Trinity 18 2023

 

 

 "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" Mark 4

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2023

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

 

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn # 239                 Come Thou Almighty King                         

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Reward them that wait for Thee, O Lord: 

and let Thy prophets be found faithful.

Hear the prayer of Thy servants: and of Thy people Israel.

Psalm. I was glad when they said unto me: 

Let us go into the house of the Lord.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O God, forasmuch as without Thee we are not able to please Thee, mercifully grant that Thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #261        Lord Keep Us Steadfast   

  Master, Don't You Care?

Communion Hymn # 145               Jesus Refuge of the Weary  Savanarola

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #503   Rise Crowned with Light - Pope   

        

Announcements and Prayers

• Medical care: Lori Howell, Sarah Buck, Randy Anderson, Pastor Jim Shrader, Doc Lito Cruz; stress and metabolic disorders; Callie, seizures.
• Congratulations and God's Blessings - 34th Wedding Anniversary - Brett and Amy Meyer.
• Carl Roper - 80th Birthday. Carl was in Reserves Navy for 6 years. Then he was in Reserves Army until after Desert Storm when he was called up for duty 9 months. He served that time in George training troops to go over seas. He was in counter intelligence. When Pres. Bush Senior came to visit the troops, Carl stood behind to guard him. Carl retired with 30 years of service. Yes, he was in the military!

 Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler

    

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

 Graphic based on Norma Boeckler's Art

Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We are poor, miserable sinners; we know Thy will, but cannot fulfill it because of the weakness of our flesh and blood, and because our enemy, the devil, will not leave us in peace. Therefore we beseech Thee, shed Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts, that, in steadfast faith, we may cling to Thy Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in His passion and death, believe the forgiveness of sin through Him, and in willing obedience to Thy will lead holy lives on earth, until by Thy grace, through a blessed death, we depart from this world of sorrow, and obtain eternal life, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Special Sermon - Faith versus Fear, Based on Epiphany 4 (Matthew 8:23-27)

Mark 4:35-41

KJV Mark 4:35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

I often think of this passage, because Luther wrote about it so eloquently. The opposite of fear is not courage, but faith in Jesus Christ.

Fear is a gigantic force within our lives, ranging from one experience to another, based on daily issues, like health, jobs, 

relationships, weather, and national, international events. We also have genuine fears about the evils that are around us, which can be magnified by those who foster them. That includes Satanic lore, active promotion of the occult, and signs of Christianity shrinking back to make way for the devil rather than the Savior. Without effort we can find in the newspapers men dressed as women, teaching children their real meaning of Christmas, as "pastors" of that Lutheran church.

Jesus invited the disciples to go on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They were sailors who were used to the stable boats that carried commercial loads (the miraculous catch) and a number of passengers. Even the greatest and best sailors are hit with sudden, deadly storms, which happened to them.

There is no sense of direction, only bad things happening, everyone cold  and beaten down by the icy winds and water.

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

The boat became swamped with water and easily sunk by waves and winds. Many know the song about the Edmund Fitzgerald (Yale graduate) a ship owned by Northwestern Mutual. The huge oar ship sank in a storm suddenly and mysteriously. 

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Jesus was in the back of the boat - asleep on a pillow! That seems remarkably careless. But isn't Jesus always near us though He may seem to be absent? The disciples were accusing Him of not caring! Isn't that our attitude when things are going wrong, or are terrifying, or are dangerous?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

A mother rabbit goes into a freeze position when threatened by a noise or something else. The baby bunnies instantly hide behind her and join the the frozen position, less likely to be prey. Then they all go back to eating their food and drinking their water. Jesus rose and rebuked the wind - rebuking was what Peter said to Jesus and Jesus in response to Peter. The sea could have kept up its energy in threatening all the ships, but Jesus said "Peace!" and saved the lives of the disciples and those in ships. The winds stopped at once and the sea was completely calm - truly a miracle for the crowds and disciples to see and experience, from death to life with Words from the Son of God.

Lenski, p. 200

How could a former carpenter help these expert sailors when all their skill was at an end, and death in the roaring waves was their certain fate? In the providence of God this storm brought to expression such faith as they really had. Completely at the end of their resources, in which they had always taken great pride, they now throw themselves upon Jesus as their only hope. They forget that he had never sailed a boat ; they think not of human but of divine ability in him. They abandon all human help, the best of which they had in their own skill; they throw themselves utterly into the divine hands of Jesus. That was faith. But their terror, the resorting to Jesus only in their extremity, their fear of death in the waves, are not faith but littleness of faith and are in glaring contrast with the calmness of Jesus.

Fears can crush us, and they can be really self-crushing. We can easily go over every possible danger, repeating them and making them even worse. They are often quite real, and some people (Job's long-lost Comforters) will eagerly emphasize how real they are. I got an announcement, "Courses are being consolidated." What does that mean? I asked. Silence, they replied. Nothing changed for me, but I had vivid thoughts of frying burgers, scrubbing cars, and shoveling organic fertilizer.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

The opposite of fear is not courage, but faith in Jesus Christ. Luther expected to die, because the Church of Rome was very good at executing people they did not like. God protected him while the Reformation built up across Europe through the printing press (a co-inky-dink, you imagine?). Consider this - the Roman Catholic Emperor needed the Germans to fight against the Muslims, so the Catholics were compelled to let the Gospel take root.

Jesus gave His disciples training over three years so their faith grew. Even then, they were shocked that He rose from the dead and came before them in a locked room. We have lifetimes to learn what is clearly stated in the Scriptures, but we let our outward experiences overwhelm faith at times.

Paranormal

There are plenty of reasons to believe that the world of Satan overlaps the Kingdom of Christ. The underworld's intention is to bring as much people - or as many souls - as they can. No one needs to research the Paranormal because the minions of the Devil are legion, without count. They are like those who drove the Gadarene swine to Fuller Seminary after leaving the possessed  person.

The aim of the Paranormal is to replace Jesus Christ with their Father Below. Already the mainstream denominations - including all the Lutherans - are too weak to stand against the old, evil foe. They are afraid of losing what they had and lusty for the alternatives to the Christian Faith.

The key factor is fear, the opposite of faith in the Savior.

One expert claimed that gorillas scream and pound their chests when they are afraid. I am not going to test that because I have seen that happen with lawyers and other bullies.

One lawyer for a hospital blew up when I asked if the surgeon had a substance abuse problem. He tore off his glasses (just like the movies) and began spewing four-letter words at two of us pastors. I told the mother, "You won." She did not see that. I said, "He was afraid and proved it." A week later the medical bill was reduced to zero.

Two other lawyers did the knuckles on the desk routine. I was helping people get outrageous bills reduced (two different states). Each man stood up, leaned on the desk, did the gorilla pose and shouted at the top of his voice. Both bills were greatly reduced.

Fear is highly motivating when someone seems to be a wee bit dishonest. I learned from Bethany Joan Marie (in a crib) that I could say, "I already talked to my attorney" and get good results.

Having faith in Jesus Christ necessarily brings the cross. We do not have to look for it - it is already on our backs. We can see that when someone gets all kind of help and retaliates with viciousness. Ask any minister, especially when he has dealt with synodical officials.

Some people can be especially annoyed with the Paranormal. Our best move is to ignore those events and to trust in the help of Jesus Christ.

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

If we look back we can see how the Savior has protected and helped us, in the most improbable ways. One comment from this passage is - Apparently that pillow was always there in the boat. Jesus was asleep on the pillow, but not unable to help them. He repeatedly said to His disciples - "Have you no faith?" Those experiences test us and make us stronger. At the End of Time, it will be far worse than now. "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?"