B, 2nd Last Sunday of Church Year, Proper 28 - Mark 13:1-2, Hebrews 10:11-28 "The Temple Body"

Mark 13:1-2 (ESV) And as Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”  And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. 

The temple in Jerusalem no longer exists.  In 70 AD the Romans levelled the place, due to a revolt by the Jews that began in 66 AD.

When Jesus was crucified, the curtain in the temple separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn in two (Mark 15:38).  Christians recognise this as the time when the Old Covenant ceased to function along with the sacrificial requirements of the Law.  And along with the end of the sacrificial requirements was Jesus Christ’s one time victory over death and the devil; sin and Satan.

As we are told in the book of Hebrews, “‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:17-18 ESV)

What the disciples didn’t know, Jesus was the new temple, replacing the temple at which they marvelled.  These mega stones and structures would be wrecked and razed in a mega-destruction.

So, here we have a picture of Jesus turning the attention of the disciples, from the temple, to him and his word of promise.

But it is interesting that this happens, since Jesus had overturned tables of trade in the temple (Mark 11:15-19). Through the parable of the Tenants, he revealed he was the stone the builders rejected (Mark 12:1-12)

He told the Pharisees and Herodians to render to Caesar what bears the image of Caesar and to God what bears the image of God (Mark 12:13-17). 

He told one of the Scribes, “love the Lord your God with all your soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:28-34).  

He taught in the temple, that the Christ was the Lord of David, even though he was the son of David (Mark 12:35-37). 

And just prior to the disciples being impressed by the size of the temple, Jesus highlights the wealth of the poverty struck widow, who put all she owned into the temple treasury, against the perception of the scribes’ greatness and the greater condemnation they would receive (Mark 12:38-44).  

All along Jesus was painting a picture of himself as the temple but despite this, they didn’t get it.  When Jesus told the Scribe in the temple, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34), no one realised he was speaking about himself. He was not talking about the temple, nor an abstract understanding of the kingdom of God.

Jesus is the temple of God.  He is the Curtain of Creation through which we enter the presence of God, encouraged by the Holy Spirit to receive his blessing. 

“We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:19-23) 

Jesus paints this picture.  The disciples don’t get it. It is interesting but we shouldn’t be surprised!  Why?  Because we too struggle to see Jesus as the singular curtain through which we are led into eternal life!  And we have a much better understanding of this picture because Jesus has completed the picture. Jesus waits for our response, now that he has been raised and ascended into heaven; the Holy Spirit has been sent; and the temple now no longer stands in Jerusalem.

Yet we find the confession of our hope in the church is being sorely tested at the moment.  As a community of faith and as individuals, hope appears to be suffering. Because our hope suffers, confession of our hope is next to non-existent.  But where a confession of hope does exist, it’s a wavering hope, darkened with deadly doubt and blended beliefs.

Rather than a confidence in Jesus’ return and restoration, one hopelessly doubts saying, “I hope Jesus returns!” 

What is going on in the core of our being when this happens?

Like the disciples invested interest in the wonderful temple, we too have invested in many other temples.  Like the temple in Jerusalem all these other temples will end in decay and be devoted to destruction.  Although our temples of worship, unlike the temple in Jerusalem, have never served any function in the salvation of humanity.  Rather, they do quite the opposite, and erode faith, hope, and love, breeding self-righteousness and arrogance, hopelessness and despair, looseness and unappeasable desires.

Social media, advertising, individualism and the pursuit of pleasure have had a subtle effect on us all.  But there is nothing subtle about what our indoctrination in these things is doing to us as a society.  The temples are taking our time and they are taking our souls.  Such are the temple towns in which our hearts are deceptively drawn to in wonder, but end in disappointment, dissolution and destruction.

Unlike the temples that licence us for licentiousness, misery, and deathly desire, Jesus is the temple of truth, and he is faithful in his deliverance from death.

Unlike the temple in Jerusalem and the temples of our heart that end in death, he is the temple that begins in death and ends in life.  Where disfunction caused the death of the temple in Jerusalem and where the decay of our bodies will end in death, Jesus is the temple that begins in death that restores faith to live, hope to die, and love to forgive. 

One might ask why God would have Moses receive and institute the Law, with the temple  requirements, that would become dysfunctional?  All the Law seemed to do was breed works righteousness rather than love and faith in God who made the temple his footstool on earth!

And despite Jesus being the new temple that was destroyed and raised in three days (John 2:19), we still struggle with unbelief, despair, and our desires to be divine in our temples of goodness. And so one might also ask, “Has Christianity become just as dysfunctional as the temple at Jerusalem?”

What is God doing?

He is waiting!

When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,  waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:12-14 ESV)

Jesus is waiting for that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet!  In other words, he is teaching us and testing us.  Our Heavenly Father is teaching us, Jesus is the only Curtain through which we have access to him, and through testing us, his desire is that we learn from our weakness and failures and seek him, rather than rejecting his help and becoming his enemies.

Saint Paul puts it best, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,  if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.  For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 5:1–5 ESV)

It is God’s will that the temple of our body will be swallowed up by life, the temple of Jesus, where faith, hope and love dwell.

In addition to this we can marvel at the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit who comes to us in baptism and brings us into Jesus as a community, by planting Jesus in each of us individually at baptism. This is God’s guarantee!

