Monday, March 28, 2011

The Third Sunday in Lent -- Oculi - March 27, 2011

The Church Season of Lent,
Oculi,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (March 27, 2011)
One Year Series

Readings:   
        Psalm 136   
        Ex. 8:16-24       
        Eph. 5:1-9           
        Luke 11:14-28

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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 11th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verses.

Luke 11:14-28 (NIV)
14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15 But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. 17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. 19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. 23 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. 24 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” 27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” 28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

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

It is the way of the wicked to call what is good evil.  Unfortunately, we see that all around us in our world today.  Anyone who stands up for what is moral and what is right according to God’s Word, is often called a bigot, closed-minded, or hateful.  The attack is on, a deaf ear is turned on the Christian and they are soon demonized.  Ironic isn’t it that we hear an example of something like this in today's Gospel with a just a  twist. 

Jesus is doing something good.  He is casting out a demon from a man who had been made unable to speak.  When the demon had gone out of the man, he was able to talk again.  Then the crowd that saw this, marveled at the wonderful thing that Jesus had done.

But just like today’s world some there who saw good and called it evil because they hated Jesus.  They hated Him because they couldn't stand to accept the goodness of Jesus.  And so they called good evil.  They said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  In other words they were saying, "The only reason Jesus can cast out demons is because He gets His power from Satan."  They tried to raise suspicions about Jesus in those who saw what He did.

Isn’t this the way of the devil? To plant a seed of doubt and then work against our faith in Jesus? These people had seen a great miracle yet sought to test God by asking Jesus for a sign from heaven.  Sounds all too familiar, and it is because that is exactly what the devil did in the wilderness when he asked Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple and let the angels catch Him.  The people in this crowd already had already seen a sign from Jesus.  He had cast out of the demon, but unbelief always wants something, just a little bit more and different than what Jesus does or what He gives.

Later Jesus would say to this same crowd that it is an evil generation which seeks a sign, which wants to walk by sight and not by faith, which trusts in their own experiences and emotions more than Christ and His Word.  Jesus said the only sign that would be given them is the sign of Jonah, the sign of a man buried three days in the belly of death but who rose from the depths to new life.  Jesus spoke of his own death and resurrection.  He would give them a sign which faith clings to, the sign of the cross where Christ was crucified to save all us sinners.

Christ is the truth over and against all the falsehood of this world and of all those who call what is good an evil.  satan is not divided against himself.  But Christ has divided and conquered satan's kingdom by the power of His holy cross.  But satan still desires to conquer us by doubting who Christ is and why He came to this earth.  Satan still seeks to turn our eyes and our ears from the miracles Christ performed and still performs, so satan strives to turn our thoughts to that which is around us.  We make false gods out of desire for things, we make false gods out of the people we see in life, sports figures, politicians, and leaders. 

     Repent, for Jesus made it clear to the crowds and to us that there can be no sitting on the fence in this matter.  Our Lord says, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."  There is no stance of neutrality when it comes to Christ, no middle-of-the-road position.  Either we’re with Him by faith and by baptism or we’re against Him through unbelief.  Either you take refuge in Him who is the Stronger Man, or you refuse Him and seek other shelter that draws you back into the devil's hands.  Either you're walking on the path of light or you're wandering down the path of darkness.  There are no third options.

     You see, even though the devil has been defeated and man's salvation has been won–fully and decisively–the devil still runs about making like he is strong, acting like he still controls death.  He still tries to lure people away from the salvation of Christ, leading them into doubt and uncertainty and despair.  And many fall for the trap, believing in themselves and the things of this world rather than trusting in Christ.  So Christ tells these people, and He tells us, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”

And notice that Jesus does not say that we are blessed if we read the Word of God at home and do nothing about it after we read it. Jesus says nothing about knowing the content of the Word but never putting into practice what we hear. He mentions specifically hearing the Word and keeping the Word. Hearing the Word but not keeping the Word is a dangerous thing. What good does it do us to hear something but never do anything the Word says? Why not ask those who claim to be a faithful, God-fearing Christian but give no evidence in their life that they hear God’s Word.

But instead, why not ask ourselves first? Sin is never a trifle. Sin is always a big deal. This is why our Lord warns us that when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

No matter what we do, we cannot be saved by our own holiness, but we can lose our salvation by the neglect of our holiness. It has been said that, “A Christian who will not continually fight against sin, earnestly strive after the virtues that please God, faithfully watch over his heart and life, and always pray for new power and grace soon ceases to be a Christian.”(CFW Walther) We have the privilege to listen to God’s Word every Lord’s Day in the Divine Service. We have the privilege to study God’s Word together twice a week. Most, if not all, of you have Bibles of your own to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest His Word.

In the midst of our daily struggles, Christ comes in to our lives, the demons of our world have been cast out, your sins are forgiven and forgotten.  You are reminded of this as you recall you are a baptized child of God.  The Word of God keeps you as you receive His true body and blood.  You are in Christ, and Christ is in You.  Blessed are those who hear the very Word of God, that is Jesus Christ for they will inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Amen.

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