Village
to Village, A Road to Repentance
8th
Sunday After Pentecost (July 30, 2006)
Rev.
Steven D. Spencer, Pastor
Mark
6:7-13
7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them
authority over evil spirits. 8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing
for the journey except a staff-- no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9
Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there
until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to
you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against
them." 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They
drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Our text this week is
the Gospel lesson as previously read especially these words:
"And
He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave
them power over unclean spirits. So they went out and preached that people
should repent."
Last week in our text Jesus returned to His hometown. -- How appropriate
this Word is for us to hear in the middle of summer. Summer time is when most of
us return to our hometowns. It's a time of reunions: family reunions, class
reunions, or maybe just a visit to the old neighborhood. It's a time when
friends, family and loved ones gather together to reminisce about what's
happened in years gone by. It's a
time to see how other people have faired and show off how good we look and of
course, how much we've accomplished. It's a time of anxiety and preparation as
well. A time to prepare for the big show; a little more tan, a little less
weight maybe even a new car. After all we are the center attraction. If we're
honest about it, as much as we want to find out about others we really want to
show ourselves off. Nevertheless it's a joyful time of reunion.
If your reunions are anything like my family reunions or get-togethers,
something is bound to go wrong. That special aunt, uncle, parent or grandparent,
that brother or sister will end up saying the wrong thing, then comes the blow
up. Anger, tears, friction, hostility, and bitter words it's always the same
pattern. It can be summer, Christmas or Easter a birthday party but it's going
to happen.
Why is it the ones we love the most; hurt us the most? Why -- because to
love we must allow ourselves to become vulnerable. We must allow our real selves
to be seen as we truly are. It's as if we have a bull's-eye on our heart and
those arrows is always strike center. Our loved ones know the buttons to push to
hurt us and sometimes they do. But you see, that's part of being loved and
loving. We must allow ourselves to be vulnerable. Have you ever tried to hug
someone with their arms crossed over their chest? It doesn't work, it like
trying hug a barrel. We must open our arms and be vulnerable.
Jesus returned to His hometown a place that should have been surrounded
by loved ones. But like many reunions the people were busy trying to show how
well they had done. When they realized that Jesus now spoke with such authority
and knowledge, far beyond their own, they became jealous and angry - enraged
against Jesus. But our Lord came to share His message love and salvation. But
they wanted to be the center of attention. They wanted to be the Gods of their
own universes. So they lashed abuses at Him. Jesus was confronted by their
disbelief.
How do you handle confrontation? ---- In 1889 a man named Ivan Pavlov
did a series of experiments with dogs trying to understand conditioned reflexes.
He noticed that dogs salivated when they smelled food before eating. He decided
to ring a bell before bringing food into the room. After following this process
several times he found that he could ring the bell even without food present and
the dogs would salivate. "Conditioned reflex" We have conditioned
reflexes too, especially concerning confrontation. It's called fight or flight.
It's part of our sinful nature. We want to be the center of our own universe. We
want to be in control. And when our opinion of self is challenged we either use
fight or flight. When we face
opposition we roll up our sleeve and either with fist or words we conquer and
beat our adversaries into submission. Or we will take off like a scared rabbit.
It's better to rule one than be in subject to another. We flee to preserve our
precious self-made universe where we are gods. Fight or flight is a product of
our sinful human nature.
How did Jesus respond to confrontation? Does He have a better way for us
to deal with it? Absolutely! Our confrontation comes from trying to have our
way. Jesus wasn't concerned with what was best for Him. He was concerned with
what was best for others. He made Himself second to the needs of others. He made
Himself vulnerable. He could of used fight or flight. He could have with one
word wiped out the whole region. He could have transported Himself away from
them. But He so loved them that He did what was best for them. Faith comes
from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ proclaimed. (Rom 10:17)
They needed to hear the Word of Christ. How did He handle confrontation?
He multiplied His efforts: He sends out the twelve disciples to
declare His Word as well. You heard His instructions in the Gospel lesson: This
is not a trip for the glory of the twelve. Jesus is sending them as His
messengers-His ambassadors-to proclaim His Word, not theirs. He tells them to
take nothing extra for the journey, and to expect little else along the way. St.
Matthews Gospel records it this way:
"In
whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.
And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake
off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly I say to
you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment
than for that city."
