Devotions

Determination  Mark 1:9-15  First Sunday in Lent  February 22, 2015

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text, “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

How determined is the devil! Forty days of combatting the Son of God, forty days of Jesus fending off the temptations, forty days in which Christ proves himself the better opponent… and the devil keeps coming.

How long would you last? It’s quite an awesome thought to consider that Jesus wrestled with – and bested – the devil for forty straight days. Oh, to be sure, He’s true God, so this should be a breeze! But, He’s also true man, fasting, hungry, tired, tempted, tried, yet in everything victorious. Forty straight days of holy resolve, without once blinking or flinching or caving or falling. It’s an awe-provoking thought…

Or, is it? After all, how often in life do we or our loved ones or friends act as if it’s no big deal to spend forty days in the wilderness without the respite of the Divine Service? – “of course after those forty days we’ll still be strong in the faith,” we think!

You sign those pew registers to help your imperfect pastor and elders keep track of how frequently you’ve been nourished. We typically wait for five or six weeks of absence (about 40 days) before a red flag goes up that perhaps contact should be made. Considering that our sinless, holy Lord and God had angels to minister to him after 40 days, perhaps we sinners should desire our pastor to be concerned after 4 weeks of absence, or 3, or maybe 2 or 1, if we begin to understand the difference between Christ’s strength and our weakness, and how relentless is the devil’s pursuit of your soul.

Yes, what determination the devil shows. He knows he cannot overpower your baptism with blunt force and a head-on attack, so he stalks you… patiently prowling around, seeking whom and how he may devour, just waiting for you to become comfortable, complacent, cocky. He knows that soon enough the solider must lay aside his baptismal shield of faith if he is to reach out for that temptation dangled in front of him… that dark, quiet, ‘nobody has a clue I’m tempted by this’ desire… yes, the devil is patient enough to let that desire toy with you for far longer than 40 days; but he knows our weaknesses, and usually has us reaching in less than 40 minutes of intense temptation… and as we put down our shield of faith to reach, desire gives birth to sin, the devil pounces, and sin abounds!

Sin has such free course among us that our society relishes it and sells us on it as well. One of the current music hits of pop culture, one that either you or your kids or grandchildren may very well be listening to and subtly influenced by is a song whose lyrics include the phrase, “Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.” Of course, the point is not to beware of the danger, but to act on the impulse of feeling alive. Another current hit of the pop culture wilderness is actually called “Take Me to Church,” and the lead singer spends the song’s entirety persuading listeners that his lover’s bed is the place where true worship happens.

So much temptation just in your ears, let alone in front of your eyes and in your head and heart. You and I, by our own strength, wouldn’t last one day in the wilderness, let alone 40. Nor could we by our merit be sent out there to fight in the first place because our sinful nature, that Old Adam, is a willing accomplice with the very foe we’re supposed to be combating! Another One need take our place… A “Valiant One” who is not plagued with the Old Adam; a Substitute able to be more determined than, more patient than, more powerful than the devil.

For forty days the Substitute Jesus is in the wilderness. To be sure, that brings to mind Israel, which was never meant to wander in the wilderness. God in His grace and mercy had brought Israel to the doors of the promised land immediately upon deliverance from Egypt, but the Israelites would not trust their God; they backpedaled. It took Him 40 years of guiding them through the wilderness to teach them to trust His good and gracious will, and for Him to let die those who had not trusted Him.

To be sure, Jesus is the new Israel, Israel reduced to One, who does not doubt God’s promised land deliverance, but who willingly goes into the wilderness to do all that is necessary to accomplish that deliverance once foreshadowed by entrance across the Jordan into Canaan. (Recall, by the way, who was it in the Old Testament who finally led the Israelites into the promised land? – it was Joshua, the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word Ihsou – Jesus.)

And so, Mark’s gospel, in one little inclusion – Jesus going into “the wilderness” – Mark’s gospel reminds us Jesus is the faithful Israel. But, in one other little inclusion, Mark also hints at Jesus as the New Adam. For, Mark says, “He was among the wild animals.” Jesus, in His perfection, was not distracted by the wild beasts. Rather, they were to him as their ancestors would have been to Adam, when Adam had such domain over the animals, when Man had such a paradisiacal relationship with them, that God gave Adam to name them, and the animals perhaps even received their names in the same way that the serpent conversed with the man and the woman. Indeed, in perfection, Adam and his wife were afraid of no animals, nor was there need to be.

Now, the second Adam goes not into Eden’s lush garden, but into the wilderness where wild animals roam, and He reminds us that the prophecy will come true that the lion will again lie down with the lamb… regardless of whether that means that a wild beast, a predator will no longer hunt prey, or if it means (as Scriptural images imply) that the ferocious glory of Christ (the Lion of Judah) will be tamed by and lie down with the grace of this same Lamb of God. However one reads it, Jesus with the wild beasts in the wilderness is a reminder that He is the New Adam, just as He is the new Israel.

If it seems incredible that so much can be found in so few verses, consider the profound depth of St. Mark’s brevity and how much weight he puts on this two-sentence description of the temptation of Jesus.

Consider the context surrounding Mark 1:9-15, as that context flanks Jesus’ temptation and Jesus’ temptation serves as a hinge between those contextual accounts. In Advent, we focused on the opening verses of the chapter (the forerunner John, the Baptism of Jesus) and the promise of the Messiah. In Epiphany, we focused on Jesus introduced as the Messiah fulfilled. Now, here in Lent, the hinge between promise and fulfillment.

And, even the beginning of our text and the end of our text are quite similar in their message, separated only by the hinge. At the beginning of the reading, it’s the Father preaching: “This is My Son, with whom I am well pleased.” And (following the hinge) at the end of the reading, the Son’s message echoes the Father’s, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” why is the kingdom at hand? – because Jesus is the Father’s Son, who brings us all the benefits of the Father’s kingdom. “This is My Son;” / “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And again, the Father says “with Him I am well pleased” – which is to say what Jesus says: “Believe the gospel.” It’s as if Jesus says, “The Father is pleased with me. There is the gospel of your salvation. I lay down my life for you, and the Father is pleased with my sacrifice. And thus, you have all that my death secures for you. Believe the gospel – the Father is well-pleased with Me, and my blood and righteousness gives you every reason to trust Me.”

