Pentecost 7 7/7/13

Pentecost 7 7/7/13 Text: Luke 10:1–12, 16 Title: Lift High the Cross Today’s gospel reading has a lot going on in it. There is the sending of the 72, the warning of trouble they would face, the dependence on those with whom they were staying for their livelihood, the healing of the sick, the giving of peace, and the order from Jesus to walk away from those who reject them, thus, bringing the righteous judgment of God upon those who have not just rejected them, but God himself. I would wager that when I read the gospel message earlier, you probably paid more attention to what the 72 were to do after their preaching was rejected, that is, that they are to shake the dust off their sandals when people rejected them, rather than accepting them into their house after they greeted them with, “Peace to this house.” We focus more on how the disciples were to handle rejection, rather than on the greeting, because we, by our very nature, find it far easier to bring down the law of God on someone rather than taking a stand for Jesus’ teaching. “See,” we say as we walk off, “Jesus tells us to shake the dust off our shoes.” Think about it for a moment. What would happen if you walked into a friend’s, neighbor’s, or even a relative’s home where there was trouble and said to them, “Peace to this house.”? I would think that, at the very least, the first time you said that, both you and the person would feel pretty uncomfortable. But, you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable, for the greeting, “Peace to this house.” is God’s greeting to those residing in the house. So, if it is God’s greeting, why would you or the people you greeted with the words, “Peace to this house.” feel uncomfortable? I think it is because most of us, depending on what is going on with the person (some type of sin or such that we know has brought on their troubles), we would generally believe that they need to be hit with the law of God. Something like, “You know, if you had not done whatever it is you have done or are doing, God would not have caused suffering in your life.” While it is true that they, by their sinful actions, just as we, might have brought troubles on themselves, maybe what we would be better off saying is “Peace to this house.” rather than bringing God’s law on them. I say that because in all my years of trying to help people to understand the forgiveness of God, those who have been brought up in or at least exposed to the Christian faith are already feeling the condemnation of God’s law. Maybe they are feeling God’s wrath, even though they are probably not admitting to it. You say, “Pastor, what about those who don’t believe in God or care about their blatant sin. What about them?” I would tell you, even though it might not sound right, they, too, need to hear, “Peace to this house.” They need to hear God’s peace even though at some point they might still need, just as we all do, to hear about the result of breaking God’s Law. Hearing of Jesus’ love, forgiveness, peace, and joy will quite often turn an unrepentant sinner into a repentant sinner. It will do this because they might not be repentant because they are afraid of God’s wrath and they need to hear of his love and mercy toward the repentant sinner. A good example found in the Bible is the story of the prodigal son who came back to his father, not because he believed that his father would punish him, but because he believed that his father would forgive him. He, like so many today, need to hear of God’s “Peace to this house.” so that they would be led to repent and thus, receive Jesus’ forgiveness which will give them the forgiveness, peace, and joy that they so desperately crave. Of course, if a person is self-righteous, that is, they believe that there is enough good in them for God to love and forgive them, or they are content in their sin, or they have a false understanding of God, this will not work, for they will see no need for God’s forgiveness. “Peace to this house.” is, as I said earlier, much harder to give than to come down on them with the law of God. Why is that? It is actually pretty simple. We, as sinful, self-centered people, don’t think we are that bad, at least when we compare ourselves to others, especially to those notorious sinners that we know. We, by pointing out the sins of others, make ourselves look better. It is just the way we are, and by our own power there is no hope for us. There is no hope for us, except that Jesus took our unworthiness, our ego-centered selves who pretty much refuse to give “Peace to this house.” to those who need it, to the cross. He was rejected by all, even by those whom he sent out to be messengers to prepare his way. And in that trip to the cross, Jesus cures. He forgives. He dies. And then God the Father gives his stamp of approval to him when he raised him from the dead on the third day. He died and he rose so that we can deliver the only message that can bring true peace to sinners, the message of the cross. Now, if that does not get you to trust Jesus and the One who sent him, nothing will. But, as it turns out, nothing else but the message is needed. The message has its own power, for as Jesus tells us, “His Word will accomplish the purpose for which it was written.” Through that Word God creates faith, again and again and again. Thank goodness for that, for we keep forgetting it, thus, rejecting his promise. Yes, rejecting his promise. That is not a good thing, so Jesus keeps on repeating his message to us, as I, in the name of Jesus every Sunday, forgive you all of your sins. When the Spirit of God daily creates and re-creates faith in us, as it does, it shows. We find ourselves able to accomplish things we never thought we could do, because we never had it by nature in us in the first place. It is only in and through the Spirit of God, you know, the one that cries, “Abba Father.” for us because we are incapable of doing that ourselves, that we find ourselves bringing the kingdom of God to others. We find ourselves “staying on message,” that is, speaking God’s promise to others. We find ourselves operating by mercy, both in our speech and in our actions. We find ourselves bringing good news to the poor, “proclaiming release to captives and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor.” And in the process, the reign of Satan falls. The curse of sin is gone. Eternal death has been defeated. What a wonderful victory that is! After a championship athletic event, the winners enthusiastically lift high their trophy. They lift high their symbol of victory and celebrate the joy of the moment. Lifting high the trophy enables others to share the excitement. Lifting high the cross of Christ celebrates the saving victory of Jesus. Lifting high the cross also accepts the Christ-given opportunity to expand the victory celebration. Lifting high the cross celebrates the gift and mission of being Christ’s messengers. And so, we too, “Lift High the Cross” by singing the sermon hymn. Amen.