John realised the greatness of this guarantee and records it in his Gospel, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 ESV)

His dwelling among us, is Jesus making us his temple community in which he tents or tabernacles. This is where our Immanuel indwells. Doesn’t Jesus say, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20 ESV)

So, since we have God’s promise, his faithfulness, the certainty of hope of life through death, and Jesus’ love from the cross through our baptism.  “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love (to forgive) and good works (confessing God’s good works of forgiveness and our good confession of sins),  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, by confessing your sins to one another, and praying for one another, that all of you may be healed, and all the more as all of you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24–25, James 5:16)

Amen.

B, Pentecost 4 Proper 7 – Mark 4:38 “The ‘I’ of the Storm”

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On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:35–41 ESV)

In recent weeks the southwest of Australia has been besieged by wild storms battering the coast and communities inland. Front after front has brought frightening winds that tear at trees and timber structures, bringing down powerlines, closing roads, and ripping roofs off buildings.

Our very own church was not spared from damage. The roaring westerly winds made the trees along the street whip around like umbrellas caught in an updraft, looking as though they were flipping inside and out. So strong was the wind, ridge capping tiles along the church roof were popped off and bounced down the eastern side breaking more tiles in their descent to the ground.

With the roof cornerstones gone, as it were, the building was left vulnerable in the next storm, forecast to be much stronger, but thankfully not turning out anywhere near as strong as the weather bureau had predicted.

When one is faced with nature unleashed it's understandable we feel threatened. Our eyes are opened wide to the onslaught and we might even feel anxious and uneasy about our safety, or concerned about our loved ones or our property.

Jesus was crossing Lake Galilee in a boat with his disciples when a storm closed in on them. It might be one thing enduring a storm on solid ground, but in a boat that sways back and forth in a gentle breeze at the best of times, it's no place to be in the height of a rippy unpredictable storm. One might easily understand the concern of the disciples, and even more so since they were experienced fishermen on that very same lake!

Yet as they were tossed about like a cork in a washing machine, we find Jesus sleeping on a cushion in the stern. Imagine the fear on the faces of the disciples, imagine their dismay that Jesus is sleeping down the back. It's unbelievable he's not with them peering over the bow at each of the surging storm swells, threatening to topple the boat and throw them into the abyss.

Doesn't Jesus care? Is he happy to let us die for nothing? Now is not the time to be sleeping, taking a nap, nor is it time for a snooze. Now is the time… is the time for what? Actually, why do we have times like this? Tumultuous times of turbulence in our lives, threatening death, destruction, or despair! Where is God in all of our struggles? Does he care? Perhaps we're tempted to cry out to Jesus, "Are you really there?"

But Jesus was there in the boat with them. Essentially there was nothing wrong with them being afraid. I'm sure the storm was placed there to get their attention. And it did! However, they approached Jesus, "And they woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?'" (Mark 4:38 ESV)

To what conclusion did their fear lead them? What did their fear glorify? Perhaps the power of the storm! Or possibly the power of death! Maybe even a justification or glorification of their fear or indignation that they put their trust in Jesus, for nothing, so it seemed. We can only imagine the mix of emotions that exposed their weakness, their helplessness, and their lack of understanding as to whom it was accompanying them, sleeping in the back of the boat.

The greater storm here was not in the sea surrounding the boat, but rather within the hearts of those in the boat. They were in the eye of the storm. But unfortunately for them, they saw themselves as the "I" in the storm. And looking into themselves they only saw death.

Whereas if we look at the true "I" of the storm, we find calmness and serenity, that to us, seems uncomfortable. It's a calm which appears to be eerie. Like standing in the eye of a cyclone… calm surrounded by twisting turbulent winds! Why can Jesus be so calm when everything is flying in the face of death? His calmness only goes to show our heightened anxiety, our helplessness, and perhaps even our lack of trust deep down in the core of our being. I know I should believe but my gut is telling me otherwise!

But Jesus was taking no idle nap. He was resting, and he calls us into that same rest, despite what may appear to be flying in our face. In the eye of the storm, he invites you into his presence, where his calmness is one of trust and faithfulness. You see for Jesus the eye of the storm was not him or the boat or their situation and strife. No! The eye of the storm was the great "I AM" his Heavenly Father. And in the storms of life we face around us today and within us, his hand of invitation and rest is there for all to step into the "I" in the storm and find peace and rest.

Jesus has given to you a greater reality which you can see through the eyes of faith. His faithfulness now resides in you despite the storms you face in this life. He invites you to turn from your gut instinct, the emotions of your heart, to know he is with you.

In fact, Jesus is not only with us each individually, but he rides with the church, just as he did in the boat with the disciples. He calls us to see he is our Saviour, not what we might do, not the boat in which we ride, nor a change in the weather, but rather the power of his word that calls you into the "I" of peace and rest.

As we cross the troubled waters of this life, Jesus calls us not to see our salvation in the destination but rather our salvation "is now" with him as we travel through life. What waters of chaos can threaten us when we believe we have been already drowned in the peaceful waters of baptism and are already being daily raised into the new life of salvation?

Hear our Lord address you as he does to the Corinthians through Saint Paul…

Working together with him [Christ Jesus], then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, "In a favourable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also. (2 Corinthians 6:1-2, 11–13 ESV) Amen.

B, Holy Trinity – Romans 8:15-17a Isaiah 6:1-8 “Here I am, Abba!”

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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV)

God in all his Triune glory wants a personal relationship with you. But how does this happen? How can a holy glorified God live with humanity? Surely there are things which just wouldn't allow this to happen!

If God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and omnipresent how could we have a relationship with any equality? How could we be in community with a perfectly complete and clean holy God when all of us know we have hidden within each of us things which would bring us great shame before God, and would in fact spoil the holiness of heaven?

