St Luke 11:14-28/Exodus 8:16-24/Ephesians 5:1-9
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, spoke the prophet Isaiah (5:20).
We see this today. Those who protect life and oppose the HHS mandate requiring religious institutions to provide insurance that covers abortions and arbortifacient drugs are called closed-minded, bigoted, misogynistic. And those who support the right to murder unborn children and favor governmental intrusion into religious liberty are called sensible, open-minded, progressive.
It happens in the Church, too. Those who insist on doctrinal faithfulness to God’s saving Word, who practice closed communion and reject the unscriptural practice of women’s ordination are called unloving, legalistic, rigid. Those on the other side are called inclusive, mature, loving.
In this way the wicked portray themselves as good and noble and caring. And what is truly good and noble and compassionate is slandered as extremist and hateful.
We see this in today’s Gospel. Jesus is doing something inherently good: He is casting out a demon from a mute man, freeing him from this dark power. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the crowd marveled.
But some hated our Lord. They rejected His goodness. Like Pharaoh of old, they hardened their hearts to what was before their eyes as plain as day. And so they called good evil. He casts out demons by Beelzebul, by that lord of the flies. He gets His power from Satan.
But the ones who accused Jesus of being of the devil showed themselves to be of the devil. For is it not the way of the Deceiver to plan doubt and work against true faith in Christ? They further showed their allegiance by demanding from our Lord as sign. Is this not exactly what the Tempter demanded of Christ in the wilderness? To throw Himself down from the Temple, to prove He was from the Father? Besides, they already had the sign of the exorcism. But unbelief is never satisfied with what Jesus gives. Unbelief demands more; something different.
Immediately after this text Jesus will say to this same crowd, This is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. Unbelief seeks to walk by sight and not by faith. The sign of Jonah is the sign of a Man submerged three days in the belly of death, but who rose from the depths to new life.
Today is the Third Sunday in Lent known as Oculi. It comes from the Latin for “eyes;” the first word of the Introit: My eyes are ever toward the Lord. They are fixed on the very sign Jesus promised; eyes fixed to the sign of the Cross; of Christ crucified and risen for us sinners. And that sign, the sign of the Cross, the sign of redemption by Christ the crucified, was given you in Holy Baptism; etched into your very bodies by water and the Word.
In the Exodus text, when the magicians were unable to reproduce the plagues of gnats and flies, they recognized, This is the finger of God. So also at the font. Jesus showed Himself to be Lord over Beelzebul. The finger of God was at work to deliver you from bondage to the evil one as the water was poured in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And so the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The epistle to the Ephesians reads, At one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. And this happens in Baptism! Those words of the ancient baptismal liturgy: “I assure you, unclean spirit, be removed and make way for the Holy Spirit.” An exorcism.
You have been released from Satan’s grip. Your have been brought into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son; you are possessed by His Holy Spirit. Now your mute tongues are loosed to confess Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Truly, Jesus has done good for you.
But there are still people who want to call that good evil. They label baptism and the liturgy of Christ’s preaching and Eucharist as being merely dead ritual. They have no power in themselves. They want signs and excitement, not the Divine Service. Others berate such sacramental Christians as being intellectually foolish or psychologically weak.
But let no one deceive you with empty words. Do not become partners with them. You are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the Light. Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
For Jesus is the Stronger Man who has overcome the strong man, the devil. But our Lord shows His strength not with spectacular power or a display of force. Remember the wicked call good evil and evil good. And so that dark day of death we call Good Friday. He who knew no sin became Sin for us. Jesus hid the goodness of His salvation behind the apparent evil of suffering and the Cross.
The crowds accuse Him of being in league with Satan. They are not so far off as we may think. He made Himself a perfect target for all of Hell’s fury. He drew all the hatred, all the violence, all God’s wrath into Himself. He was stronger than the strong man in weakness and poverty. He disarmed the strong man by suffering all the strong man’s strength and attacks. He emptied him of poison and the devil has no strength let. He is spent. Good disguised as evil. Satan used everything he had to kill Jesus on the Cross. He has no more accusations. It is not the Devil who is mute. And Christ divides His spoil with you – eternal life, forgiveness, mercy, hope, love, joy, peace – these are yours in Him.
The war is over, but the battle rages on – even as we heard the first Sunday in Lent, the temptation of our Lord; there is good and there is evil. Which side are you on? Jesus makes it clear: there can be no fence sitters; Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.
Satan has been conquered; His kingdom conquered in the Cross of Christ. But the Baptismal liturgy does not end with the exorcism. It begins with it. It goes on to the washing of rebirth; the bestowal of the Holy Spirit. For the house must be filled: either with the unclean spirit or the Holy Spirit. And the two cannot remain together.
And so our Lord issues the warning: Whoever is not with Me is against Me and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. The Holy Spirit can be grieved and denied. The good of Baptism can be rejected; thus the language of the Epistle.
But here again the collect for this morning: “O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways (including ourselves) and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word.”
Though you were once scattered, it is God who gathers you to Himself. He brings you to His house. And clothes you in His armor. He causes His kingdom to come upon you in the hearing of His Word; and by His grace, the keeping of it. For this you are blessed by Him.
He has released you from the tyranny of Pharaoh and not by strength of might, but by the weakness of a slaughtered Lamb and His Blood that marks you.
And though the wicked may scoff and ridicule you, though they may call evil good and good evil, you belong to God. His Name is upon you. His promise will not fail. You hear the Word of God.
And Here the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. The spoils of His victory – His Body and His Blood – are given to you as a sign of His love and a foretaste of things to come. You are in the care of the Stronger Man; demons cannot have you. Amen.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, spoke the prophet Isaiah (5:20).
