St. Michael and All Angels

St. Michael and All Angels

September 29, 2019

Text: Dan. 10:10-14, 12:1-3; Rev. 12:7-12; Matt. 18:1-11

            The Prophet Elisha and his servant are holed up in Dothan.  The King of Syria is in hot pursuit.  Elisha must be captured and put to death, for by the word of the Prophet, God has been protecting the nation of Israel from Syrian assault.  The Syrian army surrounds Dothan.  “When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17; ESV).

            So it is for the people of God.  The enemies arrayed against us are colossal.  There is the devil and his evil angels (more on them in a moment).  There is the world, which is hostile to Christ and His people, the Church.  There is your own sinful nature, which believes the lies of the devil and the world, and is all too willing to capitulate to their temptations.  These surround the holy city, the Church of God, and to all appearances, guarantee our defeat, and ultimately, our destruction.  But if the Lord would open our eyes to see the spiritual reality that surrounds us, we would not only see the demonic hoards that seek to do us harm, but the holy angels gathered around us for our defense.  And we would realize that those who are with us are more than those who are against us.  Christ Himself fights for us and has already conquered our enemies by His death and resurrection.  And now He has given us the protection of the angel host, so that we need not fear.  We are safe and can rest secure.  Though the battle rages between the forces of good and evil, holiness and wickedness, the war is won in the blood of the Crucified.  And His angels have been dispatched to guard us in all our ways, to bear us up lest we strike our foot against a stone (Ps. 91:12). 

            Who are these majestic beings, the holy angels?  Well, they are not the souls of the dead.  When Grandma dies, heaven doesn’t “gain another angel.”  That’s from cartoons and popular American spirituality, but it’s not the Bible.  Angels are a special creation of God.  They are ministering spirits who do the will of God.  They are not smiling naked babies with wings as we so often represent the Cherubim.  Nor are they the serene feminine beings we place on top of our Christmas trees.  They are fearsome creatures, mighty warriors who do the bidding of God, fight against the devil and the evil angels, and aid us in our Christian life.  Angels are spirits.  They are personal beings who do not have physical bodies.  They are described in various ways in Holy Scripture, so that an exact description of them is beyond our ability.  Isaiah describes the Seraphim (one particular order of angels) as having six wings: with two they cover their faces, with two they cover their feet, and with two they fly (Is. 6:2).  The Cherubim (another order of angels) were charged with guarding the door to Paradise with a flaming sword (Gen. 3:24).  Likenesses of Cherubim were set over the Ark of the Covenant, where God dwelt with the people of Israel (Ex. 25:18-22).  Ezekiel describes these strange and wonderful creatures in his 10th Chapter: “as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went…  And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around… And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle” (vv. 10-12, 14; ESV).  So much for our Christmas angels! 

            The angels are neither male nor female, though they are most often described in masculine terms.  They were created sometime during the six days of creation, almost certainly on Day One.  Sometime before the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, there was a rebellion among them.  And since this rebellion, the holy angels (those who did not rebel, but were faithful to God) have been confirmed in their holiness; they cannot fall.  The evil angels (the rebels!) have been confirmed in their wickedness and condemnation; they cannot repent.  Originally created as holy angels, Lucifer (as tradition names him)… Light Bearer… and the angels that followed him in his rebellion were cast out of heaven to spend eternity separated from God.  Our Lord Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).  In his vision, St. John sees the evil dragon sweep a third of the stars of heaven out of the sky with his tail, the dragon being the devil and the stars being the angels that fell (Rev. 12:4).  The name “Satan” is Hebrew for “adversary.”  The name “devil” is Greek for “accuser.”  His name indicates his nature.  He is our adversary, “a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).  He seeks to lead us with him into eternal damnation.  He accuses us before God and before our own conscience, seeking to lead us into despair.  He tempts us to sin and unbelief and causes untold damage spiritually and physically.  St. Paul calls him the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), and Jesus calls him the “ruler of this world” who is “cast out” by the redeeming work of Christ (John 12:31; cf. John 14:30, 16:11).  But… though the devil is a powerful angel, we need not fear him, for by His death and resurrection our Lord Jesus has “disarmed the rulers and authorities [demonic beings] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:15). 