You see how the Father’s sermon at Jesus’ baptism (and the beginning of our text), and the sermon Jesus comes preaching at the tail end of our text are nearly one and the same. This should be assumed, for Jesus says, “I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak” (John 12). Jesus speaks afterward what the Father speaks before. But the hinge between these two sermons is the brief but potent description of Jesus faithfully waging war in the wilderness.

Mark wants sinners to know that the temptation was a necessary part of Jesus’ work as the Savior. In order for you to benefit from this Jesus, He must not only die the death you could not die, but also live the righteousness you could not live. Jesus needed to win the victory over the devil in the wilderness alone, so that you need never be alone against the devil in the wilderness.

In fact, St. John’s Revelation brings us that comfort when it speaks of the Church being left seemingly alone against the dragon who stands waiting (patiently prowling) to devour the woman and her child. And when the child is caught up to heaven, where does this Church run but into the wilderness, Revelation says… the wilderness, no longer a lonely place absent of God, but as the text says, “the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, to be nourished.”

God allows you to dwell in the wilderness of this world, not so that you might embrace it and all its temptations, not so that you might adopt the sins of the culture for six-and-a-half days a week and on the seventh “Remember the Sabbath,” but because He is certain that the new Joshua will deliver you to the promised land, and He has given you every means of nourishment by which you may endure these wilderness temptations until that final deliverance comes.

And those means and instruments and tools begins with baptism.

As we said, the repeated mention of “the wilderness” brings to mind Israel, but it also brings to mind John the Baptist. When Jesus was baptized by the preacher of the wilderness, he was prepared for and immediately sent into the wilderness. Similarly, baptism prepares you for the wilderness wandering of this life… not by saying, “You now have all you need to protect you all your days; frolic, live care-free, let down your guard;” rather, by saying, “You have been clothed with this garment that guarantees your God loves you and will continue to avail to you all that is needed to sustain you in the wilderness… even if it means dropping from heaven manna which is his own body.”

You see, Jesus himself was ministered to by angels (“messengers”). He knows by experience that you need and depend on strengthening, which He Himself avails to you by the ministry of the Word and Sacraments. If our Lord was not above being ministered to by messengers, why should we even be tempted to consider ourselves above ongoing spiritual care? Why should we think we can traverse the wilderness without the regular, constant need for sustenance, nourishment, and depending on His Word-and-Sacrament provision?

Friends, how much thought has God put into your eternal well-being!, that He does not leave you to wander the wilderness alone; He didn’t say, “I have given my son into death, but now you must do your part!”, but He grants you sacred mysteries that guide and nourish and safeguard you. So, hear the comfort in knowing that Jesus was like us – “angels ministered to him.”

And yet, simultaneously, thanks be to God that Jesus was not like us, but withstood alone – by His own merit! – all temptations of the foe, won the battle of the wilderness on the way to the war of the cross. And in that victory of the cross, you have victory…. And in his righteousness, you have been declared righteous. And in His sacrifice, you have salvation. And in this Son with whom the Father is well pleased, you have every reason to repent and believe in the gospel.

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Prayers for the week of February 22, 2015
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Almighty God, we give You thanks that, immediately after His Baptism, Your Son continued His work of salvation by His temptation in the wilderness. We give thanks that in Him, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Lord, in Your mercy:

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HEAR OUR PRAYER. as we pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.” Mark 1:12-13
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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer: “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. AMEN.”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Lord, You give us every reason to say, “Amen. Amen. It shall be so!” To you belongs all power and glory, forever and ever. Therefore, hear the praise that is given through an appeal to your mercy, and lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, You show your power and glory through mercy toward sinners. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Debbie Taylor and Sue Ail- as well as both Catherine Stange and Bob Knox as they recover from medical procedures and all who are ill and afflicted:; remind them of Your compassion and, according to Your will, heal of all affliction. In all circumstances, strengthen their faith, that they might clearly confess, “AMEN.”

* For the anxious, lonely: O God, Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. Yet, we sinners so often grow anxious about the temporal trials that face us. Hear my prayer on behalf of our shut-ins including Irene Fehrman, Geraldine Hagemann, Velma Maas, Bruce Morecraft, and Alice Breneman as well as the Widows and Widowers of Calvary.  Remind them all that there is none other besides You who deserves all glory, and thus none other that need weaken our “AMEN.” Bring Irene, Geraldine, Velma, Bruce, and Alice and the Widows and Widowers confidence in the hour of trial, that they may take heart in Your promises, “Yes, yes. It shall be so!”

* For the mourning: O Lord, because You have all power and glory and dominion over life and death, we may rejoice in the Christian’s death, even as we mourn our earthly loss. Hear my prayer on behalf of Cal Miller and his family and the family Norm Bunge, who laid to rest the body of Norm and also of Cal’s wife, Velda, as they mourn the death of a loved one. Comfort them with the promise that Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life – “whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Cheer Cal and his family and also Norm Bunge's family with such life-giving words, that they might not weep as they who have no hope, but confidently confess, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN – It shall be so!”

* For the rejoicing: O Lord, as a God of glory, You are also a God who delights in showering us with blessings. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of all who today rejoice. Grant them a thankful heart, ever fixed on your grace through Christ Crucified, and therefore joins the eternal refrain – “AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.”

* Lord, please bring faith to my unbelieving friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family including Anne, Vickie, Alexa, Dan, Paul, Kevin (and his family) so that they trust in the sufficiency of Your perfect life and atoning death for our eternal salvation.  Draw them to your Word and then to Your Sacrament to nourish their parched souls..

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, whose sacrificial death gives us the freedom to say, “AMEN – God’s promises shall be so!”, so that we may with all boldness pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Devotions...