Now, that's quite a statement. The disciples are going to declare some
news, and those who reject the news will have a worse time than Sodom and
Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah, as you may recall, didn't have a particularly
pleasant fate: Because of the manifested sin and immorality of the people, the
Lord destroyed those two cities with a bombardment of fire and brimstone. So
whatever it is that the disciples are going to tell and teach must be pretty
vital and crucial stuff. If people hear about the consequences of the message
before the disciples arrive, you can bet that they're going to perk up their
ears and listen. The twelve are about to convey a message from the Son of God,
and this must be a very special, important message indeed. It must be incredibly
earth shaking. So Jesus pairs the disciples and sends them out two by two to the
villages surrounding His hometown.
Are you ready? Are you prepared to hear the life-and-death
message-eternal life or worse-than-Sodom-and-Gomorrah-death? We find out what
the message is in verse 12: "So they went out and preached that
people should repent."
Now that doesn't sound all that exciting or earth shattering or special
does it? We've heard about repentance before. Maybe that wasn't the big thing
that people were supposed to pay attention to? Maybe it was how the disciples
healed the sick and cast out demons? No. Those miracles were to get the
attention of the hearers for the message; and the message was that people should
repent.
It makes sense if you think about it. Repentance is not a glamorous word
these days; we tend to think "Repent" as a sign that a crazy man holds
up downtown, or a word we learned in confirmation class that has no great
bearing on real life. However, Dear Christians, repentance is at the center of
your life. According to Scripture, repentance has two parts: Contrition, that is
sorrow over sin, and faith that Christ has redeemed you from sin. Both parts are
necessary: If you are deeply sorry for your sin, your sorrow doesn't earn
forgiveness. Judas was deeply remorseful for betraying Jesus; but because he
failed to believe in Jesus, his sorrow only led him to despair and death. On the
other hand, belief in Jesus without contrition is useless: If someone says,
"I believe that Jesus is my Savior, but I don't have any sins to be saved
from," it is a false confession that leads to death as well.
Your life as a Christian is a life of repentance. This worship service
is an exercise in it. We typically began with Confession and Absolution. First,
you confessed your sin and declared your sorrow for it. Then you hear the
Absolution that you are forgiven for the sake of Christ who was crucified for
you; and that Word of forgiveness strengthens your faith to believe in Him. Do
you understand? Confession and Absolution has two parts because it is repentance
in action, sorrow for sin and faith in Jesus.
To put it another way: Repentance is the work of Law and Gospel, the two
principal doctrines of Scripture. The Law shows your sin and causes sorrow for
it. The Gospel then declares that Christ has redeemed you from your sin, and you
are forgiven. God has given His Law and Gospel to produce contrition and faith;
in other words, God has given His Word specifically to bring you to Repentance.
So there you have it, Confession and Absolution, Law and Gospel. These
are all about repentance. When Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of
the Wittenberg Church, the very first one that led to all the others said,
"When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent' [Mt 4:17], he
willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance."
Repentance. It's not a glamorous word, as I have said; but repentance is
the very center of your life as a Christian.
This also explains why Jesus would make such a strong statement for
those who reject the disciples' message,
"it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment
than for that city." To reject repentance is to deny the guilt of
one's sin, and to reject the forgiveness that Jesus has won. It's to say that
Jesus death on the cross was unnecessary. It's to deny the need for His death
and the gift He brings. It's to
declare that the Lord is wrong in both His Law and His Gospel-it's unbelief, not
believing that Word is true. Unbelief damns-it's the only sin that can, because
it rejects the forgiveness that Christ.
The citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah were a wretched, perverted lot; but
if any of them that repented as the firestorm fell, they could avoid the curse
of hell forever. But for the one who persistently refuses to repent and trust in
the Lord, there's no hope at all.
For the life of the Christian, it's a life of repentance-a life of
confessing our sin and trusting in the grace won by Christ death for us. There
is no better life to live.
So it is my privilege to declare to you today this message of
repentance: There is hope for you. The troubles that you face-be they mistakes
or guilt or afflictions or whatever-serve to remind you that you are sinful and
cannot save yourself. Therefore, do not seek to justify those sins, for they are
out to destroy you. Instead, confess your sins and failings for what they are:
sin that cannot save. And rejoice! The Lord Jesus Christ has been crucified for
your sins and has risen from the dead. He has already given you life in your
baptism, and He sustains you even now with His Word and His Supper. He comes to
meet you with forgiveness, so that you might be prepared to meet Him in glory.
Therefore, confess your sin and believe in Jesus. In other words, repent and
believe -For all your sins are forgiven in Jesus Name, Amen!
The Peace of God which surpasses all comprehension keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.—Amen