1 Samuel 16:1-13; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; St Luke 18:31-43
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
“Jesus” is the way you say His name from the Greek. But if you said it like a Hebrew it would be more like “Ye-shua.” Joshua. You’ve heard that name before in the Bible. He was the man appointed to succeed Moses and led the people of Israel over the Jordan River into the Promised Land. He fought the Battle of Jericho where the enemies of God lived behind thick fortified walls.
But the Lord said to Joshua, “Go get it. The city of Jericho is yours.” Joshua faithfully drew near to Jericho to devote to destruction. To destroy. To kill. They marched around the city, blew the trumpets and shouts and the walls came tumbling down. Then they devoted to destruction every living thing and then burned the city to the ground.
But Joshua wasn’t done yet. Joshua stood in the midst of the smoke and ruins of the city and pronounced a curse. Cursed before the Lord be the man who rise up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates (Josh 6:26). It was not to be rebuilt. The ruins of Jericho were to be a perpetual sign of God’s displeasure with those who did not believe in the true God.
But about 500 years later, under King Ahab, a proud man named Hiel did just that. And sure enough, he laid its foundation at the cots of his firstborn son, and its gates at the cost of his youngest son (1 Ki 16:34). Jericho was rebuilt on the sacrifice of a proud man’s own children.
I know we call our country “America the Beautiful.” But really its just a really big Jericho. A Cursed City, breaking down under the wrath of it own sin and idolatry. Most people don’t believe in the true God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Vile behavior that would have caused previous generations to blush is, in our day tolerated, affirmed, celebrated. The false god of money is still king here. People worship their work. Live their lives for themselves.
Almost a million unborn children are sacrificed every year. But how many more are spiritually sacrificed? Kids who are programmed by parents to get good grades, go to a good college, find a good job, have a nice wedding, a nice house, have nice kids and a nice dog, but end up in hell, never having been taught, never catechized as to what is truly important - knowing the God who is good and merciful, our dear Father and His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. That’s our culture.
And its in us too. You don’t just live in it. Your part of it and it of you. More than you know. The curse is in us too. We feel the curse everyday in our pains, in our loneliness, our guilt, our shame, our fears. Wherever we may live we are residents of Jericho, USA.
Yet today a new Joshua faithfully draws near to Jericho. The old one came to curse, the new draws near to bless. The old Joshua came to destroy, Jesus comes to heal. Not to go around the city, but to go through it. To rescue people from the ruins of their earthly civilization and bring them into His own heavenly kingdom.
To do this meant that He would have to bear the curse. He would have to, in fact, become the Curse. So He goes right through the Cursed City to Jerusalem so that He could do it. He walked among the ruins we have made of this earth. Our sins wrecked His body. The curse of the Law bloodied Him and tore Him apart.
Yet there, lifted up, towering o’er the wrecks of time, He didn’t curse us. He absorbed out sin in His flesh. Made it His own. Became the Curse and then absolved us when He said, Father, forgive them, from the cursed Tree. See Jesus hanging on the Cross, the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. This is the greatest love. Love Incarnate. The crucifix is God’s permanent display of His favor toward man.
What mercy! The curse removed from us at the cost of God’s Firstborn Son. At the cost of His Firstborn Son, His innocent blood is the foundation and gate of a new city, the Church.
This is why Jesus goes through Jericho to Jerusalem. We would certainly understand if He would go quickly. We would certainly understand if He didn’t have time for all the beggars on the street. We would certainly understand if Jesus, with the burden of all our sin on His back, would bypass a few beggars this time. Head down, don’t make eye contact, just keep walking. That’s certainly what the disciples were thinking.
A beggar cried out for mercy, Kyrie eleison, and was told to be quiet.
The sad thing is we can identify. People have begged, people have declared need and asked us for help. Other have wanted from us just an ear to listen. But our first instinct is to pass over. Head down. Eyes forward. Just keeping going. We pass over human need all the time. Like Samuel we look on the appearance and do not see as God sees. One for whom His Son bled and died. A fellow beggar, like us, in need of mercy. We lack the love of which St Paul writes. Who are we?
Yet with the crucifixion on His mind, Jesus doesn’t pass by. In fact, He stood still. Not to stop and lecture the disciples. He stands still to have mercy. He can’t resist cries for mercy because He is the Father’s mercy in the flesh. His first instinct is always to have mercy. Even for some blind beggar. He stood still and called for the beggar to be brought to Him. And when he comes, Jesus doesn’t treat him with suspicion, but with dignity and respect. He knows he can’t see, so He gets on his level and gives him something for the ears: What do you want me to do for you? Lord, let me recover my sight. And He heals him!
