Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 8B)

June 30, 2024

The Holy Baptism of Daniel Fides Bromen

Text: Mark 5:21-43

            Desperate.  Despairing.  Daddy’s little girl is sick unto death.  Falling at Jesus’ feet, the synagogue ruler, Jairus by name, begs the Savior to come, lay His hands on her, that she may be healed, and live.

            Desperate.  Despairing.  For twelve years, a flow of blood, rendering her, and everything, and everyone, she touched, unclean.  Thus isolating her.  Thus robbing her of dignity and honor in the eyes of others.  All her money spent on doctors.  She never got better.  Only worse.  But now, here He comes, and, sneaking up behind Him in the midst of the clamoring crowd, she reaches out her hand, saying, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well” (Mark 5:28; ESV).  And, though left unsaid in the text, undoubtedly she thought: “No one will even know.” 

            Desperate.  Despairing.  And where is Jesus?  He is in it.  All the way.  Bid to come, He comes.  He went with Jairus into death’s dark vale.  Jostled by the crowd, pressed in on every side, yet He is there for the woman seeking His cleansing and healing touch.  And, even among so many, He knows the hand extended in desperation.  Power goes out from Him, to heal, to save, a daughter of Israel receiving her Shalom.  He turns… “Who touched me?” (v. 31)… and she thinks He is angry.  His disciples are bewildered.  But He would cast His compassionate and merciful gaze upon the one who believes.  And He would speak into the despair.  And so He does.  Now, the woman, falls at His feet and confesses.  And what does He say?  “Daughter…”  “God’s own child, I gladly say it!”  And think how this fell upon the ears of one who, for twelve years, had been shunned as unclean, not to mention, barren.  “Daughter,” He calls her… “your faith has made you well,” or, we could also translate it, “your faith has saved you.”  And then, “go in peace,” Shalom, “and be healed of your disease” (v. 34). 

            Words of wholeness and restoration to this dear woman.  But now, what about Jairus and his precious daughter?  Time has been wasted on a woman who could wait.  And here come some from Jairus’ house.  “Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (v. 35).  Nothing He can do about it, now.  Desperate.  Despairing.  And now… hopeless.  “Jesus, where were You when I needed You?  Distracted by her, You forgot to help me.  And now, I am beyond Your help.  As we all know, death has the final word.” 

            But not with Jesus.  Never with Jesus.  Remember, where is Jesus in the face of despair and desperation?  He is in it.  All the way.  In our flesh.  In our suffering.  In our uncleanness.  In our very sin.  Immersed in the whole clamoring crowd, yet for us, each and every one.  And there is no further in for Him to go than death.  And so, that is precisely where He goes.  There.  Even there.  The cross.  The anguish.  Torn flesh.  Blood.  Talk about desperation.  Talk about despair.  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Mark 15:43; Ps. 22:1).  And it looks, for all the world, like there is nothing Jesus can do about it.  Death claims the ultimate trophy.  Death has the final word.

            But it doesn’t!  Not with Jesus.  Never with Jesus.  “The third day He rose again from the dead” (Apostles’ Creed).  His whole life had been driving toward this.  The Sacrifice that makes atonement for our sins.  The resurrection that brings us healing and peace, life and wholeness.  Shalom.  And so, no, Jairus… and no, all you who think death has the final word, that there is nothing more Jesus can do once a body has breathed its last… Jesus has not forgotten you, or forsaken you.  For the Christian, there is no such thing as hopelessness.  Jesus is in it with us, all that afflicts us, up to and including death itself.  And He has overcome it.  And so, what does He speak to the ruler of the synagogue?  What does He speak to us in our desperation and despair?  “Do not fear; only believe” (Mark 5:36). 

