Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text today is the epistle lesson, especially this verse, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Thus far our text.
Dear friends in Christ. Political season is upon us again. It is only a few short weeks until the mid-term elections are upon us, and so what do we see on the TV? Political Ads like crazy! It almost seems like that is all we see. And in those ads, what do we hear? They all say about the same thing don't they? "I will lower your taxes, and the other guy won't because he's a buffoon. This ad is paid for by the candidate who is NOT a buffoon." They try to tell us what our itching ears want to hear, in an attempt for us to vote for them.
Our text today tells us that in this world, we too will be bombarded with different messages, and many of them will be exactly what we want to hear with our itching ears. But in the midst of all these differing false messages, we also hear another message,
THE WORDS OF GOD'S OWN BREATH, THE MESSAGE OF JESUS FOR YOU.
But often times that message is lost in all of the competing messages of the world. Often we hear other messages instead. And as our text says, often these messages are really "exactly what we want to hear." And often what we want to hear does not agree with what God says.
God's word says "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." But that isn't what we like to hear about ourselves. We don't want to hear about how we have sinned against God in our thoughts, words and deeds, by what we have done and what we have left undone. Instead our itching ears like to hear about our own accomplishments. We like to hear how good we are, and how many good things we have done. We like to pat ourselves on our back, and ignore those times where we fall short. Our itching ears want to hear, "You're not that bad, it'll be fine," when God's word clearly says "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:10) Thus we are all guilty.
God's word says "You shall not bear false testimony." This means God's word tells us we shouldn't speak poorly of anyone, or speak of them behind their back. But our itching ears like to hear the gossip that floats around town. They like to hear about other people's dirty laundry, and to spread it around. We like to know others problems because it makes us feel better about our own selves. "Sure I may have sinned this way, but it isn't even close to as bad as that person." But in opposition to what our itching ears wish to hear, God says in the book of Proverbs (10:32), "The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse." And we are often wicked in what we say and hear.
What else does God's word say? "You shall remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." God says, "Be in church. Be in Bible study." But that's not what our itching ears want to hear. Instead they want to hear the Vikings game as it comes on. Instead our ears want to hear the sound of pheasants flying away on an early Sunday morning, or the sound of a trolling motor. We would rather be somewhere else than to spend time receiving God's gifts here at church. We would rather please ourselves than receive from God. But God's word is clear about these idols we make, "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20)
God's word says "You shall not commit adultery." But we hear on TV countless couples living together in our favorite shows, casually going from sexual relationship to sexual relationship. In addition in our own midst we have couples who are living together out side of marriage. And we hear how we should ignore it. We hear of homosexual marriage being pushed all around us. How it is ok, how we should accept it for what it is, and live and let live. But God's word says, "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." (Hebrews 13:4)
Dear friends in Christ, This sermon could go on and on with all the different ways that we are guilty. Each of us has problems with sin. In each one of these things we truly are guilty if we are honest with ourselves. But that is part of the problem, we are not honest with ourselves. We do not pay attention to our sin. We do not pay attention to what God's word's clearly says about our own horrible condition. Instead we often listen to what our itching ears want to hear, the very words of Satan, "Did God really say." Did God really say we are guilty? Did God really say we have to live this way or that way? Did God really say obey these rules? Or can we just do what we want. Can we just live how we want? Which is the word of God, and which is our itching ears listening to other voices?
On our own, we cannot control our itching ears. For our entire life here on earth, we will struggle with the competing messages, as our text says, "The time is coming," and I would say is now here, "When people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions." This is our world today, this is our society today. But our text also says, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." God's word speaks a better word to you here today, than those other voices we hear.
God's word speaks to you of forgiveness, forgiveness given to you through Jesus Christ. Forgiveness that is earned by Jesus' death and resurrection. For God's word is clear about that gift to you. Isaiah tells us, "Surely he has born our iniquities… he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed." His stripes, made as he was brutally beaten within inches of his life for you. All four Gospels tell us that Jesus was crucified, that his hands and his feet were pierced through with nails, and that he was left there to hang until dead, for you. His blood poured out from his hands and feet and sides, to make you whole.
God's word tell us that he then rose again from the dead, having laid in the tomb for 3 days. And God's word tell us that because of this miracle, you too have promises, promises that are better than any your itching ears want to hear. Promises that in Jesus Christ you have life and salvation. Promises that in Jesus your sins, every one of them are taken away. Promises that God loves you, and that he will surely be with you always, even to the very end of the age. God makes these promises as a blood pact, in the blood of Jesus, you can be certain of them.
And in fact, today, we come to this altar to receive the very body and blood of Jesus, the Word made flesh, for our very mouths to eat. In it we receive life and salvation, along with forgiveness of sins. In this gift do we turn again to receive God's Word made flesh, that dwells among us.
Yes, God's word condemns us for all of our sin and for our short comings. But God's word also says to us poor sinners, "You are set free, you are mine, you are forgiven." Often today we do hear other voices, and they try to entice us, but they are not match for the eternal promises of God. God's word says to you, that because of Jesus you have this promise, "no longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and the Lamb (Jesus) will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads (in baptism). This is your promise, here in the scripture breathed out from the very mouth of Jesus, given to you. Peace to you, promised in God's very words.
Amen.