Meditations on the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father… Hallowed be Thy Name” from Ash Wednesday

February 18, 2015

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Lent is a time of repentance and prayer. To be sure, every season of the Christian’s life ought be a season of repentance and prayer, as our catechism teaches that “by daily contrition and repentance” we wrestle against our old sinful nature; but in this season we focus our distracted attention and feeble efforts on such things and we lean on repentance and prayer that we might learn anew our dependence on God’s mercy in Christ Crucified, delivered in God’s gathering of His people for Word and Sacrament, even as the prophet Joel foreshadowed, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, … call the solemn assembly; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elderly; gather the children – even the nursing infants…” Why? To mourn our sins, rend our hearts and plead God’s mercy, for perhaps He will leave a grain offering and drink offering, ‘bread and wine.’ And so: “Lord, spare Your people.”

But as we mourn our sins and rend our hearts, we are keenly aware of the inadequacy of any prayer our hearts could ever produce, for sinful hearts cannot produce holiness. Jesus condemns all our self-righteousness when He says, “What comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man.” And so, what relief to know that the Lord Jesus himself knows this and, because he thinks so highly of prayer, takes it upon himself to teach us to pray. He does not say, “Look, I died for you, shed my blood for you; atoned for you before the judgment seat of My Father. The least you can do is wax eloquent a pious prayer!” Rather, he knows our weakness and says, I will teach you to pray:

“When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words… Rather, Pray in this manner: ‘Our Father.’” 

Notice, friends, how Jesus turns on its head the notions of what makes for a good prayer. How many people judge prayer by emotions or eloquence, disregarding the Lord’s Prayer because they say it’s merely heartless “empty phrases” to use the same words as Jesus. But Jesus says, When you pray, do not heap up “empty phrases” of your own making, thinking you’ll be heard for your eloquence. Rather, pray what I have taught you!

That doesn’t mean that we can’t pray other prayers, but all prayer will be grounded in the petitions of this prayer, as the Large Catechism explains: “Here there is included in seven successive articles, or petitions, every need that never ceases to apply to us.” (LC III.34). In fact, St. Matthew records Jesus’ instruction as, “Pray thusly, in this manner.” Our English phrase, “pray like this” doesn’t do it justice because we attribute it to an example of attitude or posture. But Jesus actually says, “Pray thusly, in this way” and Luke records it as, “When you pray say, (this).” Jesus wants us to know and use and meditate upon this Lord’s Prayer. And yet the world frowns on it as empty phrases. Luther calls the Lord’s Prayer the greatest martyr because it’s despised by so many who think themselves too holy to pray such ‘empty’ words. Against them stands Christ himself: Pray this!

To begin, we are to pray: “Our Father who art in heaven.” Consider the depth of this phrase. As we call to our God, consider that this prayer reminds us that the entire complexity and economy of the divine Godhead is lending Himself to us in prayer. How much comfort is to be had when considering that the phrase “Our Father” guarantees us that the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is availing Himself to us in prayer: for “No one comes unto the Father but by Me,” Jesus says, and “No one calls Jesus ‘Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father in heaven. Of this there can be no doubt. But such does not mean that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are left out of it. Rather, Jesus himself promises to intercede for us. Remember that in Psalm 110, the Father says to the Son ‘Sit at My Right Hand’ (the Hebrew idiom meaning the Son has the same authority as the Father), and what is the Son doing with this authority – He is interceding for us with the Father, even as St. Paul declares, “Christ Jesus is the one who died, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God the Father, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8). And again, the writer to the Hebrews says, “Therefore [Jesus] is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, for He always lives to make intercession for them.” (7:25). And again, the apostle John writes, “We have an advocate (an intercessor) with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.” And, does not Jesus Himself say, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate – the Holy Spirit”? (John 14:16).

Yes, not only does Jesus advocate for us with the Father, but simultaneously He promises also another helper, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who both Peter and Paul say was given us in baptismal adoption as sons, that we might cry out, “Abba, Father.” Not unlike, “Our Father.” 

So then, friends, when you pray “Our Father,” know that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit lend their collective ear to you – and that complex, mysterious intercommunication within the incomprehensible divine Godhead who once said, “Let us make man in our image” is now occurring again: “Let us hear his prayer.” Yes, that loving God immediately and wonderfully hears your prayer.

And that means we can pray with all boldness and confidence. Our Father is not an angry, vindictive Father. Even as He sees in us only sin, dust, and ashes, the Son intercedes for us and reminds the Father of the Son’s purchase price of our souls with His own blood, and the Father rejoices in our adoption as sons, as the apostle writes, “What manner of love the Father has given us, that we should be called sons of God, and we are!” And, in that love, Father and Son together (St. John says) send the Holy Spirit in Word and water to give us boldness in our prayer, “Our Father.”

“Our Father” – “with these words, God tenderly invites you to believe that He is your true Father, and you His true child.” 

But, children sometimes fear their father… especially when they know their wrongdoing. If you were to appeal to the Father yourself, would you not have every reason to tremble? You know your sins; you haven’t been good about wearing and using and calling upon His name. You easily lead yourself into doubting whether He intends to give you what you need. 

But, St. Paul reminds us that you do not appeal to an angry God. Rather, “He who spared not His own Son, but gave Him up to death for us all, how will He not now with that Son graciously give us all things?”

As the Father is reminded by the Son who intercedes for us that He, the Father, gave up the Son as a priceless sacrifice for the judgment we deserved, then the Father looks at you with great joy that His sacrifice accomplished what He promised. And He gladly gifts you with, pours out on you in baptism, the Holy Spirit, who teaches you to pray, Abba, Father. That word Abba is best translated, “Daddy.” Terms of endearment for children – from toddlerhood to twilight years – to know. Your heavenly Father - because of the intercession and advocacy of the Son and the Holy Spirit - Your heavenly Father rejoices over you so that the Son says, “You will ask in my name… (and) the Father himself loves you.” So, call upon Your God, for – as the first commandment reminds you – you need no other god. There is no other god to be had in your life or in the presence of this wonderfully incomprehensible (but wonderfully intimate) Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So leave all other gods in dust and ashes and call out “Our Father” with all boldness and confidence as dear children ask their dear father. 

