31 January 2016
St.
Athanasius Lutheran Church
Epiphany 4
Vienna,
VA
Jesu Juva
“A Word Unlike Any Other”
Text: Luke 4:31-44; I
Corinthians 12:31b-13:13 (Jeremiah 1:4-10)
Grace, mercy, and peace
to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Imagine being in the synagogue in Capernaum that
day.
You’ve been there before, lot of times. Today,
though, there was a guest preacher. And while you’ve heard lots of sermons -
some good, and some . . . well, some better than others - you’ve never heard
preaching like this before. This was different. He was different.
He spoke with authority. Like He was the author, explaining what He wrote. Like
He was speaking what He had spoken before. That He was somehow in these words,
and these words in Him. It was astonishing. And unlike some other sermons
you’ve heard, you wished it wouldn’t end. That’s how captivating it was. He
was.
But that was not the only astonishing thing in
synagogue that day. There was that man. You didn’t even know who he was. He
looked normal enough, until he so rudely interrupted Jesus. And what he said .
. . well, it was more than a little troubling. Like, he didn’t want Jesus to be
here with us.“Ha!
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.” That’s what he said. And, that’s
what we were all thinking . . . kind of. That He was a holy one. But not
to destroy us . . . Why would he say that? Was there something to it? Did he
know something we didn’t? You’d heard the stories about priests going into the
Holy of Holies in the Temple and not coming out alive. You didn’t mess with the
holy. Was there something more going on here than we knew . . . ?
But then it ended as quickly as it had begun. And
it was Jesus’ word again. He didn’t argue with the man, he simply told him to be
quiet and come out of him. You’d heard about unclean spirits and people
being possessed by them, but you’d never actually seen one before. That one
could be so close to you and you didn’t even know it was kind of unsettling.
Were there more? But it happened as Jesus said. The man didn’t say anything
else - he simply fell to the floor and it was over. That was it. Jesus’ words
were not only astonishing, but had authority. What He said wasn’t just true,
they happened.
At coffee hour after the service ended, we were
all talking about it. Jesus didn’t stay, though. He went right to Simon’s
house. But then it happened there too! Just as Jesus had
rebuked the unclean demon, so He rebuked the fever that had kept Simon’s
mother-in-law from coming to synagogue that morning; the fever that some said
had her near death. Some people laughed, for who talks to a fever? But
it came out of her too. Just like that. But it was more than that. For when
I’ve had a fever before, it takes me a few days to get my strength back after
the fever breaks. But she got better right away. She got up right away and
served them, like she’d never been sick at all. His words happen. His words
make things happen.
Well, once word got around about that, there was no stopping folks! Everybody and anybody who was sick .
. . they came out of the woodwork. It was like gridlock in Capernaum that
evening! Everybody trying to see Jesus. And Jesus saw
them all. He was so patient and kind. He didn’t boast.
He wasn’t arrogant or rude. He was not irritable or
resentful. He was full of joy. So many before Him had
said so much, but they were like noisy gongs or clanging cymbals.
Jesus was different. He just kept giving. Giving Himself.
He kept preaching and things kept happening.
And He healed everyone. All who came. The Great Physician was the name your neighbor gave
Him. But He was more than that. There were more demons, too. You didn’t
know there were so many around us, did you? And they
were calling Him the Son of God. But He didn’t want them to
speak. It was like He just wanted to help. To make people better.
To set them free. To give them hope. To love them. And
He was good at it.
You watched for a while, but it got late, and it
seemed like the people waiting to see Him was endless . . . In the
morning, you went to find Him, to hear more, see more, receive more. But He was
leaving.“I
must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for
I was sent for this purpose.” That’s what He said. It made you a little
sad. That was one great day! And what about when you
got sick? Sure would be nice if Jesus would be here for you then . .
.
But something else He said . . . I was sent
for this purpose. But who sent Him? It wasn’t the Pharisees or Saduccees - they didn’t like Him very much. Jealous, I
guess. . . . Maybe what the demons had said . . . you are the
Holy One of God; you are the Son of God. Could the One, the Holy One
who dwelt in the Temple and made it holy, be dwelling now in this man from
Nazareth? Not to destroy, but like at the Temple, to cleanse, to forgive, to
make us holy?
