Pentecost 18 – 27 September 2015 – Year B

Pentecost 18 – 27 September 2015 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 9^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 38 - 50.

“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.  And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

Everyone will be salted with fire. “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

At first glance, this text appears to be just a series of short, disconnected sayings attributed to Jesus. They do not seem to have anything to do with each other. But, since God would not have just had Mark randomly write these verses down, there has to be a common theme, or point He wants us to get. As we look more directly at the text, we find that there are five basic points that Jesus is making.
First, in verse 40, Jesus tells us, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” - I can understand that. At least I think I do.
Second, in verse 42, Jesus says, “Don’t do anything to harm the faith of another person, especially a child.” That point is clear, especially the millstone and drowning part. If you do harm to a child, it would be better if you died, than to deal with God’s wrath; not a good thing.
Third, in verses 43 to 47, Jesus tells us that it would be better for us to mutilate ourselves than to risk losing heaven and eternal life. Now self-mutilation is serious stuff. I am not sure that I am comfortable with that concept. After all, Jesus tells us that our bodies are temples, in which He dwells.
Fourth, in verse 50, Jesus tells us that we are to, “Have salt in yourself.” I can go along with that, for Jesus tells us in Matt 5:13, “you are to be the salt of the earth.”
Fifth, in the second half of verse 50, Jesus tells us to “Be at peace with each other.” Sounds like an excellent idea to me. So many points, all good points, but I do not think that any of these points is what the whole text is really about. The more I think about it the more I believe that this text is a reflection of our lives and just who we are as people of God!
To help you to better understand what I mean by that, I want to tell you a story that I heard, probably 20 years ago. There was an old bloke who worked on a sheep station near Julia Creek who got sick and was taken to the little hospital in Julia Creek. His faithful sheep dog Missy kept watch outside his hospital door. As he was too sick to move, it was not long before the old man died and his body was taken to the train station, to be sent off to his family in Townsville.
The story is told, that when the coffin was being loaded onto the train Missy appeared, looking for her master. As the train left the station, she vainly ran down the tracks after it. Later in the day, she came back to the station exhausted, and for the next five and half years, Missy met every train that came into Julia Creek, as she kept looking for her master to come home.
Missy became well known, and kindly people took care of her; but she refused to be taken to anyone’s home. She had but one reason for living: waiting for her master to return. Missy’s loyalty to her master did not end until one windy winter’s day in 1961, when she died.
When I think about Missy and her loyalty to her master, I could not help but think; if only I, we, could demonstrate that same unwavering devotion to our God. For it is when we take our eyes off Jesus, that our daily living loses its ultimate purpose, its point for living.
Let me give you a couple of examples of what I mean. Take your eyes off Jesus, and the Bible becomes a book of nice moral and spiritual sayings. That is why some people like Proverbs. Nice teachings, but what is their ultimate point?
Another example of what happens when you take your eyes off Jesus is that other things become your reason for living. They might be good things, like family, health, or career. On the other hand, they could be bad things, like alcohol, or drugs. It could be greed, or maybe you are being pulled in so many different directions that you feel like there is no point in anything.
So what is the point? The point is that our focus should be only on our Savior, Jesus. God tells us in Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Unlike Missy’s devotion to her master, our devotion is often spread out over many things.

Friends in Christ, it is because of this lack of focus, Jesus has given us some very painful warnings. He tells us that if our hand, foot, or eye causes us to sin, we are to get rid of it. This is not meant to be taken literally, because our hands, feet, or eyes do not cause us to sin.

It is our sinful self, our lying, deceitful, proud self that causes us to sin. He is just using these extreme examples to make a point, to tell us that we have to be honest with ourselves in admitting what causes us to sin, and ask Him to give us the strength to overcome it daily. He wants us to know that our salvation is of utmost importance, even if we have to lose our lives to save our souls.
Jesus is telling us in this text, that he wants all of us, not just a part. He wants us to hand over to him our old self and He will give you back a new self.
This severing of the new self from the old self is caused by the Word of God as it is written in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
And in Malachi 3:2, “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap”.

We, as believers in Christ do not have to fear this severance and refining, for Jesus decisively took care of our sin. We have eternal life, as it is written in John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”.
As good as that is, there is even more, for it is written in Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” – You see, this is our spiritual act of worship. That is our life, a life of sanctification, the life of salt.

