The Third Sunday after the Epiphany, 2014
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time
The Hymn #44 Ye Lands 2.41
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 264 Preserve Thy Word 2.55
Trusting in the Word of God
The Hymn # 249 Isaiah Mighty Seer 2.75
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #45 Now the Hour of Worship 2.95
KJV Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
KJV Matthew 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Third Sunday After Epiphany
O almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all dangers and necessities stretch forth Thy mighty hand, to defend us against our enemies; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Trusting in the Word of God
One of the great temptations of man is to trust in his own wisdom and experience. I see this in action all the time. When people back away from doing what they should, they explain it away in terms of logic and experience, as if God has no part in the equation.
And we are tempted to blend the two as well - human and divine wisdom, as if there is a hybrid wisdom.
One person wrote on Facebook, "Faith is taking the first step on a staircase." I said, "Faith is taking the first step when there is no staircase." I was told that one must not be so strong with new Christians. But the Word said - "We walk by faith, not by sight."
It is not difficult to take a step when the going is clear and visible. It is much more difficult when the only signpost is the Word of God.
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| Blake - Burdened by sin, Christian leaves the City of Destruction, studying the Word of God. |
John Bunyan loved Luther's Galatians Commentary and read it constantly, second only to the Bible. One can easily see how Luther affected the allegory, since the pilgrim named Christian is constantly faced with man's wisdom versus God's guidance along the way to the Celestial City, his goal.
One sideroad is salvation through the Law, encouraged by Mr. Worldly Wise. He cautions against the way pointed out by Evangelist, "which will only lead to suffering, pain, the sword, in short - death." That is exactly what human wisdom says when pulling back from the cross, not seeing that the way ahead is full of life, blessings, and peace.
Across the straight path is Vanity Fair, where every temptation known to man is offered, legal and illegal - worldly honors, carnal sin, the praise of man. There Christian and Faithful are put on trial and Faithful is condemned to death - but enters eternal life.
Another temptation looms when the way is difficult, so Hopeful and Christian take the shortcut when seems easy and parallel to the straight path. They fall into the hands of Giant Despair and lie in his dungeon, waiting to die. This is how many feel, and Bunyan must have had years where despair was a temptation for him. He was locked in a tiny prison for doing nothing wrong, but was treated as if he were a terrible criminal. The keys to escaping the Castle of Despair is a set of keys - the Promises of God. They were in Christian's pocket all along.
Two Miracles
This Gospel offers two miracles together. One is the leper, who says, "If it is Your will, You can cleanse me."
Jesus says, "It is my will. Be cleansed." He added the command to show himself to the priest, which is a testimony to the religious rulers to see what was being done by Christ. There was a constant effort to take the Gospel to the opposition, which made the opposition even greater while creating converts to Christ. Both happened at the same time, which explains the crucifixion and the immediate growth of the Christian Church in a few years.
But also - the two go together - opposition and success with the Gospel. No one bothers with those who make no difference, who awake no one to the errors of the day. The modern Pharisees used the law to silence Bunyan, and they put him in prison. That made him far more effective, because his local ministry became national and international through the printing press. In fact, his great work became embedded as part of our Western culture. It is only lately when Western man abandoned the Gospel that the positive influence began to be lost.
Not long ago, everyone read The Pilgrim's Progress. Now almost no one reads it in school or anywhere else.
The second miracle is a clear example of walking by faith, not by sight. There is a reason why the centurion is so important as a feature of this miracle. Everyone knew then, as they should now, that the centurions were powerful men in the Roman army. Their command meant life or death in battle and in the aftermath. They could order a decimation in which one out of ten men was beaten to death by his fellow soldiers, to instill discipline.
There have been many violent armies, but the Roman army was so organized that they created towns the moment they arrived, building walls, sanitation, etc. Many cities and walls still exist as testimony to the power and efficiency of the Roman soldiers.
The exchange shows the importance of each detail in a miracle. The centurion begged Jesus to heal his servant, who was in agony with palsy. Jesus offered to go to the man, but the centurion displayed his faith by comparing his military role to Jesus'. This is a testimony of faith. The centurion only has to give the command and it is executed. There is no deliberation or question. He commands and it happens. This is exactly what Isaiah 55 teaches about the Word of God, which never returns void, but always accomplishes His purpose, and always prospers in its mission.
Never returns void is invulnerable to exceptions or contradictions. This is strengthened by always accomplishes His purpose and always prospers His purpose.
That means that God's Word is always His gracious will.
So the centurion responded to this gracious offer by Christ by saying that there was no need. Jesus command would accomplish His will from afar. This showed how clearly the officer understood the work and will of God, and that he saw Jesus as the true Son of God.
This is especially emphasized in John's Gospel, where the Father and Son work together, the Holy Spirit testifying about this.
Jesus responded by commending the centurion's faith and comparing it favorably to everyone else's.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
In contrast, those who did not believe would be cast into the outer darkness.
Toward the end of Pilgrim's Progress, Atheist appears and mocks the men for heading toward the Celestial City. Atheist started earlier and traveled farther - there is no Celestial City. He laughed and said, "I am going back."
I point that out because of three Lutheran pastors I know who have become atheists. One probably still serves in the so-called United Church of Christ, where all religions are equal. The other two are loud, obnoxious atheists. All three came from the "conservative" side.
The point of Bunyan's book is identical with Luther and the Bible. One does not know the exact path. Faithful died a martyr, as many do today. Pliable went back because of difficulties. Many fell to their doom as they took side roads and were enticed into false doctrine.
The issue is not in figuring things out, which we cannot do, but in remaining faithful to the Word of God until the end.
