The Second Sunday of Lent
February 24, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline
Jeremiah
26:8-15 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today is the Old Testament lesson, especially these words, “Now
therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of
the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the
disaster that he has pronounced against you.”
Thus far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ. The people of Israel had slowly
but surely been drifting away from faith in their Lord. 900 years before the words spoken in our text
today, the people of Israel had finally entered the promised land, they had
conquered all who lived there, they had received from God exactly what was
promised them. As Joshua, the successor
of Moses died, he told the people, “If you worship other God’s, you will be
punished,” and the people responded, “Far be it from us to forsake the
Lord.” They promised to faithfully serve
God, and God promised to keep them safe and protected in the land.
But that was a
promise they were unable to keep. It was
not long until they had fallen away, serving other Gods, so God gave them over
to serve the other nations around Israel.
They were oppressed by the Moabites, the Midianites, the Amalakites, and
more. Their money was stolen, their
loved ones died. All because they had
abandoned their Lord. All because they
had served false Gods. Each time, the
people of Israel repented of their sin, they turned from their evil ways when
they were faced with destruction, and each time God delivered them from their
captors, returning them safely to their homes and possessions.
But over the
years, the evil those Israelites committed became worse and worse, and their
repentance for that sin lessened. They
had evil kings, who worshipped Bael and Ashtoreth. Their religious cults became fertility cults,
where dark deeds were done on the altar to promise the fertilization of the
land. Their people all fell away,
leaving just a few prophets behind to preach God’s word of Law, God’s word of
wrath against sin, God’s word that proclaims death to all who turn against
him. Again some repent and return to the
Lord.
But by the time of
the Prophet Jeremiah, the people have become used to sin, they have forsaken
God, and have little desire to change their lives. And when the Prophet Jeremiah faithfully
tells them the truth – that they are terrible rotten scoundrel sinners, and
that if they don’t change and repent that God will destroy Jerusalem – they won’t
hear it! Instead they turn the tables on
him.
“Who do you think
you are Jeremiah? Why are you so high
and mighty, telling us we’ve sinned, telling us we’ve done wrong with God. Enough of your Law and Gospel baloney! Enough of you, ‘God is bringing vengeance of
sin!’ talk.” Enough of your ‘thus says
the Lord.’ You shall die!” And with these words, they drag Jeremiah off
to the magistrates, to try to put him to death.
Why? Because Jeremiah proclaimed
the truth, and tells the Israelites such. “It doesn’t matter what you do to me,”
Jeremiah said, “What I have said is God’s word.”
What happens is no
surprise dear friends. It happens again
and again in history. God sends
prophets, and they are martyred for speaking God’s truth. Abel is killed by Cain – Why? For his faith in God. John the Baptist lost his head. St. Peter, St. Paul, St. James, and more, all
killed in various ways for speaking God’s Word.
And in our world today, it happens as well. An American pastor at this very moment is jailed
in Iran only for preaching the Gospel to the people of his home nation.
And while it is
easy for us to be appalled the truth is, we are just the same. We get irritated by God’s no to our wants to
our desires. We get tired of all this
repenting. We don’t like hearing that we
are in the wrong, that we have failed, that we have sinned! No, not even me! We despise when God tells us not to do what
we want to do. And so we ignore his
word. We do what we want instead of what
God wants. Its just one little sin here,
one little sin there, what’s the big deal?
Not only that, but
we try to rationalize our sin. “Well,
its not stealing, its borrowing. Its not
cursing, its creative writing. Its not adultery,
it’s a one night stand, or its cohabitating.
Its not murder, it’s a choice.”
And through all this rationalizing all we’re doing is breaking the third
commandment, despising preaching and God’s word. Failing to hold it sacred. Failing to hear and to learn it. Failing time and time again, even as God
keeps calling us to repentance.
It’s lent dear
friends. A season of Repentance. A season to turn aside from our sin and
selfishness. A time to ask God’s mercy
upon us. And that is exactly what God
gives to us. How often, Christ says,
have I desired to gather you together as a hen gathers her chicks. To show you love. To show you mercy and forgiveness. To take away the sin that plagues your life,
so that you may finally be free, and live.
For Christ is the good prophet. He stands in the same place that Jeremiah had so many years before. He proclaims the same message, repent and trust in God - in me - for forgiveness. He too faces death - not flinching but go faithfully. He is despised by those he preaches to them all the same. They shout out for Christ's death, "Crucify, Crucify! Don't preach this word, for we don't want to hear it!"
So Jesus sets his eyes to the cross. He enters Jerusalem to a chorus of “Blessed
be the name of the Lord,” and leaves to that chorus of “Crucify him.” He spurns not the cross, but suffers and died
for you. For your sin. For your guilt. He blood redeems you, he Good Friday’s you,
as he is nailed, pierced, hung, and killed – receiving the punishment you
deserve for turning your back on God.
And then he calls to you! "Drift no longer, you belong to me. Hold fast to my word, for you are mine. I have bought you, not with Gold or Silver, but with blood, suffering and death. You are my own. You may serve me. You need not fear the trials of this world, the ever constant drift of those outside the church. Instead you will inherit a new world, a perfect world, a world free from sin by my blood."
And as he dies,
you are forgiven. As he lives, you will
live. By Christ’s blood, we may repent
and turn our back on our sin. Through
Christ’s sacrifice, our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his
glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to
himself. You, yes even you, dear friend,
are forgiven in Christ. You are set free
by him. You have life forever in his
blood.