            The word “angel” comes from the Greek “angelos,” meaning “messenger.”  The holy angels are God’s messengers.  They are His special agents dispatched for our physical and spiritual protection.  The writer to the Hebrews says, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14).  And yet, at the same time they are guarding and protecting us, they are ever in the presence of God.  Jesus says in our Gospel, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” meaning certainly the children, but also all of God’s children, all Christians… “For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 18:10).  That means that even as they are present with you, they are present with God, have direct access to Him, and do His bidding for your good.  What a comfort!  Their job is to help you, to protect you physically and spiritually for the sake of your salvation.  Some of them may even appear visibly among us in human form, again, as the writer to the Hebrews says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2).  And these angels, they are a countless host.  As they serve and help you, they simultaneously sing praise to God in heaven.  St. John saw a vision of this in the Revelation: “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Rev. 5:11-12).  And what is amazing is that we join them in this reality when we gather around the altar to laud and magnify the glorious Name of God “with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.” 

            The angels help us in our worship, and as God’s messengers, they are always directing us to Christ and His saving Gospel.  In other words, angels are preachers.  So the angels announced the coming of the Lord Jesus to Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:26-38; Matt. 1:18-25).  They hailed His birth to the shepherds tending their flocks by night (Luke 2:8-15).  An angel rolled back the stone of Jesus’ tomb and was the first preacher of the Resurrection (Matt. 28:1-7; John 20:12).  It is the angels who will announce with trumpet sound our Lord’s coming again to judge the living and the dead (Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16).  And if we only had eyes to see, we would marvel at the many and various ways they direct our ears to the hearing of God’s Word in Scripture and preaching.  Angels, messengers of God, indeed. 

            And what good news they bring.  Here you are surrounded on all sides by your three main enemies: the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh.  The yawning jaws of death and hell are eager to swallow you whole.  But you are of good courage.  You do not lose heart.  Because by faith you know that what was true for Elisha is true for you.  Those who are with you are more than those who are against you.  He who gave His Son into death, washing away your sins by the holy and precious blood of Christ, will not betray you into the hands of the enemy.  He has surrounded you with His holy angels, horses and chariots of fire, to protect you, body and soul.  And when your last hour comes and you take your last breath, the holy angels will carry you to heaven to be with the Savior (Luke 16:22).  You see, you are never alone.  Not even in death.  Christ is with you.  And His holy angels are an impregnable wall of defense around you, mighty warriors who fight for you.  And they, and you, have conquered Satan and his hoard by the blood of the Lamb and by His holy Word (Rev. 12:11).  Thanks be to God for the holy angels.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

           

 

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20B)

September 22, 2024

Text: Mark 9:30-37

            What is it to be great?  What makes one great?  Is it wealth and prosperity, fame, pleasure, power?  Is it physical fitness?  Superior skill?  Knowledge?  Wisdom?  Ambition?  These things certainly make one great in the eyes of the world.  Do we measure greatness in comparison with our neighbor?  Is greatness showing yourself wealthier, more powerful, more fit?  Is it putting your neighbor in his place, because you know better than he does?  You are right, and he is wrong?  Because you are wiser?  Because your ambition outpaces his, and is more deserving?  That is what Old Adam thinks, isn’t it?  But St. James says to us, “if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (James 3:14-15; ESV).  Yes, the source of this measure of greatness is not only the world and your own sinful nature, it is ultimately satanic.  When and where has this been your idea of greatness?  Examine yourself.  Where have you been touched by bitterness and jealousy, selfish ambition, and boasting, if not to others, in your own heart?  Repent of that.  Identify it for what it is.  Confess it.  Unload it at the feet of Jesus Christ.  Let it be put to death in Christ, the Crucified.  That you may be free.  That is what St. James means when he bids us, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (4:10).

            What is it to be great?  Is there a better example of greatness than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?  He is the Great One.  What makes it so?  How is He great?  Oh, He is God, to be sure, and so He is great by nature.  But what does that mean?  How does He demonstrate His greatness?  By spectacular displays of power and glory?  By sheer force?  By putting us in our place (which, by the way, would be hell, O sinner) in exhibiting His infinite holiness and righteousness?  That is not what He does, is it? 

