Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 13th,
Year of Our + Lord 2023
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Proclaiming the Word of Faith
In the Name of Jesus.
There’s too much. I could easily
go way long this morning,
because today’s three readings from the Word of God are all fantastic, full of
glory and mystery.
In
our Old Testament reading, we hear the beginning of the LORD’s response to
Job’s demand to
know “Why?” Why are things
as they are? Why does Job suffer, even
though he trusts in the LORD? Ultimately,
Job’s demands to know “why” lead us to the question, “God, why there is evil in
the world?” God starts His response with
what seems like sarcasm: "Where
were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you
know! Or who stretched the line upon
it? On what were its bases sunk, or who
laid its cornerstone… Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this.”
The LORD is going to break through Job’s blindness, in order to restore
his faith with the Word of promise and blessing. To do this, God starts out speaking of the
creation, of the wonder of the physical world we live in, reminding Job of the
fact that God is God, the Creator. And
Job is a man, a creature of God, lacking wisdom and knowledge, especially when
compared to the mind of the Almighty.
This is often still a good place to start when we are trying to proclaim
the Word of Faith to our friends and neighbors.
With 3,500 or so years of scientific endeavor since Job, we have a more
detailed understanding of the universe, right down to electrons and quarks and
neutrinos, subatomic particles which, we think at least, are the smallest
building blocks of everything. But where
did all this stuff come from? What exactly
are electrical charge and magnetism? What is gravity? How does it reach across empty space to pull
things toward each other? And why does
everything work in such amazing order?
What is the cause of the way things are?
How did the laws of physics come to be?
Well, if you press a physicist, he or she will have to admit, “We don’t
know why, it just is.” Where did it come
from, and how did things get the way they are?
Physicists who follow the politically correct model of refusing to
discuss a Creator usually fall back on saying “well, there was this Big Bang,
see, and then it all just randomly came together, following a set of rules
that came from… well, we don’t know
where the rules came from.”
Into
this mystery Christians, pastors, teachers, missionaries, and also you, we all can
speak a Word of Faith. Into this mystery
we, in our everyday lives, can insert the truth that God, the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, has in His infinite power and wisdom made all things, just the way
they are. That God is the Creator is
fundamental to the Word of faith. Such a
conversation could go places.
From Paul’s proclamation to the Romans we hear this morning of the daisy
chain of God’s Word of Faith mission work:
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how are they to call on him in whom they
have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never
heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are
sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach
the good news!" But they have not
all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he
has heard from us?" So faith comes
from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
From this we understand that God is in charge
of growing His Church.
Our
mission is primarily
His
responsibility. Without doubt, we have roles to play, many
things to do, and we should do them well.
But in the end, the best we can do is preach and confess Christ clearly,
and count on the Holy Spirit to build the Church as He sees fit.
It’s not that God’s Mission is easy.
Many people, as Paul’s quotation from Isaiah reminds us, will reject the
Word. The proclamation of Christ goes
out, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord,
who has believed what he has heard from us?”
I talked about starting conversations with unbelievers through
discussing the Creator’s Creation, and this can be a fruitful beginning. But we need to remember that when we dare to
contradict the “Voice of Science,” or the current respectable opinion about
life, or sex, or family, or personal responsibility, we will, as often as not, join
Job in suffering.
This
is because today so many people take the very unscientific position that “Science”
is not to be questioned. Then at the
same time they insist IN ALL CAPS that whatever cracked pot idea being forced
on us by our supposed betters must be accepted by all people. Or else.
So, in some places a male athlete can decide tomorrow he is a girl and
compete against real females, with all his biological advantages of size and
strength in place. And eleven and twelve
year olds who are confused about who they are encouraged to take chemicals and
consider mutilating surgeries to “change” their gender.
For some,
the current theories of origins and evolution are the ultimate authority that
must not be questioned. For others, the
insane idea that sex is merely a social construct is the holy grail that must
be defended at all costs.
So
Christian confessors who dare even to just ask difficult questions must be
shouted down, or silenced. Dissent is
not allowed in our popular culture.
Being involved in the Mission of God has always been hard at times, because
Satan hates the Good News that robs him of all his power. Pentecost events still happen. At the same time, and all too often, the mob
is still trying to stone the Paul’s of our day.
The devil will stir up opposition, whenever he can, a determined opposition that
will be convinced it is doing good when it persecutes the Church of
Christ.
Mission
work is difficult, but we dare to engage in it, because it is also
wonderful. We participate in God’s
Mission because we know the peace that passes all understanding. We know the joy of sins forgiven and
righteousness restored. We know that
Christ is risen, never to die again, and so in Him, we too will conquer death,
and persecution. We are called to rest
in the promises of Jesus, and pursue the tasks He has set before each of us. And we are promised that, even when all seems
lost, our Good Shepherd is still taking care of us.
Peter learned this lesson a frightful way,
as we heard in our Gospel this morning. Have
you ever nearly drowned? Even a few
seconds of believing you are about to go under the water forever is soul
shaking.
The
Word of Faith we proclaim is just that, a Word of Faith. Neither Peter nor Job received what they
demanded. Job wanted a humanly
comprehensible explanation of suffering.
Peter wanted a visibly observable proof of Christ and His power.
From
them, especially from Peter, may we inwardly digest the critical lesson about
being involved in God’s Mission, which we have already heard: Christian Mission
is God’s Mission. Mission belongs to the
LORD, it is enacted by Him, and we are simply called to trust in Him and do the
things He has told us to do. Which will not
necessarily be the things we think should be done.