What is this relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? How does my relationship with the members of the Trinity practically play out in my relationships with my family and friends, in my daily chores, in all the mundane things we as humans attend to every day?"

First, let's see how the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit exist in unity as a community. God the Father is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit. He is his own identity and he is God. The Holy Spirit is neither the Son or the Father, he also has his own identity. The Father and the Holy Spirit have been eternally the same.

On the other hand, Jesus Christ was born as a human to Mary. What he was like before his birth is not clear, but he did exist. We know he was and is with the Father and the Holy Spirit from eternity. His pre-human existence is referred to as his pre-incarnate being.

Jesus Christ, God the Son, was implanted or conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit when Gabriel spoke God's word to her. His life on earth bore two natures at the same time, both God and man. He ascended to the right hand of God and is still very much human, but now perfected and glorified, through his sinless life, death and resurrection. Jesus is his own person, he is not the Father or the Holy Spirit, but like God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, he too is God the Son.

The Trinity is so much greater than our understanding. Our human mind makes no sense of things hidden from our limited sensory selves. We might begin to ever so slightly know the immense glory of the Trinity and its holy being by considering water in its three separate states, liquid, solid, and gas – water, ice, and steam. They are the all same element but have different properties in themselves in these states. But this is far from a satisfactory explanation of the Trinity.

Humanly, we will never rationalise — One person of the Father plus One person of the Son plus One person of the Holy Spirit equals One Holy God! Nevertheless, we are called to believe this because Jesus tells us this is so in Scripture.

The church has been trying to get a handle on the Trinity from the day of Pentecost. Early in the church there was a belief that the God of the Old Testament could not be the God of the New Testament. The God of the Jews was a wrathful evil god; where as the God of the New Testament was a God of love.

In 144 AD a chap named Marcion gathered a following believing this idea. His reasoning was that the world was evil so it must have been created by an evil god, Jehovah, who was not the Supreme God, but rather an arbitrary vindictive God.

One might understand where he came from when misreading the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, out of context, which he did due mainly to the fact he hated the Jews. Marcion did not accept the Old Testament and only adhered to the Gospel of Luke after editing out the Jewish references, and the Epistles of Paul. This movement became known as Marcionism and was one of the first heresies in the early church.

The other heresy was called Gnosticism. Its name is derived from the Greek word gnosis which means to know or have knowledge. One had to attain levels of secret knowledge to escape the evil world of matter into the spiritual holy realm. Once true understanding came then salvation would come.

These two heresies opened the way for the church to begin recognising a common creed, to decipher the heretics from the believers. It also opened the way for the community of believers to adhere to common accounts of Jesus' ministry which they used in worship. In short they accepted the canon of Jewish Scripture which we call the Old Testament, and then the four Gospel accounts, Acts and the writings of Paul plus others.

But this didn't happen overnight and it took many hundreds of years of misunderstanding, confusion, and sometime bloody conflict, for the church to appear with a clear canon of Scripture and a confession of belief to distinguish the Trinitarian Christ centred church from the heretics.

So as the Church we now have the three creeds, or symbols — the Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. They get the name symbols of faith, from the old understanding of the word symbol. In the ancient times couriers would carry messages for leaders and they would also carry something from whom they came to identify they were legitimate and not an imposter or enemy. They might carry the king's coin, his symbol, to prove the oral or written message's legitimacy. This is similar to the seal of a signet ring used also to identify the origin of official transcripts.

What you and I believe is contained in your creeds, the creeds of the church. If you want to know what one believes, the creeds are your point of reference. They guide the church in the Word of God and point to the work of the Triune God amongst us.

But where the rubber really hits the road is how the Trinity functions for us as individuals, today. In the Nicene Creed we confess, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified. For us to worship the Triune God, he must be present and we need to know we are in the presence of the Triune God — Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

And so what does being in God's presence do? When Isaiah realised he was in the presence of a Holy, Holy, Holy God, he knew he was not clean or holy, he was far from blameless – that he was far from perfect! Yet one of God's seraphim makes Isaiah clean and holy before the Lord.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for." (Isaiah 6:6–7 ESV)

So too with us! We are made clean when the Holy Spirit gathers us, enlightens us, and fills us with the gifts of Jesus which he began doing while visibly teaching in Judah, Samaria, and Galilee and now continues everywhere but hidden. The Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son to do just one job, deliver us to the Father and the Son forgiven and with faith.

But if the third member of the Trinity is holy, namely, the Holy Spirit, how does his holy presence with us not destroy us? It's because our guilt is taken away and our sin atoned for.

Isaiah was touched with a burning coal on the lips as the Seraphim announced to him the word of God. We too have been touched by the Word of God and with fire. Just like the apostles had received the Holy Spirit from Jesus after his resurrection, we too have received the Holy Spirit, because of Jesus' atonement for our sin on the cross. Your sin is now covered and your guilt has been taken away.

How this happens is best explained in Paul's letter to the Romans…

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:15–17a ESV)

This adoption allows us complete access to the Father. This is quite profound, since we now can address a God, who is bigger than all creation and even eternity itself, as Abba. The English equivalent of this is an infant trustingly calling out, "dada", as the child loving falls into its father's arms.

How this plays out is quite profound yet it's also practically simple, so simple a child allows it to occur so much easier than most adults. Jesus, God the Son, makes the great exchange with us. He steps out of the Trinity and onto your cross, so you and I can step into the community of the Triune God just as God's own Son with all the privileges as one who has been eternally begotten, and faithful and pleasing to God.