            Here is the true greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  God became a Man, for us men, and for our salvation.  But even more.  Now, as a Man, being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:5-8).  That is His true greatness.  His humiliation for the sake of those who don’t deserve it.  For us. 

            That, of course, is the great Christ hymn of Philippians Chapter 2, and St. Paul tells us to have the same mind among ourselves.  To do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility, in Christ, to count others as more significant than ourselves.  To look not only to our own interests, but to the interests of others.  This mind is already yours as a gift, Paul says, because you are in Christ (vv. 3-5).  Baptized into Christ.  United to Christ by faith.  So… have it.  Christ’s mind.  Christ’s humility.  And therefore, Christ’s greatness, as your own.

            And then, at the proper time, God will exalt you.  As He did with Christ: Therefore God has highly exalted Him!  Resurrection.  Ascension.  Seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  Ruling.  All things subjected to Him.  The Name that is above every Name.  And soon, every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.  Have this mind among you, and God will exalt you, too.  Not you exalt yourself.  God will exalt you.  You will be raised, and all will know your justification in Christ.  And you will know the justification of your neighbor in Christ. 

            Our Lord was teaching His disciples of His humiliation, suffering, and death for sinners, and of the resurrection that would come of it.  “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 again” (Mark 9:31).  This is His greatness.  But no sooner had He spoken, than the disciples were arguing about who is the greatest?  This was one of any number of such discussions.  They were always worried about this.  This time, perhaps, the argument was precipitated by the fact that Peter, James, and John were privileged to witness Jesus’ Transfiguration on the holy mountain, while the other disciples were floundering with a failed exorcism.  And/or, perhaps, also because, if the Master is killed as He says, who will take His place as Rabbi?  So they’re jockeying for position.  They are comparing themselves over against one another.  Who is wiser?  Who is more faithful?  Who is the most loyal?  And who is not?

            Nothing has changed among the disciples of Jesus Christ.  We still do this.  I still do this.  I confess it, dear brothers and sisters.  And I repent of it, my pride and lovelessness in seeking to be great among you.  And I ask your forgiveness.  When it comes right down to it, every argument, every feud, every division in the Church has to do with who is greater, and who is not.  I’m right, you’re wrong.  I know, you don’t.  I do the good thing, and you do the bad.  And, to top it all off, I know your motives, and they are clearly sinister.  No.  No.  We have it all wrong.  None of that is greatness.  It’s a trick of the evil one!  And it is precisely the opposite of greatness in the Kingdom of God. 

            In the Kingdom of God, the world’s idea of greatness is turned upside down.  In the Kingdom of God, the first are last, and the last first.  The greatest are least, and the least greatest.  In fact, the one who would be great must become a servant of all.  And it is only the One crucified who is raised from the dead to live and reign. 

            Beloved in the Lord, you have been crucified with Christ.  And it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you.  And the life you now live in the flesh, you live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you, and gave Himself for you (Gal. 2:20).  Dead to yourself in Him.  Alive to God in Him.  And so your greatness is in Him, and in Him alone.  What does that look like?  St. James, calling this greatness “the wisdom from above,” says it is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).  See, all of those adjectives describe humility, the denial of self, the sacrifice of self for the good of the neighbor.  In other words, what Christ does for you, He now does in you for others.  And, he says, “a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (v. 18).  In other words, what is the result?  The justified person (justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone), now doing just works (good works, sanctified works) in love for others, results in peace.  Have this mind among yourselves, to echo St. Paul, and we can enjoy peace with one another, to quote St. James. 

