for it’s clear that this man wasn’t speaking for himself. He couldn’t by his own power have known what he said about Christ. However, Satan and the evil spirit that possessed this man knew who Jesus of Nazareth was and what his purpose was. They knew he was the Son of God and that he had come to destroy Satan’s hold over mankind. With his words Satan revealed himself wiser than many modern theologians. This knowledge did him no spiritual good; it only filled him with fear and trembling. He knew that he faced hell and the gospel wasn’t meant for him.

8.                  The demon was afraid of Jesus because he knew that Jesus is the holy one of God.  Nothing strikes more terror into the heart of God’s creatures, which includes you and me for we are God’s creatures too, than to be in the presence of the holy.  We will see this throughout the Gospel of Mark.  When the holiness of Jesus is revealed, the immediate response of the people is fear and dread.  You and I fear the holy because we’re sinful and unclean.  We sin against God and our neighbor in thought, word, and deed.  We take God’s name in vain, we swear, curse, and lie, we fail to worship God and serve Him only.  We fail to love our neighbor through our words and actions.  And when we’re brought into the presence of the holiness of God, as Peter was (Luke 5:8), we say, “Depart from us, for we are sinful people.”  This is why the demon screamed when Jesus came into his presence.

9.                  These words of the demon, “Have you come to destroy us?” confess a challenge to you and me, sinners that we are.  As you come to Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy One of God, Jesus says to you, “Be silent and come to Me, and I will give you rest.”  What destruction did the flood of Baptism ravage upon you as the Holy One of God came to drown your old sinful flesh and raise you to new life in Him?  What destruction does the public announcement that your sins are forgiven work upon your sins to destroy their power and silence your fears?  Freeing destruction!  And what destruction does the Lord’s Supper work upon you, where your sins are exchanged for Jesus and His righteousness, and you are left with the peaceful silence and reconciled to God almighty?  Nourishing destruction!  For in Christ, your old sinful self is crucified and you are raised to newness of life in Him, both now and for eternity.

10.              Jesus’ authoritative teaching and power over the unclean spirits created a stir among those who saw and heard Him in the early days of His ministry. Today, we see the same thing. People continue to be interested in and even amazed by Jesus’ teaching, and yet many fail to depend on Him for life and salvation. But, by the power of His authoritative Word and Spirit, you and I are brought and kept in saving faith and life.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

 

 

---

^[1] Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions. 2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (355–356). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.