Sermon for 8/27/23: Twelfth Sunday After Trinity

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Willing to Hear

Isaiah 29:18-24

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Reading is actually a relatively recent thing, as far as daily life is concerned. Before the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press in the mid-fifteenth century, there were very few books to be read. Most books before that were hand-written, often by monks in a monastery. Most people in those days weren’t even able to read. So how did people learn? They learned by listening. Family elders would speak their family’s history; priests would speak the Word of God as they had received it; and the people would listen and learn. So it’s more than a bit ironic that, in our day, with printed Bibles available everywhere, Biblical literacy has probably never been at such a low level. We may know the words, but we have a severe lack of understanding of what the Bible actually teaches.

As important as reading is, our greatest need is to hear. As valuable as reading can be, it does not replace hearing. The Bible never says that faith comes through reading. Rather, Paul tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Yes, you should read your Bible constantly. The printed Word is a wonderful gift of God. But reading the Word of God is not a substitute for hearing that Word preached and taught. In the Scriptures, hearing is consistently how the Holy Spirit works the miracle of faith.

We need to be hearers. The problem the people of Israel had was more serious than that of the man in our Gospel. The man’s inability to hear was serious, for sure, but the deafness of those who are unwilling to hear is even more catastrophic. It is rebellion against God. It is the rejection how God would forgive and change them. And that refusal to hear the Word of God brought about Israel’s terrible troubles: their exile, the desolation of their homeland, their enslavement to the “terrible” and “scornful one,” as Isaiah described Israel’s enemies. God called to them; He pleaded with them; but they would not hear.

We are in the presence of the Great Physician of body and soul. And if we are really hearing, then we know that this diagnosis is not only Israel’s; it is our disgnosis, as well. God’s diagnosis in every divine service is a challenge to our hearing. Our need is to hear Him. But how often is our participation in the Divine Service little more than that of a bystander. And what is worse is that we hear this diagnosis and then reject it saying, “It’s really not that bad. I can hear well enough, at least, to get by.” Can you imagine that man in the Gospel angrily pushing Jesus away, remaining willfully in his silence? The deaf cannot hear. Like Israel, we all too often will not hear. We need God to do something that is truly miraculous to change us into hearers of the Word. We need it each time the Word of God reaches out to us.

“The deaf shall hear...” That is the promise of God. The way it happened for the man in the Gospel recalls how it has happened for us. This man had friends who brought him to Jesus. For most of you, it was parents who brought you to the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, where you were not only forgiven of sin and given life, but where your ears of faith were opened that you might hear the voice of your Savior. For others, it may have been a friend or loved one who brought you to hear the same Savior.

The power to hear; the power to believe; the power to live as a child of God—this power is available for all. It is offered now, in this moment of hearing the Word, to each of us. Our ability to hear is God-given, a gift of grace. Recall those words from the Small Catechism: “I believe that I cannot, by my own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel...” Our ability to hear comes from God speaking to us. By the way, this is one reason why it is of the highest importance that little children are in church every Sunday. Each Sunday they are exposed to the liturgy, which is one of the most effective teachers of the Church. Even before they are able to read for themselves, the Word of God in the liturgy is teaching and nourishing their baptismal faith. Don’t think that, just because little ones cannot read or verbally respond the way adults can, the Holy Spirit is not teaching them in this way. He has ways of teaching we cannot comprehend—and not only for children, but even for the oldest among us.

This is the secret of how we are to hear in the Divine Service. The opening versicle of Matins displays this secret: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” We consciously converse with God in Scripture reading and sermon, in hymn and prayer. And then, with open ears, hearts, and lips, we receive the warning against spiritual deafness, and then gratefully receive the Gospel Word of forgiveness and life. Having heard the Word about our weakness, we hear the Word of grace. The deaf hear, the dumb speak, and, as Isaiah said, “The humble shall increase their joy in the Lord.” 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.