            And now it’s just a matter of time.  For Jairus, a few seemingly eternal moments.  For us, who knows?  Only God knows the day or hour.  But Jesus will undo death.  He already has for Himself.  He’ll do it for us.  Along with every other affliction.  It’s as good as done.  He goes with Jairus into the house.  He rebukes those who have surrendered to death in their grief.  Now, understand, not the holy grief of those who mourn over the wages of sin.  But the grief that laughs in the Savior’s face at His Words of life and hope.  The grief of unbelief.  And, certainly, that of the professional mourners, which is probably the majority of those making the commotion.  All of them, He casts out.  He goes into the room with the child’s parents, and with Peter, James, and John, the requisite two or three witnesses.  (It’s a little practice exercise for their job as witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection.)  And He marches right up to the corpse, and He takes her hand.  Remember, this would ordinarily have rendered Him unclean, just like the woman's touch would have rendered Him unclean.  But Jesus undoes the uncleanness of it all.  And He speaks: “Talitha cumi… Little girl, I say to you, arise” (v. 41).  And she does.  Immediately.  And with energy.  She starts walking around.  And now, the punchline.  She’s twelve years old!  Her whole life within the span of the woman’s flow of blood.  Twelve.  The Twelve Tribes of Israel now receive their cleansing.  Twelve.  By the Twelve Apostles (by the Apostolic Preaching), healing, cleansing, and resurrection life will go out from Jesus into the whole world.  Now, give the girl something to eat, because resurrection and feasting always go together. 

            And what has happened to desperation and despair?  Because Jesus is in it all the way, with us, and for us, it must give way to Shalom.  That is, again, cleansing, healing, wholeness, resurrection life… peace.  Only in Jesus.  And always in Jesus. 

            You have your own times when you are desperate and despairing.  That’s life in this fallen world, and in this fallen flesh.  You suffer your own afflictions.  Uncleanness.  Sin.  And death.  Your own impending, and your grief over that of others.  But you know that none of those things has the final word.  Not in Christ.  And so, “Do not fear; only believe.”  For the Christian, suffering always comes in the shape of the holy cross.  And so, for the Christian, relief from suffering ultimately comes in the shape of resurrection from the dead.  The ultimate hope in the face of the ultimate despair. 

            What do you do in the seemingly eternal moments when you’re waiting on Jesus and His deliverance?  You fall at His feet in prayer and confession… like Jairus… like the woman.  You cling, for all your life, to His Word of Promise, and you listen to it again and again.  You believe it.  You memorize it, and you give your whole mind and heart into the possession of it.  And you put out your hand for His healing and life-giving touch.  Which is to say, the cure for all that ails you, including death, is right here in the Preaching and the Sacrament.  Jesus.  Speaking to you.  Touching you.  “Daughter… Son… Baptized Child of God… your faith has saved you.  Go in peace, healed and whole.  Shalom.”  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.                           

Third Sunday after Pentecost

Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5B)

June 9, 2024

Text: Mark 3:20-35

            It may be true, as they say, that blood is thicker than water.  But mere blood is not thicker than baptismal water, and the cleansing and life-giving blood of Jesus.  “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Jesus asks (Mark 3:33; ESV).  Now, Mary and Jesus’ brothers are standing outside, calling Him.  But Jesus looks about at those sitting around Him.  He looks at His congregation.  And He says, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother” (vv. 34-35).  That is, those who sit at the feet of Jesus and cling to His every Word, basking in His presence… and then live in that… these constitute the new Family of God.

            What would it be like if we really believed that, and acted accordingly?  Gathered, as we are, here now, in this place, around the bodily presence of Jesus, our Brother.  In the House of our Father.  In the one Holy Spirit.  In the bosom of our Mother, the Church.  Bathed and anointed.  To feast at the Family Table.  What would it be like if we acknowledged and surrendered to the reality, brought about, created by the death and resurrection of Jesus… that all those sitting around us in the pews this afternoon, each and every one, are family, our blood-bought brothers and sisters, beloved of our one Father, redeemed by our one Lord Jesus, possessed of the one Holy Spirit?  And, therefore, we love them, and they love us, love being, of course, not a warm and fuzzy feeling in our hearts (though that is wonderful), but seeking the good of the beloved, choosing and acting, always, for the good of one another?

            How is it in families?  Or, at least, how should it be, recognizing that every family of sinners falls far short of the ideal?  What does love look like?  Mutual support.  Patience… well, we do not all have the same skills and abilities, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses, so… Forbearance.  Forgiveness… we’re all sinners, and we’re pretty good at sinning against each other, as siblings are wont to do.  How about the Fourth Commandment?  Honoring our fathers and mothers in the faith, those still present with us this side of the veil, and those who join us from the other side, with angels and archangels at the altar.  Nurturing our babes in the faith.  It’s hard to teach our little ones to sit and participate in the service, and it calls on every one of us to put up with a little noise and commotion.  But we have to do it.  That’s how they learn.  Discipline, yes.  For young and old.  Training.  Sacrifice for one another.  Self-sacrifice for the good of the whole.  Everybody contributes.  Money, sure.  Work.  Talents.  Everyone has a role to play.  All hands on deck.  We each do what we can.  And we pray for one another.  Pray for your family.  Pray for your Church.  Every day.  And always, always point one another to Jesus, and to His Word. 