Now what are we to ask our God? First, “Hallowed be Thy Name.” That doesn’t sound so much a request as it does a word of praise. But make no mistake, we are requesting something great of God in this petition. Literally, the phrase is “Let your Name be hallowed.”

On the face of it, this seems a silly request. God’s Name and identity is already and always holy.  It’s already sacred, set-apart, pure, righteous. God’s name cannot lose its objective worth or value, no matter how much the world defames it… just as gold, being used for evil purposes or even thrown away, hasn’t stopped being gold. It’s still gold!

God’s name will always be God’s name – it is certainly holy in and of itself. Just as God’s existence does not depend upon whether anyone believes in him, so also the holiness of his identity doesn’t depend on whether it is seen as being holy.

But, for our benefit, He desires that we keep His name holy among us, even as He has commanded, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord Your God.” There’s the disease we pray God to defend us from: We, his own baptismally adopted children, do not always use or defend or baptismally wear His identity rightly. 

Oh, how constantly we bring shame upon our God’s name!... the ‘family name and reputation’ He gave us in Baptism, calling us His own as a father takes ownership of an orphan… and we shame his name! Rending our hearts at our sin, we ought recall that He baptizes us into that Holy Name, even as He instructed His apostles, “Make disciples, baptizing in(to) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them all things I have given.” Notice, how God’s name is kept holy? First by safeguarding and cherishing His teaching – that’s an appeal to doctrine!

God’s name is kept holy among us in teaching when His Word is taught in truth and purity, no more or no less. Simply depend upon, learn, study, and cherish the Word of God, defend it to the death, remain in His Word and you will be His disciples.

In season and out of season, faithful pastors will teach and faithful hearers will rejoice in not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear: the preaching of repentance and forgiveness of sins, the echoing of St. Paul - “We desire to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him Crucified”, the exhortation to good works that flow not out of hopes of self-merit, but out of Christian love. 

And that Christian preaching from the pulpit will continue in the home. Dads and moms will speak of it daily to their family; they will bring their little ones to receive the inheritance of heaven as Christ applies it to them in baptism. Dads and moms will teach those little lambs the name and promises of their Good Shepherd. Dads and moms will exhort those children when they are growing up but still under their roof to properly repent and depend on God’s grace in the Sacrament of the Altar, not just until they move out of the house, but all their days. And husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, Christians of all vocations will confess to one another such dependence on God’s Word and Sacrament, as Christ has promised these blessed gifts.

And if you know and cherish his teaching, then you will pray that God help you to lead holy lives according to that teaching. Husbands and wives will wrestle with sin to hallow God’s name in their marriage, seeing each other bearing the name of Christ on their forehead and in their heart and therefore forgiving one another in all things and being faithful in all things. Children will wrestle with sin to love and honor parents, teachers, and authorities, and will be grateful for their siblings. Businesses will be honest, reputations will be safeguarded, lives and bodies defended and respected, property and possessions protected, others considered before self.

What poor miserable beggars we are when comparing ourselves to the first and second commandment and keeping holy the name of our God. Of our own strength, it is a futile effort. So, we are right to plead, Lord Jesus, spare your people. Cover our transgressions with your holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death; apply it in the forgiveness of sins you promise to deliver in your Scripture and Sacraments. And Lord, teach us sinners to pray. Teach us to call out: “Our Father, in teaching and in life: let Thy Name be hallowed among us!”

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Prayers for the week of February 22, 2015

Almighty God, we give You thanks that, immediately after His Baptism, Your Son continued His work of salvation by His temptation in the wilderness. We give thanks that in Him, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”   Lord, in Your mercy:  HEAR OUR PRAYER.

We pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.   

  

Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.  And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.”  Mark 1:12-13

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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer:  “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. AMEN.”

In the Name of the Father and of  the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Lord, You give us every reason to say, “Amen. Amen. It shall be so!” To you belongs all power and glory, forever and ever. Therefore, hear the praise that is given through an appeal to your mercy, and lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, You show your power and glory through mercy toward sinners. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Debbie Taylor, Sue Ail- and Catherine Stange* (who is recovering from a medical procedure) as well as all those who are ill and afflicted:; remind them of Your compassion and, according to Your will, heal  of all affliction. In all circumstances, strengthen their faith, that they might clearly confess, “AMEN.”

* For the anxious, lonely: O God, Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. Yet, we sinners so often grow anxious about the temporal trials that face us. Hear my prayer on behalf of  our shut-ins including Irene Fehrman, Geraldine Hagemann, Velma Maas, Bruce Morecraft, and Alice Breneman and also for all the Widows and Widowers of Calvary.  Remind them that there is none other besides You who deserves all glory, and thus none other that need weaken our “AMEN.” Bring Irene, Geraldine, Velma, Bruce, and Alice and the Widows and Widowers confidence in the hour of trial, that they may take heart in Your promises, “Yes, yes. It shall be so!”

* For the mourning: O Lord, because You have all power and glory and dominion over life and death, we may rejoice in the Christian’s death, even as we mourn our earthly loss. Hear my prayer on behalf of Cal Miller and his family and the family Norm Bunge, who laid to rest the body of Norm and also of Cal’s wife, Velda, as they mourn the death of a loved one. Comfort them with the promise that Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life – “whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Cheer Cal and his family and also Norm Bunge's family with such life-giving words, that they might not weep as they who have no hope, but confidently confess, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN – It shall be so!”

* For the rejoicing: O Lord, as a God of glory, You are also a God who delights in showering us with blessings. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of all who today rejoice. Grant them a thankful heart, ever fixed on your grace through Christ Crucified, and therefore joins the eternal refrain – “AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.”

* Lord, please bring faith to unbelieving friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family including Anne, Vickie, Alexa, Dan, Paul, Kevin (and family) that they trust in the sufficiency of Your perfect life and atoning death for our eternal salvation by drawing them to your Word and Sacrament.

