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Posted At: 7:32am by Brent Kuhlman
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The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany Trinity Lutheran Church
5 February 2006 Murdock, NE
+ Jesu Juva +
Mark 1:29-39
Last week Jesus was doing His Kingdom of God Epiphany divine servicing by teaching and by doing an exorcism. Quite amazing wasn’t it?
Today, more astonishment. I suppose for some of you, you may be shocked to hear that Simon a.k.a “Pope Peter I” has a mother-in-law. If he has a mother-in-law, that means he’s . . . well, probably has a wife. You don’t have a mother-in-law unless you’re married. And Peter’s married into a family.
We all know how mother-in-laws can be. Certain mother-in-law words and images come to mind. Hollywood summed it all up quite neatly for many when Jane Fonda recently starred as the monster-in-law. But what may be even more shocking is that Peter invites Jesus over to his house. And the monst . . . – check that -- mother-in-law is there!
The Lord could take a rain check. Check his Blackberry. Conveniently remember a forgotten golf date or courageous pastor’s meeting in southern California, Arizona, or St. Louis.
The Lord leaves the golfing to schmucks like Kuhlman and the bigwig meetings to others. Jesus makes the house call. Mother-in-laws are not excluded from His divine care. Let’s call her “M.” M’s very sick. High fever. As good as dead.
The divine service begins immediately. Jesus wastes no time. Comes to M’s death bed. Takes her by the hand.
Raises her up. And the fever’s gone. Just like that. The Greek here for “raised her up” is akin to the resurrection verb. That’s huge! Jesus is all about raising the dead. That’s His cup of tea.
So why are you so afraid of dying?
Embrace the death! Christ’s. He took you in His Very Good Friday death. Now you’re dead to sin and alive to God. You’ve been raised with Him to live a new life. It’s the life of faith only in Jesus who died for you. It’s the life of love for your neighbor. And then when your body gives out, you’re where you’ve always been: safe and sound in Christ. And on the Last Day your body will be raised in the resurrection of all flesh.
Better to get back to the text. We’re amazed that the Lord raises/resurrects M. Does a magnificent divine service for her. And what’s the first thing M does? The text says: “she waited on them.”
Stupid male chauvinists! Good grief! Immediately after she’s raised / resurrected they expect her to whip up a batch of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn bread and crack open the keg of Miller Lite. Wait on the entire household hand and foot! Dishes, cleaning, and the laundry! Honey, you need to be liberated from these misogynists. Set free from this oppression. Abandon your family. Try some Wicca on for size and get in touch with the goddess inside you.
Whoa! Wait just a minute. Let’s not get carried away here and impose a PC feminist, anti-patriarchal reading into the text. Whatever it is M’s doing, she does it willingly. Devotedly. It’s her vocation: She’s a mother and a wife. Quite possibly a grandmother. She serves the Lord Jesus by lovingly taking care of her family. That’s her calling in life. She’s not complaining. And why should she? She’s just been raised/resurrected by the Lord’s Divine Service. There are people who need her love. So she loves them. Freely. Eagerly. That’s simply wonderful. It’s the normal life of the Christian who is safe and sound in Christ’s death.
Now, because the Lord’s there doing His divine service, Peter and Andrew’s house now serves as the city church. For every kind of the city’s people – even those in desperate need. The Lord gathers the sick and demon possessed around Himself. For their healing. Raises up the as good as dead to the new life of faith only in Him.
He doesn’t ask how they got sick or became possessed. No qualifying exams in order to be eligible for the Lord’s healing words and touch. He doesn’t weed out the ones who sclerosis-ed their livers and blackened their lungs through hard drinking and chronic smoking. No “escorting” out the call girls who’ve contracted fatal STDs. No shunning those that sold their soul to the devil for wealth, power or sex. Doesn’t pink slip the ones that came under the influence of satanic arts and witchcraft through ouiji boards, black masses, black and white magic, wicked, seductive chat rooms and web sites, fantasy mind games or through just dumb luck.
He’s the Savior of all. No strings attached with His rescue and healing – His divine service. It’s absolutely magnificent. Amazing.
The demons know who Jesus is. From Nazareth. The Holy One of God. To destroy them. Jesus doesn’t let them talk. Why? Because in all this amazement, excitement and astonishment, it’s easy to misunderstand what Jesus is up to. To confess Him wrongly. Mistakenly.
His holy one of God work is taking Him somewhere. To do do something. Something so odd and puzzling. Especially after He’s been doing all this “successful” and “exciting” ministry.
You think that’s big stuff? You haven’t seen anything yet. The best is yet to come.
Jesus will do His divine servicing the most when He’s hanging on the Tree of the Cross. When He’s suffers under Pontius Pilate, dies and gets buried, the world is reconciled to His Father. Satan’s head is smashed. When Jesus offers His Body into that bloody sacrificial death of damnation, the whole world is forgiven. In the black hole of Christ’s tomb the Father dumps everything that is wrong and broken in the world. Strange isn’t it? It sure is.
But it’s not Good Friday or Easter Sunday yet. We’re only at the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. So Jesus slips away from the hordes of people. At the break of dawn He goes off by Himself to pray. No doubt begging His Father that the whole city and all of us will confess and believe in the only Jesus that counts. The Calvary, Golgotha, Good Friday Jesus. That everything in the world is made right, forgiven in His suffering and death.
No wonder then, that Jesus tells His disciples: “Let’s go to the surrounding towns so that I can preach and
teach some more. After all, that is what I’ve come to do.” And I’ll give you one guess what He’ll preach. What do you think?
“That’s easy Reverend. It’ll be His suffering and death on the Cross.” That’s right. For mother-in-laws, the sick, the demon possessed. And for you. He’s embraced you in His death. And in that preaching Jesus takes you by the hand and raises you up. Why? For the new life of faith in Him and fervent love for your neighbor in your vocations.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
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Posted On: February 08th, 2006 at 5:54am by ph |
Oh, what an amazing statment! That the Father dumps all of the dishonored, broken, wrecked, fragmented pieces or our life and history; all that is wrong, down the black hole or Jesus' tomb. Reconciling all things to Himself.
I live in California. I have no idea where Murdock NE is.
How great it is to know that the preaching of the outrageous good news of Jesus death and resurrection for the life of the world is being served up. I'm Not finding anything purspose-driven in your sermon. Just a pointing to the One who is real food and real drink given for us all.
To the ends of the earth let the people trust in Him of who you preach.
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