Sermon for Epiphany 4: "With All Authority" (Mark 1:21-28)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

“And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath [Jesus] entered the synagogue and was teaching” (Mark 1:21).

 

On the Sabbath following their selection to become fishers of men, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, together with Jesus, went into Capernaum to attend the synagogue service. And since, synagogues had no resident ordained minister, the rulers of the synagogue typically would invite some rabbi or scribe present to teach the Scripture lessons. On this day, these rulers picked Jesus of Nazareth.

 

Now, what Jesus taught on this Sabbath day, Mark does not tell us, but Mark does tell us the impression His preaching made on those worshippers. They were astonished. In the Greek, a stronger term is used; it is about the equivalent of “dumbfounded.” You see, these worshippers had never heard teaching like this. This is what caused them to say that Jesus “taught them as one who had authority”(Mark 1:22a).

 

So, what was so different about Jesus? Well, typically, the preacher would appeal to the interpretations of the past rabbis. Jesus, however, quoted no experts, but proclaimed the good news on His own authority. What Jesus taught was not something that He had learned from someone else. Rather, everything He taught and preached He knew by direct knowledge. So, everything Jesus said was in perfect accord with God the Father.

 

As everyone was flabbergasted at hearing God’s divine truth, suddenly there was an interruption. A man among the congregation cried out, “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” (Mark 1:23-24). What we have here is a case of demonic possession.

 

As we live in the western world in the year of our Lord 2024, many today do not believe in demon possession. And if they did believe in it, many think demon possession was just something that happened years ago. So many today believe that surely Satan no longer sends evil spirits into people, but demon possession is real. You may not notice it, but that’s likely since you refuse to see it.

 

But Satan would rather attack in more subtle ways. Lying and seduction are powerful and have longer lasting effects than coercion. As the Father of Lies, Satan does a much better job with us when he simply convinces us that lies are truth. We see this in the attitudes of all sorts of social problems today. How easily the devil converts us into being liars ourselves – even lying to ourselves and fleeing God’s Word of truth. 

 

Through the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul proclaims this truth for all time: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

 

But we, who are in Christ, should not be frightened. Remember, the battle has been won, even if the war is not completely over.

 

But oddly enough, the great confession of today’s reading from Mark is not from a disciple, but from the demon-possessed man when he says, “I know who you are – the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). Now, this man could not have known what he said about Jesus. It was Satan that possessed this man who knew who Jesus of Nazareth was and what His purpose was. Satan knew, since he was in fact – at one time – a messenger of God, an angel of God. Even as a fallen angel, Satan will never forget his enemy. So, at that moment in the synagogue, two realms are colliding: the spiritual realm of the Lord God of Israel, and the spiritual realm aligned against it.

 

Even with his words, Satan is revealing himself to be wiser than many modern theologians. However, this knowledge is doing Satan no spiritual good. This knowledge is only filling him with fear and trembling that his reign as the prince of this fallen world is nearing its end.

 

Even though the demon-possessed man was speaking the truth about Jesus, Jesus would not accept its words as testimony. Satan was not a proper witness, for those hearing him could say, “Those are the words of the Father of Lies. How can we believe them?” Rather, Jesus wanted the people to recognize and accept Him as the Messiah through His authoritative preaching and seeing His works. So, Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (Mark 1:25). With that simple command, at once, the demon obeyed. Now that man shook violently, and Satan used the voice of that man to utter a horrid scream, but that scream was that demon’s last whimper. At last, the man was free. Jesus had given a mighty demonstration of His almighty power in Satan’s own domain.

 

All throughout Scripture, demons know who Jesus is. Again, like their leader Satan, they, too, know who Jesus is, due to being fallen angels. Jesus would confront many demons throughout His earthly ministry. In Mark 5, Jesus met a demon-possessed man, with tremendous strength who had the power to break shackles and chains. The possessed man cried out to Jesus, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me” (Mark 5:7). 

 

And even when Christ accomplished His mission as He lived a sinless life in the place of all sinners, even to the point of death on the cross, so that His innocent death atoned for the sins of all people by stripping Satan of all his power to control the souls of mankind, Satan still attempts to go after mankind even though he has no shot of victory. As Paul and Silas were in prison, they met a slave girl who was possessed by a demon. She cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). So, even though Satan and His minions hate God, it is their angelic nature to proclaim God and His truth – even if they don’t want to.

