September 8, 2024
Atonement Lutheran Church
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18 B
Sermon on Mark 6:45-56
In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
As I was ready the sermon text and the passage before it (The Feeding of the five thousand), it struck me how much Jesus wants to be with us and how much He wants us to know him. We read events in the Bible all the time where Jesus is going to His people, teaching and preaching to them about the Kingdom of God; all so that they may know Him and have relationship with Him. Even today, some two thousand years later; Jesus is still coming to His people, to you and me, teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God, through the ministers of His Word (pastors), by reading our Bible, and through the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lords Supper). All so that we may know Him and have a relationship with Him.
The world, unfortunately, is harsh and full of all kinds of obstacles that get in the way of our relationship with God. The sermon text is a good example. As the disciples were heading to Bethsaida in a boat, strong winds began to push against them, slowing their speed, and possibly taking them off course, which would slow them down even more as they correct their course. It was so much of a problem, that Mark described it as “making headway painfully”.
I think it is safe to say that you know what it is like, working towards something, and yet not be able to make any progress toward your goal. I know for myself that often times, in my pursuit of a goal like writing a sermon, I will hit a “brick wall” then I usually find myself being distracted by other things, making the pursuit of my goal take longer.
Are not our lives like this? We want to have a relationship with God, but obstacles of this world and our own sin get in the way and take us off course from God. The world tells us that God is not needed and all that matters is our own desires, which speaks to that sinful part of ourselves that wants not just to deny God but be a god to ourselves.
Take for example, a man, or a woman, who wants to have daily devotions in the morning before going to work yet they are always rushing around in the morning getting ready for work thus never having time for devotions. That person could choose to get up earlier in the morning to make time for morning devotion but can’t because they are not getting enough sleep already. They could choose to have the devotion later in the day, but again that person does not because it does not feel right having “morning” devotions later in the day, despite the fact that you can have devotion at any time of day.
Can you see how the world has but an obstacle in this person’s way? A person needs an adequate amount of sleep to function, and this person is not getting enough sleep to be able to get up early to have time for God. Can you also see how this same person is finding excuses not to make time later in the day for God, because it does not feel right to them. In both cases God is being rejected thus separating us from God causing our thoughts and desires become disordered.
When reading this text, I was reminded of a song from the 90’s called “Bullet with Butterly Wings” by a grunge rock band called “The Smashing Pumpkins”. That song sums up or embodies the 90’s view of some people that life is meaningless, that we are forced to struggle but never get ahead in life. With lyrics like “ Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage ”, give the suggestion of the “rat race” – always seeking or competing for wealth, power or status – yet not getting anywhere, stuck in a repetitive never-ending cycle in which there is no end. And at the end of the song, we her these lyrics “ Tell me I'm the only one, Tell me there's no other one, Jesus was an only son, for you, And I still believe that I cannot be saved ”, describe the utter despair that we have in this fallen world when we rely on ourselves and reject God and His saving grace in our lives.
That is the problem; we rely on ourselves and not on God and His saving grace. When we reject God, we also reject His saving grace, and our thoughts and ideas become disordered, and we begin to think just about ourselves. Yes, outwardly it may look like we care for others, but inwardly all we care about is ourselves, what makes me happy, what will satisfy my desires and my wants. This selfish, narcissist way of thinking will ruin friendships (as you exploit your friend for your own gain), ruin relationships (as you ignore and/or discard the other person because they no longer provide or do not provide enough of what you want in the relationship). Ultimately, this way of thinking, only of ourselves, may lead us to wealth and status but like so many people, it will leave us unsatisfied and looking for other ways to fill in what is missing, or to ultimately end it.
Now this is a grim understanding of what it is like to be separated from God. Take heart that God has not given up on us. Remember in our sermon text for today, when the disciple were making headway painfully, Christ Jesus came to them and stepped into their boat and calmed the wind and waves of the sea. And Christ Jesus has been sent to us as well, through the promise of His Word, through the reading of His Word (the Bible), and through the sacraments (Baptism and the Lords Supper). And like the disciple, we just need to let Jesus Christ into our heart and repair our broken relationship Him.
It is like a man who is trying to fix a broken water pipe in his bathroom. The more he tries to fix the pipe the more water comes pouring out of it, soaking everything and ruining the tiles, then the floor itself. All the man needs to do is let the plumber fix the pipe.
Just like that man, we too just need to let Jesus into our lives to fix our relationship with God. And like the plumber whom at times will have task for the man to do while fixing his plumbing. God too will ask of you to do. So be ready.
Know that God wants us to be near to Him so much, that he sent His son, Jesus Christ to suffer and die on the cross and rose three days later, for the forgiveness of our sins. So that all who believe in Him may have eternal life with Him.
Amen.