People loved by God, Jesus has heard your cries too. The scene in Jericho is played out every Sunday in this Divine Service. Beggars like us come before Jesus crying for mercy. Kyrie eleison. And He doesn’t turn away, but hears you. Didn’t He treat you the same way He treated that blind beggar when you were baptized? He stood still. Had you brought to Him and asked you, a blind beggar, “Do you wish to be baptized?” “Yes,” came the response. And He baptized you!
Again this morning you cried out for mercy in the confession. He doesn’t just keep walking, but has His minister stand in His stead and by His command and absolve you.
You cried out again in the liturgy and He hears. The Pastor doesn’t pass you by, but stands and imparts to you the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, life and salvation.
Being able to see in the Scriptures doesn’t have to do with reading the eye chart. It has to do with faith in Christ Jesus. It has to do with understanding and believing. People loved by God, you have been given this faith as a free gift by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word.
In the Old Testament Joshua wasn’t asking questions of sinners. He was cursing them. But our Joshua has opened your eyes to see just how deep and rich and great God’s love is for you. He has opened your eyes and your mind to say, “I see. I know now. It was my sin, my selfishness, my behavior, my guilt that caused Him to be delivered over to the Gentiles, mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon, flogged and killed. And it was for me that He rose from the dead so that I might no longer be in my sins. I see.” This is the same sight He wishes to bestow on all poor, miserable beggars such as yourself. Luther said, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.” Well, the feast is here.
That blind man followed Jesus to Jerusalem, glorifying God. Let us do the same. Let us accompany Jesus to Jerusalem this Lent. To do as St Thomas said, That we may die with Him. He leads. We follow with eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts grateful for His mercy. For Jesus shows us a better way. He leads you here. Up to the Altar where He is for you with His very Body and Blood. Even in your trials, in your pain and when your world comes crashing down like the walls of Jericho, He is here for you.
Come dear beggars. Come in your weakness. For here He stands and says, “See, I am your Rock, your Refuge, your Strong Fortress, your Salvation, your Redemption, your Life, your Leader who leads you to the New Jerusalem, the blessed city where there is no curse, and where My Blood has prepared a place for you.”
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
“Jesus” is the way you say His name from the Greek. But if you said it like a Hebrew it would be more like “Ye-shua.” Joshua. You’ve heard that name before in the Bible. He was the man appointed to succeed Moses and led the people of Israel over the Jordan River into the Promised Land. He fought the Battle of Jericho where the enemies of God lived behind thick fortified walls.
But the Lord said to Joshua, “Go get it. The city of Jericho is yours.” Joshua faithfully drew near to Jericho to devote to destruction. To destroy. To kill. They marched around the city, blew the trumpets and shouts and the walls came tumbling down. Then they devoted to destruction every living thing and then burned the city to the ground.
But Joshua wasn’t done yet. Joshua stood in the midst of the smoke and ruins of the city and pronounced a curse. Cursed before the Lord be the man who rise up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates (Josh 6:26). It was not to be rebuilt. The ruins of Jericho were to be a perpetual sign of God’s displeasure with those who did not believe in the true God.
But about 500 years later, under King Ahab, a proud man named Hiel did just that. And sure enough, he laid its foundation at the cots of his firstborn son, and its gates at the cost of his youngest son (1 Ki 16:34). Jericho was rebuilt on the sacrifice of a proud man’s own children.
I know we call our country “America the Beautiful.” But really its just a really big Jericho. A Cursed City, breaking down under the wrath of it own sin and idolatry. Most people don’t believe in the true God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Vile behavior that would have caused previous generations to blush is, in our day tolerated, affirmed, celebrated. The false god of money is still king here. People worship their work. Live their lives for themselves.
Almost a million unborn children are sacrificed every year. But how many more are spiritually sacrificed? Kids who are programmed by parents to get good grades, go to a good college, find a good job, have a nice wedding, a nice house, have nice kids and a nice dog, but end up in hell, never having been taught, never catechized as to what is truly important - knowing the God who is good and merciful, our dear Father and His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. That’s our culture.
And its in us too. You don’t just live in it. Your part of it and it of you. More than you know. The curse is in us too. We feel the curse everyday in our pains, in our loneliness, our guilt, our shame, our fears. Wherever we may live we are residents of Jericho, USA.
