Hearing, Speaking, Keeping
Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Amen.
You may have heard
the philosophical question, “If you had to choose, would you rather lose your
sight or your hearing?” It’s silly; no one is given that choice. But it raises
an important Old Testament distinction. Being blind is not as debilitating in
the eyes of the Lord as being deaf. Being blind is a physical disability; being
deaf makes a person ritually unclean, unable to gather with the faithful in the
Temple.
The truth is, our
most important and vital information comes not through our eyes but through
hearing and speaking. And the two go together: those who cannot hear can only
speak with the greatest difficulty. Consider the man in the Holy Gospel. He was
mute. The Greek word for mute is also the word for deaf. The man could not
speak because he could not hear. But mark this carefully: It is the demon
within him who refuses to confess that Jesus is the Christ of God, because the
demon refuses to heed the Word of God.
If you cannot hear
the Word of God—if you cannot hear the Good News of your heavenly Father who
forgives for the sake of his dear Son—then it doesn't matter how smart or
clever is your speech or how lovely is your song. Ultimately, what you say will
come from the devil, the father of lies; your speech will be as blasphemous as claiming
that Jesus is not the Son of God.
You see, if you cannot
hear the Word of God about your sinfulness; if you cannot hear the Word which
tells you of your inability to do anything that is pleasing to God; and if you
do not hear that God will condemn you for the things that others love about you
and that you take pride in, then what will you confess? You will say, "I
don't need that meal. I don't need a man in the fancy robe—the man who is
himself a sinner—telling me that my sins are forgiven. Give me the preacher who
gives me credit for who I am, who feeds my self worth, who tells me that I can
be and have whatever I want." But if that is your confession of faith, you
call good what God has called evil. Where the Word of God is not heeded, cold
logic will do no good. Demons will rush in to fill the void where God’s Word
should be. There is no hope for those who have sinned against the Holy Spirit,
who have called evil what God has called good.
Yet don't be quick
to condemn the people in that crowd. After all, haven't you called evil what
God has called good? Perhaps even now the chastening rod of God has been laid
across your back. Do you call it good? No, you resent it. We face the
chastening rod of tightened finances in our dual parish. The local job market
is feeble. Perhaps cancer or heart disease or Coronavirus lurks in your body.
Perhaps your friends have failed you and your enemies assail you. You have
called these things evil.
But God uses these
things to draw His children closer to Him. With St. Paul you must say, “Oh wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of
death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Yes, thank God for
these things that distress your Old Adam. Thank God that the blessings of
heaven are yours in Christ! Blessed are you, for in the font God gave you new life,
drowning that Old Adam. Blessed are you, for God has fed you with the Gospel of
forgiveness, pouring this Gospel into your ears in preaching and Holy
Absolution, pouring into your mouths the very body and blood of Jesus to heal
you in body and soul. No matter what trials you face, “blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” In the name of the Father and of the Son (+)
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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