We see this today. Those who protect life and oppose the HHS mandate requiring religious institutions to provide insurance that covers abortions and arbortifacient drugs are called closed-minded, bigoted, misogynistic. And those who support the right to murder unborn children and favor governmental intrusion into religious liberty are called sensible, open-minded, progressive.
It happens in the Church, too. Those who insist on doctrinal faithfulness to God’s saving Word, who practice closed communion and reject the unscriptural practice of women’s ordination are called unloving, legalistic, rigid. Those on the other side are called inclusive, mature, loving.
In this way the wicked portray themselves as good and noble and caring. And what is truly good and noble and compassionate is slandered as extremist and hateful.
We see this in today’s Gospel. Jesus is doing something inherently good: He is casting out a demon from a mute man, freeing him from this dark power. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the crowd marveled.
But some hated our Lord. They rejected His goodness. Like Pharaoh of old, they hardened their hearts to what was before their eyes as plain as day. And so they called good evil. He casts out demons by Beelzebul, by that lord of the flies. He gets His power from Satan.
But the ones who accused Jesus of being of the devil showed themselves to be of the devil. For is it not the way of the Deceiver to plan doubt and work against true faith in Christ? They further showed their allegiance by demanding from our Lord as sign. Is this not exactly what the Tempter demanded of Christ in the wilderness? To throw Himself down from the Temple, to prove He was from the Father? Besides, they already had the sign of the exorcism. But unbelief is never satisfied with what Jesus gives. Unbelief demands more; something different.
Immediately after this text Jesus will say to this same crowd, This is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. Unbelief seeks to walk by sight and not by faith. The sign of Jonah is the sign of a Man submerged three days in the belly of death, but who rose from the depths to new life.
Today is the Third Sunday in Lent known as Oculi. It comes from the Latin for “eyes;” the first word of the Introit: My eyes are ever toward the Lord. They are fixed on the very sign Jesus promised; eyes fixed to the sign of the Cross; of Christ crucified and risen for us sinners. And that sign, the sign of the Cross, the sign of redemption by Christ the crucified, was given you in Holy Baptism; etched into your very bodies by water and the Word.
In the Exodus text, when the magicians were unable to reproduce the plagues of gnats and flies, they recognized, This is the finger of God. So also at the font. Jesus showed Himself to be Lord over Beelzebul. The finger of God was at work to deliver you from bondage to the evil one as the water was poured in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And so the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The epistle to the Ephesians reads, At one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. And this happens in Baptism! Those words of the ancient baptismal liturgy: “I assure you, unclean spirit, be removed and make way for the Holy Spirit.” An exorcism.
You have been released from Satan’s grip. Your have been brought into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son; you are possessed by His Holy Spirit. Now your mute tongues are loosed to confess Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Truly, Jesus has done good for you.
But there are still people who want to call that good evil. They label baptism and the liturgy of Christ’s preaching and Eucharist as being merely dead ritual. They have no power in themselves. They want signs and excitement, not the Divine Service. Others berate such sacramental Christians as being intellectually foolish or psychologically weak.
But let no one deceive you with empty words. Do not become partners with them. You are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the Light. Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
For Jesus is the Stronger Man who has overcome the strong man, the devil. But our Lord shows His strength not with spectacular power or a display of force. Remember the wicked call good evil and evil good. And so that dark day of death we call Good Friday. He who knew no sin became Sin for us. Jesus hid the goodness of His salvation behind the apparent evil of suffering and the Cross.
The crowds accuse Him of being in league with Satan. They are not so far off as we may think. He made Himself a perfect target for all of Hell’s fury. He drew all the hatred, all the violence, all God’s wrath into Himself. He was stronger than the strong man in weakness and poverty. He disarmed the strong man by suffering all the strong man’s strength and attacks. He emptied him of poison and the devil has no strength let. He is spent. Good disguised as evil. Satan used everything he had to kill Jesus on the Cross. He has no more accusations. It is not the Devil who is mute. And Christ divides His spoil with you – eternal life, forgiveness, mercy, hope, love, joy, peace – these are yours in Him.
The war is over, but the battle rages on – even as we heard the first Sunday in Lent, the temptation of our Lord; there is good and there is evil. Which side are you on? Jesus makes it clear: there can be no fence sitters; Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.
Satan has been conquered; His kingdom conquered in the Cross of Christ. But the Baptismal liturgy does not end with the exorcism. It begins with it. It goes on to the washing of rebirth; the bestowal of the Holy Spirit. For the house must be filled: either with the unclean spirit or the Holy Spirit. And the two cannot remain together.
And so our Lord issues the warning: Whoever is not with Me is against Me and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. The Holy Spirit can be grieved and denied. The good of Baptism can be rejected; thus the language of the Epistle.
But here again the collect for this morning: “O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways (including ourselves) and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word.”
Though you were once scattered, it is God who gathers you to Himself. He brings you to His house. And clothes you in His armor. He causes His kingdom to come upon you in the hearing of His Word; and by His grace, the keeping of it. For this you are blessed by Him.
He has released you from the tyranny of Pharaoh and not by strength of might, but by the weakness of a slaughtered Lamb and His Blood that marks you.
And though the wicked may scoff and ridicule you, though they may call evil good and good evil, you belong to God. His Name is upon you. His promise will not fail. You hear the Word of God.
And Here the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. The spoils of His victory – His Body and His Blood – are given to you as a sign of His love and a foretaste of things to come. You are in the care of the Stronger Man; demons cannot have you. Amen.
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