This leads us to the main point of this text: peace. But, what kind of peace is it?
Let’s quickly review the text one more time. First, in verse 40, Jesus tells us, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”
Secondly, in verse 42, Jesus says, “Don’t do anything to harm the faith of another person, especially a child.”
Thirdly, in verses 43 to 47, Jesus tells us that it would be better for us to mutilate ourselves than to risk losing heaven and eternal life.
Fourthly, in verse 50, Jesus tells us that we are to, “Have salt in yourself.”
Then he ends with, “Be at peace with each other.” Have you ever noticed that some of your most trying times are caused by conflicts with other Christians? When you and I put our whole-hearted devotion upon Jesus, we will have more peace. We will have peace because he will help us as we struggle individually and as a Church to cut the sin out of our lives.

Friends, this text challenges who we are as God’s people. An actual occurrence related by Dr. Friedman Hebart in his book ‘One in the Gospel’ gives us an example of the extent of God’s challenge to us:

One evening several years ago I was taking a friend out to dinner: We had eaten in a cafeteria when a good‑looking young woman sauntered up to our table. I recognized the woman as a member of the large Sunday‑school class I taught. We began to talk. After about 40 minutes she said almost wistfully, - 'I really believe you've found hope in your faith, and I would honestly like to make this beginning commitment of my life to Christ . . . but I can't do it.' - 'Why not?' I asked gently. 'Because I've got a personal problem that I can't seem to resolve.' She was biting her lips and looking down at a paper napkin she had folded into a small bulky square. 'But that's why Christianity is called good news",' I said, coming on strong. 'We can't solve our basic hang‑ups and separations. I can't promise to change anything. All I can do is to accept his love and grace. 'But’ .. and she hesitated 'I don't feel acceptable until I whip this problem.'  'Listen, Susan, the old song doesn't say,‑‑‑Just as I am when I whip my major problem. It says, ‑‑‑Just as I am without one plea", one problem, one guarantee.'  She looked at me with the strangest dawning look of hope. 'Do you really believe that?' she said. - 'I'd bet my life on it.' - She looked down at her hands for several minutes. 'All right, she said, almost as a challenge, 'I'm committing adultery every Thursday night with a man who has a wife and several young children. And I cannot quit. Now can I come into your Christian family?'  -  I just looked at her. I certainly had not expected that. My first conditioned reaction as a Christian churchman would have been to think she is not ready for Christ.  -  Suddenly, I realized how phoney we Christians are. Of course we would expect her to quit committing adultery. We don’t mean 'Just as I am without one plea'. We actually mean, `Just as I am when I promise implicitly to straighten up and quit my major sins'. And this girl had nailed me with her honesty. She knew she did not have the strength to quit her 'sinning'. And yet it was her weakness which had brought her toward Christ in the first place.

I thought about Jesus and what he would have done. Then I looked up at her, 'Of course you can commit your life to Christ just as you are, I smiled. 'He knows you want to quit seeing this man, and I don't know where else you can ever hope to find the security and strength to break up with him. So if you commit your life to Christ right now, then Thursday night, if you find you can't help meeting your friend, take Christ with you. Ask him to give you the strength to break off the relationship.' And she stepped across the stream and became a Christian.

Friends, centre all your being, all the time on Jesus. At the end of the text, at the end of our striving to live a Godly life, at the end of life itself, we will learn the point of it all: Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen

The love and peace of God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

 Merv James

Pentecost 17 – 20 September 2015 – Year B

Pentecost 17 – 20 September 2015 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 9^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 30–37:

³⁰ They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, ³¹ for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” ³² But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.³³ And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. ³⁵ And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

As our Gospel readings continue on through the Gospel according to Mark, we come again to that milestone that every Gospel account has.  Jesus begins preparing the disciples for His upcoming death and resurrection.

So today’s Gospel begins with these words: They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

The disciples were simply not equipped to understand Jesus at this time in their instruction.  The idea that main mission of the Messiah was to die on a cross was not part of their thinking process.  The idea that Jesus was just telling them the literal, objective truth was just not an option for them.  Their idea was that the Messiah would be a political Messiah who would drive the occupying Roman forces from the land and clean up the corruption of the religious establishment in Jerusalem.  He would once again establish the empire of Israel as it had been under the reign of David and Solomon.

