Sermon: Quinquagesima - 2020

23 February 2020

Text: Luke 18:31-43

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Our Gospel is a clear contrast between seeing and not seeing.  

The blind beggar on the road to Jericho, obviously, could not see in the physical sense.  But he could see (through the eyes of faith) that Jesus would hear his prayer.  He had faith that Jesus would heal his blindness.  He certainly believed that Jesus had the power to do so.

And so in his faith, seeing in a way that transcended his blind eyes, “He cried out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’”  And even when he was scolded for doing so, “he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’”

And indeed, Jesus heard his persistent prayer.  He said to the blind man: “‘Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.’  And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him, glorifying God.”

It was his faith, his belief, that made him well, that allowed the saving power and grace of Jesus to transform him from a blind man to a seeing man.  Jesus will not refuse to hear us when we cry out in faith, seeking His mercy. 

But what about the first part of our Gospel?  Though the twelve have their physical vision, they don’t see what Jesus is teaching them.  They cannot envision it in their mind’s eye.  Our Lord even begins speaking to them with the word, “See.”  “See, we are going up to Jerusalem” where all will be accomplished, everything prophesied, including His arrest, mocking and being spat upon as a prisoner, being flogged, crucified, and arisen on the third day.  Jesus lays it all out before their eyes, but they do not see.  “They understood none of these things.  The saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.”

What irony!  Jesus tells them plainly, but they do not perceive.  They have their vision, but they cannot see.  The blind beggar cannot see, but he has faith.  The twelve lack faith, so that they cannot even put this mental picture together.  It will not form in their minds until after the passion, death, and resurrection have occurred, when the Holy Spirit enlightens them.  Then they will see.  Then they will believe.  Then they will have faith.

Why do some see with the eyes of faith, while others do not?  Why do some believe, while others disbelieve?  This is a mystery.  We cannot see into the hidden things of God.  But what is not hidden, dear friends, is the Word.  The Scripture lays out the Christian faith with the clarity with which our Lord explains what the Twelve will see when they go up to Jerusalem.

And it is by the Word that we receive the eyes of faith.  It is through the sacraments that we can indeed see in our mind’s eye what the Lord teaches us and delivers to us in space and time for the strengthening of our faith.

Everything we need, dear brothers and sisters, is right there, in the Word!  That is, if we are willing to see it, if we are willing to pray to our Lord, “Lord, have mercy.”

For so often, we refuse to see.  We look in the wrong places.  We chase after phony signs and wonders – when all the while, our Lord explains what we need to know for our salvation, for faith.  He explains it clearly in His Word.

I have recently learned that many people see things like dragonflies and cardinals as a sign from God, that somehow our deceased loved ones send us messages by means of insects and birds.  Really?  Is this what Jesus teaches us?  Is this what the Word of God teaches us?  In fact, aren’t we forbidden from trying to communicate with the dead?  Aren’t we specifically told to avoid witchcraft and trying to turn things into omens?  This is what our catechism calls the “Satanic arts,” and these things blind us to the Word of God and its promises.  

We are not revealed the will of God by bugs and birds, but by the very mercy for which the blind beggar prays, and for which we pray in the liturgy,” Lord, have mercy upon us.  Christ, have mercy upon us.  Lord, have mercy upon us.” 

In His mercy, our Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us that He is our Savior.  He reveals to us the gift that is Holy Baptism.  He reveals to us that all who call on His name will be saved.  He reveals to us that our deceased family members and friends are safe with Him.  Jesus scolded the people who constantly sought signs.  He said, “I’m only going to give you one sign, the sign of Jonah.”  Jonah went into the belly of the fish, and rose again on the third day.  Jesus is the New and Greater Jonah, whose sign for us is the resurrection.  Jesus died to pay for our sins, and He rose again as the first fruits, promising eternal life to all who see Him with the eyes of faith, who believe His Word.

There, dear friends, is your sign.  And it is infinitely more reliable and comforting than looking for dragonflies and cardinals.  

St. Paul says, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  But when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  For now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.”  Let us give up childish ways of seeking comfort, and instead of looking to created things, like bugs and birds, let us look to the Creator, who made heaven and earth, who redeemed us by His blood, whose Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies us, giving us the eyes of faith as a gift, so that we too might cry out in faith, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me,” knowing that He hears our prayers, and seeing that in Him, the Law and the Prophets were fulfilled, and we have life in His name, and His name alone!

Let us see the truth as it is, not the truth as we expect it, in what our eyes see, like those who overlooked David in our Old Testament reading, because he was but a boy.  While we seek signs and expect the kingdom of God to be what conforms to our preconceived ideas, the Lord does things His way!  And we can understand His ways – at least to the extent that He reveals His ways to us – by being in His Word.  

The Word of God is here for all of us, to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.  Our Lord Jesus hears our prayers – even prayers offered in blindness, though our prayers are offered with the eyes of faith.  The Word of God assures us of our forgiveness, life, and salvation, as well as comforts us in the face of death, because He has destroyed death, and He will raise all of us believers on the Last Day.  In the Word, we see this.  Through the Word, we grasp what He says. 

We see the sign of Holy Baptism, through which the Lord claims us as His own and promises to raise us to everlasting life.  We see the sign of Holy Communion, in which the Bread of Life from Heaven is given to us.  The blood by which we are saved is presented to us.  We eat and we drink, seeing bread and wine with the eyes, and seeing the body and the blood with the eyes of faith.  

And what’s more, dear friends, this sign is not a superstition, like dragonflies and cardinals.  This sign is given by God Himself, as a miracle, by which our faith is strengthened, even as we eat and drink and bring His body and blood into our own flesh.  And where He is, dear friends, there is with Him: “angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.”  That “company” includes our deceased relatives and friends.  They are with Jesus.  And in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus is with us.  We not only commune with our Lord, and with our brothers and sisters at the communion rail, and with Christians spanning the globe, we are communing with the saints in heaven.  During this miraculous sign, we are with Him, and we are with them.

We see them with these eyes of faith.  And let us pray for the Lord to be merciful to us, to grant us faith, to have mercy upon us, so that we indeed might see.  And may our faith make us well, according to the Word.  Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.