 

Again, God does not want demons proclaiming His truth, since again, those are the words of the Father of Lies. How can anyone believe them? And that’s the point. It would be Jesus’ authoritative preaching and His mighty works that would bring people to faith in Him as the Son of God.

 

Jesus is the One with authority, not Satan and not Satan’s minions. When Jesus spoke, He was speaking from the very essence as God. By His authority, He told the demons to depart. He alone had that kind of authority because He is the Author of life. He is our Creator. And our Creator is good. 

 

To every demon-possessed person Jesus met, He brought them liberation and new life. 

 

Today, even though he has lost the battle, Satan continues to attack us on all sides. He whispers in our ears saying, “Did God really say?” He causes us to question truth as he leads us into lies. We must repent and turn to Jesus as Satan’s deceit will never end until Christ returns in glory on that Last Day. And as that great and magnificent Day nears, Satan grows ever more desperate. 

 

Satan, the great deceiver, led our first parents Adam and Eve into disobedience, sin, and death. As a result, we are under God’s wrath sentenced to eternal damnation as we merit and deserve – through Adam’s sin and your personal sins of thoughts, words, and deeds against God and your neighbor. Without God’s love in Christ for you, there was no help, no hope, no comfort for us. This all changed only when the Son of God in His goodness had mercy came down from heaven by becoming man – like us in every way, except without sin – to help us. Christ snatched us from the jaws of eternal death in hell. He won us. He made us free. He restored us to the Father’s favor and grace as His own possession through the water and the Word of Holy Baptism. He has taken us under His own protection and His shelter in order that He may rule us by His righteousness, wisdom, power, life, and blessedness.

 

So, what should we do to combat Satan, this fallen world, and our own sinful nature that much prefers Satan’s lies to God’s truth? Well, turn to Christ, who alone has all power and authority in heaven and on earth. Turn to Christ, who alone has the authority that defeats Satan and his demons. Turn to Christ, who suffered and died for you, so that your sins would be forgiven and that you would be free from Satan’s accusations. Turn to Christ and listen to His voice in the Scriptures. Turn to Christ and receive His grace of forgiveness through the words of absolution and in His very body and blood under the bread and wine that forgives your sins and strengthens your faith.

 

In the spiritual battle until the Last Day, for everyone who clings to Christ, your victory has been won and all by grace through faith in Him, who has all authority in heaven and on earth, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.   

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 9: "Do Not Be Afraid!" (Genesis 9:8-17 & Mark 6:45-56)

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

Eight people are left on earth. Noah and his family had witnessed the extinction of a world of men and beasts. They – along with two of every kind of creature – had been saved. They were surrounded by the evidence of the destruction worked by God in His righteous wrath against sin. Noah and his family were frightened. They were wondering: “What’s next?” What doom was on the horizon?

We also have the Twelve apostles. They, too, were terrified! As they were struggling against the currents upon the Sea of Galilee, they see what looks to be a specter or ghost or could it be the Leviathan? They all believed a watery grave awaited them.

These twenty people – the eight on the ark and the 12 on the boat – all were full of fear and trembling.

On this Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, God’s voice comes to calm all fear as He says, “I establish my covenant with you. Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid!” (Genesis 9:9, Mark 6:50)

[God’s Covenant]

Only eight people are left on the earth. They had seen the perils of water, but now they have seen God’s delivery from water. They had seen God’s righteous wrath against sin. Now, it is God Himself who makes the most solemn and binding promise that He can make to man.

God spoke: “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:9-11).

This divine covenant is not anything that we can pledge. This is a pledge to us from God. This covenant is bound to God Himself to carry out. And this covenant was not made only to Noah and his sons, but this covenant includes every one of their descendants: you and me!

God did not stop there, He gave Noah, his family, you and me an additional proof and guarantee that He would execute His covenant with Himself. God spoke saying, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations. I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. … When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between [Me] and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (Genesis 9:12-13, 16).