So Jesus’ words totally stumped the disciples.  Once you take the idea that Jesus was telling the literal, objective truth off the table, then what could Jesus possibly mean?  Is it a parable, a metaphor, an exaggeration?  Who knows?  It was not until after the crucifixion and resurrection that the disciples understood that Jesus had simply been telling them exactly what was going to happen to Him.

We do live after the resurrection.  That gives us 20 / 20 hindsight.  We can read the Bible and know exactly what Jesus meant.  We simply cannot place ourselves in the position of the disciples when Jesus foretold these things to them.

Given that we have 20/20 hindsight, why is it that we still fall into the same trap that the disciples demonstrated in the second part of today’s Gospel?  As Jesus and His disciples returned to their headquarters in Capernaum, Jesus asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”  But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

Given the fact that the disciples did not understand the main mission of the Messiah, we might cut them a little slack.  The disciples had not yet witnessed the crucifixion and the resurrection.  They did not understand that Jesus must die for their sins.  They did not yet have the complete picture.  Yes, they were competing for positions of importance in God’s Kingdom as they saw it.  Yes, they were wrong.  Yes, they were acting out of selfishness and pride.  But at least they were consistent with the way they perceived the world.  They did not understand Jesus’ words and their errors were consistent with that misunderstanding.

Jesus used the discussion among the disciples as an opportunity to teach them and us what it means to be a leader in His church.  “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”  In God’s family, the leader serves.  The one who is the highest makes himself the lowest.  The leader in God’s family sacrifices not to get power, but to serve others.

Jesus nailed this point home by taking a child in His arms and telling the disciples to serve the child.  “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”  With these words, Jesus tells us that anyone who cares for a child is caring for God, for the one who sent Jesus is none other than God the Father Himself.

When Jesus used the child as an example, He was emphasizing what He meant by serving all people.  He was talking about the entire spectrum of society.  He was not only asking us to serve those who are young physically, but also those who are young spiritually or mentally even though they live in older bodies.  He was asking us to serve all people.

So, how are we doing?  Are we willing servants?  If we are servants, do we serve because we want to share God’s love with others or do we serve so that people will notice us and tell us how wonderful we are?  Do we get angry when we serve, but people fail to acknowledge our contribution?  Do we serve with all our heart or is our service only skin deep? 

God judges by the heart.  He examines our motive.  Do we serve in order to get noticed?  Then it really isn’t service.  Hear what Jesus had to say on this topic in the Sermon on the Mount: [Matthew 6:1–4] “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.  Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  This passage from the Sermon on the Mount contains some of the saddest words in the Bible: “They have their reward.”  For if they have their reward now, then there is no heaven for them later.

So, how are you doing as a servant?  When I examine the teachings of Jesus, I’ve got to admit that I am a lousy servant.  How about you?

What is our excuse?  At least the disciples could say that they hadn’t witnessed the death and resurrection.  Unlike the disciples, we know that Christ died on the cross for our sins.  We know that He rose from the dead.  We have heard this Gospel before and we know that the role of a Christian is to serve others.  Never the less, we don’t want to be true servants.  We want to be the big boss.  We even want to judge God when His teachings are not what we want them to be.  We consider ourselves to be the greatest – even greater than the teachings and revelation of the God who created us.

Even though we are arrogant and self-righteous, God still wants to rescue us.  He still wants us to be part of His family.  He still wants to rescue us from our own arrogance and all our other sins.  That is why He sent His Son to become one of us in this world.

God sent His son to be the servant we could never be.  The Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to speak of Him before He was even born:  [Isaiah 52:13; 53:3-6] Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.  He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

God came down to this earth to serve us and we beat Him, whipped Him, and hung Him on a cross.  Never the less, He served us perfectly.  He deserved service from us, but He served us with His life.  He sacrificed Himself in order to save us from our sins.  Although He deserved to be first, He made Himself last for us.  This perfect servant who sacrificed Himself for us is Jesus Christ - the same Jesus Christ who hugged children and told us to receive them as we would receive God the Father.

Jesus Christ, the perfect servant, sacrificed Himself on the cross in order to save us from the condemnation of our imperfect service.  God the Father honoured the service of His sacrifice by calling him out of the grave.  Christ rose from the dead to eternal life.  God the Father now sees our woefully inadequate service as perfect service.  For Christ’s sake, He now deems us worthy to receive Him even if it is in the guise of a little child.

Jesus Christ, our Saviour who was once dead, but now lives forevermore, serves us today.  He serves us with the forgiveness of our sins.  He serves us with His Word, the Holy Scriptures.  He serves us with His life giving body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine of the sacrament.  He continually serves us with His living presence.

