The Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.
St. Mark 1:40-45
God’s Masks, God’s Will
Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, 12 February 2012
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
(For a Lay Reader)
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The sermon,
entitled, “God’s Masks, God’s Will,” is based upon a portion of the
Gospel according to St. Mark, the first chapter: And a leper came to him
[Jesus], imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can
make me clean." Moved with pity, he
stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be
clean." And immediately the leprosy
left him, and he was made clean. And
Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See
that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer
for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them." But he went out and began to talk freely
about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a
town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every
quarter.
Much has happened already by this
point in the Gospel according to St. Mark. Nothing is mentioned of the Nativity
of Our Lord, Christmas, but John Mark’s account begins with the preaching of
John the Baptizer and Jesus’ subsequent baptism. In only two verses, St. Mark
tells Jesus in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. Then, Jesus
begins proclaiming the Gospel of God, calls the first disciples, heals a man
with an unclean spirit, heals many, including Peter’s mother-in-law, takes time
to pray, and now, cleanses a leper.
Our Lord
has been busy doing what the Savior, the Christ, the Son of God has been given
to do—and it’s only the first chapter! Chapter One concludes with the Scripture
appointed for today:
And a leper came to him [Jesus], imploring him, and kneeling
said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand
and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he
was made clean. And Jesus sternly
charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say
nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your
cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them." But he went out and began to talk freely
about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a
town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every
quarter.
And consider how this leper
asks for help. He implored Jesus. He knelt. He said to Him, “If You will, You can make me clean.” This leper
fully believes in the power of Jesus to heal his leprosy with a single word. He
leaves his healing in the hands of Jesus, as this is evident with the words,
“If You will.” We pray the same way to our Lord for physical blessings or
requests, especially healing, with prayers such as, “Thy will be done,” or
“according to Your good and gracious will.”
Dr. Lenski writes, “This leper is
willing, if Jesus so wills, to remain in his living death. Submissive faith can
go no farther. This leper distinguishes divine temporal [gifts] from divine
spiritual and eternal gifts. He knows that he is asking only the former [that
is, a temporal gift], which God’s wisdom and love may withhold from us and
often does; gifts like pardon, peace, spiritual consolation, and strength are
always freely granted since it is without question God’s will that we have
them. Who is able to say how this leper came to such a faith? But his case is
one that shows clearly how the teaching of Jesus produced the most blessed
spiritual effects.”
Moved with compassion, Jesus takes
action. He stretches out His hand and touches the man. This is unheard of!
Doesn’t Jesus know how contagious leprosy is? Wasn’t He aware that there was no
cure for leprosy at that time? Doesn’t He know that touching someone considered
unclean made Him unclean as well? Couldn’t he see that this man was in an
advanced stage of the disease? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Of course He did. But Jesus
is no mere “nice man,” “great philosopher,” “good teacher,” or only a
“wonderful example.” He is the Lord God in the flesh, maker of heaven and
earth.
God spoke the universe into being,
out of literally nothing, with but a word. His touch, however, shows His care
for the man—and that He knows leprosy can be healed by His divine authority.
Often, but though by no means always, did Jesus touch those that He healed. He
didn’t have to. He wanted to. And with the words, “Be clean,” the man is
cleansed. God’s Word is powerful, living, and active. It does what it says. It
delivers the very gifts it proclaims. Immediately the leprosy left him, and he
was made clean.
It would be nice to have one like
Jesus walking around today, healing instantly with a touch! Our Lord, two
thousand years ago, is still light-years ahead of even the most futuristic,
unbelievable medical practice of today. And yes, God still heals the sick
today. Today, God works through means.
(From Gregory Wiens) One afternoon
while playing on a wooden picnic table, a 4 ½-year-old boy ran a splinter into
his finger. Sobbing, he called for his father at the office. “I want God to
take the splinter out,” he said.
The father told him that his mother
could remove it very easily. But he wanted God Himself to do it because when
Mom takes a splinter out, it hurts. He wanted God to remove it “by Himself.”
When the father got home an hour
later, the splinter was still there, so the father proceeded to remove it,
trying to teach the boy that God sometimes uses others to do His work. And that
sometimes it is painful.
