Sermon: Oculi (Lent 3) - 2020

15 March 2020

Text: Luke 11:14-28 (Ex 8:16-24, Eph 5:1-9)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Jesus casts out a demon, and He is accused by His enemies of being demonic.  Our Lord points out that this makes no sense.  He asks rhetorically, “If Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?” 

He then points out He is actually casting out demons “by the finger of God” and that “the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Jesus casts our demons by His command.  In a very real way, the Word of Jesus is the finger of God.  The finger of God is His Word.  He points to the demons and they scatter.  For Jesus is God and He commands all things – even the demons.  The Word of God is all powerful – even in times of plagues and fear.

The “finger of God” was how Pharaoh’s magicians explained the plagues of Egypt.  For they could not replicate them.  And this was offensive to Pharaoh, who considered himself to be a god.  The true “finger of God” was calling Pharaoh to repent, and commanding him to let the Israelites leave.  And the “finger of God” provided protection for God’s people – even in a time of these plagues, when fear and chaos reigned supreme.  It is in such times that we need to remind ourselves who actually reigns supreme, as well as to put our trust in the finger of God, that is, His Word!

When our Lord cast our demons and was accused of being in league with the devil, He proved through plain logic that this could not be so.  

He also warns of the necessity of remaining on guard even after a demon has been cast out.  For they can indeed come back, and come back worse than the first time, as it “goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there.  And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Jesus is warning us to put away all evil, to repent, and to put our houses in order, swept clean.  But it is important to remain vigilant, to keep the house clean, so that evil doesn’t return with a vengeance.

How are we to do this, dear friends?  Our Lord tells us at the end of this account, as a well-intentioned woman gave praise to our Lord’s mother.  And it is well-deserved praise, she is indeed blessed, and confessed as much in the Scriptures for “all generations.”  But our Lord responds by saying, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”

An even greater blessing – even than the blessing of having carried the baby God in her womb, having nursed Him and raised Him – is in hearing the Word of God and keeping it.

It is the Word of God that casts out demons.  It is the Word of God that protects us in trying times.  It is the Word of God that comforts us even in the face of death.  It is the Word of God that forgives our sins.  It is the Word of God that defeats the devil.  It is the Word of God that transforms us by God’s grace and love.

It is the Word of God that empowers us in times of trial. 

And this is why we need the Word of God now more than ever.  We hear the Word proclaimed, and we eat and drink the Word of God in the Sacrament of the Altar.  And while the world around us is in a state of panic, we Christians can be calm, having heard the Word of God, knowing that the finger of God protects us, and having partaken of the Medicine of Immortality: the body and blood of Jesus.

But what does it mean to hear the Word of God “and keep it”?  One translation of the Bible translates “keep” as “obey.”  And yes, we should obey the Word of God, we should obey the Law.  But the Scriptures are more than just the Law, and the word “keep” is not the same as the word “obey.”  This word “keep” is the same Greek word as the word used a few verses before: “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe.”  The same word is used for “guard” and for “keep.”  For our treasure is the Word of God, His promises, the Law and the Gospel from the Holy Scriptures.  Our treasure is our reflection and meditation on the Word of God.  And we “guard” our treasure by “keeping” the Word, that is by guarding it in our hearts, by meditating on it, by believing it. 

“Faith comes by hearing,” says St. Paul, “and hearing by the Word of Christ.”  The Word of Christ is the finger of God.  It is God’s Word that we turn to in times of trial.  It is God’s Word that we look to for protection.  It is God’s Word that casts out demons.  It is God’s Word that delivers assurance and faith to us.

And indeed it is good to act prudently when there is sickness.  But panic never helps anything.  According to God’s Word, we can indeed remain calm and take reasonable measures to protect the vulnerable from sickness.  And at the same time, we, the Church, continue to gather.  The Word of God is still proclaimed and preached to everyone who is able to assemble.  We Christians continue to gather around the altar and partake of our Lord Jesus, who promises to be with us even unto eternity.  And for those who are unable to gather with us, the Word and the Sacrament will go to them.

In times of trial, we are reminded that we live in a fallen world, a world of diseases and mortality.  We are reminded of the fallen nature of humanity, as we see shameful behavior in the world as people fear for their lives.  We see displays of self-preservation at the expense of love.  

But we Christians are also given opportunities to love and serve our neighbors.  We are given the opportunity to set an example of calm to the world, because we trust in God.  We act wisely, but without panic.  For the finger of God is upon us, even as we were baptized and born again as His people – like His people that were spared the plagues in Egypt, and who were led to the Promised Land.

We do not have to kowtow to demons or Pharaohs.  We do not have to remain trapped in sin.  We do not have to live as if death has mastery over us.  Yes, we live in the fallen world, but we know that a better world is to come.  We walk in danger, but we walk with Jesus.

As we boldly sing in the hymn:

I walk with Jesus all the way,

His guidance never fails me;

Within His wounds I find a stay

When Satan’s pow’r assails me;

And by His footsteps led,

My path I safely tread.

No evil leads my soul astray;

I walk with Jesus all the way.

Amen.

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