Epiphany 4 – 28 January 2018 – Year B

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

The text for this meditation is written in the 1^st Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 21 – 28:

²¹And 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.

One of the fascinating characteristics of the Bible is that the personality of the human author is part of the style of each book of the Bible.  For example: one of the characteristics of the Gospel according to Mark is the use of the word immediately.  Mark just loves using that word and its synonyms.  Today’s reading illustrates that well as we read: “And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.”  Then toward the end we read, “At once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.”  As we proceed through Mark’s account, we will see many examples of words like quickly, immediately, and the phrase “at once.”

Another feature of Mark’s account of the Gospel has to do with the identity of Jesus.  The human beings are always asking, “Who is this man?”  Again, we see an example of this in today’s Gospel.  “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.”  As we proceed through the Gospel according to Mark, we will see many examples of people wondering who Jesus is.

In fact, Mark does not tell us about any human beings proclaiming the true identity of Jesus until after Jesus dies.  ^{[Mark 15:37–39]} Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”  Until that centurion speaks, no human in the Gospel according to Mark identifies Jesus as the Son of God.

On the other hand, the demons know exactly who Jesus is.  In today’s gospel the man with the unclean spirit says, “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.”  Again and again, Mark records demon after demon shrieking in terror at the approach of the Son of God.  As James writes, ^{[James 2:19]} “The demons believe—and shudder!”

Then there is God the Father.  He speaks from heaven at the Baptism of the Lord and again at the transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son.”  ^{(Mark 1:11; 9:7)} There is no doubt whatsoever about where God the Father stands with regard to the identity of Jesus.

It’s interesting to scan Mark’s Gospel Account looking for this characteristic.  God the Father declares Jesus to be His Son.  The demons are in a panic and screaming out at the top of the lungs of their victims, “It’s the Son of God!”   Meanwhile, the human beings are wandering around asking, “Who is this man?”

The season of Epiphany answers that question as we consider the different ways that Jesus showed Himself.  Jesus guided the magi by the star.  The Father proclaimed Jesus to John and his followers at His baptism.  Jesus proclaimed Himself to His disciples as He called them to follow Him.  Now, in today’s Gospel, a demon has an epiphany of Jesus.

Of course, there is a major difference between the epiphany of Jesus to us human beings and the epiphany of Jesus to this demon.  We receive the epiphany of Jesus to our salvation.  The demons receive the epiphany of Jesus to their damnation.  For the fires of hell are prepared for the devil and his demons ^{(Matthew 25:41)}.

What could possibly motivate this demon to drive its host into the terrifying presence of the Son of God?  Why would a being, who had every reason to get as far from God as possible, enter into the presence of the Holy Lord.  He had one goal: to interrupt the Christ as He proclaimed Himself to the people in the synagogue.

You see, it is through the proclamation of Christ that the Holy Spirit brings God’s salvation into our lives.  As the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write, ^{[Romans 10:17]} “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”.  The demons absolutely hate it when God’s Word is proclaimed in its truth and purity.

I occasionally have a look at the web site of a Church in the USA, just to read their very fitting earthly parables they call Memorial Moments: I thought this one appropriate to pass on to you:

Two of God's junior angels were being assigned to keep watch over two churches. Their angelic supervisor took them to see where they were being assigned by God. When they came to the first church there they saw one lazy-looking devil, who was reclining on the steeple of the church. This was where one of the angels was assigned. The supervising angel led them on to the second church and when they arrived there the two junior angels were surprised to see the whole exterior of the church seething with devils all howling and hammering on the building. The junior angel assigned to this church lamented to his supervisor: “Oh, why have I been assigned this church rather than the other? This church seems to have some pretty big problems. Look at all those demons attacking it.” The supervising angel smiled at him and said, “You have it all wrong. This church faithfully proclaims Christ as the only Saviour from sin and is constantly preaching our Master's truth. The other church is lazy and preaches what people want to hear, rather than the Master's truth. Our enemy doesn't have much to do there. Your brother angel has his work cut out for him there.”

Demons don’t spend a lot of time attacking people who are already on their way to hell.  Instead, they focus their attack on those congregations who faithfully proclaim the salvation of Jesus Christ.

In spite of the devil’s effort to stop the proclamation of the Gospel, Jesus is the master of turning the enemy’s tactics against him.  Jesus used this poor, demon possessed man to show how God can take something bad and turn it into something good.  ‘Jesus rebuked [the demon], saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 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.”  And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee’.  Jesus drove the demon out of the man and so revealed Himself as the Messiah. 

The demon hoped to make the people afraid of Jesus.  Instead, the demon provided Jesus with an opportunity to reveal Himself to the people.  As a result of the demon’s attempt to disrupt the proceedings, Jesus became famous throughout the surrounding countryside.

The devil always underestimates Jesus and His plans.  The time would come when the devil thought that He could stop Jesus from teaching altogether.  After all, a dead man can’t do much teaching and so the devil thought he had achieved the ultimate victory when he subjected Jesus to a bloody, cruel death on a cross.  The devil thought he had shut that righteous mouth once and for all.

Instead, Jesus turned His death into a triumph.  He turned His cross into a throne.  Little did the devil understand that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross had been part of His plan of salvation before the foundations of the world were laid.  Little did the devil understand that Christ’s crucifixion would become his ultimate defeat and Christ’s ultimate victory. 

The leaders of the Jewish people used all kinds of evil tactics to kill Jesus.  The soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross meant to do real harm.  The spiritual and human forces who worked together to put Jesus on the cross, all meant it for evil, but God used this terrible, evil action to work salvation for all people.  It was on the cross that Jesus took away the sin of the entire world.  It is on the cross that Jesus reveals Himself as our Saviour.  Jesus changed the evil shame of the cross into a victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil.

With His resurrection from the dead and His appearance to hundreds of witnesses, Jesus proclaimed His victory to the world.  Instead of stopping the proclamation of Christ to the world, Jesus used the cross and resurrection as the foundation for the eternal proclamation of salvation for all people through Jesus Christ our Lord.  After He rose from the dead, He told His church that they would proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins to the world in His name.

Today’s Gospel teaches us that demons are comfortable, even among the believers of Christ’s church, when the Word of God is muddled or ignored, but that they will protest wildly when God’s word is declared in its truth and purity.  It also teaches us that although demons want to block the proclamation of God’s Word, Jesus has the power to remove our demons and forgive our sins.  He also has the power to take the evil things of our lives and use them to accomplish His will.

Christ comes to us in His Word to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.  Demons fear that Word and will try to stop it.  God will work through that Word to bend their evil plans to His good results.  The Word of Christ not only has the power and authority to rebuke demons, but it also has the power and authority to save our soul and give us life eternal.  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

Epiphany 2 – 14 January 2018 – Year B

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

The text for this meditation is written in Chapter 3 of the Old Testament Book of 1 Samuel: Verses 1 – 10:

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. ² At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; ³ the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. ⁴ Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!”^[a] and he said, “Here I am!” ⁵ and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸ The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. ¹² On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”

AND

The first chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 43 – 51:

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

This is one of those Sundays when the chosen reading from the Old Testament goes along very well with the reading from the Gospel.  In both cases the Lord is calling men into the ministry.

The reading from the Old Testament informs us that the Lord came and stood, calling Samuel.  This would be an epiphany of the Son of God appearing to Samuel many centuries before He took on flesh and blood in the womb of the Virgin.  We often refer to such epiphanies as appearances of the pre-incarnate Son of God.  Although He exists from eternity as spirit, the Son of God would, from time-to-time, reveal Himself in physical form to select people at special times.  Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, and Moses would be a few examples of other people who saw an epiphany of the Son of God before He was born of Mary.

The reading we recently heard from the Gospel according to John informs us that [Jesus] found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  Obviously, this would be the Son of God calling Philip, after He took on human flesh and was born of Mary.  This is generally the way that He called all the men who would later become His apostles.

Notice that it is always God who comes and calls.  Samuel didn’t suddenly decide to be a prophet on his own, nor did Philip decide on his own to become an apostle.  It is God who called them.  In turn, God worked through Samuel to call Eli and his sons back to Him, and He worked through Philip to call Nathaniel.  Whether God calls directly as with Samuel and Philip or indirectly as with Eli and Nathaniel, it is always God who calls people to Himself.  It is God who calls us.

The message that God gave to Samuel was frightening.  Eli and his sons were priests at the tabernacle.  Eli was the high priest and his sons served under him.  The problem was that Eli’s sons were very corrupt.  The Bible describes Eli’s sons as worthless men.  They were adulterers and they abused the office of priest for their own gain and pleasure ^{(1 Samuel 2:12–25)}.  God’s patience had run out and He was about to destroy Eli and his sons.  The Lord said to Samuel, “… I am about to punish [Eli’s] house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.  Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”  What a sad and terrifying thing it must have been for Samuel to proclaim this message to the man who was his mentor … the man who trained him in the ways of the tabernacle … a man that he probably loved and respected.

In spite of this terrible message of judgment, Eli did not repent, nor did he discipline his sons.  He became an accomplice with them because he did not punish them.  Eli’s sons died in battle.  When Eli heard the news, he fell and broke his neck.  When Eli’s daughter-in-law heard, she went into labour and died in childbirth.  The baby survived and they named him ‘Ichabod’ which means, “the glory has departed.”

Eli and his sons were a terrible tragedy.  They all worked in the tabernacle.  They had access to the writings of Moses.  They participated in the sacrificial system.  They had every reason to fear God’s wrath and trust His promises.  Regardless of this, they ignored God’s written word and they ignored the word of God from the mouth of Samuel.  God wanted to give them life and they chose death.

One of the many things that the call of Samuel teaches is that God calls people into the ministry in order to proclaim a message of judgment.  Judgment always has to come first.  It does no good to learn that Jesus forgives sins if a person doesn’t think they have any sins.  What good is a saviour if you don’t think you need saving?  Jesus Himself said, ^{[Mark 2:17]} “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  People who insist that they are righteous in themselves may not realise it, but they are also insisting that they do not need Jesus.  That is why God calls people to proclaim judgment and repentance.  Eli and his sons would have been much better off if they had listened to Samuel and repented. 

That is why it is so important for us to meditate on our confession during the worship service: In essence, regardless of our specific words, we are confessing “I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities with which I have offended You and justly deserved Your worldly and eternal punishment.”  If you just mouth these words and don’t really mean them, you are telling Jesus that you don’t need Him.

Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.  What we should all understand about our Priests is that it gives them no joy, in the proclamation of the Gospel, to have to tell us about our sin.  For one thing, they are fond of us and care about us and don’t enjoy hurting your feelings.  That being said, it is, in fact, an act of love for them to tell us about our sins.  For only those who know their sins also know their need for Jesus.  Just as it gives a doctor no great pleasure to tell people about their cancer, it gives a priest no great joy to tell people about sin.  At the same time, it is necessary for the doctor to inform us of our disease so that we will understand our need for the treatment.  In the same way, it is necessary to inform us of our sin so that we will understand our need for the treatment, Jesus Christ.

In contrast to the terrifying message that God gave to Samuel, Jesus gave Philip a proclamation of joy.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”  Both Philip and Nathaniel were ready for Jesus.  Notice how Philip assumed that Nathaniel knew about Moses and the prophets.  This meant that they knew about their sins and they also knew about God’s promise of a saviour from those sins.  All Philip had to do was tell Nathaniel that Jesus of Nazareth is the saviour of promise.  This is great news.  This is news of salvation.

Nathaniel did have one problem.  He had preconceived notions about the saviour.  “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  When Nathaniel asked that question, he was telling Philip that Nazareth is no way for God to come to man.  Regardless of this, Jesus is the God who took on human flesh in the womb of a simple peasant girl … a virgin.  He was laid in a manger at His birth, and He grew up in the town of Nazareth.  Some of Nathaniel’s human expectations had to diminish in the face of Jesus’ truth.

Philip’s response was simple.  He said, “Come and see.”  This is the part of being a priest that brings them true joy … pointing to Jesus.  Come and see your saviour.

Jesus already knew Nathaniel.  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”  This is when Nathanael learned that Jesus saw him before Philip even invited him to come and see.  Jesus looked like an ordinary construction worker, but He said that He saw Nathaniel even before Philip invited him to see Jesus … and, yes, He was from Nazareth of all places.

Nazareth is not the strangest thing that Nathaniel will learn about this saviour.  He will learn that this man who looks like an ordinary labourer is God in human flesh.  He will witness as this Jesus lived under the law and kept it perfectly.  He would run away in terror with the other disciples when the soldiers arrested Jesus in Gethsemane.  He would hide in fear while this Jesus hung on the cross and died.  He would stare in wonder as he reached out and touched the wounds in the hands, feet, and side of his risen saviour.  This man is not just Jesus of Nazareth, but He is Jesus of the cross.  He is Jesus of the empty tomb.  He is Jesus who comes to us in Word and Sacrament.

Jesus is the way by which God dwells with mankind in peace.  As Jesus taught Nathaniel, He portrayed Himself as the fulfilment of Jacob’s vision of heaven with the ladder extending down from heaven with angels ascending and descending on it and God promising, ^{[Genesis 28:15]} “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”  Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  This is a promise of the same vision that Jacob saw … with Jesus as the ladder that allows God to come and dwell with mankind without the punishment of sin.  For if God were to come to mankind without Jesus, then there would only be judgment and punishment, but with Jesus there is forgiveness, peace, and joy.

God calls people of every culture to proclaim His message … the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  The message of repentance is always similar to the message that God gave to Samuel that terrifies us of our sin.  The message of forgiveness is always similar to the message that God gave to Philip that always points to Jesus.  Come and see your saviour … Jesus of Nazareth … Jesus of the cross … Jesus of the empty tomb.  This is the same Jesus who comes to us in Word and Sacrament.  This is Jesus our saviour.  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