            Well, that means forgiving whomever you need to forgive, and asking forgiveness of whomever you need to ask forgiveness.  It means reconciling with whomever you need to reconcile.  It means covering over your neighbor’s multitude of sins with love (1 Peter 4:8).  It means suffering for your neighbor.  It means emptying yourself, all that you are, and all that you have, for your neighbor’s welfare and salvation.  It means loving the unlovable, and repenting of your own unlovableness.  It means receiving the least as the greatest.  Doing the thing you think beneath you for the person you think least deserving.  Like the child Jesus puts in your midst.  (Oh, how Jesus loves the children!  Notice where the child is, in our Gospel… In His arms!)  Receiving the little child, in reality, you receive Jesus.  And receiving Jesus, you receive the Father.  Actually, you know what it is?  It’s 1 Cor. 13 love in action.  It is patient and kind.  It does not envy or boast.  It is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way.  It is not irritable or resentful.  It does not rejoice… get its jollies off of… wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  It never ends.  Of course, you know (or at least I hope you do after all these years of catechesis and preaching), 1 Cor. 13 is not, first of all, a description of you.  It is a description of Christ.  He’s the only One humble enough, and therefore great enough, to love with this perfect love.  But it is also you, now, in Christ.  Only in Christ, but assuredly in Christ.  Christians love their neighbor.  It is who you are.  Have this mind among yourselves.

            It is yours in Christ Jesus.  Keep that mind as we have difficult discussions here in the Church, dear, beloved disciples of Christ, and in all your relationships with one another.  Don’t lose that mind.  The mind of Christ is a precious gift.  Rejoice in it.  Use it.  Love your neighbor through it.  Give yourself up to it.  That is true greatness.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.                   

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

 

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19B)

The Holy Baptism of Annika Lucia Downard

September 15, 2024

Text: Mark 9:14-29

            “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24; ESV).  That is the prayer, isn’t it?  Insofar as I am the New Man in Christ, baptized into Christ, one upon whom the Father, through the Son, has bestowed the Holy Spirit… yes, I believe!  But then there is Old Adam, my fallen flesh, and this fallen world.  There are my sins, and my weaknesses, and the sins and weaknesses of others.  And there is the brokenness of it all.  These are what my eyes see.  And so, well… help my unbelief! 

            It’s hard to believe.  It’s hard to believe when your son does not speak.  When a demon grabs hold of him and throws him onto the ground so that he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.  When the demon does this around fire and water in an attempt to destroy the boy.  Yes, that makes it awfully hard to believe. 

            It’s hard to believe when you are a disciple of Jesus, who, with your brother disciples, have been casting out demons for nearly three years, but this one, for some reason, won’t obey.  And you see the disappointment turn to anger and resentment in a desperate father’s eyes, because you can do nothing to help, and he’s about to give up on your ministry, and on the Jesus for whom you speak.

            It’s hard to believe when the respected religious leaders can only stand back and scoff.  “Ha!  We knew you were fakes and frauds!  Where is the power of this Messiah you proclaim as the very coming of the Kingdom of Heaven?!”  And they argue against the legitimacy of your faith (and that, in front of the crowds!), and accuse you of leading the people astray, away from Moses, away from the Law, away from God!

            It’s hard to believe…  Indeed, impossible by your own reason or strength.  That is the rub.  You know this from your own experience.  Perhaps you can identify with the father in our text, helpless against the suffering of your child.  (Though it wasn’t a demon, Sarah and I know the terror of watching our boy drop to the floor, and convulse, and foam… this text hits the bullseye of this father’s heart.)  Perhaps you can identify with the disciples.  “Why does it seem like I’m losing the war against the assaults of the demons and the temptations and persecutions of the world?  What used to work, is not working.  I feel like a failure, and in the eyes of the world, I must look like a fool.”  (And, well, pastors know acutely the disappointment, anger, and resentment of parishioners who, for whatever reason, don’t get what they are expecting from the preacher.)  Perhaps it is something else.  Your own besetting sins.  Guilt.  Shame.  Resentment toward others.  Illness, or injury, or just plain exhaustion.  Grief.  Anxiety.  Your worries about the future. 

            But above all, the one you should identify with in our Gospel, is the boy.  Seized by demonic claw, like a cat playing with a mouse before going in for the kill, and then… a corpse on the ground.  Physically dying and spiritually dead.  That’s what you are by your own reason or strength.  Hard to believe?  An utter impossibility.  Dead men have no faith.