As Noah and his family were in need of assurance, God gave them this assurance: He would never again cause the extinction of the world through a world-wide flood.

We can only imagine what Noah and his family were thinking. Certainly, they were in awe of the words of God and of His covenant promise as He spoke: “Whenever the rainbow appears in the sky, I will remember my covenant between Me and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (Genesis 9:16).

Now, why would God need a way to remember His covenant promise? How could God forget? Of course, God never forgets His promises. This is God saying that the terms of His covenant between Himself and us would always be before Him.

But, unlike the triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – we are prone to forget. Today, how many in society, when they see a rainbow in the sky recall God’s covenant promise to Noah and us? Many may think of the Great Flood, but it is likely that most will not recall God’s covenant promise that He made to you and me.

In recent times, the sinful culture has pronounced a new meaning to the rainbow. It is no longer about God’s covenant with us. It is now a pronouncement that there is no need to lead a chaste and decent life with what we say and do. The culture pronounces that those who live contrary to God’s intention of marriage are in fact “born this way.” Now, I used to argue against the phrase “born this way,” but now I understand it. I actually agree with it. Yes, we are all born “this way,” we – you, me, and every person upon this earth – are born as enemies of God (Romans 5:10), due to sin, which every human being inherited from our first parents: Adam and Eve.

But while we were God’s enemy, He sent His Son to reconcile us to Himself – and all by grace through faith in His Son. Now, this doesn’t mean that we continue to live in our sin. Instead, we repent and confess our sins to God and receive His forgiveness.

You see, sin at its core, separates us from God. Sin separates us from His everlasting covenant with you and me.

The Sixth Commandment “You shall not commit adultery” does not apply to only husbands and wives. This commandment applies to all human beings, whether married or not, or cohabitating, and to all kinds of sexual desire and activity. God says that we are to fear and love Him by refraining from lustful desire or activity of any kind, whether heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or otherwise. We are to live sexually pure lives in modesty and in self-control. And our identity is not in our sexual preference, whether that be gay, straight, or otherwise.

Remember, our identity is in our Baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection (for which we have witnessed again here this morning, as God adopted Aiden). Through our Baptism into Christ, we are God’s children and thus, heirs of heaven. Since our identity is in Christ, we trust in God’s grace knowing that it is sufficient for us, and we look to Christ daily for forgiveness, strength, and contentment.

So, let God’s rainbow in the sky help us remember that He has kept His covenant promise these many centuries. There has been no world-wide flood. He has kept His promise, and He keeps every promise. Even the promise of the Savior.

[Terror Upon the Sea]

As God calmed the fears of Noah, the Twelve disciples thought they were about to be succumbed to a watery grave. Now, unlike when Jesus calmed the storm previously in Mark 4(:35-41), the disciples this time had no danger of drowning. The Sea of Galilee this night was just being unfavorable. You see, the sea is not the problem. What terrifies them is seeing Jesus and not understanding who He is.

After the disciples had struggled for hours upon the sea, Jesus makes His way to them – as He walked upon the sea.

It is likely the disciples yearned for Jesus as they fought the sea currents, but when Jesus finally arrives, every disciple comes to fear and trembling. “It is a ghost!”

You would think that when Jesus finally comes that the disciples would become calm. This is the same Jesus who displayed His divine mastery to the disciples over wind and wave just recently. It appears that they forgot.

Instead as Jesus comes closer to them, they all cry out, “It is a ghost!”

You see, the disciples believed that Jesus was a ghost, or worse! This is what is terrifying them. It is not a matter of the sea. There are no crashing waves. There is no storm. It is only Jesus. The Twelve believed that a watery grave was their fate.

In their fear, Jesus speaks to them, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50). Here, Jesus speaks His covenant name: I am. This is the same name that God spoke to Moses. This is the same name God spoke to Noah and his family. “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” This is the incarnate God speaking to His disciples and to us saying, “Wherever you are, you are never away from My care. If I am with you, you have nothing to fear.”

Now, who or what are your ghosts? What do you fear? Are we trusting in something or someone that is not helpful for you? If we are trusting in anything other than the one true God, then we should be very afraid. But when Jesus is there – when we call upon Him for security – we have nothing to be afraid of at all. So, when “It is I” – the “I” being Jesus, the “I am” – then we have nothing to fear.

