“The Master Teacher Teaches with Masterful Teaching!”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear children of the heavenly Father, whom God loves without
limit, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord
[Amen.]
“O Christ, who taught the Twelve
The truth for ages sealed,
Whose words and works awakened faith,
The ways of God revealed:
Instruct us now, we pray,
By Your empow’ring Word.
True teacher, be for all who seek
Their light, their life, their Lord.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
856:2)
Gospel
Reading...........................................................................
St. Mark 6:1-13 (esp. 6b)
And he went about among the villages teaching.
Prologue: Right up near (perhaps even at) the top of the many
blessings almighty God has bestowed upon our congregation is the Lutheran
school. Among the numerous reasons that it’s such a wonderful blessing is
that we expect the teachers to instruct their students not only in the three
basic Rs of Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmatic, but also and most important
the fourth R … Religion. Not just any religion, mind you, nor a generic
religion, but the Christian religion as believed, taught, and confessed in a
uniquely Lutheran understanding and application to which today’s Gradual
pointed: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom 11:33
ESV)
That unique Lutheran understanding and application is the
Reformation focus that identified and emphasized grace alone, faith alone,
Scripture alone, and Christ alone within the context of a proper Law-Gospel
distinction. That is, the teachers in our Lutheran school are expected to
believe, teach, and confess the truth of God’s free gift of salvation by
grace alone, through Spirit-given faith in Jesus alone, as revealed in
Scripture alone, and fixated on Christ alone as the person whose words and
works reveal the absolute truth about the only true God. In addition, they
are expected to wholeheartedly, shamelessly, and sincerely instruct all the
other academic subjects in the context of that truth.
Although there are many Christian teachers in the public schools
who set forth examples of their Christian faith (for which we thank and
praise God!), nevertheless, they don’t have the same freedom to declare that
the Christian faith (much less the confessional Lutheran expression of it)
is the only true bona fide religion as do the teachers in our Lutheran
school. In addition, the teachers in our Lutheran school are expected to
look to and follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. In so doing, they
are expected to strive to instruct their students with the same compassion,
conviction, and precision that He, as the Master Teacher, exemplified. In
other words, they are expected to try to imitate the truth that …
“The Master Teacher Teaches with Masterful Teaching!”
That masterful teaching is effective and beneficial teaching that
takes the form of both verbal and non-verbal means. Jesus effectively and
beneficially taught His audiences with both words and actions. At the same
time, in order for His masterful teaching to be effective and beneficial
there most often had to be something present known as “faith-receptivity.”
That means that, although Jesus possessed divine power that made it possible
for Him to achieve His goals against all odds, nevertheless, He often
subjected His divine power to the belief (or refusal of such) by His
students that He was the promised Messiah sent by God to rescue sinful
people from the results of their sin-brokenness. So, while the
compassionate Savior desired and even sought to heal them of the results of
their sinfulness as well as their sin itself, …
I. Jesus Marveled at the Unbelief of Those Who Were Offended by Him.
(1-6a)
1[Jesus] went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples
followed him. 2And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and
many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these
things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by
his hands? 3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James
and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And
they took offense at him. 4And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not
without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own
household.” 5And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his
hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And he marveled because of
their unbelief.
Offense, rejection, and unbelief all hang together in a sad and
sorrowful way. People offend others … and are offended by others. People
reject others … and are rejected by others. People refuse to believe
others … and are not believed by others. Today’s Gospel Reading reported
that people were offended by and rejected their local hometown acquaintance
and relative, Jesus Himself, whom they did not believe was the promised
Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of mankind.
It’s been said that “familiarity breeds contempt.” Perhaps that’s
what caused their attitude of astonished disbelief toward Jesus. Even
though the wise words that He spoke and miraculous works that He performed
served to validate His divine identity, their refusal to trust that He was
the Messiah resulted in them at that time losing the benefit of His powerful
ability to do mighty works there that would further teach them about His
divine identity. The honor that He rightly deserved and received from
people outside His hometown was not given Him by His hometown acquaintances
as well as family members.
By the way, are we today necessarily all that different from those
people then? Don’t we sometimes … maybe oftentimes … doubt or disbelieve
the magnificent truth about Jesus that He taught with words and works? Don’t
we sometimes … maybe oftentimes … think we know what to do, how to do, and
when to do things better than prayerfully seeking and following God’s
guidance? Don’t we sometimes … maybe oftentimes … find ourselves thinking,
desiring, saying, and doing things that transgress God’s holy commandments
and thereby deserve His temporal wrath and eternal punishment in the
torrential fires of hell, forever separated from Him who loves us so much
that He sent His only begotten Son to rescue us from hell, redeem us back to
His own possessions, and reconcile us with Himself?
In the face of that reality and heartrending disappointment with
His hometown acquaintances and relatives, …
II. Jesus Sent Out His Disciples with Special Authority and
Instructions. (7-13)
7And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave
them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He charged them to take nothing
for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their
belts—9but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10And he said to
them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.
11And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you,
when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony
against them.” 12So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.
13And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and
healed them.
Just what was the masterful teaching that the master teacher
taught his disciples? First and foremost, tell and show others the truth
about Himself by speaking and acting on His behalf, according to His
instructions, and as a testimony to His Messiahship. Second, trust Him to
provide for their needs, both spiritual and material. You see, He sent them
on a mission of mercy … divine mercy whereby they not only ministered to the
sicknesses of people’s mortal bodies but also called them to repentance for
the salvation of their immortal souls.
That repentance was nothing less than what we do publicly at the
beginning of every divine service and privately when we pray the Lord’s
Prayer. It’s the soul-cleansing activity of confessing our sins to and
receiving forgiveness from our Savior, who atoned for our sins by living the
holy life for us that God demands of us but we are unable (perhaps even
unwilling) to do, suffering and dying for us the penalty that we deserve for
our guilt, and rising back to life in triumphant victory over death, the
devil, and sin itself … for us. He now graciously assures us of that
forgiveness through His Holy Word that we read and hear, our own personal
Baptism that we purposely meditate, the wonderful declaration of absolution
that we joyfully hear, and the Eucharistic bread and wine in, with, and
under which we partake of Christ’s true body and true blood. Being thereby
“strengthened and preserved … in body and soul to life everlasting” as the
prescribed mass dismissal from the Lord’s Supper states, we then “depart in
peace” to serve the Master Teacher by telling others the masterful teaching
that He has taught us.
So in accordance with today’s Gospel Reading, let’s always keep in
mind and heart not only that, but much more importantly what …
“The Master Teacher Teaches with Masterful Teaching!”
You know, [today marks / yesterday marked] the 239th anniversary
of our nation’s declaration of independence. Although the founding fathers
successfully sought to not establish an official state-religion they did
base much of our nation’s governance on the foundation of Judeo-Christian
ethics as contained in the Holy Bible. Sadly, that foundation has been
eroding especially in modern times as most-recently evidenced by the Supreme
Court rendering judgments that legalized abortion and homosexual unions
thereby blatantly contradicting God’s holy will for His creation. In so
doing, our nation now upholds and many government leaders even flaunt
immoralities that almighty God declares to be wrong. So, even as …
I. Jesus Marveled at the Unbelief of Those Who Were Offended by Him.
(1-6a) over 2,000 years ago, I imagine He is doing the same with our nation
today as we move farther and farther away from the Judeo-Christian
foundation on which the United States of America was birthed 239 years ago.
In the face of such, let’s make Today’s Collect our personal heartfelt
prayer: “Grant us the fullness of Your grace that we may be called to
repentance and made partakers of Your heavenly treasures.” And, even as …
II. Jesus Sent Out His Disciples with Special Authority and
Instructions. (7-13) over 20 centuries ago, so also He is doing with us
today who have been influenced by what today’s Introit Antiphon stated: “Oh,
taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessèd is the man who takes refuge in
him!” (Ps 34:8 ESV). We whom the Master Teacher has taught and continues to
teach with His masterful teaching through the Holy Scriptures, has claimed
as His own through Holy Baptism, has cleansed of all our sins through Holy
Absolution, and strengthens and preserves with the Lord’s Supper have the
God-given authority and responsibility to tell others the God-ordained truth
about His will for mankind. May we faithfully do so in obedience to what we
heard God tell the prophet Ezekiel in today’s Old Testament Reading: “… ‘Son
of man, I send you … to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me.
They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The
descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you
shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” And whether they hear or
refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a
prophet has been among them.’” (Ezek 2:3-5 ESV) At the same time, we must
realize that such bold speaking out against the ungodly ways of our
contemporary society will most likely result in unpleasant and even hurtful
reactions. When that happens, remember the words of the apostle Paul in
today’s Epistle Reading: “So to keep me from being too elated …, a thorn was
given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from
being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it
should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness.’ … For the sake of Christ, then, I am
content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:7-10 ESV)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
_______________________________________________
Sermons mailing list
[email protected]
http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