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, whose sacrificial death gives us the freedom to say, “AMEN – God’s promises shall be so!”, so that we may with all boldness pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Devotions...

The Glory of God, Found in Jesus Christ - The Transfiguration of Our Lord

Gospel Reading:  Mark 9:2-9  And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”  And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.  And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text is After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Is the glory of God to be found on the mountaintop, or is it to be found in the valley? And of course, the answer is Yes.  The glory of God is to be found in both places – both on the mountaintop and in the valley below – because it’s not the place that is glorious, but the One who there can be found who is glorious.

Anywhere Jesus can be found, there one will find the glory of God. The glory may be hidden; or it may be revealed so brilliantly, so radiantly and intensely that no brightness on earth can match it. But, hidden or revealed, it’s found only in Jesus.

It’s Jesus’ presence that brings the glory of God to man and therefore gives man reason to rejoice. When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, he said, “You worship on the mountain, the Jews worship in the temple; the time is coming when neither of those places will know the worship of the Father.” Why? Because the true worship of God can only take place where Jesus can be found.

Jesus can be found in the preaching. Jesus can be found in baptism. Jesus can be found in the Supper. He promises to be found nowhere else. But, where you can find Jesus – where He has promised to be found – there you have the glory of heaven, even if veiled from sight, there you have the glory of heaven because you have the person of Jesus. There is Jesus shielding you as you confess sins that ought condemn you. There is Jesus comforting you as the Word is spoken over your loved one’s coffin. There is Jesus sustaining you as the Word is fed you in your hospital bed. Where Jesus is, so is his glory.

The world scoffs at this notion. It says that the Christian faith is no different than any other religion… that it looks much more glorious to see hundreds of thousands of Muslims bowing to their god in Mecca! That must be true glory.

Others say that the great temples of Mormonism show that they too know the glorious nature of God. Or maybe it’s the Vatican and the immense wealth and treasury and impressive worldwide governance of its religious body that leads others to think the glory of God can certainly be found in the Papacy. Maybe it’s the independence of our materialistic, sex-driven, money-loving culture. But is the person of Jesus found in such things? If not, then neither is glory.

And of course there’s the fanatics and enthusiasts, who are so enamored by the glorious nature of large crowds and stadium seating and believe that they can find Jesus and his glory in random spirit-filled ways, led by the deep glorious emotions of the heart. But there Christ has not promised to be found, and therefore there is no true glory.

True glory, God’s glory, is found wherever Jesus is found. And that brings us back to the most basic question of the entire Epiphany season. Even before asking “Where is Jesus?”, we must ask “Who is Jesus, that I may know whom I seek?”

That’s the question of Epiphany, isn’t it? If you want to characterize the entire Epiphany season in one way, it’s that Epiphany answers the question “Who is Jesus?”

Six days before the transfiguration, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answer rightly, “You are the Christ of God!” But he didn’t understand his own answer. For a mere week later, when the glory of God shone in Jesus – when the Christ of God radiated with the full glory of heaven – Peter was not focused on Jesus, but on capturing the glorious moment with tents. Peter focused on the place. But, the only tent that was needed was the flesh and person of Jesus, just as John’s gospel says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled/tented among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten Son from the Father.”

The only tent that is needed, the only tabernacle that is needed to locate the glory of God is the person of Jesus… not places, not events, but Jesus. (Even the Sacrament of the Altar benefits you not specifically because it’s a glorious event, but because it gives you the person of Jesus. Fundamental to everything you need learn and know and cherish is the answer to that simple question, “Who is Jesus?”

This is why Epiphany Sundays begin with the Baptism of Jesus and the voice from heaven, “This is My beloved Son.” It’s why Epiphany Sundays end with the Transfiguration of Jesus and the voice from heaven again thunders, “This is My beloved Son; listen to him.”

And that booming voice from heaven teaches you all you need to know.

One of the most beloved Lutheran theologians of this last century, a seminary professor by the name of Norman Nagel, once said quite bluntly, “How do we know who Jesus is? By heeding what the Father says… God has spoken; the men are silent. That is how it should be. When God speaks, you shut up,” Nagel said.

God speaks, and He says of Christ, ‘listen to Him.’ Notice that? Not “Look at him!” Not, “Behold him!”, but “Listen to him.” And, note “Listen to Him!” The Father directs us away from His own booming voice right to the simple, veiled glory of the words of Jesus. Where does God speak to you? Not in the whistling wind, not in a hiking trail’s breeze or singing birds, not in the quiet voice of your heart. God speaks to you in Christ Jesus and His Word recorded for and spoken to you. St. Peter says it this way,

We were eyewitness of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic Word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.”

Notice, what Peter says, “You will do well to pay attention to this.” Not unlike a father disciplining his son, “You’d do well to do what I tell you,” so also the apostle knows the need to remind us sinners not to go looking for Christ and His glory elsewhere, but only in the prophetic Word… we ought only be disciples, we ought be content just sitting and listening to this Jesus, as Norman Nagel so bluntly put it: “That is how it should be. When God speaks, you shut up.”

And, we might add to that, “Where God speaks, there you go.” God speaks in the person of His Son. And the Son speaks not in the heavenly expanses, but in earthy means of Word and Sacrament meant to engage you in and sustain you through the pains and struggles and sorrows of earthly life.

Jesus doesn’t keep His glory on the mountaintop. Peter can’t trap it there. Rather, Jesus drags Peter and you and me down the mountain as if to say, “Stay by my side. If you want the glory of God, you must be willing to have a Savior who dwells in the valleys of life; indeed a Savior who dies. You cannot trap God’s glory on a mountaintop even momentarily, but I will display it forever through the instrument of death, and I will give it forever in My Word spoken from the pulpit and included in water and connected to bread and wine.”

