Christ's Word Keeps You through the Storm

Pentecost 5

June 28, 2015

Mark 4:35-41

Christ's Word Keeps You through the Storm

In the name of the Father and of † the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Storms come in many ways. For Jesus and His disciples back then, it was wet, windy, and deadly. For Jesus and His disciples today, it is a Supreme Court decision.

You've now heard what those five little gods decided. And since we all sin as much we can get away with, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is now celebrated as legal by the dominant culture. Actors whose work you may enjoy are exploding the internet with rainbows. Down the road the Unitarian Church—which isn't really a church—had their rainbow rally on Friday. All of this isn't surprising.

But worst of it is that some weak Christians will be tempted and bullied into silence. Other weak Christians will even be tempted to lie and say that Jesus would want this and is happy about this. These silent and weak ones aren't malicious; they just want to stay on good terms with their family, friends, and neighbors.

This decision will aid many souls on their way down to hell. When the state says that sin is legal, many will use this as an excuse to sin even more. They will go against their conscience to go along and get along. And they will perish. Forever.

Marriage and life are not politics; they should never be up for debate. But the Devil, the world, and our flesh have dragged marriage and life into the gutter of politics, subject to the whims of the childish mob. The Devil is delighted when enduring truths from Christ are debated, undermined, and then destroyed.

But the truth is the truth. Life begins at conception in the womb. Marriage is for a woman and a man, promised and faithful to each other for life. This is not opinion. This is not interpretation. It is true always because Jesus has spoken life and marriage into being and they will always be just that until Jesus speaks to Time and tells it to stop.

And this ever-true Speaking is what gets us through this stormy life. Jesus calmed the wind and waves in an instant with His word, but it didn't immediately calm the souls of His disciples. Later His Word would bring them peace, but it didn't right away.

And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

(Mark 4:39-41)

"They became very much afraid." What does this mean? They were scared to be in the presence of God. Whom do wind and sea obey? God. And they were standing next to Him.

When Peter probably told Mark this story, I'm guessing that he admitted how foolish he and the other disciples were to be afraid. But not of the wind and the waves. Creation is scary. It often tries kill you. Especially if you're in a boat.

No, Peter probably looked back and was amazed that he could have doubted Jesus' promise that they would be fishers of men. And that they could have asked Jesus if He cared about them. He does, always, and always keeps His promises.

What does Jesus promise you? Forgiveness through His words in Baptism, Absolution (the spoken word of forgiveness), and Communion. Jesus promised:

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

(John 6:35-40)

He also promises you that you will suffer for His name. He promises this.

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

(Mark 8:34-38)

When you disagree with the mob on marriage and life, you know that there will be consequences. (By the way, when your Facebook friend posts foolish praise for wickedness and sin, generally I wouldn't fire back. Just file it away. You'll get a chance to thoughtfully respond in person. And when that chance comes, don't remain silent because you don't want to lose your friend or family. Speak the truth in love. Trust in the Holy Spirit.) And we might wonder, "Why is Jesus leading us into this storm? Why does He then tell us to rock the boat on purpose?! Why does He tell us to speak the truth in love to our loved ones who will be disappointed or even angry with us for speaking Christ to them?

Because He loves us and has mercy on us. He has given us Himself, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And we are drowned by His Law that shows us how silent and afraid we are and pulled back to life every day by His promise to always be with us and wash away our sin. And so we join in St. Paul's confession of Christ during stormy times and personal struggle:

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

(Romans 8:12-18)

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. Alleluia! Amen!

The All-Forgiving Christ and the Unforgivable Sin

Pentecost 3

June 14, 2015

Mark 3:29

The All-Forgiving Christ and the Unforgivable Sin

In the name of the Father and of † the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Reading through the whole Bible is an excellent use of a believer's time. But when you read the Bible, you will find strange and troubling truths. Today is one of those challenging truths, spoken by Christ and recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

(Matthew 12:31-32)

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.

(Mark 3:29)

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

(Luke 12:10)

Blasphemy is to speak as though you are God. We do this every day. We think, speak, and act as though we are God. This is our Adam's original sin, to speak as though you are God. This blasphemy is against Christ and His Father, yet this is exactly the sin and blasphemy He came to cleanse. He became this blasphemy for us (2 Cor. 5:21) and nailed it, nailed Himself, to the cross for this blasphemy. And He forgives us thoroughly.

So why does Jesus make a distinction between blasphemy against Himself and His Father and blasphemy against His Spirit? Why will every sin and blasphemy against Jesus Christ be forgiven? And why will those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never be forgiven?