It doesn’t seem possible, or even probable. For
cleansing, forgiveness, holiness - you needed
sacrifices for that. You needed blood for that. It wasn’t so easy, so
available. It was costly. And you needed priests. You couldn’t just go into the
Holy place - only they could. But there was no denying what you had seen and
heard. People were being cleansed and forgiven and holied.
What happened in the Temple was happening in Capernaum . . . and Nazareth and
Samaria and Cana and Tyre and Sidon and . . . everywhere
Jesus was . . .
The prophets, like Jeremiah, had talked about
such a day, when God Himself would come and shepherd His people (Jer
31:10). And
then you remembered those words of John the Baptist you’d overheard by the
Jordan - Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And then you remembered
that Jesus was killed on Passover, when all the lambs were killed (John 18:39). And then you remembered
what Jesus said on the cross - priestly words! Speaking forgiveness to those
who crucified Him (Luke
23:34).
Speaking comfortingly to that man hanging next to Him (Luke 23:43), just like He did in
Capernaum. Jesus still, even while He was dying, even while men and demons were
taunting Him, still filled with love. Still patient and kind, not
irritable or resentful, delivering up His body to be burned under the
wrath of God on the cross . . .
Yes, His words, even there, astonishing . . . and
happening. That man would be in Paradise with Him that day. There was
forgiveness now . . . for everyone. For criminals, for
crucifiers . . . even for you.
That day in Capernaum, it was like seeing
dimly, but now you see it so clearly. Even more, you know
He can see you. That day in the synagogue, you were just one in the crowd, yet
it seemed like He was talking right to you. Because He was.
He knew your heart, your sins. It was like He could see your
through your skin. The fight you had this week. The harsh and
hurtful words. The work you should have done but didn’t do. The impure
desires you had. The jealousy, the anger. How you
looked down on others in your heart even though you knew you were no better.
How you didn’t pray because you thought it didn’t matter,
and how reading God’s Word wasn’t as important to you as that book you wanted
to read.
He knew it all, and more. And yet still He spoke
those astonishing words to you, today! I forgive you all your sins. And
you were cleansed. It happened. Words with authority.
And still He offers His body to you! His body once offered on the cross, and
his blood shed there, now offered to you, to holy you. The
Holy of Holies here. Take eat. Take and drink. The Lamb of God. The Passover Lamb.
Today you will be with me in Paradise. And it’s true. For what He speaks, happens.
For actually, you were
there that day, in the synagogue, in Capernaum. Or actually, perhaps
better to say, they are here with you. For the angels and archangels and all
the company of heaven are here. For Jesus is here. For you.
What else did you expect when you came here
today? Indeed, why else come here today? For the preacher?
You’ve heard better sermons. For friends? You’ve got
them at home. For the food? I don’t even know if there
is any today. For Jesus. Not because He needs
you, but because you need Him. Because you need your unclean spirit expelled
and its temptations silenced. You need to be healed of your sin-sickness. You
need His love and hope, that when you die, death will not be the end for you.
You need to hear words that happen - not the words of a skilled politician, but
of a Saviour. You need comfort in your desolate
place, a friend who will never leave you or forsake you (Deut
31:6). You
want to be fully known, to give yourself completely, to hide
nothing, to have no secrets, to rest in pure and unfailing love. And there’s
only one place that kind of love is - a love that bears
all things; a love that never ends. In
the Holy of Holies. In Jesus. The One who gives Himself like that to you.
For He was sent for
this purpose. Sent by His Father. To Capernaum and to here. To you.
Not to destroy you, but to destroy your uncleanness. To make
you sons of God, holy ones of God, in Him. And He has. You are. For what
He speaks, happens. He has loved you. He has worded you. So now . . .
you who have heard, you who have received, can live that love, and in that
love, for you have been filled with such love. Filled . . . with Jesus.
And where you are, He is; and where He is, you will be. He promised. And what
He speaks, happens.
In the Name of the
Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.