Yet today a new Joshua faithfully draws near to Jericho. The old one came to curse, the new draws near to bless. The old Joshua came to destroy, Jesus comes to heal. Not to go around the city, but to go through it. To rescue people from the ruins of their earthly civilization and bring them into His own heavenly kingdom.
To do this meant that He would have to bear the curse. He would have to, in fact, become the Curse. So He goes right through the Cursed City to Jerusalem so that He could do it. He walked among the ruins we have made of this earth. Our sins wrecked His body. The curse of the Law bloodied Him and tore Him apart.
Yet there, lifted up, towering o’er the wrecks of time, He didn’t curse us. He absorbed out sin in His flesh. Made it His own. Became the Curse and then absolved us when He said, Father, forgive them, from the cursed Tree. See Jesus hanging on the Cross, the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. This is the greatest love. Love Incarnate. The crucifix is God’s permanent display of His favor toward man.
What mercy! The curse removed from us at the cost of God’s Firstborn Son. At the cost of His Firstborn Son, His innocent blood is the foundation and gate of a new city, the Church.
This is why Jesus goes through Jericho to Jerusalem. We would certainly understand if He would go quickly. We would certainly understand if He didn’t have time for all the beggars on the street. We would certainly understand if Jesus, with the burden of all our sin on His back, would bypass a few beggars this time. Head down, don’t make eye contact, just keep walking. That’s certainly what the disciples were thinking.
A beggar cried out for mercy, Kyrie eleison, and was told to be quiet.
The sad thing is we can identify. People have begged, people have declared need and asked us for help. Other have wanted from us just an ear to listen. But our first instinct is to pass over. Head down. Eyes forward. Just keeping going. We pass over human need all the time. Like Samuel we look on the appearance and do not see as God sees. One for whom His Son bled and died. A fellow beggar, like us, in need of mercy. We lack the love of which St Paul writes. Who are we?
Yet with the crucifixion on His mind, Jesus doesn’t pass by. In fact, He stood still. Not to stop and lecture the disciples. He stands still to have mercy. He can’t resist cries for mercy because He is the Father’s mercy in the flesh. His first instinct is always to have mercy. Even for some blind beggar. He stood still and called for the beggar to be brought to Him. And when he comes, Jesus doesn’t treat him with suspicion, but with dignity and respect. He knows he can’t see, so He gets on his level and gives him something for the ears: What do you want me to do for you? Lord, let me recover my sight. And He heals him!
People loved by God, Jesus has heard your cries too. The scene in Jericho is played out every Sunday in this Divine Service. Beggars like us come before Jesus crying for mercy. Kyrie eleison. And He doesn’t turn away, but hears you. Didn’t He treat you the same way He treated that blind beggar when you were baptized? He stood still. Had you brought to Him and asked you, a blind beggar, “Do you wish to be baptized?” “Yes,” came the response. And He baptized you!
Again this morning you cried out for mercy in the confession. He doesn’t just keep walking, but has His minister stand in His stead and by His command and absolve you.
You cried out again in the liturgy and He hears. The Pastor doesn’t pass you by, but stands and imparts to you the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, life and salvation.
Being able to see in the Scriptures doesn’t have to do with reading the eye chart. It has to do with faith in Christ Jesus. It has to do with understanding and believing. People loved by God, you have been given this faith as a free gift by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word.
In the Old Testament Joshua wasn’t asking questions of sinners. He was cursing them. But our Joshua has opened your eyes to see just how deep and rich and great God’s love is for you. He has opened your eyes and your mind to say, “I see. I know now. It was my sin, my selfishness, my behavior, my guilt that caused Him to be delivered over to the Gentiles, mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon, flogged and killed. And it was for me that He rose from the dead so that I might no longer be in my sins. I see.” This is the same sight He wishes to bestow on all poor, miserable beggars such as yourself. Luther said, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.” Well, the feast is here.
That blind man followed Jesus to Jerusalem, glorifying God. Let us do the same. Let us accompany Jesus to Jerusalem this Lent. To do as St Thomas said, That we may die with Him. He leads. We follow with eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts grateful for His mercy. For Jesus shows us a better way. He leads you here. Up to the Altar where He is for you with His very Body and Blood. Even in your trials, in your pain and when your world comes crashing down like the walls of Jericho, He is here for you.
Come dear beggars. Come in your weakness. For here He stands and says, “See, I am your Rock, your Refuge, your Strong Fortress, your Salvation, your Redemption, your Life, your Leader who leads you to the New Jerusalem, the blessed city where there is no curse, and where My Blood has prepared a place for you.”
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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