We get back our relationship with God. This is a relationship of love where he seeks to provide everything for us and dwell with us. We have a relationship with Jesus Christ our risen brother and Lord, who continues his work of intercession which first began at the cross and our baptism. And we have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, which is best seen in how he gathers us and leads us in all forgiveness—of us and us towards others. He gathers us into fellowship most holy, with each other, with the Father and the Son.

So when you hear the voice of the Triune Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then you and I can pray, "Here I am! Send me." (Isaiah 6:8 ESV) Why? Because we know we have an almighty God who wants to be with us and have us cry out, Abba!

Abba Father, encourage us to believe that you are our Father and we are your children. Help us to pray to you with complete confidence just as a child speaks to its loving father. Amen.

A, Trinity Sunday – Matthew 28:16-20; 2 Corinthians 13:11-14 “God With You”

God With You
A sermon on Matthew 28:16-20; 2 Corinthians 13:11-14
Holy Trinity Sunday (Year A) 19/06/11
Pastor Heath Pukallus Katanning-Narrogin Lutheran Parish

The church is full of language not common to the person on the street. In fact, even amongst us who use these words regularly, if tested we would be hard pressed to justify the jargon we use.

What is faith? What is grace? What is justification or righteousness? What is the gospel? What is peace, or sanctification? What are these things and just as important, what are they not?

If abruptly approached in the street and asked, "Why do you go to church? What do you believe? What does all this church jargon mean?", how would you respond? All of us would be set back on our heels, gasping for an appropriate answer.

So let's unpack the jargon a little, which in fact is a part of what happens in Sunday School and Confirmation. But, why should we be jargon busters? Why deconstruct church terminology? So we know what it is we believe and so we're better equipped to engage the friend, the neighbour, or even the enemy when they inevitably ask about who we are and what makes us tick as Christians.

But before we do this, a word on why we teach our children in Sunday School and around the family table, and our young adults in Confirmation, and all of us in sermons and bible studies.

We hear in the Gospel today Jesus' command to baptise! Not just baptise but to teach as well! He commands saying…

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19–20a ESV)

Do you hear the commands? Go! Make! Baptising! Teaching! Here Jesus gives parents and the church the how, the what, and the where. We might well also ask, "What does this mean?" But from experience, I believe, this is where many of us become confused seeking to explain how God's work affects my being – what's it mean to me? However, it's better to answer the primary point of the Gospel and that's not "what it means" but rather "what God does and why he needs to do it"!

The work of God is a whole lot easier to explain than the confusion within us, which really only God understands! Besides, how God works is the same for every person! But on receiving his work through baptism and teaching, there's a myriad of possible responses in those who believe what they've received. Therefore, the exercise of testifying to what we believe is best left to concisely explain what God has done and is doing, rather than delving into the "what's it mean for me" question.

So what does the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do? And how do they do it? The most critical point in all of God's doing can be read in the last verse of Matthew's Gospel account. God promises you and me with yet another command…

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20b ESV)

Matthew end's his account with lasting words of Jesus by saying "behold", or perhaps better understood as "See!", "Look!", "Attention!" We hear Jesus' promise with an exclamation, "Hey! Know I am with you always!"

This comes as comfort to us for we don't go, make, baptise, teach, or do anything without God being present. Although he's not seen in the regular sense, we can rest on this promise as we live out our calling as Christians.

It's actually in God that we live and move and have our being. No longer has God withdrawn his presence from us who believe, as he did for four hundred years when the Israelites were in Egypt or for four hundred years prior to Jesus' birth as Immanuel. So just as Jesus was born as Immanuel, God with us, he continues to be with us, being born in us so we might live in peace with God.

And so the next piece of Jargon we need to unpack is the last verse in Second Corinthians. In doing so we can apply the simple but often overlooked practise of letting the word of God interpret the word of God. Rather than seeking to conform God's word and will into of our will. In other words, we need to let God do what God needs to do to our desires and determination rather than being determined to force God and his word into our narrow-minded perception of ourselves and the creation around us.

We hear the last words from Paul to the church in Corinth… Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:11–14 ESV)

Here is a whole bunch of church terminology set to baffle the untrained ear. Words like peace, grace, fellowship, comfort, love, restoration, and saints can confound us in knowing what is going on. But from the outset we have the same promise here as in Matthew 28… that God will be with you.

How is he with us? By the blessing promised in his word as we hear it. The grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the Holy Spirit's fellowship are exactly what we receive. But what are they, what do they do, and how do they do it?

If I were to ask confirmation students what grace is? I would expect that after much of the confirmation course hearing me bang on about grace, they would say it's "Jesus' death on the cross – for me!" And they might also tell me grace is, a gift, the Good News, or the Gospel.

What does Jesus do with this grace? That's easily explained if grace is a gift, the Good News or the Gospel "for me" – Jesus gives it to me; he gives it to you, for free, as a gift! This is why it's such good news!

The love of God the Father is next. What is his love? And what does it do? Firstly, his love is about being in the same place as God, co-existing, living under his favour, free from blame.

And Secondly, how is this done! The example we look to here is Jesus cry to God the Father in Gethsemane, "Abba"! God's love allows us access to God just as a child has access to its father by saying "dad-da or daddy". God's love for Jesus his Son allow Jesus complete confidence to call out, "Dad-da, Abba save me from this hour of death".

God's love allows us to call out to him as our most personal caring Daddy. But his love comes to us and we can come into his being of love because of Jesus' grace given to you and me at the cross and at baptism. God's love is all about restoration and rejoining us with him and the creation he lovingly gives us but has been polluted because of our sin. God's love is about living in peace, being at peace, and allowing his peace to flow through us so our hearts and minds are kept in him.