If we sinners would just stop with all our excuses, all of our ‘better ways’ for God to care for us, all of our ‘bright ideas’ that will ‘really’ make God known to us… if we’d just be silent and listen to Christ speak in His Word, we’d hear him promise that He comes with us to the valleys of life, even the valley of the shadow of death.

The Christ of God does not save His glory for heavenly places, but He brings it to the difficulties of life. When you languish and lament, He bids you come and dwell with him in a holy hour that grants you a veiled sight, a veiled hearing, a veiled taste of His glory. When you are stricken and bed-ridden so that you cannot come as He bids, He comes to you with the same glorious Word and the same heavenly Sacrament. When you sin and wander and disbelieve, He still blesses you with His glorious Word, even if it strikes your proud head as a hammer drives home a spike, and He says, “When God speaks, you keep silent and listen. Repent and believe in the gospel. Believe in the gospel that the glory and wisdom of God is found in the foolishness and grace of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. For, Jesus glories in ransoming sinners. Jesus glories in forgiving the penitent. Jesus glories in serving His Church, for “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to lay down his life as a ransom for many.” There’s the glory of Christ, who in his hour of death, prayed, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that your Son might glorify You.” There’s the glory of Christ, and therefore it’s what we glory in as well: “Far be it from me to boast,” Paul says, “ – to glory – except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Dear friends, there’s so much that can be said about the glorious scene at the mount of transfiguration. We could speak of Moses and Elijah and all the Law and Prophets confessing the divine answer to the question, “Who is this Jesus?” We could speak of how it foreshadows our adoption of grace and our own mortal bodies being transformed in the resurrection to immortal, glorious bodies. We could speak of the Mountaintop of the Transfiguration being the hinge between the Mount of Sinai and the Mount of Calvary, which points us beyond to the Mount of Zion.

These are all wonderful meditations upon this glorious sight. And we will have plenty opportunity to ponder them and consider them again, either here below or with the company of heaven above. But, for today, let us learn with Peter the simple lesson that we need not try to capture the glory of God. It is always here with us in the person of Jesus. Wherever Jesus is – whether on a mountaintop, in a valley, or on a cross, or in bread and wine – there is the glory of God.

In life’s trying, troublesome days (and in life’s good, comfortable days), let us be silent and hear the Word of God, for in it we hear the glory of our salvation, the glory of a gracious and merciful God who gave His only begotten Son to death for our eternal benefit, the glory of a beloved Son who willingly laid down His life as a ransom for many, and the glory of that Lamb once slain again standing… standing in resurrection triumph and faithfully abiding in the veiled glory of His Word and Sacrament, to be cherished by His Church adorned in radiant baptismal robes, accompanied in glorious festal gathering with Moses and Elijah, Peter, James, and John, with the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.

Prayers for this week:

Lord of mercy, You are the great Morning Star who has dawned from on high and arisen among us to give us Your light of salvation. On the Mount of Transfiguration, You revealed Yourself in glory before Peter, James, and John, confirming in Your flesh the ancient prophecies. Graciously reveal Yourself to us in Your holy Word and in the Sacrament of Your Holy Supper, that we may believe and confess You rightly, and faithfully serve You and Your people in word and deed.  Lord, in Your mercy,  hear our prayer for my brothers and sisters in Christ.  

Faithful God — You have given us the light of Your glory in the face of Jesus Christ — into Your

gracious hands we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in the mercy You have revealed to us

in Him; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy

Spirit, one God, both now and to all eternity.  Amen.

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“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake.”  2 Corinthians 4:5

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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer:  “But, deliver us from evil.”

 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 O Lord, even when our last hour comes, You are still the only true God and the deliverer of Your people. To that end, lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, You alone can deliver us from the Evil One. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Wally Bartels*, Connie Block*, Laverne Anderson*, Debbie Taylor, Sue Ail.  Also bless Catherine Stange, Tom Johnson, brother of Ron, and Linda Hill, Lila's friend - as they all undergo and recover from medial procedures: ; protect  them in the one true Faith, and reassure Wally, Connie, Laverne, Debbie, Sue, Catherine, Tom, and Linda  that You will deliver them from their physical affliction, either through renewed health or through entrance into eternal rest.

* For the anxious, lonely: O God, even when trials and tribulations await us, You promise to deliver us. Hear my prayer on behalf of Anne, Alexa, Vickie, and Dan Ripsom, my nephew Joe, my niece Roxanne , My sonds Mark, Kevin, Ryan, and Paul; bring to them FAITH in You and remembrance of Your Word: “In this world, you will have tribulation; but – be of good cheer! – I have overcome the world.”

* For those who mourn: O Lord, when it appears that the Evil One has defeated us, Your promise to deliver us remains. Hear my prayer on behalf of the friends and family of Norm Bunge and Velda Miller,  as they mourn the death of their loved ones this week.  Give them faith in You and keep them mindful of the redeeming work of Christ Crucified, that – because of Him – all who die in the faith are guaranteed a blessed end and will live with You forever.

* For the rejoicing: O Lord, as You have delivered us from the snares of the devil, You give us reasons –even in this life – to rejoice. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of my brother Don who just retired and for Ava as she recovers from her hospital stay, and on behalf of the Hill's expected grandchild. and Brittany Hibb's engagement . Grant us all grateful hearts  that thank you for such temporal blessings and confidently looks forward to the blessed end You have prepared for us all.

* Please bless our Calvary shut-ins  Fern Weddle, Dorothy Bratton, Norm Bunge, Bruce Morecraft, and Alice Breneman.    Likewise please bless the Widows and Widowers of Calvary.

