Sermon - Pentecost 9 - Mark 6:45-52

 

Mark 6:45-52

“He Walks On Water”

“Oh, he thinks he walks on water!”  It’s become one of those cultural euphemisms for people who think too highly of themselves.  Or of someone who regards another person as above criticism, someone who, in the eyes of others, can do no wrong.  It’s a sort of a roundabout way of comparing someone to the Jesus himself – either in a sarcastic or absurd fashion.  And yet, I think when many people use the phrase, they forget where it came from, and aren’t thinking much of Jesus at all.

Jesus walks on water.  And we can say that in an un-ironic, completely serious way.  For Mark tells us just that in this account we hear today.  Just after the feeding of the 5000, Jesus tells his disciples to get back in the boat and head toward the other side again, to Bethsaida.  He takes care of dismissing the crowd, and then goes up the mountain to pray.  Back to business as usual, it would seem. 

But for the disciples, business is not as usual.  Jesus set them out on the sea at night, not in the safety of daylight.  The wind was against them.  The boat was having a hard time making any progress.  And most commentators seem to agree that this strange wind was a divinely appointed obstacle, not just a natural happenstance.  Again, Jesus sets before his disciples a difficult task.  One wonders if they grew resentful.  Why is he asking us to do this?  Where is he when we need him?

For his part, Jesus is praying.  What is he praying about?  We don’t know for sure but here are some possibilities: 

The news of the Baptist's death (verse 12) which must have filled Him with foreboding of His own death, a year hence (John 6:4);

He had just overcome the temptation to be proclaimed an earthly king by the crowds he had fed.

Likely He foresaw that the remnants of the 5,000 would totally reject Him, the Living Bread from Heaven, the next day, as we read in John 6.

 

And likely, he also prayed for the 12 - who were in danger for a number of reasons and needed to pass a severe test the next day. When the crowds would desert him Jesus asked them, “are you leaving too?” and Peter answered as we sing, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life!”

Last, but not least, the betrayal of Judas was on His mind, as we also read in John 6.

But as he prays, he’s also watching them from his mountaintop retreat.  He sees them in their difficulties, and perhaps it wasn’t his original plan, but he descends to come to them, though he meant to pass them by.

Now, let’s stop here for a moment.  “Pass them by” – an important little phrase that we might too quickly pass by.  But think of this, when does God “pass by?”

There are two Old Testament stories that come to mind.  One with Moses, and the other with Elijah.

When Moses was on Mt. Sinai, we have our first example from Exodus 33:

"Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.” And [God] said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” He said, “you cannot see My face, for man shall not see Me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me where you shall stand on the rock, and while My glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My Hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away My Hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

Here we learn that sinful man, even a great man like Moses, cannot see the glory of God full-on.  The nearest glimpse Moses got was of the backside of God as he passed by, and even that was a great and wonderful blessing.

But here, in Christ, the Disciples get something even better.  Here, in Christ, God does not pass by, but stops to help them, stops to join them.  He, who is clearly divine – and shows it – not only by multiplying loaves but also by mastering the sea and strolling on it so easily – the glory of God is now revealed to the disciples in the person of Jesus Christ.  He does not pass them by, but he enters their boat, for he has already entered human flesh and become one of them, one of us.  Herein we have the great mystery of the incarnation – God and man in one person of Christ.

And then in 1 Kings 19 we have God passing by Elijah:

"There [Elijah] came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, The Word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And [The Word of the LORD] said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Ah yes, Elijah’s story shows us that when God passes by it is often as we least expect, not in the powerful windstorm or the earthquake that shatters rocks, or the fiery maelstrom.  It’s in the quiet whisper of the word that God is found.

So also, here, with Christ.  In the dark of the night, when they least expected him, HOW they least expected him, comes the Christ.  The miracles come, one after the other – the feeding of 5000, the walking on water – but also the calming of the wind as he climbed in the boat.  But perhaps the most striking is what seems most mundane – that God in the flesh was here, with them, and joined them in their boat.  That Jesus would regard them, help them, be with them at all.

Jesus walks on water, friends, but you and I certainly do not.  Jesus is master of nature and Lord of all creation.  You are a lowly creature, subject to the laws of nature, and captive to the corruption of sin in which you are born. Jesus walks on water, because of course he does.  You walk in the valley of the shadow of death, in the midst of a world of death and sin.  You stumble from one sin to the next – thought word and deed – stepping always through a minefield of your own making.  And sometimes those mines explode in your face.