Ultimately, it is the desire of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ to serve us with new, holy bodies that will rise from the dead just as He rose and then our service will be perfect as we serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.  In that place, it won’t even cross our minds to ask who is the greatest.  Amen

The love and peace of our great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 16 - 13 September 2015 - Year B

Pentecost 16 – 13 September 2015 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 8^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 27 – 38:

²⁷ And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³¹ And he began to teach them that ^vthe 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. ³² And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

You have just got to give it to Peter. He and his mouth often give me comfort when I’ve put my foot in my mouth. If he were your friend every time he opened his mouth you would cringe not knowing what he is going to say next.  In one biblical verse He’s the hero and a few verses later, he is doing the will of Satan..  What a joy to know Jesus’ forgiveness.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus took His disciples up north to the area around Caesarea Philippi to get away from the crowds for a bit.  Caesarea Philippi was some distance from Galilee in the Northern Province.  It was near Mount Hermon and the source of the Jordan River.  This basically meant that Jesus and the disciples would be alone and Jesus could pay attention to their instruction.  In modern day terms, this was part of their seminary training.

Many professors in Christian seminaries will tell you that the core of all theology is Christology.  That is, if you solidly understand the identity of Christ, the rest of theology is a piece of cake.  Apparently, Jesus thought the same thing because He began teaching His disciples about the nature of the Christ.  Of course, in Jesus case, this means teaching the disciples about Himself.

He began by asking them to consider what the grapevine was saying about Him: “Who do people say that I am?”  The disciples came back with all kinds of answers: “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 

Then Jesus moved on: He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”  He wanted to hear their personal confession.  Of course, Peter was the first to put into words what the other disciples were thinking: “You are the Christ.”  In this case, Peter got the words exactly right.  If I were to use an appropriate sporting metaphor in this month of September, I would say that He converted the try to win the game.  Unfortunately, he would be the hero for only a few short verses.  We quickly learn that even though he got the words right, He didn’t really understand their true meaning.

At this point in His ministry, Jesus knew that the disciples did not properly understand the meaning of Peter’s good confession.  That is the reason He told the disciples to keep quiet about it for the time being.  That is also the reason that Jesus began telling them about the true meaning of Peter’s confession.  Today’s Gospel says: He began to teach them that 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.  And he said this plainly. 

His disciples found this message to be deeply offensive.  Peter, especially, took offence at Jesus’ words.  Peter took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke him.  We don’t use the word rebuke often, but it means that Peter really laid it on the line to Jesus.  Peter actually used strong direct words in order to try to put Jesus right on this matter.

Of course Jesus loved Peter too much to let him get away with that.  Jesus stopped, did an about face and gave it straight back to Peter.  Jesus used some pretty strong language too: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”  Jesus could be gentle, but not this time.  He blasted Peter.  To return to the sporting metaphor: Peter had just dropped the ball and given the opposition the advantage. 

During the Lenten period, we talked about how the devil continued to tempt Jesus.  One of the greatest temptations went something like this: “Listen Jesus, this cross thing is going to hurt a lot.  You have the power.  You can increase your following by just doing these miracles.  There is no reason for you to follow through with your plan to suffer.  Everyone is expecting you to set up an earthly kingdom.  Why not give them what they expect?”  Well the fact is, that when Peter took Jesus aside and scolded Jesus, he was acting as an agent of Satan.  He was tempting Jesus to give up his road to the cross.

The cross is the main reason the Son of God took on human flesh in the first place.  The Old Testament declares that the Christ must suffer, die, and rise from the dead.  This was the plan from eternity.  This is exactly what Jesus was teaching His disciples when Peter interrupted Him.

The devil is still at work trying to hide the cross.  Our modern society often finds the cross to be offensive.  It is gruesome.  It is ‘R’ rated for violence.  It is hard to contemplate in its shame and cruelty.  Many will try to bury the cross’s message.  Jesus loves these people too much to let them get away with it.  Today’s Gospel speaks to those who wish to hide the cross and says, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Some people say, “All right, we get it, but we’ve heard enough about the cross.  Now, let’s move on to the other teachings of the Bible.”  To these people Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan!”

The Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to write, [1 Corinthians 2:2] “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”  Never the less, some will ask, “Does every devotion need to talk about the cross?”  To these people Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan!”