How does this happens? How do we know about the Father and his holy loving being that allowed Jesus to be the great love offering for us on the cross? How do we know it's safe for us to be in God's perfect presence without copping it as a result of our far from perfect existence? Furthermore, how do really know about Jesus, and the work he's done for me?

Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit doing what the Holy Spirit was sent to do. This is the work of fellowship! This is the work of making holy individuals, bringing us together into a community with each other and God, and teaching this community how it is they as individuals and as a common group believe they are saved sinners with access to a loving God. In short his work is to give us faith.

The Holy Spirit comes from Jesus Christ and God the Father, to bring you to attention to make you holy, to gather you, and teach you. That is why Scripture says, no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3).

We bust jargon for one purpose: to know how God's relationship with us occurs in a practical way. Then, we can live with eternal confidence and bear witness to God's assurance in a life eternal with him.

But even here on earth, as we struggle with understanding, living, and seeking to do the right thing by our families and neighbours, we know we have God with us despite who we really are, but usually keep hidden.

We can as Paul encourages — be joyful, aim for reconciliation, and agree, comfort, and live in peace with each other. Why? Because God is doing the very same thing with us by means of the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

In grace God brings joy, through the love of God he seeks reconciliation, and in fellowship the Holy Spirit brings us as one holy community into community with each other worshipping and glorifying God.

God is with us and we are with God. This is what God calls us to see. Perhaps this is the difference others see in us leading them to ask about "what we believe"!

God is with you! Therefore go and make disciples of all people because it is God who seeks to do it by using you! Amen.

A, Lent 4 - John 9:1-6, 35-41 "Blinded by my Sight"

BLINDED BY MY SIGHT
A sermon on John 9: 1-6, 35-41
THE FORTH SUNDAY IN LENT (Year A) 3/04/11
Pastor Heath Pukallus Katanning-Narrogin Lutheran Parish

Is it possible that human beings are blinded by their sight? I'm reminded of a song written by Bruce Springsteen, which was made a hit in the seventies by a group called Manfred Mann's Earth Band. This song has the title: Blinded by the light. And it is a line that's sung over and over again during the course of the song.

In comparison to the texts we've heard today, being blinded by the light, or by one's own sight, seems to be a contradiction. And it is when we speak of our Lord being the light of the world.

In John nine we hear: As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. (John 9:1-6)

This blind man was not blinded by the light, for he was blind from birth. This man was not blinded by anything he did wrong, nor was it as a result of something his parents did wrong either. But Jesus came into this man's life and gave him sight.

However, later on in John nine, after the blind man has received his sight and after being ridiculed by the Pharisees as being a sinner from birth, Jesus asks him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. (John 9:35-38)

Isn't it interesting that having been given sight by God's own Son, the man who now sees still didn't have the ability to know just who the Son of Man was, who had come to be the light of the word! It's only after Jesus names himself with his spoken word that the fellow falls down and worships him.

Then in the hearing of the man, and the Pharisees, Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:39-41)

A couple of things are happening here which we have to be careful not to overlook. The blind man is given physical sight, yet didn't spiritually see and worship until hearing the spoken word from Jesus. Jesus also pointed out that because of his blindness he has no way of missing the mark so he might be guilty of committing sin. Yet at the same time he can't see that Jesus is the Son of Man because of the human sinful nature's inability to see, regardless of him performing a sin or not.

The other thing we must observe is the deeper reality of the Pharisees' jeer at Jesus, "What? Are we blind too?" Earlier they hurled insults about the man who had received his sight, claiming, "We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from." The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes." (John 9:28b-30) They were blinded by their sight, and when the light of God came along they were so blind they refused to see the truth.

Like the blind man they too didn't have the power in themselves to see. But in placing faith in themselves, claiming they could see, they rejected he who had the power to give the fulfilling sight of salvation.

What happened here is what still happens today! We are called to see the Son of God, yet we are tempted to place our faith in those things on which the sun in the sky shines. Humanity has been deceived by its own tainted sight, refracted by the darkness of sin, ever since Adam and Eve laid sight on the sun-ripened apple at Eden. And up until Christ's cross and resurrection there was no way we could regain sight of the other tree without the apple, the tree of life. We were completely unable to see the tree of life or find it because we were blinded by the cherubim with the flashing sword guarding any way back into God's paradise of peace and the eternal tree of life in it. (Genesis 3:24)

We are blinded by the light from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and we need Jesus' spit in our eyes to clean out the mortal mud, that always seems to stick to us. We are blinded by our sight, or rather the short-sightedness of human nakedness, reason, and understanding.

St Paul states to the Corinthians …we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:6-10)

So while the sun shines on us here we are away from the Son of God, but even so we look to the eternal Son who is not seen by human sight, but rather by the sight of faith given by the Holy Spirit.

Even when we appear to do every humanly good thing under the sun, these are not the good things that will win us favourable judgement under the Son of God. But rather when God sees us faithfully looking toward the unseen Son of Man, by the power of the Spirit, then the Son's salvation truly warms the hearer's heart, and God sees us as his children.

The blind man in this text was rather quiet, Jesus came to he who was silenced in complete darkness and gave him sight. But at other times as Jesus moved around the place during his earthly ministry the blind sung out to him, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us! (Matthew 20: 30) These men knew they were blind, they were not deceived by their sight, or any other ability they thought they had. They were powerless to see. Yet as Jesus approached them they received the warmth of his word in their hearts. God's 'Word Made Flesh' healed them and gave them better sight than they could have ever imagined.