But the good news is, Jesus is with you.  The God-man who walks on water, walks with you.  And he has walked before you, through his own life, even all the way.  He walked the dusty roads of Galilee.  He walked into and out of dangers, toils and snares, into the wilderness, through the crowd that sought to cast him off a cliff.  He preached all around the villages and towns, and even went to pagans and Samaritans. 

He easily treaded the crashing waves.  But he most importantly walked under the weight of the cross, carrying it along with all your sins, to his goal – to Calvary.  To death.  How beautiful upon that mountain are the nail-pierced feet of him who brings good news by his glorious death for all sinful people, for you, for me.

Here, Jesus is not passed over, so that you would be passed over.  He shows himself to be the true Passover lamb, whose blood is shed so that your blood is not shed.  Who is sacrificed in your place.  Punishment and wrath did not pass him by, but in him, by him, you as passed over, thanks be to God!

The disciples didn’t understand about the loaves.  The disciples didn’t understand about the walking on the water.  They thought they were seeing a ghost.  Their hearts were hardened.  Their faith was lacking.  But Jesus continued to come and reveal to them who he truly is, and what he comes to do.  He is no ghost – he’s flesh and blood!  He’s true man, even as he is true God. 

Once again we will see Jesus demonstrating his divinity – and again we can call Moses and Elijah to witness.  There on the Mt. of Transfiguration Jesus would show his disciples a glimpse of his glory in a very visual way.  Moses and Elijah testify by their presence, and then by their disappearance, as indeed all the law and prophets testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that salvation is only him.  And when Moses and Elijah are gone, the disciples are left with Jesus only.  And that, of course, is enough.

Christ comes today, and we would not see him pass us by.  He comes not in full-on radiant glory, not in wind and storm and quake and fire.  He comes not walking on water.  He comes in the whisper of his word, preached and proclaimed, sung and prayed.  He comes in the bread and wine, the true Paschal lamb once slain but now alive forevermore.

And he comes to help us.  His presence always helps.  In the word and meal he brings himself, his forgiveness, his salvation, his life.  He who walks on water, also treads death and devil underfoot, and brings us a share in his victory.

Therefore with Jesus there is really nothing to fear.  There is no reason to lose heart.  He even says so, “Take heart;  it is I.  Do not be afraid.”

He comes not to scare us or judge us or even just to teach us a better way.  He comes to save.  To do the saving.  To take away all cause of fear. 

This doesn’t mean this life won’t be rough sailing at times.  The wind might be against us, the waves lapping at our boat.  But we have Jesus, the God-man.  We have his presence and his promise.  He walks on water.  He will certainly walk with us.  Look to him for help, and he will never pass you by.

In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Sermon - Pentecost 6 - Mark 6:1–13

Mark 6:1–13

“The Preaching of Repentance”

What a wonderful day it is for Messiah to celebrate the arrival and installation of our first vicar, Jeremy McDonald.  I’m going to trust that most of us have read and learned what the vicarage program is about, why Messiah is participating, and about the unusual circumstances that bring us a man who is already ordained as a pastor – and yet has come to serve a year as a student – preparing for full-time pastoral ministry.  We pray that we will be a blessing to him, and he to us, and that this time will also serve the church at large, especially the congregation he will one day be called to serve.

It is fitting, as it often seems to happen, that the lectionary sets before us today a reading which speaks to the occasion.  Focusing on the second half of our Gospel reading today, in which Jesus sends out the 12.  In a sense, Jesus ran his own seminary of his own – trained his own disciples as the first pastors of the church – and here we have an example of him sending them out for some practical experience – work in the field.  Pushing them out of the safety of his direct supervision to go and preach and heal and cast out evil spirits in the villages and towns.

He sent them out two by two – probably in part for practical reasons – as it is often beneficial to follow the “buddy system”.  But also, in keeping with the scriptural principle of witness – that every matter is confirmed by two or three witnesses.  They were not without support in the field.  God provided for them, even by means of their companion in this work.  Later, when they were ready, these same disciples would also go out on their own and preach and establish churches even to the ends of the earth.

But for now, he also instructed them not to over-prepare.  I’m sure there are times Pastor McDonald will feel ill-prepared for the tasks we will place before him, or that he will encounter – both here and in his eventual ministry.  After many years of pastoring, I still often feel the same.  But here the implicit assurance Jesus gives is that we ought not worry too much about such things.  God provides for his preachers, and for pastors, through the generosity of those who hear the word from them.  So the disciples relied on the hospitality of the people in the villages.  And pastors and vicars today rely on the generosity of God’s people to support the work of the Gospel wherever we are to serve.