[Matthew 19:14] Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”  Never the less, some ask, “Do we have to remind the children of that ugly, old cross every Sunday?”  To these people Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan!”

The devil, the world, and our own sinful nature would do anything and everything to get the cross out of our lives, for it is on the cross that our savior died and defeated the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature.  It is on the cross that our savior died to take away our sins.  The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, “Christ crucified is [1 Corinthians 1:23-24] a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush.  He used stern words with Peter and He uses stern words with us.  However, these words are not designed to drive us away.  They are designed to place us back where we belong.  Jesus did not tell Peter and the other disciples, “So, you are offended by the cross.  Then you can no longer be my disciples.” 

Instead, He continued to teach them.  He continued to prepare them.  When the time was right – when the disciples had lived through the experience of knowing their master was dead on a cross, Jesus rose from the dead, appeared to them and [Luke 24:45-46] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.”  He restored them to Himself.

He does the same thing with us.  In spite of our rebellion, He calls us to follow Him.  He opens our eyes to the power of God in His crucifixion.  He shows us the forgiveness of our sins in His crucifixion.  In His crucifixion He shows us salvation and life everlasting.

We will receive all these things through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith in Him.  Through that same faith we will follow Him through death into the resurrection of everlasting life.

Jesus has promised that life in this world will be hard for those who follow Him.  Their confession of faith may bring them shame in this world.  It may even bring them to death.  Yet He has promised, “Whoever loses his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel will save it.”  Those who have the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith in Jesus Christ may lose everything in this world, but in the end, God will give them eternal life.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 15 – 6 September 2015 – Year B

Pentecost 15 – 6 September 2015 – Year B

  

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 7^th Chapter of the Gospel of St Mark: Verses 24– 37

Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.  In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet.  The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.  He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”).  At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.  People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

I commenced my working life undergoing an Electrical Trades Apprenticeship, and so then and later in life I studied Physics and some science. When I look around, especially at night in the bush, I can’t help but marvel at the wonders of Almighty God.  At the beginning of the Bible in Genesis One we are told  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1–3) You know there are all kinds of amazing things happening in these few short verses.

When I consider that simple phrase, God said, “Let there be light,” I have to wonder how that happened.  Talking normally travels as sound from mouth to ear.  Sound can travel in solids, liquids, and gasses, but it cannot travel in a vacuum.  Never the less, when God said, “Let there be light,” God had not yet created any solids, liquids, or gasses to carry His voice.  Furthermore, there were no ears to hear His voice.  Even the light that He called forth did not yet exist.

Think about it.  God spoke when there was nothing to carry His voice.  He spoke to something that did not exist.  Never the less, when He spoke, the thing He commanded happened.  God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  This shows that God’s Word has power and authority that far exceeds our understanding.

Most of the time we take the power of the Word of God for granted.  How often do we think that light, air, water, the earth beneath our feet, gravity, and everything else that we have in our existence is there because God said it should be there.  It is as the Holy Spirit inspired the writer to the Hebrews to say, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:1–3) and “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3) The Bible makes it very clear that the universe exists because of the power of the Word of God.

The Gospel according to John begins by telling us that this very Word of God entered our world and took on human flesh in order to make us Sons of God.  The Holy Spirit inspired John to write, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) and “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12–13) These words teach us that Jesus is the very Word of God in human flesh who has come to make us His adopted brothers and sisters and children of God.

The events we recently heard about in our Gospel reading tell us even more about the power of this Word of God in human flesh.  Today’s reading actually gives us two signs of His power.  He drove a demon out of a daughter, and He gave hearing and speech to a deaf man.  The Holy Spirit inspired Mark to inform us that both of these signs happened in Gentile territory … the region of Tyre and Sidon, and the region of the Decapolis.  These two accounts show us that Jesus did not just come to save the Jews, but He also came to save Gentiles.

In the second of these two signs, Jesus, who is the Word of God, once again demonstrated that His word is still able to command something that does not exist.  The man’s hearing did not exist.  Never the less, Jesus spoke to him.  He said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. (Mark 7:34–35) In the beginning, God spoke to the light that did not exist and the light came into being.  In the Gospel we recently heard, God spoke to hearing that did not exist and it also came into being.