            Celebrate one another.  We celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and important milestones in families.  Celebrate each other.  Baptisms.  Confirmations.  Wedding showers.  Baby showers.  Grad parties.  Rejoice with those who rejoice.  Weep with those who weep.  Console one another in grief.  Show up at our congregation’s funerals.  Yes, even if you didn’t know the person well.  If you can be there, be there.  Send cards.  Speak faithful and encouraging words.  Pick one another up.  Help each other.  Leave no fellow Christian behind.  Leave no one unaccounted for.  Leave no one unprovided for.  “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).   

            I’m sure you can think of a lot more, particularly in terms of concrete examples, and I encourage you to do so… think of them, and do them.  But for my part, here is just one more: Even as Christian families are to be open and welcoming to new family members, to God’s gift of life, to those who join by marriage, to guests who need an oasis on the way, and to those who, to one degree or another, need our family to step in where their family has failed or is absent… so it is with the Family of God that is the Church.  Hospitality.  Love for those who wander into our family circle, by invitation or by chance.  Love for those passing through.  Love for those who marry in, new transfers, baptized Christians who come into our Communion from another after due instruction.  And those newborn by water and the Spirit, the newly baptized.  “God settles the solitary in a home,” sings King David (Ps. 68:6).  Let us be that home for as many as He may settle with us.

            Now, we need each other.  Because the world outside, they think we’re crazy.  Because they think Jesus is crazy.  In fact, they think we are possessed by an evil spirit, because they think Jesus is possessed by an evil spirit.  You know that.  The world doesn’t understand how you could possibly believe the things you believe.  The world calls you ignorant.  The world calls you hateful.  The world, as Isaiah says, calls evil good, and good evil; darkness light, and light darkness; bitter sweet, and sweet bitter (Is. 5:20).  Woe to them. 

            And Satan loves this.  Satan wants the world to think the Holy Spirit is evil, while he himself poses as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).  Where demons are actually cast out, the demonically deceived world regards it as blasphemy.  Where the Holy Spirit blows through in His Gospel, the world self-righteously blasphemes Him.  The Spirit at work in Jesus, and therefore in His Christians, must be Beelzebub, the world maintains.  In the end, there is no forgiveness for this.  Because it is, finally, unbelief… the utter rejection of Christ.

            Satan would trick you into this sin, as well.  You know how he often does it in the Church?  By convincing you that the Spirit at work in your pastor, or your brother and sister Christians, is not the Holy Spirit, but an evil spirit.  That is, that this or that fellow Christian is out of his mind, a lesser Christian than you are, or perhaps no Christian at all… that he is unworthy of your love, unworthy of your attention, unworthy of your honor and respect... that he should not be here.  Christ, have mercy.  You see what has happened?  Far from casting out Satan, you’ve acquiesced.  The House is divided.  And such a House cannot stand.  Stop.  Just stop when those thoughts creep in.  They are the lies of the evil one.  They are blasphemy.  Repent of thinking them.  Repent of listening to them.  Pray for Christ’s help.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to possess you, and change you. 

            Even Mary and Jesus’ brothers fell into this trap.  They thought He was crazy, and they wanted to shut Him up at home.  He was embarrassing them.  In public.  In Church, no less.  Maybe you are embarrassed by other Church members.  Maybe they are embarrassed by you.  Maybe your family is embarrassed that you belong to this Church, and believe what this Church teaches.  One thing is clear: Jesus is a scandal for sinners, including the Old Adam in you and me.  So, we must examine ourselves.  Where have I chafed at the Family of God brought forth in the blood of Christ?  Where have I contributed to the division of the House, rather than to its unity?  Where have I failed to honor my fathers and mothers in the faith?  Where have I neglected my brothers and sisters, and the children of the Church?  Where must I repent? 