And that you do so, as Christians, is a very good thing.  It is an act of faith – an expression of gratitude for God’s word that has spoken and still speaks to you.  It is a way of showing appreciation for all that Scripture teaches, and that the Spirit proclaims to us in both Law and Gospel.

For those that did not receive the apostles’ preaching, a harsh and symbolic sign was given against them – “(if) they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”  And Jesus explains elsewhere, those who reject his messengers are really rejecting him, along with the one who sent him.  But those who receive the apostles’ teaching, receive Christ and the Father who sent him.

Martin Luther teaches us in the Small Catechism, in the “Table of Duties”, he has a section “What the Hearers Owe Their Pastors”.  And in good Lutheran fashion, it is simply a collection of pertinent Scripture readings which teach us to care for and honor the servants of God who bring us his Word.  For instance:

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Heb. 13:17

It’s sometimes hard to share good things with your pastor and show respect and submit to that authority… especially when the word that is preached is a word you might not enjoy hearing.  For even those disciples were sent by Jesus with a similar charge:  “So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.”

Now we should note – that when Jesus sends them to preach repentance – that includes two parts – the turning away from sin, and the turning to Christ in faith. 

Preaching the first part of repentance is not always fun, but it is necessary.  Like the doctor who delivers the tough news of a diagnosis:  you have so many months to live.  So the preacher is also given to deliver the diagnosis of sin – and to call sinners to repent of it.  This of course is not our own word, but God’s.  It’s not our own work, either, but God’s.  Though it is his alien work.  It’s not God’s favorite word to proclaim through his preachers either.

But it is necessary.  And perhaps even more now than ever before.  In a world that has attacked and diminished our awareness of sin and desensitizes us constantly to it – in a culture that even celebrates sins and designates which month to do so – in a marketplace of ideas that decries even the idea of objective truth or reality, that there is male and female, that life begins at conception, or that there is even a God who created us.  Repentance is always in order, the preaching of repentance is always germane.  But even more now in this gray and latter days.

But the preaching of repentance is also necessary, not only because of the world out there.  But because of the people right here.  In those pews, and in this pulpit, we also find sinners who need that word of law.  Sinners who forget our Lord and put ourselves first.  Sinners whose thoughts, words, and deeds do not reflect the new creation he has baptized us to be.  And lest we forget, God’s accusing word of law is preached to keep repentance always before us.

But so too the Gospel.  Now as much as ever do sin-sore ears and bruised consciences need the only healing balm that can cure the soul.  Now, today, and every day we need the proclamation of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners, that Jesus’ blood has atoned for sin, for your sin, for mine.  We need the external and objective promises of God’s grace that come to us in the holy sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  We need the absolving word of the pastor with the promise of Christ that heaven itself is opened by this forgiving word.

Pastor McDonald, Jeremy, you have been ordained into this office, and now you come for further study and experience in our midst (as you often say, doing things a bit backwards, but that’s ok) – but all to this end – to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins, and to administer the sacraments which afford that same forgiveness in Christ.  We welcome you as a fellow servant of Christ and look forward to hearing God’s word proclaimed to us, from you. 

And now back to the first half of the Gospel reading.  Jesus himself is rejected at Nazareth, his own home town.  Perhaps some would find this astonishing.  Jesus, for his part marveled at their unbelief.  Now there are many things would could take from this – but one is a reminder that not all will believe.  Not all will receive Jesus.  And some who you might THINK would, won’t.  And some you might think won’t, will. 

What is Jesus’ response to this?  Does he call down fire and brimstone?  No, he just moves on to preach in the other villages and towns.  He puts his nose to the grind, and does what he is given to do. 

But it wasn’t just the Nazareth villagers who rejected Christ.  His own family and friends were offended by him, turned away from him.  And in the end even his closest disciples fled.  He was stripped of his dignity, his clothes, and gave up his life.  He was rejected by all – and all this in accord with God's plan and purpose.

So that you, sinner, would be forgiven.  So that you, forgiven child of God, would never be rejected.  So that God will always hear your prayers, and receive them as he receives you:  through Christ.  And so that repentance and forgiveness of sins would be preached beginning at Jerusalem, and even to the ends of the earth.  So have we heard.  So may we ever believe.

In Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.