[Little Faith]

After witnessing the feeding of the 5,000, and so many other signs and miracles performed by Jesus right in front of their very eyes, the disciples should have understood so much more than they did. They should not have been so “utterly astounded” (Mark 6:51) at witnessing Jesus walk upon the sea. They should have comprehended that the One who had multiplied the loaves of bread, calmed the sea, healed the sick, and raised the dead, could really walk on the water.

Just as it was when Jesus calmed the storm, as we heard just weeks ago, the disciples still do not understand who Jesus is. Like the crowds – who “ate and were satisfied” (Mark 6:42) when Christ fed the 5,000 – His disciples couldn’t see what was right before their very eyes. Some thought He was just a prophet, some thought He was a bread king, others thought He was just a great teacher. Who is Jesus? As Jesus earlier spoke to them after calming the sea saying, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40), we hear today that the disciples’ hearts were hardened. Now, this has nothing to do with rejecting God’s truth. Rather, this “hardening” is the spiritual condition of the disciples, which is the “littleness of faith.” Indeed, they have some faith – a little faith – but this faith needs to grow into understanding who Jesus truly is: God in the flesh.

We, too, often have little faith. We – like the disciples – often don’t see what is right in front of us. We often turn to fear. We begin to trust in people or things that promise relief and safety, but in reality, they only promise what they could never fulfil. Even in our little faith, God the Father doesn’t give up on us. Despite our little faith, He sent Jesus to be our Savior from sin, eternal death, and hell.

So, turn to the one true God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who always fulfills His promises and says: “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

God comes to us today to serve us as He did Noah and the disciples. He serves us through His Word and Sacraments. He comes to us today to take upon Himself our fears and increase our faith.

Unlike the triune God who never forgets His covenant promise, He comes to us today to remind us that the powers of sin, death, and Satan are defeated through the power of Jesus’ atoning death upon the Cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead! This we need to hear repeatedly, because unlike God, we are prone to forget. We are prone to forget how God so loves us so much that He took it upon Himself to save us from sin's power, which is eternal death. He comes to us today speaking this promise of forgiveness of sins, which guarantees eternal life and salvation. He comes to us today reminding us all that we have nothing to fear, since we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!

In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus pledges Himself to you and me as He says He will never leave us or forsake us. All we have to do is trust in Him. Through the very Words of Christ, “This is My body” and “This is My blood,” Jesus speaks to us another special covenant promise: that in this Sacrament, Christ’s saving death is proclaimed, and the fruits of His atonement are distributed for the forgiveness of our sins. “For as often as [we] eat this bread and drink the cup, [we] proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Unlike the sick at Gennesaret – who undoubtedly heard about the miracle healing of the woman with the 12 years of the flow of blood (Mark 5:25-34) – we don’t get to touch only a fringe of Christ’s garment for our healing. Instead, Jesus invites us to touch Him and taste Him as He takes our sins away through our eating and drinking of His body and blood under the bread and wine.

Although God never forgets His covenant promise, there is something that God does forget. You see, when we repent of our sins – all that we have done against God in our thoughts, words, or deeds – He immediately forgets that sin. God the Father immediately sees us as He sees His Son as perfectly righteous. It is by faith in Christ alone that our sin and fear are taken away! In response to this grace, we “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

Yes, God’s steadfast love endures forever and so does His covenant, so “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid!” (Mark 6:50) Amen!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

Sermon for Pentecost 5: "Only Believe" (Mark 5:21-43)

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

• All medical help had failed. The child was sinking away in death.
• All medical help had failed. “If I could only touch His garments, I will be made well.”

In a moment of desperation, could the rumors be true? Could this Jesus heal my daughter from death? Could this Jesus heal me of my flow of blood?

These were the questions of the people we meet in today’s Gospel text. Are the rumors true? In a moment of desperation, a father and another woman seek Jesus to find out. On this Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, we meet two people who have come to faith in Jesus through trials and tribulations.

[At the Point of Desperation]

“When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about Him, and He was beside the sea” (Mark 5:21). Immediately, one of the rulers of the local synagogue, Jairus by name, sought Jesus and fell at His feet and began pleading, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live” (Mark 5:23). Jesus then began to follow Jairus to his home.