            Confess it.  Don’t deny it.  Confess it.  And believe the Good News.  Jesus has bound the strong man, Satan, by His death and resurrection.  And now, in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins.  And you forgive, and are forgiven by, one another, every time you pray the Lord’s Prayer: “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” 

            So, now, forgiven of all our sins, justified by grace alone in Jesus Christ…  What would it be like if we really believed what Jesus says here about the new Family of God in Christ, the Christian family?  What would it look like here, now, in this congregation?  How could you foster that?  Not how could others foster it?  Not what could that guy start contributing?  No, you.  You, personally.  How can you help unite the Family?  How can you love your brothers and sisters?  How can you strengthen the bonds where they already exist?  How can you help bring it about where it doesn’t?  What is your role?  Where do you fit?  Because you do fit.  You do have a role to play.  Every last person here is important. 

            This congregation is a family.  And, like it or not, it’s your family.  Love it.  Rejoice in it.  Jesus has brought this about by His own redemptive work.  He labored for it on the cross, brought it to birth in His death.  He lives to be this family’s life.  The mission of this congregation, beloved, is to be the Family of God in this place.  It is to nurture and support this family’s every member, and bring more family members to birth.  I wonder if we’ve sometimes lost sight of that mission.  I confess, I often lose sight of it.  Catch the mission, again, dear brothers and sisters.  It’s not hard to catch.  Look around you.  Jesus is present here, looking around Himself at those gathered.  And He speaks His creative Word: Behold, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  For whoever does the will of God,” and that is to hear the Word of God, and do it, “he is my brother and sister and mother.”  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 4B)

June 2, 2024

Text: Mark 2:23-3:6

            The Lord Jesus Christ is our Sabbath.  Sabbath, rest, to cease from work.  In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was a day, the seventh day, Saturday.  As God rested on the Seventh Day of Creation Week from all the work that He had done, not because He was tired, but to set the pattern of work and rest for His people, so now Israel was to rest on the Sabbath Day.  Thus the Third Commandment as we have it in Exodus: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Ex. 20:8, 11; ESV).  In our Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy, the Commandment is framed by another rationale: “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deut. 5:15).  So, first of all, you are to have some empathy with those who work for you, your servants (here, we may say, employees, or students, or family members), and even your beasts of burden, because you know what it’s like to be a slave and have no rest.  Give them a break.  But second, and even more profound, in the resting of the Sabbath, you are confessing that you are no longer a slave, thanks be to God!  You are free.  The LORD has freed you.  Therefore, you can rest from work.  And so, far from being a burden, a restriction, a binding of freedom, the LORD gives the Sabbath to free you from burdens.  Do you see where the Pharisees got it all wrong?  Do you see where you get it all wrong, this whole idea of Sabbath?

            But now, in the New Testament, Sabbath is no longer bound to a day of the week.  Sabbath is not a day, but a Man.  THE Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the culmination and fulfillment of the Sabbath.  The Sabbath was, all along, a type, pointing us to Him.  He is our rest.  Submitting Himself to the taskmaster of the Law in exchange for our freedom…  A Slave in our place… Suffering under whip and scourge… Having died for our sins on the cross… Then, taking His Sabbath rest in the tomb on Holy Saturday, the Seventh Day, having completed the work of New Creation… Inaugurating the eternal Eighth Day by His resurrection on Easter Sunday… our rest is now every day, every moment, in Him.  Faith, that basks in His presence, and clings to His Word.  He gives us rest from our endless quest to justify ourselves, to save ourselves, to work our way into God’s good graces.  No, all of that is at an end in Christ.  He gives us rest from our preening and positioning, posing and pretending that we are what we’re not… that is, good people, who have it all together, and are always on the right side of every issue.  You know… the way we paint ourselves on social media and when we tell our stories.  Unlike everybody else, whom we know to fall far short of our own glory.  Although we also know, in those rare moments of honest self-evaluation, that it’s all a sham.  We’re lying to ourselves.  We’re lying to others.  We’re lying to God.  But all the lies come an end in Christ.  He puts them all to rest.  He has taken them all away in His suffering and death.  And now, He alone is our righteousness.  And so, Sabbath.  Rest.  Shalom.  Peace.  Healing.  Wholeness.  Christ.

            The Sabbath frees you from all burdens.  Now, insofar as Old Adam still hangs around your neck and must be killed (because otherwise he’ll try to convince you the Sabbath is a great burden), you still need the Commandment.  You still need to hear this as Law: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,”[1] or, “You shall sanctify the Holy Day.”  But if it is not a day for us in the New Testament, but a Man, then how do we keep it holy?  Dr. Luther helps us out in the Small Catechism, doesn’t he?  “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”  That is, go to Church, listen to the sermon, receive the Sacrament, as often as possible.  Read the Bible.  Study it, at home, and with your fellow Christians here in Bible class.  Say your prayers.  Teach your children the faith.  Raise them to be faithful Christians.  You can and should hear that as Law insofar as you resist it and chafe at it.  Repent of that.  This is a holy Commandment.  Christians are to do these things. 

            But then, stop a minute and really listen to what God is saying to you in this Commandment.  “You shall receive My free gifts in Christ, My Son.  You shall receive the forgiveness of all your sins, redemption, eternal life, and salvation.  His righteousness for your own.  My love.  My Spirit.  My unfailing providence.  Again, My Sabbath rest.  My Shalom, which is to say, peace, healing, wholeness.  Freedom.  No longer a slave.” …  Dear God, why do You have to burden us with all that?!  Do you see how ridiculous we are?  It’s like saying to your kids, “You must open your Christmas presents and eat your Christmas cookies!”  “Ah, gee, do we have to?”

            In our Holy Gospel, we see what the Sabbath means for disciples of Jesus Christ.  Grain for the hungry.  The Bread of the Presence (the Showbread in the Holy Place, indicating God’s presence with His people in the Holy of Holies).  The Bread of Life, the bodily presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Far from violating the Sabbath, the disciples are reveling in its fulness.  There is the grain in the field, and there is Jesus with them.  The healing of the man with the withered hand.  This is what the Sabbath is all about.  Releasing him from his burden.  The doing of good, and not evil.  Healing and wholeness in Christ, our Shalom.  Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?  What else is the Sabbath for, if not for that?  Filling what is lacking.  Mending what is broken.  Relieving.  Restoring.  Raising to new life. 

            That is why we are here.  Now, it doesn’t have to be Sunday.  Sunday is not the new Sabbath.  Jesus is our Sabbath.  But we do need a day to literally rest from our labors, and we do need a day when we all know to come together and have opportunity to hear God’s Word and receive His gifts, bask in the Presence of Christ, eating His Bread (the Bread that is Him!), and receiving His healing.  Sunday is a good day for that, because Sunday is the day Jesus rose from the dead, and now every Sunday is a little Easter Feast for us.  Let not hardness of heart prevent you from participating in that.  Let it not hinder you from receiving that.  Let it not resent Jesus for pouring His gifts out upon your neighbor.  And don’t you dare resent your neighbor.  That hardness of heart… be warned… makes Jesus angry.  That is what it says in our text (v. 5).  And it grieves Him.  He grieves when you despise what He gives you.  (As your pastor, I grieve, too.)  And that kind of hardness of heart, understand, eventually seeks to destroy Him.  But you can’t destroy Him.  Not finally.  He was destroyed on the cross, but He is now risen, never to be destroyed again, therefore He will destroy all who reject Him in the End.  Be warned.  You either have Jesus as your Sabbath, or you will have no Sabbath for the rest of eternity.   

            So… just repent.  That’s always the answer.  Repent and believe the Good News.  Your sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake.  And you’re completely restored.  Just believe it and receive it.  It’s really that simple.  Come and hear it anytime you want in Holy Absolution.  And then… rest in it.  Rest in Him, your Lord Jesus Christ.  Here He is, for you.  To feed you, and release you.  That is what He does in His Word and Sacrament.  This is the balm for all your care and sadness (LSB 906:1).  This is your healing for body and soul.  Everything you are seeking, everything you need… the elusive rest and peace for which you are yearning… It is all here for you in Christ.  He is your Sabbath.  He is your Shalom.  “Come to me,” He says, “all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you”… what?... “rest” (Matt. 11:28).  Rest.  The Lord Jesus Christ is your Sabbath.  And here He is, now, for you.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.                                          

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[1] Catechism quotes from Luther’s Small Catechism (St. Louis: Concordia, 1986).