            But you know Jesus specializes in resurrection from the dead.  And it is He who now comes on the scene.  With Peter, James, and John, who are as confused as anyone, but who had just witnessed His Transfiguration, and heard the voice of the majestic Glory: This is My Beloved Son… Listen to Him!

            Jesus comes on the scene, and He speaks, and His Word cuts quickly to the heart of the matter.  What are you arguing about?  Well, we’re arguing about all the brokenness, Lord, and the fact that no one can seem to do anything about it.  We’re arguing because there are demons in our midst, and they love to incite us to do that very thing.  We’re arguing because we’re helpless to do anything else.  We’re dead, You see.

            Jesus puts His finger right at the very center of the problem.  Again, no faith.  You are a faithless generation.  It pains Him.  It exasperates Him.  How long do I have to put up with this?  But… Bring him to Me. 

            Now, the help Jesus gives is anything but clean.  They bring Him the boy, but now, cue the demonic show.  The throwing down.  Convulsions.  Rolling about.  Foaming at the mouth.  (Demons are such drama queens.)  The father is undoubtedly beside himself.  See, Jesus?  Do something!  But the Lord appears unphased (no doubt, also, to the consternation of the demon).  Hmm.  How long has this been going on?  I mean, come on, Jesus!  Is this really the time to make conversation?  What are You waiting for?  If You can do anything… have some compassion!  Help us!

            If You can do anything… Unbelief.  What was Jesus doing in this dialogue?  Calling forth the unbelief, the faithlessness, to deal with it.  If You can!  See, that’s the problem right there.  But all things are possible for one who believes.  And that’s not you, oh desperate father.  And it’s not you, you helpless, hopeless, confused bunch of disciples.  And it’s certainly not you, you contentious Scribes.  And it’s not you, dear Christian.  Who is the One who believes, and therefore for whom all things are possible?  Jesus, of course!  Jesus is the Faithful One.  And in Jesus, the God who created all things out of nothing, faith is called forth from unbelief.  The dead are raised to life.  And that is how you come to faith, so that this is now the cry of the father, and it is your cry: “I believe; help my unbelief!”  Only the faith of Jesus Christ, given to a person as Jesus’ own gift to him, can cry for freedom from unbelief.  Only the faith of Jesus Christ, bestowed by the Spirit of Jesus Christ in His Word and gifts, can cry out for resurrection from the dead. 

            Which is why you are here.  In spite of all that makes it hard… nay, impossible… to believe.  You have heard the Word of Jesus.  You are baptized into Christ.  Now, simul iustus et peccator.  That is the paradox of your life now..  At the same time righteous and a sinner.  There is still an unbeliever in you, with shrugged shoulders and an “if You can… but You probably can’t, or won’t.”  But that unbeliever is teased out into the open by Jesus, who exposes him for what he is.  The Lord kills the unfaith, Old unbelieving Adam in you.  And there you lie, like a corpse.  Which is right where Jesus wants you.  And He takes you by the hand, and lifts you up, and you arise.  You had to be killed.  You had to be good and dead.  So that Jesus could raise you up.  So that you could live.  That is how He helps your unbelief.  That is how He gives you to confess: “I believe!”

            And that is how He helps the boy.  And my son.  And you.  And me.  Death and resurrection.  His for us.  Ours in Him, baptized into Christ, as was little Annika Lucia this afternoon.  So that even physical death must serve His helping us, His giving us to believe.  When He doesn’t take away the problem, the cross we are bearing.  He is ferreting out the unbelief.  Old Adam must die.  But you know what He will do in the End.  He will raise you, bodily, from the dead.  Faith keeps its eye on that, shutting out everything else that our fallen eyes see. 

            By the way, why couldn’t the disciples cast the demon out?  You know what it was?  They were cocky!  They took their eyes off of Jesus.  They were impressed with themselves.  They had cast out enough demons, they started to believe they were the ones doing the exorcisms.  No, it was never them.  It was always Jesus.  It can only be Jesus.  Through them, yes, but only Jesus.  So, the cocky disciples had to die.  Failure.  Humiliation.  That Jesus may raise them up true disciples.  That is, those who follow Him.  This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.  That is, the power is God’s, not yours.  If you want to drive out a demon, you have to ask God to do it.  And there is good evidence that the text continues: and fasting.  This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.  That is, denial of self.  The coming to the end of yourself.  Because if you’re still in yourself, you are easy prey for the demon.  But if you come to the end of yourself, then you have nothing left but Jesus.  Which is exactly the way it should be.