A person once told Pastor of another
son, this one fully grown, likely in his forties or fifties. This man had
strayed from the faith in his youth, and joined a supposedly Christian
congregation later in life. It wasn’t a Lutheran congregation. In fact, this
particular congregation and its pastors either denied or contradicted some
clear words from the Bible—some basic Bible teachings. When this man came down
with a serious disease, he refused to see a doctor or take any medication,
saying much like the young boy in the previous story, “I want God to heal me.”
Just imagine. God provided for men and women to be trained as medical doctors
and researchers, rediscovering the amazing healing properties of parts of God’s
creation, and this man rejected them outright, ignoring God’s means of healing
and caring for him!
Gene Edward Veith gives further
explanation in The Spirituality of the Cross: “God heals the sick. While
He can and sometimes does do so directly, in a spectacular unmediated miracle,
in the normal course of things God heals through the work of doctors, nurses,
and other medical vocations. God [also] protects us from evil. This He does by
means of the vocation of police officers, attorneys, judges—also through
military vocations. God teaches through teachers, orders society through
governments, proclaims the Gospel through pastors.
“Luther pointed out that God could
have decided to populate the earth by creating each individual and each
generation separately, from the dust. Instead, He invented families. God
ordained that new life come into the world—and be cared for and raised into
adulthood—through the world of a man and a woman who come together into a
family. Husband, wife, father, mother are vocations through which God extends
His creation and exercises His love.
“All of this simply demonstrates
that, in His earthly kingdom, just as in His spiritual kingdom, God bestows His
gifts through means. God ordained that human beings be bound together in love,
in relationships and communities existing in a state of interdependence. In
this context, God is providentially at work caring for His people, each of whom
contributes according to his or her God-given talents, gifts, opportunities,
and stations. Each thereby becomes what Luther terms a ‘mask of God’:
All our work in the field, in the
garden, in the city, in the home, in struggle, in government—to what does it
all amount before God except child’s play, by means of which God is pleased to
give His gifts in the field, at home, and everywhere? These are the masks of
our Lord God, behind which He wants to be hidden and to do all things.
And a leper
came to him [Jesus], imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you
will, you can make me clean." Moved
with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I
will; be clean." And immediately
the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to
him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the
priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to
them." But he went out and began to
talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer
openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to
him from every quarter.
According to Leviticus 14:1 and
following, the former leper from our lesson is to show himself to a priest in
Jerusalem. (Lenski again) “The first act on the part of the priest on the day
the man presents himself consists of the physical examination plus the offering
of two live birds….and the ceremonies connected with them….The second act
follows on the seventh and eighth days and concerns two lambs….The first act
restored the healed leper to the people, the second to his religious
prerogatives in the Temple worship…” Thus, our Lord keeps the law and brings
about healing.
His stern warning for the man to
keep silent catches us by surprise. Why is the man to keep silent? Aren’t we to
tell the good news about Jesus? Yes, today, after Jesus’ Resurrection, we
certainly are. But the time for Jesus’ persecution has not yet come. In His
great wisdom, Jesus knew what the result would be if this leper told others. might
be. And since the man did tell others, it came to pass in verse 45. Jesus could
no longer openly enter a town. People expected miracles as if going to a magic
show to be entertained. Instead, Jesus wanted them to hear the Word.
Listen for the importance of God’s
Word in this answer to the question from the Small Catechism following the
Third petition, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How is God’s
will done? God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan
and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want
us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and
keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious
will.
And a leper
came to him [Jesus], imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you
will, you can make me clean." Moved
with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I
will; be clean." And immediately
the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to
him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the
priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to
them." But he went out and began to
talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer
openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to
him from every quarter.
God continues to gather to Himself
people like us. Hear the Word with gladness. Now, spread the news of Jesus
openly. Boldly pray in Jesus’ Name for those that need physical healing,
praying “Thy will be done.” Remember the submissive faith of the healed leper.
And be comforted, that when you confess your sins saying, “If You will, You can
make me clean,” Jesus always—ALWAYS—always answers that request for His divine
spiritual and eternal gifts saying, “I will; be clean.” Amen.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