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, who -through His death- has eternally delivered us from every evil and has given us every certainty to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Prayers...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon:  “I Came to Preach” - Fifth Sunday after Epiphany February 8, 2015

Mark 1:29-39  
And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.  Jesus Preaches in Galilee  And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text, And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The last three weeks have taken us step-by-step through the first chapter of St. Mark. The problem is, when you chop up the verses this way, and handle one little section each week, you lose the flow of the text, the urgency of the situation, the rapidity with which everything is happening. Six times in these twenty-five verses is the word immediately used… Jesus is on the move with a goal in mind, and he’s not stopping for anything. And yet, as quickly as He moves, just as quickly arise road blocks – last week, “immediately” a man with an unclean spirit confronts Jesus in the synagogue; today, “immediately” the illness of Simon’s mother-in-law commands attention. 
And yet, even these hurdles the Lord uses for His purpose, as the healings and casting out of demons display for us the authority of this Jesus. Last week, we heard that all the crowd was astonished at this One preaching with such authority. Today, Mark again reminds us of this authority, (even appealing to not just one demon cast out, but “many demons” being cast out)… but, this morning, Mark’s appeal to Jesus’ authority includes a subtle reference upon which we do well to meditate.
Ponder this question for a moment: What’s the purpose in Mark recording that Peter’s mother-in-law was healed of her fever and ‘went about serving them’? What’s the point? To prove she was really healed and didn’t just ‘appear’ healed? With so many witnesses would the validity of the healing really be questioned? 
Maybe the description is included to prove she’s a good hostess. That seems to contradict what Jesus says about Martha and Mary, when he lauded Mary for choosing the better portion by sitting at His feet and listening.
In reality, this reference to Peter’s mother-in-law serving them must be seen in light of the first sentence of our reading; in fact, it’s far better understood if we didn’t take Mark’s first chapter apart in little sections but read it as a whole: This healing happened on the Sabbath. Last week, we heard that on the Sabbath Jesus entered into the synagogue to teach and was confronted by the demon. Leaving the synagogue, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law on the same Sabbath. And she gets up and serves them on the Sabbath. 
Why is that important? Remember, according to the ceremonial laws of the Jews, there was to be no work, no effort, on the Sabbath. Righteousness was earned by keeping that law. Yet, here, in direct contradiction of such custom, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law. It’s not unlike when Jesus was despised by the religious leaders for healing on the Sabbath or letting his disciples pick heads of grain on the Sabbath. In fact, seven times, Jesus performed a miracle on the Sabbath, showing Himself to be Lord over the Sabbath laws. 
And, not only does Jesus heal on the Sabbath, but Peter’s mother-in-law gets up and immediately works. She completely disregards the Sabbath Law because she recognizes Christ to be the Lord of the Sabbath – the One in whom God has long-promised eternal rest. The mother-in-law goes right to work, as if confessing, “The Jewish Sabbath customs cannot win me salvation, but this Jesus wins me salvation. Why should I any longer trust in ceremonial customs when the Kingdom of God is found in this Jesus?”
Now, as if Mark wants to remind us yet again of this, the very next words paint for us an amazing picture: “That evening at sundown” or, more properly, “That evening, when the sun set.” Why is that important? Because it meant the Sabbath was over, and with it, the ceremonial laws keeping people from exerting effort. And, as soon as the ceremonial laws no longer shackle them, the ill and oppressed flock to Jesus. 
You can almost imagine the scene as the sun drops: With great piety and every intention on outwardly keeping the law, the needy and their families inwardly despise the Law and yearn for the sun to set. All eyes on the sun as it gradually slides through the sky; people standing at the door as if the starting gate of a horse race, and, as soon as the Law has been met, they’re off to see Jesus.
Isn’t it a pathetic sight, in some ways, and yet a telling one: The people all know the Law can’t help them. They’re so eager to lay hold of this Jesus, this flesh-and-blood gospel, and yet they feel compelled by guilt and legalistic thought to pay proper respect to the legalistic customs… perhaps just in case this Jesus doesn’t pan out, at least they know they’ll have kept the Law and can fall back on that!
We sick and oppressed think and act the exact same way! What good is our effort in keeping the customs? How exactly does it help us if (for example) “Remember the Sabbath” is kept to simply ‘go through the motions’? We know such legalism is of no benefit! And yet, we pride ourselves in doing so… When life gets difficult and it seems that Jesus isn’t helping us the way we’d like, we fall back on the fact that “I’ve been a good person, I’ve tithed just so. I’ve sat through every Sunday service. I’ve served my church religiously. I’ve tried my best to keep the rules. With that God should be pleased.”
But we know that’s not how it works. How often do we need to hear the Scriptures tell us that we are dead in our trespasses, that no one is righteous, that it is the sick who need a physician… how often do we need to hear that, before we realize we don’t come to church each week to ‘follow the custom’, but because we need Jesus and the healing touch He here freely gives?
If you come to this place proud that you have done your best to keep the Law, if you come thinking God is pleased with your legalism, if you come to keep the customs and to go through the motions, your faith is a dead faith, a sterile spirituality… and you will die in your unrighteousness. 
Friends, don’t wait to lay hold of Christ until you have perfectly kept the Law, or else you will never lay hold of Him. Christ came not for the righteous but for sinners…for those of whom the Law says, “It is not proper to help them. They can’t be helped, ought not be helped.”
This must be understood properly, for we too easily abuse this great and blessed truth: We sinners hear such exhortation to depend not on legalism, but on Christ, and we say, “Well then, I should simply disregard God’s Law, sin boldly and sin often, and Christ will forgive me.” Such is dead faith too. The one who depends on Christ’s Gospel sees that Christ’s Law is worth cherishing… not because it gains you anything, but because the Law belongs to the very Christ you cherish. It’s His Law; therefore we cherish it and gladly do as He commands. 
But, as He is Lord over the Law, then when the question of salvation is at the fore, we do not run to the Law, but to the Lord over the Law. We do not stand at the threshold of the door and wait for the sun to set before we sprint to Christ. Such does not save us. Rather, we run to Christ for salvation, for forgiveness, for divine gifts of Word and Sacrament, specifically because the Law has served its purpose and has pointed us to its Lord. 
For the broken sinner, the one dying in his guilt and shame and cancerous sinful nature and disease of every dark misdeed, for that one who knows his illness – he knows it because of the Law. Rightly, he doesn’t disregard the Law; rather, he sees himself in the Law’s mirror and says, “I am diseased, as good as dead. The Law condemns me. I cannot save myself, nor can the Law save me. I need something even greater.”
And, at that point, the desperate sinner cares not if customs or traditions tell him to wait until sundown; he says, “I cannot wait. I need Christ now.” And, far from trying to justify himself in his keeping of the Law, the sinner throws himself at Jesus’ feet and says, “Lord, your Law rightly condemns me. I am sick and dying, oppressed by my sins, full of evil. Have mercy on me.”
And have mercy Jesus does. With the whole city gathered at the door, Jesus heals many, casting out demons, healing the sick. 
Now such show of Jesus’ authority, such good news that this Jesus is Lord over the demons and diseases, even this good news we sinners misinterpret. We misinterpret it by saying this is what Jesus should be doing for us, this very literal healing: “Why am I still a cancer patient? Why do I still have heart disease? Why am I still struggling with depression? Why must I die?” We begin to think that – if Jesus was truly here for me, as he was for the crowds – then he should be ridding me of all my problems.
But, that’s not at all the point of the text, is it? Christ himself says so when Simon, fresh off the joy of his mother-in-law’s miraculous healing, finds Jesus early in the morning and says, “Everyone is looking for you.” In other words, “Jesus, do for everyone else what you did for my mother-in-law.” 
And Jesus says No. 
Instead, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”
I imagine Peter may have been frustrated to hear that Jesus wanted to preach, when everyone else wanted miracles. Are you frustrated that you’re not getting what you want from Jesus to make this life better? Then you need to hear the truth again:
“Let us go… that I may preach… for that is why I came.”
This is an amazing statement when you think about it! Jesus basically distances Simon Peter’s attention from all the healings… Jesus completely separates the healings from the preaching, and He says, “The gospel is not about healing ills temporally. Mine is no social gospel. I came to declare an eternal gospel.” And yet, what’s so stunning about this is that, if you read back through the last twenty-some verses of Mark since these healings began, you’ll find the gospel writer doesn’t once mention what Jesus is saying! Mark points out the healings, the casting out of demons, says that Jesus preached with authority that stunned the crowds… but Mark doesn’t record what Jesus actually said!
And there’s a simple reason for that… it’s because what Jesus said was recorded by Mark at the very first, from the outset, to overarch and define everything that comes after it… from the very first, Mark mentions this simple sermon, and it’s the same preaching, the same sermon, over and over and over again: 
From verse. 14 (three weeks ago): “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”
For all the healings, all the raising up of the sick, all the miracles… in a sense, it’s not the gospel. To be sure, it flows from the Gospel and points to the Gospel. It manifests the One who is the Gospel and brings the Gospel. But, temporal healing is not in and of itself the gospel. Notice, as the text concludes, it says that Jesus went preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons (more of that spiritual warfare we talked about last week), but it says nothing about healings and physical improvement.
Jesus’ healing touch is there to manifest Jesus’ identity as the One who has authority over the Law and all of Sin’s effects, so that – true – the temporal healing does foreshadow the resurrection! Sometimes in life, Jesus momentarily grants you His same healing touch that foreshadows the resurrection; but it’s Jesus’ preaching to which all souls must cling:
“Repent and believe in the gospel” – the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, the life everlasting.
Friends, how complacent do we grow in hearing it, and yet the gospel which we are to believe forever rings out – “Christ died for you.” There’s the message that Jesus preaches. The time is fulfilled, at hand is the Kingdom of God in the person of Jesus. Repent, believe the gospel… for Christ died for you.
Epiphany is soon over; the ‘manifesting’ of Jesus soon gives way to His passion and suffering. But the preaching remains the same: “Christ died for you.”
For the one who stands at the threshold and waits for the sun to set – for the one who still thinks that maybe keeping the Law ‘just so’ might gain heaven – the gospel of Jesus falls on deaf ears. But, for you who know your sin, know how constantly you fail the Law’s demands, know how thoroughly you are in need of a constant stream of forgiveness – from his cross to this font to this altar: repent and believe in the gospel… for Christ died for you.

