+In Nomine Iesu+
GAUDETE—Advent 3St Matthew 11:2-15
15 December 2013
What’s your definition of make believe? How about
“illusion.” Something that appears to be real, but actually
isn’t. That’s the life we live, you know. Lives filled with
illusions. Lives surrounded by make believe. “Now wait a minute,
pastor,” someone might say. “I know what an illusion is. And I
know what real is. What I see is real. What I can touch is real.
Seeing is believing, right?” Wrong!
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Notice what Jesus tells John the Baptist’s disciples. “Go and
tell John what you hear and see.” Did you notice the word order? It
seems backwards to our thinking. First comes hearing, and then seeing.
“Go and tell John what you hear and see.” The point is that
reality is not determined by sight. Rather, reality is a matter of
right hearing. Only right hearing can properly explain what we see.
Illusions are seen. Truth is heard. In the case of John’s
disciples, they would “see” that “the blind receive their sight
and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead
are raised up.” That’s what will be seen. And that’s what was
happening. But those things were only penultimate. Secondary.
Illusionary, if you will. The more important – the ultimate – is
what is heard – “the poor have good news preached to them.” In
other words, those who are poor in spirit – those who make
absolutely no claim upon God, those who acknowledge their
unworthiness, their sinfulness – they have the “good news” –
the forgiveness of sins – preached to them. Through their ears they
receive what is real and true and authentic and reliable and genuine
– and eternal.
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So right here – right at the beginning – we are able to
separate illusion from reality. Even the miracles of healing and
deliverance that these disciples will “see” – blindness gone,
lameness overcome, lepers restored, dead people made alive again –
even these end up being illusionary because the victims of those
maladies will eventually succumb to something else. They will all
eventually die. The miracles are real enough, but they are only
temporary – secondary. And in their “temporariness” they become
mere illusions. These things are like your car in the parking lot, or
the clothing you are wearing, or even this beautiful church building.
They are illusions. They are only temporary. At one time they were
not. They didn’t exist. And at a future time they will once again
not exist.
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But such is not the case with the preaching of the good news –
the preaching of the forgiveness of sins. That preaching began with
Adam and Eve – in answer to their sin – and it will continue until
Jesus’ return in glory. The forgiveness of sins begins here and
finds its ultimate fulfillment in eternity.
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So what are the illusions that trouble us? Anything that takes the
place of God. Anything the idol factories of our hearts create for us
to trust in, depend upon, rely upon. You want your family to be
secure? Get enough life insurance. You want good times? Get a new
boat, snowmobile, ATV, motor home, lakeside condo. You want more
productivity? Get a newer tractor. Upgrade your
“whatcha-ma-call-it,” and the “thing-a-ma-bob.” You want
greater wealth? Get the latest “You, Too, Can be a Winner at Black
Jack” book. How about respect? More education. M.B.A. Ph.D.
Popularity? Get the tummy tuck, plastic surgery, botox, the latest
fashions. Maybe the “metro” look. You want your children to be
happy, contented and popular? Get them involved in whatever
activities their little hearts desire. Encourage their creativity.
Expand their horizons. Use up every available minute. Keep them
busy. Keep them growing and improving. If one sport is good then two
will be even better. Add gymnastics to ballet – and why not throw
in modern dance as well. Volleyball and basketball at school followed
by the various camps, and don’t forget the traveling teams on the
weekends. And in the process the “one thing needful,” the reality
of forgiveness and life lived in the presence of God is replaced by
illusions.
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What happened to John the Baptist when he preached against the
illusions of his day? He lost his head. First he languished in a
rat-infested hell-hole of a prison, and then an executioner’s sword
loped off his head. And what was the primary illusion John preached
against? That man can determine for himself how he ought to live.
For instance, John preached against Herod’s shacking up with his
brother’s wife. John attacked the illusion of respectability that
Herod sought to create and retain. And for that he – John – had to
be silenced. John preached the law in the face of Herod’s
immorality. And then when the religious elite from Jerusalem came out
into the wilderness to see what John was up to what happened? He
called them a brood of vipers. A nest of snakes. Interesting
metaphor. You remember where else in scripture we meet up with a
snake don’t you? It’s in the Garden of Eden. Satan, in the form
of a snake, tempted Eve. That connection would not have been lost on
those Pharisees and Sadducees. John was telling them that they were
in league with Satan. Point out the illusions in people’s lives and
you will make yourself persona-non-grata in a hurry. Why? Because you
will be attacking the make-believe they regard as real.
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So, what is the solution. The solution comes in the One who is in
Himself Truth and Life. The solution comes in hearing, not in seeing.
The solution comes in the words that Jesus speaks to you over and over
again. Words like, “I forgive you all your sins.” But even
Jesus’ words often become problematic to us. Why? Because
forgiveness implies something. Forgiveness implies that we are
sinners. That we need forgiveness. And that implication flies in the
face of our illusions. It flies in the face of our insistence that
we’re okay – doing just fine. The proclamation of forgiveness
denies that we are good and acceptable in our selves. Forgiveness
implies that our self-constructed illusions of holiness are not
adequate. That our good works aren’t really all that good at all.
That’s why John could no longer be “heard.” The people who
considered themselves God’s people would not accept the reality of
their uncleanness – their spiritual destitution before God. They
loved their illusions instead of God’s reality. The people
clamoring for John’s death – and Jesus’ death, too, for that
matter – preferred their illusions.
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And that is always the danger for us, too. Always we are building
our illusions. Crafting them. Massaging them. Polishing them.
Admiring them. Making them more and more complete. More and more
compelling. And then comes a John the Baptist – a preacher – who
tells us that the things of this world that we are looking to for
security and meaning and help are really nothing. Nothing but
illusions.
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But, amazingly, there are always those who do “hear.” Those who
hear, and consequently come “confessing their sins.” There are
always those who know themselves to be spiritually “poor” before
the holiness of God. There are always those whom the Holy Spirit
converts. Those whose stony hearts are replaced with hearts of flesh.
Those who hear Jesus. Who hear Jesus declare, “My Body, given for
you.” My Blood, shed for you.” And hearing they fall to their
knees before the only reality there is – and believe. And even more
than that – they believe it to be meant for them! God crucified in
the person of Jesus. For them! Jesus the first fruits of those who
sleep. St Paul is right, you know. “Faith comes by hearing.”
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And so it is with you, my friends. You know what illusion are.
You’ve seen them before. You’ve trusted in them and seen them
slip through your fingers. Disappear. Fade, rust, fall apart. And
you have also heard God’s reality. You have come once again today.
You have come confessing. And having confessed your sins the reality
of eternity has broken in upon you. You have been absolved. And more
than that. When you come again next Sunday, you will again make the
same confession. And the forgiveness – the absolution – you heard
today you will hear again. And again. And again. And why can you
depend on that? Because the reality never changes. The reality is
Jesus. And Jesus is yours.
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That’s why this Sunday is called Gaudette. It means rejoice.
Rejoice because your illusions have been dealt with. Rejoice because
your ears have opened your eyes. Rejoice because death, and hell, and
Satan have been conquered. Rejoice because you are raised with Christ
– and even now possess the riches of Christ.
Amen
+Soli Deo Gloria+
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