Note that Jesus did not simply give the sense of hearing to the man.  If that was all He did, then the man would have had to listen to people for a long time before he could interpret the sounds as words.  It would take even more time for this man to learn to reproduce those words with clear speech.  When Jesus gave hearing to the man, He did not just give the sense of hearing, but He also gave him the understanding to hear and speak intelligent words.  Jesus made it as though this man had had a sense of hearing for his entire life

It is by the Word of His power that Jesus creates, and His creation is very good.  It is by the Word of His power that Jesus heals, and His healing is complete.  It is by the word of His power that Jesus saves, and His salvation is eternal.

The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to explain the connection between salvation and the word of God as he wrote to the church in Rome.  “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:13–15, 17) The Word of Christ speaks to a faith that does not exist and brings it into being.  It is this faith that receives the eternal salvation that Jesus earned for us on the cross.

There is yet another way that we see the power of God’s Word in today’s Gospel.  This time, it is the power of God’s Word in the mouth of people.  How did the woman know that Jesus was able to drive the demon out of her daughter?  How did the friends know that Jesus was able to give hearing to the deaf man?  Jesus did not spend a lot of time in these Gentile areas.  Someone, somewhere, somehow had shared the Word of God with these people.  Somehow the story of Jesus had reached clear up to the area of Tyre and Sidon.  Somehow the story of Jesus had traveled clear over to the area of the Decapolis.  Even if it was only neighborhood gossip, the Holy Spirit had used the Word of God to bring this woman to Jesus to ask help for her daughter … the Holy Spirit used the Word of God to cause these friends to bring the deaf man to Jesus.

You know, we are also privileged Christian members of our Church family by the power of the Word of God.  Faithful brothers and sisters shared the Word of God with their friends and their sons and their daughters.  From mouth to ear, across the lands, down through the generations, the Word of God spread and the Holy Spirit used that Word to work faith in those who heard it.  Eventually the power of that word came to our ears.  That is the reason why we attend worship … in Christian churches and places of worship … to receive the gifts that Jesus purchased for us with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.

The Holy Spirit eliminates barriers with the Word and tells us of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross.  As the Holy Spirit works through the Word we learn that our sin separates us from God, but that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross takes away our sins.  We learn that His resurrection from the dead opens up the way to everlasting life.  Through the Word, Christ reveals Himself to us.  In that revelation, He also reveals the Father and the Holy Spirit and shows us God’s salvation.  The Holy Spirit uses this knowledge to make that salvation personal through His gift of faith.

When the Holy Spirit joins the Word to the water of Holy Baptism, He joins us to Christ in that crucifixion so that the price He paid for sin is credited to us.  By joining us to the death of Christ, the Holy Spirit also joins us to His resurrection.  We become brothers of Christ and sons of God.  We have the right and privilege to come before God, confess our sins, and receive the enduring comfort of the forgiveness of our sins.  We become heirs to eternal life in heaven.

When the Holy Spirit joins the Word to bread and wine, Jesus Himself comes to us in the body He gave for us and in the blood He shed for us.  As we take Him into our mouths, He feeds our souls.  He strengthens our faith in Him.  He has promised us that this sacrament is ours for the forgiveness of sins and with the forgiveness of sins comes life and salvation.

God’s process for sustaining Christ’s church in this world is amazing.  Just as the mother pleaded for her daughter … just as friends brought the deaf man to Jesus, so also God works through His people to bring His Word into our lives.  He brings this word to our ears.  He uses the wet Word of Holy Baptism to join us to Christ.  Then the Word made flesh comes to us in the Bread and Wine of the Lord’s Table.  The Holy Spirit works through this Word to work faith in us and bring us into the Church.

Now that we have the Word of God, we also have the authority to ask people to do the impossible.  We can tell people about Jesus and the work He did to earn salvation for them.  Then we can invite people and say, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31) Even though no one can believe in Jesus Christ by their own reason or strength, we trust the promise of Christ that the Holy Spirit will work wherever the Word of God is present. We can be assured that through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given. He works faith, when and where it pleases God, in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.  This happens not through our own merits, but for Christ’s sake.

 

As the Holy Spirit sustains us in the one, true faith, He sends us into the world to confess the faith he has given to us and so in this way to spread His Word throughout the World.  As we confess our faith to family, friends, associates, and all the other people in our lives, He has promised to use our confession to bring others before Christ for healing – the healing that produces faith and delivers forgiveness.  In this amazingly crazy way, the Word of Christ still speaks to a faith that does not exist and brings it into being.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen