The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany - Quinquagesima

­­The Church Season of Epiphany,
Quinquagesima,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (February 14, 2010)
One Year Series

“Past, Present, and Future”

Readings:
Psalm 89:18-29
1 Sam. 16:1-13
1 Cor. 13:1-13
Luke 18:31-43

Sermon Form: Deductive

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 18th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verses.

Luke 18:31-43 (NIV)

31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33 On the third day he will rise again.” 34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. 35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Today is the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany. During this church season we’ve proclaimed heard the good news of Jesus Christ. We have heard how and why Jesus manifested, Himself in this world and in our lives. And today is also Valentine’s Day a kind of mysterious day in history. At least it is a mysterious day for most men because the meaning of this day is either hidden or lost from them, though it should not be that way. It should be a day to proclaim our love for that very special person in our lives.

Ironically in today’s Gospel Jesus Christ speaks about love to His Apostle’s. And Jesus speaks about love for His Apostle’s and He speaks about His love for you too. And the love of which Jesus speaks, He would not only proclaim in His words, but Jesus would also live out His love in His actions. Jesus would speak to His apostles of how the past prophecies would soon be fulfilled in His trials. But the irony of Jesus’ words of love, is that even though everyone heard, none of the apostles understood what He said, until His passion was all over. The apostle’s eyes stared at the Son of Man, their ears heard His words, their mouths were fed from His hands, yet they missed a collision of;

“Past, Present, and Future”

I – The past points to the future

Yes, it true, the disciples appeared to have missed the whole point until is was all over with. They didn’t remember until they looked back to see that the future Jesus had predicted, was a present reality. I suppose everybody here who has ever taken a breath of air can relate to this Gospel lesson. “The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.”(v.34)

We can relate to those kinds of words because we’ve all sat in rooms, or saddled-up in a cozy chair with our favorite groups, or sat in a church, or sat in a restaurant, only to hear someone prattle on about some topic which should be important to everyone. And after we’ve all heard that long winded soliloquy come to an end, either our heads begin to nod or we nod our heads. So we take another sip of coffee, or close our hymnal, all the while wondering what all those words meant. So, if indeed something was said, not much of anything was heard. The content of those kinds of events and conversations might be lost, forgotten, or unimportant, but just the same and somehow we look forward to them the next week, or the next month, or the next year.

And so it was with the apostle’s. They followed Jesus around a lot like children chase ice cream trucks on a hot summer day. Yet those same apostle’s missed the content of what Jesus said. Jesus said that everything that was written by the prophets would be fulfilled. That statement didn’t mean that much to the apostle’s, nor would it seem to mean all that much to us today either. But it should. Because these words of past prophets point to Jesus who is our future hope. It means that Jesus is saying that everything in written in Old Testament is not only true, but it also means that all those words would all be fulfilled by His life on this earth. In short, everything written by all the prophets point to Christ. In fact, “the [Old Testament] prophets’ predictions of Christ’s suffering and death have become a well, from which a wide, full stream of grace and salvation [has] flowed forth,” a never ending stream of salvation, for us, for you and for me. The words of the prophets point to our future reality, for the prophets of the past proclaim the future love of Jesus Christ who fulfills His love for you.

II – The future is present

And how does Christ proclaim that His love will be fulfilled for you? He tells you the same way He told the apostles, “He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33 On the third day he will rise again.”(v. 32-33) When Jesus said those words He had not yet walked into Jerusalem on palm leaves, nor had He heard the crowds proclaim Him their love for Him. But that future would come to pass and be a reality. It would also be a reality that the hands of those same crowds which were raised in praise on Palm Sunday would be the same hands which would be clenched into fists on Good Friday. And the same voices shouting Hosanna would soon cry out, “Crucify Him.!” And what of the Apostle’s? Well they had heard that all this would happen, but when the time came, they denied Christ.

The disciples were inwardly blind. Even when Jesus laid out the coming days and their deeds, the disciples were unable to see. There was nothing obscure or mysterious or symbolic about what Jesus told them, He told them the future and they did not understand. They did not understand because the saying was hidden from them. It was not the complexity of what was said, it’s just simply that only Jesus can make you see the future of your salvation now.

So, how do we respond? We live it out. First, we must give thanks, daily. Our faith and our hope and our salvation are all gifts of God. So is our health and our wealth and our ability to enjoy these good things and recognize them. So, we give thanks for all the gifts of God, both temporal and spiritual, and that God has given us the eyes to see them and the ears to hear about Jesus Christ. And what does this glimpse of the future do for you, what so you see? We should see the forgiveness of our sins which transforms our lives. We should see a change in how we deal with others. All this future knowledge should act almost like an inoculation against our doing evil or excusing our own sinful conduct. It should make us patient and forgiving toward others who sin against us, it should make us humble to those whom we sin against. Yet sadly here is where we all still fail, we fail in thought, word, and deed. But the failure of our actions should only remind us that the only perfect present and future is given to us by Jesus Christ Himself.

III – The Future is Eternal

And that eternal future was made present for you on the cross. There in His death and resurrection, Jesus won for you eternal salvation. And even though Jesus victory was plainly spoken to His people in the words, “it is finished,” our human reason does not comprehend it, nor do we believe it. In fact, our reason declares the Gospel to be untrue. But that Gospel is indeed eternal and Christ’s salvation is made a reality for you in your baptism. There in the water combined with God’s Word, your future was made sure. In Holy communion your human reason is set aside, and faith lays hold of Christ’s words, “This is my body, this is my blood, given and shed, for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” Here in Christ’s words, there is no greater expression of Gods love for you. God’s gifts for you are greater than any Valentine gift, for God will comfort you in your present sickness or challenge, and bring you to eternal health.

Christ’s words are no longer a mystery, they are a love story. What was once hidden from the apostle’s is revealed to you, it is that God in His wisdom beyond our past has given you Jesus Christ and Christ’s present is that He has given Himself for you to ensure your future eternity. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God be with you all. Amen.
+SDG+