Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (19 August, 2018)

Done.

Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?  In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.  The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.  For the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off, who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.  Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale.  For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.  And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction."  Isaiah 29:17-24

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!  I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.  Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.  When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.  Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.  The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.  The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!  Psalm 146

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?  For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.  Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it.  For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.  2 Corinthians 3:4-11

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame."  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him.  For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?"  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.  Romans 10:9-17

Then He returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.  And they brought to Him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged Him to lay his hand on him.  And taking Him aside from the crowd privately, He put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.  And looking up to heaven, He sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.  And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more He charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."  Mark 7:31-37

"Just do it."  "You can do it."  "What are you doing with your life."  "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."  "Do or do not, there is no try."  "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps."  "God helps those who helps themselves."

We are far too infatuated with what we can do.  Self-help books.  Do-it-yourself television shows.  Websites with step-by-step instructions.  Easy-to-read instructions.  We are always looking for whatever solution is appealing, affordable, and least painful.  Our trust is in ourselves and in our ability to save ourselves.

And we fail.

We fail because we place our trust in someone who cannot do anything.  Not "do anything right" but do anything at all.  So then if our deeds, reason, and strength cannot save us, who or what are we to put our trust in?  Moses?  A king?  A prophet?  The stars?  Fate?  The Great Pumpkin?

How about the One who does all things well?  How about the One who fulfilled the Law, who brought the Good News, who gives us the Spirit of God through water and the body and blood of the Savior?

The people had searched for this person to trust in.  And they kept looking to the wrong person, or hoping for the wrong results.  Which is why, when Christ came, the people were wanting sings, miracles, and mass feedings.  That's part of why Christ told people not to talk about what was happening.

It does seem weird that the Word of God would want people to be quiet about the Gospel.  But His "gag order" wasn't stopping people from proclaiming the Gospel, but keeping people from drawing improper attention to His ministry, especially His early ministry.  People weren't looking at Him because He was the Savior.  They weren't following Him because He was undeniably the Son of God.  They wanted healing and food for today, not eternal life.

People are impatient.  People are picky.  And that's why we wander off on our own to try to forge our own solution to the problem, since God clearly isn't fixing things quick enough.  We want our "best life now," not "Thy will be done."  We want ivory towers, sports cars, thousand dollars shoes, not "give us this day our daily bread."  We want to be the ones who "do all things well."

But with us there is no "do or do not."  There is only "try and fail miserably, making our problems worse."  Our trust must rest in the one who not only does all things well, but who Did.  The one who Completed the Law.  The God-Man, Christ, who died, conquering Hell, and rose.

Done.