St. Luke 4:31-44
Dearly beloved
The gospel treats for us a very important topic for
today. Jesus
was in the Synagogue doing what was necessary to open up the way of God to
people: He was teaching. The setting is an interesting one. It is a
setting that we are not used to seeing. Jesus was teaching about Himself,
no doubt. In the crowd is a man who is possessed by a demon. The demon can
hide among the crowd and go unnoticed…that is, until the gospel is preached.
The gospel has a way of pulling Satan out of a crowd. He
can’t stand it. This is good news for us, truly. But today this gospel
gives us an opportunity to think about the life of the Christian in the
world. Christianity can be a difficult thing for people in this respect: We
come into Jesus, we are baptized and we confess the faith. That is the easy
part. The hard part is reconciling the darker sides of our lives with the
life of Jesus. We are told over and over again in sermons, in Bible
classes, in devotions, that we are to live lives of faith and repentance—and
this is true. We are to do all of these things.
What is particularly difficult for us is when we see our
sin. There is that dark side in all of us that contains the parts of our
lives and our character that doesn’t line up with the Christian
message. Everybody
has this. There is something in the past, or worse something recurring in
our lives. What this does to us is a great travesty. It wears us down. One
of two things results from that dark corner of our souls that holds our sins
and hurts: Number 1. The Christian pushes them so far out of reach and goes
into such a state of denial, that they refuse to recognize their sin. This
leads to a hard-heartedness that is like stone. It is nearly impossible to
crack.
This will do more damage to the person in the long run than
acknowledging one’s sins. Number 2. The Christian, as a result of the sins
residing in the dark corner of the soul, will come to the conclusion that
Christianity is for the virtuous and the good people of the world.
Christianity,
they say, is “for people who are better than me.” “I am just not holy
enough.” “I like the sinful world too much.” What results from this is
what we see so often in the church. People will come in, excited and
willing to become a Christian. The person goes through catechesis, gets
baptized and enjoys what he receives in Divine Service. BUT, after a while,
the person recognizes that the sins don’t stop. That dark corner of the
soul doesn’t just go away. So, what does the person do? He stops coming to
church.
He retreats back to the world he knew before, having
concluded that that is where he really resides. The world of sin contains
the people who are more like him. So, from all of this, what we often find
in the church are either people who are so broken over their sin that they
are already on the way out of the church, or we have people who refuse to
look at sin and become the self-righteous Pharisees who wound the
consciences of others. This is very real and very damaging. A church that
is just going through the motions, not paying attention to Jesus is in a
very difficult position.
Here is what Satan does so well. Satan will not attack your
faith head on because you will be ready for that. Instead, Satan will
attack you from behind. Satan will cause you to sin. Then, after you sin,
Satan will expose your sin and he will get you to believe that you are far
too horrible to be a Christian. He will exasperate you into thinking that
Christianity is for better people. What is the remedy? Here is what you
need to know. Christianity is not a ten step process to sinless living. You
have to realize that Christianity is the gathering of people who have these
dark corners of the soul that continue to plague the conscience.
Christians are a people who need more Jesus. But what does
that mean? You ask yourself, “How can I walk myself up to the altar on
Sunday after filling my life with sin during the week?” How do we deal with
the dark recesses of the soul that hold us back? Being a Christian,
ironically, is all about taking what Jesus has to offer and taking Jesus at
His word. Probably the best statement of Jesus in this regard is when Jesus
said: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are
sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners”(St. Matthew 9:12-13).
What Jesus says is that He calls sinners. This whole notion
of “calling sinners” is not just a one-time thing. You still live in the
flesh, you still have all those things that have affected you from the past,
and you still have this sinful world to contend with. So, you cannot just
come once and call it good enough. This is why I say that you must find
yourself kneeling at the Lord’s altar continuously. Being baptized means
that Jesus loves us and will forgive us. He will take our hurts and hurl
them into the depths of the sea.
God’s love is so strong and pervasive that nothing is
stronger than Jesus. The gospel gives us ample evidence of this: Jesus in
the first part of St. Luke 4 withstands the temptations of Satan. Jesus is
victor!Then Jesus is in the Synagogues and casts out the demon from the
person. Jesus is victor, again! Then we see Jesus healing Peter’s
mother-in-law of a terrible fever, and then more demons are cast out of
people. What this is to show us is that Jesus is merciful. He loves
you. Jesus
knows your hurts, He knows your sins, and He will leave you with a blessing
and a promise. The blessing is forgiveness. The promise is a future
release from sin, where we enter the gates of heaven.
The cross of Jesus is love, mercy, faithfulness,
steadfastness, forgiveness and victory. Jesus will never turn you away if
you cry out to Him. Jesus means to love you. Even if all things in the
world seem to work against you, or Satan keeps pulling the sinner card on
you and showing you how awful you are, you are to be reminded that Jesus is
not that way. Jesus will look upon His children and start pointing out your
faults. The people who come to Him and cry out for His help find relief,
forgiveness, love, mercy, and protection. Jesus is your all in all. His
cross, His life, His bloody death and His glorious resurrection are the
things that have given victory to sinners.
So let us cry out to Jesus and look to Him. Let us rest in
His love. Let us open our souls to Him. Let us kneel before the Lord and
petition Him. Let us live always in His forgiveness. Your sins have been
paid. Those dark corners of your soul that keep knocking you down have no
power when Jesus is present, because Jesus dispels the darkness and brings
eternal life for you. You are loved by the only true God, and in Him is
your eternal peace and salvation. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