We are called to look to the Son of God for our salvation too. Looking at the sun in the sky, or trusting anything on which the sun might shine, both make us blind. However, the Son of God will not blind us. He will shine in our darkened hearts as we walk in this world blind with darkness. When we look at this Son, the one and only Son of God, we will be boldly led through the darkness, walking with infallible accuracy.

We can all picture the pirate who sails the high seas with a patch over his eye. We Christians are like that pirate. He wears the patch not because he's had an eye gouged out as many think. He wears it so when he goes from darkness to light, from below deck to above and vice versa, he swaps the patch over so his darkened eye sees perfectly in the darkness and the uncovered eye sees without being blinded by the light.

Similarly we Christians are called to trust the patch that God places over us, giving us the ability to see, regardless of being blinded by the light or the darkness. This patch is his word and because of it we can see the Son of God who leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. This eye patch is the patch of faith allowing us to fear no evil whenever it attacks us, day or night. With it on we wear the Son of God with his flashing rod of protection and his staff of salvation. With this patch of faith covering our human short-sightedness, we can see the light of our salvation, and the tree of life. Amen.

B, Pentecost 3 Proper 7 - 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 "Goliath Storms"

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. Remember this taunt from the schoolyard playground? The school yard bully or the little miss, with hands on hips and face screwed up hurling insults at you to win the war of words. Or perhaps it's the defence you used against your foe, at those times when life seemed to be a bit stormy.

We all have, and will, endure bad times, rough weather, stormy days or situations where we wish we'd stayed at home tucked up under a pile of blankets. However, once confronted with the onset of a storm — be it emotional, physical, mental, or spiritual — it's too late to retreat to the safety of a warm cosy place. One must decide what to do and respond quickly for any hope of a good outcome.

At the beginning of second Corinthians chapter six we hear, "As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)

When confronted by storminess of life Paul tells the Corinthians, who are in the midst of grave troubles, that now is the time. Not tomorrow or later on, but NOW!

That's quite interesting considering most of the time when we're faced with the onset of a life storm we'd rather panic and cry out to God, "Woe is me! What have I done to deserve this?" Surely at times like this we might think, God has abandoned us, departed from us, and left us to be torn to pieces with words or worse. Perhaps there's even a chance our bones will be dashed to pieces with sticks and stones! But God tells us otherwise, saying, "Now! Today, in the midst of the storm, is the day of salvation!"

As the disciples set forth across the Sea of Galilee. They were plunged into a storm. The Sea of Galilee was renowned for ferocious weather blowing up out of nothing. And because the lake was relatively shallow the waves became quite treacherous to small craft like the disciples' fishing boats.

Now if we were in the position the disciples were in, I'm quite sure we'd have wished we didn't get out of bed that morning! The boat was being flogged! Water was spilling in at an alarming rate! The boat was sitting lower and lower. The waves were getting higher and higher. Yes! We'd all have to agree they were in a spot of bother!

Yet where is Jesus to be found? We're told… 'Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"' (Mark 4:38-41)

Jesus must have been a heavy sleeper! Anyone who has ever tried to sleep while being tossed around on rough seas, knows it's near impossible. Yet, Jesus is peacefully sleeping when the disciples wake him, not to be saved, but rather to prepare him for imminent destruction.

But destruction is not forthcoming. Jesus commands the wind and waves, "Be still! Be silent!" And they listened! Picture that! The sea became a tranquil pond, in an instant!

However, the storm continued to churn inside the disciples as they fearingly asked each other, "Who is this?" They didn't realise God was with them, sleeping in the boat. Although the storm threatened, salvation and peace were imminent, at the hand of the Prince of Peace.

Notice they didn't ask Jesus to save them! Rather they thought he was going down with them. After Jesus calmed the situation, he addressed there lack of faith by asking why they were so afraid. A better translation would be; why they were so cowardly or timid.

In Mark's account of Jesus stilling the storm he makes the point that the disciples were in greater fear of Jesus than the storm, after he calmed things down. The original Greek spells this out by saying they feared with a mega-fear leading them to ask, "Who is this?"

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. Perhaps we might say in stormy situations like that of the disciples, "Wind and waves may break my boat but the peace of God will never hurt me!"

David the young shepherd boy had occasion for mega-fear as he took his solitary position on the battle line against the mega-man Goliath.

However, unlike the disciples in the eye of the storm, he displayed childlike faith in he who could save him. In fact, David out shone the entire Israelite army and King Saul, whom all shook with fear at the prospect of facing Goliath.

But Goliath underestimated his opponent. What he saw was a boy with a sling and stones, and he cursed his nerve for thinking he could match him. Yet Goliath failed to see God and the faith of his boyish servant David, who boldly promised to not only take out Goliath but the whole Philistine army.

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands." (1 Samuel 17:45-47)

Here David stood against the archetypal bully, Goliath. And it's as if he taunts the Philistine, "Sticks and stoned may break my bones but the name of the Lord will forever hurt you!"

So it's with this confidence and trust in God… As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. (1 Samuel 17:48-50)

Knowing God's faithfulness David surged forward proclaiming by his actions, "I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation." Right there in the here and now of the threatening Philistine storm the hand of the hidden Lord revealed itself striking down Goliath and saving the Israelites.

In this story, David faces death on behalf of Saul and the Israelite army. This picture is a forerunner to Christ surging forward to fight death on behalf of us at the cross. And in the Lake Galilee storm, we can see ourselves and the church today tossed about like the disciples in the boat.

In both stormy situations Christ is present.