Let's start with the second question. The sin against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven because He is the One who sends forgiveness to sinners through the holy Christian Church and brings us into the communion of saints. Those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit are willfully and maliciously rejecting the Gospel itself.

The true Christian faith is not a feeling. It is grounded in historic events and delivered by actual events in your life: Baptism, Absolution, and Communion. These are the ways in which the Holy Spirit delivers forgiveness to sinners.

To put this into a small context, imagine a little kid who absolutely refuses to receive eyedrops for pink eye. If the kid successfully screams and thrashes and kicks, they might eventually get away from the medicine. But their pink eye with stay with them.

The point is that if someone willfully rejects the heavenly medicine that forgives their sinful disease, they will remain in sin and death and be destroyed. If someone refuses the Gospel, they are unforgivable, because the Gospel is forgiveness.

Two important notes about this unforgivable blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

First of all, Christians cannot point the finger to accuse anyone of this sin. Christ will judge these sinners according to His perfect knowledge. We cannot see what Jesus sees, so we do not accuse anyone of having committed this sin. With the Baptism, Absolution, and Communion that the Holy Spirit delivers, there is always hope for even the most stubborn sinner―of whom I am the worst. In the same breath, we do warn ourselves and others if they are stubborn to repent and turn to Christ's cross.

Secondly, if you're worried that you've done something so awful or so big or so often that it is unforgivable, do not be afraid! It is forgiven on the cross. Someone who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit does not and will never care about sin or forgivness or the Holy Spirit. To worry about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a clear sign that you are fighting the good fight of faith.

And looking about at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”

(Mark 3:34-35)

To borrow Jesus' lovely way of saying it, only His mothers and brothers and sisters listen to His words and wrestle with these hard truths. His will for us is to receive His promises and forgiveness. And we do receive them and this leads us to confident confession of Christ as the One who sends His Holy Spirit to save us.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. I tell you, whoever acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.

(Luke 12:6-8)

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. Alleluia! Amen!

The Savior Sabbaths Sinners

Pentecost 2

June 7, 2015

Mark 2:27

The Savior Sabbaths Sinners

In the name of the Father and of † the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning God created rest.

By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. (Genesis 2:2-3)

God didn't rest because He was tired. He finished His work by giving us the gift of rest, because we get tired. By setting aside a special day every week, God has answered your prayer before you prayed it.

The prayer I'm talking about is your request that you have made in the past to have more time, "If only there was another day this week!" Consider this. Instead of thinking that God never gives you an extra day to the seven-day week, consider how God has already given you a special day of rest added to the six-day week.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)

Sadly just as we abuse the good of work during the week, we spoil even His gift of rest. We make the Sabbath, the day of rest, about ourselves. We do this in two ways. We either compete to be better "resters" than others or we spend our rest devoted only to pleasing our whims.

The best comic strip every created is and always will be Calvin and Hobbes. He's a little boy who thinks deep thoughts and then acts like boor. His stuffed tiger Hobbes often acts as his foil. And during the summer, Calvin is often in great anxiety about having enough fun. By worrying about how every day is closer to the start of school, fun becomes work to be squeezed out of every moment. How silly and how true of us!

In the same way we can turn the gift of rest into work by enjoying it as tradition, but never more than ritual. This slide into routine aided and abetted by a failure to ponder what you receive in God's house. You assume you know and so you never say it. This routine behavior that resides in our houses should be as troubling as a child who never asks their parents questions or a parent who never says their kids, "I love you."

Fight the good fight by warding off the easy painless temptation of treating Sunday morning like a chore by doing the good work of listening to Jesus tell you every day, "You're a wretched lazy sinner who rests when you should work and works when you should rest. Therefore I died for you and I forgive you. I love you for My own sake."

The flip side of treating the Sabbath, God's day of rest, as work, is to fling ourselves headlong into the pursuit of pleasure. Sunday rolls around and most heads are asleep or on a boat or swinging a club or down in a garden. Anywhere but in God's house. And it's never enough. It's always the pursuit of pleasure. You have to get out of bed sometime, you have to get off the boat sometime, golf is waste of time, and the weeds always win. You could use all your time having fun, and you'd never have for keeps.

Lest you get a big head, you daydream during church and think about what you're going to be doing later today. For all of us, let us repent and trust the Gospel, trust Christ, who finished the work of salvation and then rested in His grave on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is rest from our Lord to His people. The people who love this world always waste their time while working and resting. But God's people enjoy this special day of rest as time to be refreshed and fed through our ears and mouths with Christ Himself. He sabbaths us, He rests us by having us in His presence. This is how rest was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27-28)

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. Alleluia! Amen!