Jairus was at the point of desperation. You see, although he was among the leaders of the local synagogue, which would be similar to our Board of Deacons. He was a Pharisee, but he was not completely opposed to Jesus, like most other Pharisees. In a time of desperation, he was willing to do anything. He was putting his complete trust in that this man Jesus – that he has heard much about – could heal his daughter from certain death.

But Jesus and Jairus were not alone. Jesus and Jairus were joined by hundreds – if not thousands – of people, as the inconsiderate crowd kept pressing against Jesus and Jairus on all sides. This immense crowd wanted to see if Jesus could indeed heal this young girl from death. As the crowd encircled Jesus and Jairus, a speedbump arrived.

Among the hundreds, if not thousands, pressing against Jesus, He stops His march to Jairus’ home. Immediately, Jesus says, “Who touched my garments?” (Mark 5:30) His disciples then reacted as we would, saying: “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” (Mark 5:31)

Jesus looks around the crowd as He knew exactly where to look without causing this woman any shame.

In a moment of desperation, this woman believed that if she only touched a piece of Jesus’ garment, she would be healed of her flow of blood. But she wanted to be unnoticed. She thought that Jesus would never notice her. Now, her motivation was not to steal a healing, but to keep her ailment hidden. You see, according to Levitical Law as stated in Leviticus 15:25-33, due to her menstrual impurity, she was considered ritually unclean. In this state, she wasn’t even allowed to be in this crowd. In order to keep the people of Israel clean, she was to be separated from the people, due to her uncleanness. This is why she wanted to remain anonymous.

But the odd thing happens, Jesus says, “Who touched my garments?” (Mark 5:30) As many people touched His garments that day, no one else received a healing, except this one woman. The reason is that the others had no desire or purpose in touching Him, but this woman came purposely and touched Him with her faith. To that touch, Jesus responded by letting His Divine power go out to heal her.

As Jesus was on His way to the bed of a young girl, He stopped everything. You see, Jesus wants to be bothered. He wants us to call to Him at all times and at all places. Even when we think Jesus is too busy for us, He is never too busy. He drops everything to comfort each and every one of us. He hears all of our prayers. Now, He may not answer each prayer the way we want, but we know that each prayer is answered with a “Yes,” or a “No,” or a “Not yet.”

Here, Jesus stopped everything as He wished that this miracle would be revealed to the crowd. This woman had attempted to touch Jesus secretly. But Jesus does not want her ever to feel that she had done anything improper in securing her healing. She had nothing to be ashamed of or to hide, since her flow of blood was miraculously healed, and all by faith in Jesus.

Jesus then says to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5:34). Here, Jesus speaks no word of blame, but only words to cheer and to lift her spirits up. By calling her “daughter,” she is no longer ostracized in the eyes of her Lord.

As Jesus was still speaking to her, there came some from Jairus’ house who said to Jairus, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (Mark 5:35)

Jairus had started for Jesus too late. Death outran him and won the race. Now, what about this speedbump? Could this delay have made much difference? From the text, it appears that this delay took only mere minutes.

Jairus was heartbroken. His faith had been shattered. He likely thought, since his child was dead, Jesus could do nothing. Jesus was only a last resort. He believed that Jesus could restore his daughter, but only if He could only reach her before she had died. Now, it seems to have been all to no use. Jairus and the family never thought for a moment that Jesus could restore his daughter back to life after she had died.

As all of this was swimming through Jairus’ mind, Jesus says to him, “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

Before Jairus is able to say a word, Jesus takes command of the situation. Jesus attends to Jairus first. Jesus does the same for us.

You see, Jesus knew that he had come to faith in His power while his daughter was still alive although she was near death. Now, this news would devastate that faith that Jairus had. Jesus proceeds to keep his faith alive as He pays no attention to what was being said by Jairus’ messengers.

“Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

Jesus is the compassionate Savior who is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15) under sin and death. When Jesus says, “Do not fear, only believe,” to the suffering and the bereaved, He is not speaking an empty promise. Jesus not only has the desire, but also the power to “save completely” (Hebrews 7:25) those who call to Him in prayer. This truth was demonstrated by the act of power that followed.