Because Christ is with us, and has already won the battle over sin and death at the cross, Jesus Christ promises us that every stormy day this side of eternal paradise is the time of God's favour; now, the present moment, is the day of salvation.

In this world we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. (Psalm 44:22) It might seem as though the church is sinking and Christ no longer cares! But the Good Shepherd has already entered the storm and won the battle for us.

It's time to wake up, open our eyes and see with faith he who is hidden in his church, rather than worry about the storms of life that come and go to test us.

Storms and strife may threaten my life, but trust in the Lord will never hurt me! Amen.

B, Pentecost 2 Proper 6 - 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 "Swallowed up by Life"

Samuel, the last of the great Judges of Israel; also a prophet and priest of the Lord is sent by God to the house of Jesse to anoint a new king for Israel. Because of Saul's disobedience the favour of God had departed from him and so too did God's envoy and mouth piece, Samuel. Rather God had in mind to anoint a young harp playing shepherd boy, David, the son of Jesse.

But before God revealed David to Samuel, Jesse's other seven sons appeared before Samuel. When the first son appeared, Samuel, who was sent to hear God and carry out his will, thought this was the son God would choose.

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

And so after the seven sons appeared before Samuel, Jesse fetches David and God calls Samuel to anoint this meek youth with handsome soft features and a tender fresh face. Who would have thought this unassuming young boy would be the new king of Israel?

When we think of King David, we picture a man with great power, who had many military conquests and made Israel strong. However, David's origins were not as we would expect, the youngest son, relegated to living with the sheep in his father's fields. Yet from the moment Samuel poured the horn of oil on David's head, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. David was devoured with life from the Lord.

To be "swallowed up by life" is a phrase rarely heard today. One would expect to be swallowed up by death rather than life. To be swallowed up or devoured for us takes on negative connotations. But for this young boy David, he was swallowed up into a life of service under God. The life he was swallowed up into was a life of kingship.

As Christians we too have been devoured up by life. Salvation swallows us; we have been gulped up by God. Death once threatened to eternally destroy us but has now been destroyed itself. The death that would have devoured us has been devoured; it has been stripped of power and so too we have been devoured and stripped bare, only to be clothed in Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 5 we hear… Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Cor 5:1-8)

We Christians have had our mortality swallowed up by life. However, often we find ourselves seeking the clothes of mortality once again. We find ourselves in the midst of a tug-a-war between the desire to dress ourselves with possessions, success, wealth, acceptance, eternal youth and good looks, plus all the other things we see as advantageous, against the consummation of Christ and his robes of righteousness.

Our aspirations turn us to look at appearances, rather than seek what God seeks. Superficial things often lead us to seek regurgitation from the life that has swallowed us. Then we find ourselves clothed in all the things that are passing away leaving us standing naked before a God who is far from pleased with the nakedness of human sin.

When you see yourself craving worldly desires know that you are seeking to become naked before God once again. This is the way you once were! Surely it is better to remain swallowed by life, and covered with Christ. Therefore, confess your sin and hear God's word of forgiveness. His forgiveness is our assurance we have been clothed by Jesus' death and resurrection, and just as Jesus pleased the Father in heaven, we now stand confident in the God pleasing clothes of Christ.

We hear again from Paul… So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:9-10)

Just like David the shepherd boy who was ordained as the Lord's king over Israel, you too have been ordained as kings. Swallowed up by God you now bear Christ to the world. You are servant kings under Christ the Servant King. You don't do the serving yourselves though however, but Jesus does it in you while you allow the Spirit to consume you into Christ.

But there is a warning for us too. David was not the first king of Israel. Saul too was chosen by God. Yet he grieved God by not doing what God had commanded him to do and God turned his back on him. We too can grieve God by not allowing his Holy Spirit to continue his work of consuming our mortality with the life won for us at the cross.

If you reject faith — that is, you refuse God's faithfulness and work to swallow your sinful nature, and seek to live by sight once again — you put yourself in a precarious place. If you refuse to have your mortality swallowed by life, you shall have your mortality and it will swallow you. If you seek to live by sight and not faith, God too will sight your naked sinfulness, and spew you out of his mouth forever.

This is not the case though for you who dwell in the Kingdom of God! You have been consumed by God. So let your mortality be continually swallowed up; hear and believe the forgiveness with which God clothes you in Christ.

You might feel irrelevant in this world just like the mustard seed that starts off so small and seemingly insignificant. But by the grace of God it grows into the largest of trees. Because of Christ you are already a king in his kingdom, he seemed small and insignificant in this world too, but when Christ returns as the supreme King of Creation, you too will see him as he is and you will be revealed as the king he has redeemed you to be. Amen.

B, Easter 2 - John 20:24-30 "Hear, Believe, then See"

Text — John 20:24-30

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. (25) So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." (26) A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" (27) Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." (28) Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" (29) Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (30) Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

Sermon

For Thomas — seeing is believing! Perhaps you've heard of a doubting Thomas. If not, then this is the text from where the phrase "a doubting Thomas" first eventuated.

We're not told why Thomas wasn't around that first Sunday when Jesus was raised and was seen by the other ten disciples! But on reporting to Thomas what they had seen he replied in disbelief, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." (John 20:25) And so a doubting Thomas should be viewed probably a little more seriously than how we might relate to someone we might call a doubting Thomas today.

To doubt is to disbelieve; someone who is untrusting, doesn't want to listen, refuses to be united with a community of the same mind, and perhaps is even a maverick. For whatever reason, someone who doubts is lacking in trust and fails to believe.