As
our Gospel this morning begins, Jesus has just fed 5,000 men and their families
from five loaves and two fishes. The
twelve disciples were put to work in this miraculous meal, distributing the
bread and fish to the assembled people, who had grown hungry in their efforts
to bring their sick and lame to be healed by Jesus. Through Word and Sign, Jesus had been caring
for the crowds. Then He also met their
immediate physical need, filling their stomachs, with 12 baskets of bread left
over for the disciples to gather up. If ever
the Twelve were going to be convinced of the divine power and authority of
Jesus, if ever they would have confidence in Him, you would think it would be now.
But their faith fades quickly.
Jesus tells the Twelve to cross the lake in the boat, while He dismisses
the crowds and retreats to the mountainside alone to pray. Struggling to make headway on the stormy
lake, a nighttime of harassment by the creation leaves the Twelve weak and full
of fear. Then, in the fourth
watch of the night, that is, at three or four in the morning, Jesus comes to
them, walking on the sea. The battered disciples see Him approaching, on top
of the water, and they are terrified. "It’s
a ghost!" they cried out in fear.
But immediately Jesus speaks to them, saying, "Take heart; it is
I. Do not be afraid." They hear the same voice, the same Word of
Faith, that Jesus had already spoken to them many times, including during
another storm in a boat on the same lake.
Jesus’ Word should have been enough to make them rejoice. But not quite. Peter answers Jesus, "Lord, if it is
you, command me to come to you on the water."
If? Oh, Peter. You know Jesus. He just spoke to you – “Fear not, it is I,”
much like He once said to you, “Fear not, from now on you will be catching
men.” Jesus had already, many times,
spoken the Word of Faith and Forgiveness to Peter. But in this scary moment, Peter starts His
prayer, “Lord, if it is You...” This is not a prayer of faith.
I’m so glad you and I don’t pray like this. I’m so glad we never try to bargain with
God. I’m so glad we never say to Jesus –
Lord, if you’ll help me, then I will be faithful. Lord, if you get me out of this mess I’ve
made, then I’ll clean up my act. Lord,
if you keep Grandpa alive, then I’ll go back to church. Lord, if…
Peter’s prayer, like too many of ours, flows from unbelief. And, on top of that, Peter challenges Jesus
to prove Himself by allowing Peter to complete a self-chosen work! "Lord, if it is you, command me
to come to you on the water." Let
me do a miracle too, Jesus, then I’ll believe in You. Let me decide what is the right way for me to
serve in Your Mission, Jesus. Let me be
impressive and special, then I’ll be all in for You.
We may have not served at the feeding of
the 5,000 like Peter, but we have the Word of God recorded in Scripture. We have the blessings God has poured out on
His Church through 2,000 years. We have risen
Christ with us in Word and Sacrament.
And yet, how often do our prayers sound like this: “God, if you prove
Yourself to me by doing this thing I want, then I’ll do some other thing, that
I choose, for you.”? Not a lot of “Thy
will be done” in such a prayer.
Peter’s prayer was faithless, and,
consciously or unconsciously, he chose a work that was all about puffing
himself up. Let me do something
impressive, Lord. And yet, because His plan
for Peter was bigger than Peter’s many limitations, Jesus humors him.
“O.k., Pete, I’ll give you just enough rope
to hang yourself. Come.” Jesus needs to cut through Peter’s pride and
unbelief, so He gives the command that Peter demands, “Come to me, walk on
water. Let’s see it.”
Be careful what you ask for in your
misguided prayers; Peter got more than he bargained for. And what’s the result of self-chosen works
that flow from unbelief? The wind and
the waves of life quickly distract us puny creatures, and staring at them in
fear, we sink. God will allow our
foolish pride to get us into trouble, sometimes big trouble, so that we
repent. Fearing for his life and finally
realizing his foolishness, Peter repents of his self-chosen work and his doubt,
and cries out in desperation – “Lord, save me!”
He
who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. Jesus immediately rescues Peter from danger,
and rebukes his unbelief. And so we see
that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God made man. He is rightly to be worshiped.
Sadly, Peter wasn’t done messing up his
part of God’s Mission, and neither are you and I. Our pattern of doubt and self-chosen works
has not ended yet. Miraculous meals and
water rescues were not enough to make Peter useful in God’s Mission, not enough
to give him enduring faith. Likewise,
all the blessings we receive in this life, despite our sins, are still not
enough to make us truly faithful. We
need more. So Jesus did all that was
necessary.
At the feeding of 5,000, Jesus took bread,
blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, a foreshadowing of the
night when He was betrayed and did the same, only this time adding the Word of
Faith – this is my Body, given for you.
And this Cup is the New Testament in my Blood, shed for you for the
forgiveness of sins. And, as He always
does, Jesus fulfilled the promise of that Word, in this case the very next
afternoon, on a Cross outside Jerusalem.
There He paid for the sins of the whole world, washing them away with
His blood. There He died our death, and
made our way into God’s eternal favor.
The Word of Faith which we proclaim is not
about miraculous meals of bread and fish, nor about spectacular miracles like
water-walking. The Word of Faith is the
Word of the Cross, the Word of sins forgiven for the sake of the holy, innocent
suffering and death of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, given into death for our sins,
and raised for our justification, our salvation. The Mission of God is not about the Church
being powerful or impressive or full of earthly miracles. No, the Mission of God is all about the proclamation
of free forgiveness, won for sinners at the Cross and Empty Tomb, and delivered
to us, and all who will hear, through the Gospel in Word, Water, Wheat and
Wine.
Every time you pick up the Word of Christ,
every time you hear Scripture read, every time you kneel at this altar and
feast on the Body and Blood of Jesus, your resurrected Savior is with you,
speaking to you. He says, “Fear not, it
is I.” Jesus is with you to save when
you gather here, and He goes with you when you leave. Believe it, and rest in His peace. Then God will use you in His Mission, in just
the way He knows best, wherever our gracious LORD leads us,
In
the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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