Tucked away in this miraculous healing – from death to life – Jesus reveals to us something about our resurrection. He says: “The child is not dead, but sleeping” (Mark 5:39). You see, when Christ returns on the Last Day, with the sound of the trumpet of God, we will all awake as if we were only sleeping. But unlike Jairus’ daughter, we will awake with our resurrected and immortal body. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

[Jesus Comes Today with the Healing Medicine in Word and Sacrament]

Until that glorious day, for us sinful human beings, we often think that we can save ourselves. This is what our evil foes – Satan, the world, and our own sinful nature – want us to believe. Through our evil foes, we think that we have the power to fix our own ailments, whatever they may be: physical or mental. But it is only God who has the power to heal and save. Oftentimes, we fail to remember this fact. And, oftentimes, we fail to look past today and focus on the eternal.

C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity wrote: “Most of us find it very difficult to want ‘Heaven’ at all – except in so far as ‘Heaven’ means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained, since our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world.”[1]

Yes, the triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – by His will heals many and various temporal ailments. He is still performing miracles today as He works through doctors, nurses, and therapists. We may forget sometimes that God is still working miracles here in the church. You see, each baptism is a miracle as that child is taken from Satan’s kingdom and into God’s eternal heavenly kingdom. Now, each baptized child of God can still fall away, but through repentance and faith in Christ, that son or daughter who once fell away is brought back and without any spot or blemish.

God’s miracles do not end there! Each and every Divine Service, we all receive God’s healing medicine as we hear His Word as revealed in Scripture and partake of Christ’s very Body and Blood under the bread and the wine that forgives our sins, which in turn strengthens our faith and gives us eternal life and salvation.

But do we continue in sin so that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1) No, we repent, that is, turn away from of our sins and receive the healing medicine that Christ can only give! For if we receive the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner by not confessing our sins and confessing our faith, we “will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). A guilty manner would be abusing the Sacrament by making it an occasion for sin and thus this person eats and drinks judgment upon himself or herself. God’s Word teaches us that “we are [to be] disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32).

Luther put it this way in his Large Catechism, “When we come to Sacrament of the Altar, we must ask these three questions: “What is it? What are its benefits? And Who is to receive it? And all these points are established through the words by which Christ has instituted this Sacrament. Everyone who desires to be a Christian and go to this Sacrament should know them. For it is not our intention to let people come to the Sacrament and administer it to them if they do not know what they seek or why they come” (LC V 1-2).

Here in the Divine Service, we hear the same voice of Jesus as He said to Jairus’ daughter, “‘Talitha cumi,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise’” (Mark 5:41).

As the world may scoff and ridicule Jesus like those people who were weeping and wailing loudly laughed at Jesus for Him saying about the little girl, “The child is not dead but sleeping” (Mark 5:39), He comes to us with the same power to heal us from our sin and worry.

Just as Jesus said, “Little girl, arise,” immediately she stood up and began walking. Life, health, and full strength returned to this lifeless body, and no trace of the disease that caused her death remained. With just a word, Jesus robbed death of its prey. With a word, He put life where death had been.

Through the very Word of Christ, He gives us this same healing medicine through His Word and Sacrament that He accomplished for us through His suffering, death, and bodily resurrection, so that by grace through faith in Him, we would be saved from the power of sin, eternal death, and Satan.

All we have to do is believe. Believing can be tough when life is going well. But, believing often becomes much easier when life is going rough. For anyone who has taken ill for any reason, we soon realize that we can’t do what we normally could do. Many times, we become helpless. We realize that we can’t accomplish what we would normally find easy.

Thanks be to God that when times get rough, we can always depend on You. “For by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Christ comes to us today with healing – just as He did for this woman and Jairus’ daughter. All we have to do is believe and trust in Christ alone. For in Him:

• We have found consolation
• Comfort in tribulation
• Balm to heal the troubled soul
• We have Jesus who is our shield from every terror
• Christ cleanses us from sin and error
• And He makes my wounded spirit whole.

So, “Do not fear, only believe.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

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[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), 135.