In the Name of the Father  And of the Son And of the Holy Spirit.
+ AMEN +  
Rev. Mark C. Bestul Calvary Lutheran Church February 8, 2015

Prayers

* Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Norm Bunge*, Connie Block*, Debbie Taylor, Sue Ail, LaVerne Andersen*, Mark Babler (a friend of the Hopkins family with stage 4 lung cancer) and (my grand-niece) Ava Williams who has been in the hospital with ear problems) ; comfort them with the certainty that – because their sins have been forgiven on account of Christ Crucified – they may be certain that you will provide for their temporal health and their eternal well-being, in accord with Your will.

* For the anxious, lonely: O God, You promise to answer those who call upon You in their day of trouble. Hear my prayer on behalf of my nephew Joe, my son Mark, and my niece Roxanne, forgive them where – in trial and tribulation – they grow weary and doubt your Word. Strengthen them through Your Word of Truth and its promises, reminding them that – because they are forgiven in Christ – nothing can separate them from Your love.

* For the mourning: O Lord, You take no delight in the death of even the wicked, but desire all men to be saved, and have given Your only-begotten Son to bear the sins of all the world. Hear my prayer on behalf all who mourn the death of loved ones.  Comfort them with the promise that we have been forgiven in Christ, so that all who die in Christ still live with Him in paradise. Comfort them in this time of sorrow, that they would not grieve as those who have no hope, but as those to whom belongs the certain hope of “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

* For the rejoicing: O Lord, because You have paid the redemption price in Christ, and have forgiven all our trespasses, You also delight in giving us every blessing under heaven. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of all those who rejoice. Grant thankful hearts to my brother Don and his friends and family as we rejoice in his recent retirements and the many blessings that flow to us as ones forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.

* Please bless Calvary shut-ins Velma Mass, Irma Martin, Velda Miller, Bruce Morecraft,  Alice Breneman and also bless all Widows and Widowers of Calvary

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, in Whom we have the forgiveness of sins and, thus, the right to come to you as dear children who have been taught to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…