            Faith is complete and utter dependence on God… on His Son, Jesus Christ.  Faith confesses sin and unbelief, and cries out to Jesus for help and salvation.  Faith commends loved ones to Jesus, knowing He is the only One who can help.  Faith knows there is no deliverance from sin, Satan, trial, or tribulation apart from Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Faith looks never to itself for sufficiency, but to Jesus Christ alone.  He is the Faithful One.  He is the One who believes.  All things are possible for Him.  And so faith says, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him… (Old Adam is rebellious and dead!)  But if He helps my unbelief by sending His Spirit in His Word (and He does!), then His faith becomes my own, and I can confidently say: ‘I believe!’  (New Creation in Christ!)  And I can leave all things in His hands, where they belong, and rest in His life and salvation.”

               “I believe; help my unbelief!”  That is your lifelong prayer.  And Jesus’ lifelong answer is to take your hand, and raise you up.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.            

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18B)

September 8, 2024

Text: Mark 7:24-37

            Lord God, heavenly Father, hear now our prayer, and free us from bondage to the devil.  Open our ears that we may hear Your saving Word, and our lips that we may praise You, and confess Your Word aright.

            In our Holy Gospel this day, God answers our prayer in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ.  And that, bodily, in the flesh.  He invades all the places where demons haunt.  He meets us right we are broken, in all the vital parts that must be healed if we are to be His own, if we are to be Christians. 

            This is evident in our Holy Gospel.  It is astonishing… and you should be astonished!... He goes to the last place we would expect the Jewish Messiah to go…  Gentile territory.  Pagan territory.  Tyre and Sidon.  The Decapolis.  North of the Sea of Galilee.  And He interacts with the last people we would expect the Jewish Messiah to interact with… Gentiles!  A woman.  A Syrophoenician (dogs, we Jews call them!).  A deaf and mute man. 

            And He doesn’t just interact with them.  He cares for them.  He has compassion on them.  Even touches them.  And the results are: Answered prayer, release from bondage to demons, the opening of the ears, and the ability (the freedom!) to speak clearly. 

            This is what Jesus has come to do.  To invade and take possession.  To release what is bound, and to heal what is broken.  And what He does in our Gospel for the woman and her daughter, and for the deaf and dumb man, He does for us in the reading and proclamation of this Scripture.  That is, He is doing it for you at this very moment.

            It is hard for us to admit… In fact, we resist confessing it… we hate to acknowledge it…  We are born, every last one of us, in bondage to the devil.  Well, our first parents sold us for a bite of forbidden fruit, and that would be enough, yet we’ve been selling our own selves ever since.  And we’re deaf.  Some of us physically, to one degree or another, like the man in our text.  But here we are speaking of a deafness to God, to His Word, to His Voice.  We are born without ears to hear.  And we are dumb.  That doesn’t mean stupid, as it has come to mean in common parlance, but unable to speak.  There are people who are physically unable to speak, like the man in our text.  That often goes along with congenital deafness.  The ear and the mouth work together, and we must not underestimate the bondage of these physical afflictions, nor the miracle of the physical healing bestowed upon the man in our text.  But note this: You must be able to hear if you are to speak clearly.  We learn to speak from hearing, and saying back the things we hear.  And so, if we cannot hear the Word of God… if we are deaf to Him… neither can we make a faithful and true confession.  Confession of faith comes from hearing the Word. 

            Well, what is God to do with us, born as we are in demonic bondage, deaf and dumb?  He comes to us.  That is what He does.  The Father sends His Son.  Jesus.  God in our flesh.  To deliver us.  To rescue us.  To heal us.  To make us whole.