Doubt does not stand alone! Doubt is closely connected with worry and pride forming three parts to paralyse a person's belief in something outside them. Its' when a person no longer trusts the judgement of others and in disbelief they only believe what they judge for themselves with their own senses.

Of all the senses we use to judge for ourselves, seeing is the one that seems to be what most people prefer. This is what Thomas did! He needed to see to believe and we're not that different today. Visual confirmation seems to be the greatest motivator of our judgement. Therefore, the rationale of most is this: To believe one must first see.

People want to see when something extraordinarily good or bad happens in the world, so we congregate around our televisions, computers, or buy news papers. Perhaps the unbelievable is not regarded as truth until we can see it for ourselves.

We only have to close our eyes and try to function in our daily routines to know seeing is extremely important to us. A world of darkness is foreign and frightening to those whom are threatened with the loss of their eye sight.

Similar to our individual sense of sight and need to see for ourselves, are the main senses of smell, taste, touch, and the generally overlooked internal senses of pain, balance, joint motion and acceleration, a sense of time, temperature differences, and in some a sense of direction. The four main senses together with these other senses are all very personal individual senses.

However, the fifth main sense, the sense of hearing, stands alone because it's different to the others.

The disciples tell Thomas of their experience with their Risen Lord. His sense of hearing is invoked but Thomas doesn't believe what he's heard and refuses to accept the testimony of others and wants to see for himself. And so we learn that the sense of hearing calls for greater trust then sight, smell, taste, and touch because hearing can be transmitted and received through a third person or a community. In this case the third person or the community is the disciples.

We can all speak on one's behalf so others might hear without being with them. But no one can see, smell, taste or touch on behalf of someone else. Only in recent times has sight become transmittable via an artificial third person in the medium of photography or video. Up until modern visual technology became available, if one wanted to experience something they had to be in the same place to see, smell, taste, or touch it.

But even before television or computers people have been able to hear what others have said via the reporting of events by other people. Even the sense of hearing has been helped by technology! First by the printing press, and then radio! But people's desire to see to believe meant that pictures were added to the printing presses of the modern era, and film and then video was co-joined with the sound of radio to be more believable.

On the other hand, smell, taste, and touch are not transmittable. No matter how good the sound and pictures might be, to experience the aroma, to satisfy the taste buds, and to feel with the sense of touch, we first need to be there. These all need the experience of the inner self!

So too was seeing, one once had to be there to see for themselves. Now we pull out the photos, and videos to give others the sense of being there. Yet hearing still stands apart from seeing and it involves more than one. Sure the tone and quality of sound is individualistic but the information hearing brings can be brought by others, especially when it's what someone else says. Such is the power of words both written and spoken.

However, words are only powerful if those who hear them believe them. And Thomas didn't believe what he had heard; he wanted to see to satisfy his inward senses, he wanted to see before he could believe.

There are problems with words too as they can be altered by the one who brings them. But there was a greater problem for Thomas in that first week after the resurrection and it's the problem we have today. What happens if there is nothing to see, and for that matter nothing to touch, taste, or smell? Thomas didn't see Jesus the moment he was told about Jesus' resurrection, and we have never seen Jesus the way the disciples saw him in those forty days before his ascension.

The other problem with seeing is that sight can be deceptive. What one sees is not necessarily what is there to see. As sight fails things are seen differently, and similarly are the senses of touch, smell, and taste. These senses are very personal and can change as the body ages and fails!

Then there are optical illusions that occur naturally, such as mirages on hot days and the end of rainbows which always seem to be impossible to catch. And when it comes to the electronic realm, there is a whole bunch of tricks used to lure us to believe things that really don't exist. So sight can be deceptive.

Furthermore, believing what one sees while living as God's children can also be deceptive. In fact "seeing to believe" is the oldest deception in the book.

What looked good to the eye in the Garden of Eden, we all know now was not that good after all. Time and time again the Israelites saw no way out of looming destruction or destitution, yet over and over again they had heard of God's prominence and he continually proved to be faithful. Thomas sought to believe only what he could see, yet Christ had risen from the dead although Thomas hadn't seen him.

Moreover we are told by Saint Paul in 2 Corinthians, we live by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Our sinful nature taints our whole being, including our senses. Living by sight or our other senses leads us to live like Adam and Eve. This living is living with doubt, worry, and pride. This living is living contrary to the First Commandment. What we see, touch, taste, and smell is open to corruption, is failing, and is dying because of sin. So too "how" we hear can be corrupted.

But just say the person does report correctly what they first heard or saw, the next person receives the same regardless how bad their hearing might be. What they do with it once heard is a different story. But it's only when hearing is completely gone that one fails to hear.

On the other hand, hearing God in truth can never be corrupted. When we hear the word of God, especially the word of Christ, the gospel, we continue receiving faith that enables us to see and walk in the darkness of our humanity with infallible footsteps. As we receive faith we see with the light of our Risen Lord shining on us exposing what darkness once hid.

And so Thomas who doubted the word of his fellow disciples and sought to believe only what he saw and touched, didn't need to touch or see Jesus once he heard the Word of Jesus, the Resurrected Word Made Flesh, telling him to stop doubting and believe. So in faith Thomas responded, "My Lord and my God!"

Similarly for us, God calls us out of darkness into his light with his Word. He does this by the power of the Holy Spirit breathed on us, giving us ears to hear, and hearts to receive his written Word spoken. And these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Therefore, it's impossible for us to see before we believe. But rather in being still and hearing, we receive faith so we might believe. And in believing we who were once blind to the unseen realm of God now see the hidden kingdom of God is near with the perfect twenty-twenty vision of faith. Amen.