            Now, He doesn’t do it the way we would have Him do it.  We have our ways, but He has His ways.  And, to be honest, it’s a bit of an embarrassment how He goes about the whole business.  Sometimes He plays with us.  He tests us.  As with the woman in our text.  She comes, begging Him, falling down at His feet.  She’s heard about Him.  She’s heard the Word.  Please, Lord, cast out the demon from my precious daughter.  I’ve heard about You, and I know You can do it.  What is His answer?  A seeming refusal.  And a belittling racial slur.  “Let the children be fed first,” that is, the Israelites, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (Mark 7:27; ESV).  The dogs!  To be sure, the word is a diminutive form, probably indicating a pet dog, but note the implication.  The Israelites are humans, the Gentiles are not.  The Israelites are entitled to the Lord’s help.   The Gentiles are not.

            Now, you know the rest of the story.  The woman, on the basis of the Lord’s own character, which she knows by what she’s heard of Him, grabs hold of the Promise inherent in Jesus’ response.  “Yes, Lord,” it is true, I am an unworthy dog, but I am at the feet of my Master, where I belong, and “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (v. 28).  It is a tremendous statement of faith, and we should emulate it.  The Lord commends it, and gives the woman what she asks.  Faith receives.  The little girl is freed from the demon’s possession. 

            But isn’t it true that God often plays with you in this way?  You pray.  You beg.  You fall on your face before Him.  And He seems as though He doesn’t care.  Callous.  Aloof.  Perhaps even annoyed at your petitions.  What does He want from you when He does this?  He wants you to grab hold of His Promises.  Take your place as a dog at your Master’s feet.  Acknowledge your unworthiness.  Agree with Him, and confess it.  Gratefully licking up the crumbs from the Table.  That is enough, Lord.  That is enough. 

            It’s embarrassing how He delivers the man, too.  Fingers in his ears?  Spitting and touching His tongue?  But then, how else are you supposed to communicate with a man who is deaf and dumb?  It’s all so earthy, so fleshy.  The physical nature of it offends our spiritualistic sensibilities.  But there must be no spiritualistic barrier between the man of dust and the Lord’s touch.  This is an act of re-creation.  Looking up to heaven, a prayer.  A sigh.  God’s Son breathing forth His Spirit, the Spirit of life.  Now the ears are open to hear, and the tongue loosed to speak.

            Is this not what He does for us?  He pokes Himself into our ears, in Scripture, in preaching, that we may hear Him.  The spittle of His mouth, His Word, looses our tongues, that we may speak clearly, confessing Him, and all that He says.  His touch… the Sacraments.  Baptism.  The Supper.  His real, substantial, bodily presence.  No barrier.  The real touch of the real Lord for real release and real healing. 

            The bodily Jesus is God’s answer to our prayer.  We pray for deliverance, and God sends a Man from Nazareth.  And it seems like He must be playing with us.  But, in fact, this Man from Nazareth is God’s invasion of creation, to overthrow the old wicked tyrant.  He gives Himself over to the devil’s hordes, bodily, to be tortured and killed.  But the serpent bites off more than he can chew.  The Man from Nazareth is risen from the dead.  And it is He who rescues you, He who touches you, He who heals you, and infuses you with His resurrection life.

            And so, you do now have ears to hear, and lips open to confess.

            And to pray.  Don’t miss that about this Gospel.  The woman prays to Jesus for her little daughter.  Jesus hears and answers her prayer.  Those from the crowd beg Jesus to help the deaf and dumb man.  Jesus hears and answers their prayer.  So now… what do you know He will do for you?  When you pray for your children?  When you pray for your friends?  When you place a need… your own, or that of another… before Him, begging Him to help?  He may test you.  He may play with you.  He will drive you to cling to His Promises.  But so also, He will come down to you.  He will get down into the gutters with you, all the way down into flesh and blood with you, even into pagan territory with you, to hear you, and answer you… to answer your prayers.  To be the answer to your prayers.

            Even you, a Gentile sinner.  He has come to deliver you.  He has come to heal you.  He invades all the dark places in your life, your mind, your heart, your soul.  With His presence.  To touch you.  To create you anew.  To make you whole.

            O God, deliver us from demonic bondage.  Open our ears and our lips to your Word.  His answer is yes.  He is doing it now.  His answer is Jesus fulfilling this Gospel in your hearing.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.                     

 

 

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost