Lent 2 B
“I Can’t See It”
St. Mark 8:27-38
1 March 2015 – Redeemer
“I can’t see it.” That’s what Abram and Sarai could have said. They couldn’t see themselves having children. After all Abram was 99 years old and Sarai was in her 80s. God had promised – Abram would be the father of many nations. There was one problem, a problem so obvious no one could miss it. Abe and Sarai couldn’t have any children. They had been trying for decades of marriage and were childless.
“I can’t see it.” 11 years after waiting on God’s promises (and not seeing any children) they took matters into their own hands. Sarai gave her handmaiden Haggar to Abram. Haggar had a son, Ishmael, but God said, “No” to Ishmael. God said “No” to Sarai and Abe trying to bring about God’s blessings in their own way. What’s the likelihood of a 99 year old husband having a child with an 80 year old woman when they haven’t had children for 70 years of marriage? I can’t see it. You can’t see it. They couldn’t see it, but God delivered Isaac to Abraham and Sarah.
“I can’t see it.” That’s Saint Peter in today’s Gospel reading. Peter could see that God had sent Jesus as his Savior. He had heard Jesus preach with authority. He saw Jesus cast out demons and cleanse lepers and even raise the dead. He saw that Jesus was “the Christ” — God’s anointed Savior, but he couldn’t see Jesus going to the cross and dying.
“I can’t see it,” said Peter. That is simply not the way God should work. If a God really wants to succeed he needs to be that miracle worker, that sickness healer. Isn’t that the kind of God you want to see? Imagine the success of a god like you and Peter want to see – cure a man’s cancer and he will follow you. Raise their dead children and parents will follow. Give your followers power and might and they’ll ride your coattails to the top. But die on a cross?
“I can’t see it,” said Peter and Jesus said, “You’re right Peter, you can’t see it, so keep your mouth shut until you can.” Peter had his own idea, his own vision of what God’s Christ, God’s anointed Savior would look like. And it didn’t have anything to do with Jesus going to the cross. When Jesus taught that “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Peter took Jesus aside and said, “I can’t see it.” Actually Peter rebuked Jesus. He told Jesus to stop talking about His death, about the cross, about suffering. Jesus, may this never be.
This text from Saint Mark begins with Jesus asking his twelve disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” How do they see me? It’s a great question for all of us. Who do you say that Jesus is? How do you see him? Here’s the truth – we all see Him wrong. The crowds saw him wrong – He wasn’t John the Baptist. He wasn’t Elijah. He wasn’t one of the prophets. Peter saw him wrong, Jesus was the Christ, but not the Christ Peter imagined. Peter wanted a Christ without the cross, a Christ without suffering, a Christ that didn’t look like a weakling, a Christ whose power was made known in miracles and success instead of suffering and death.
We would do well to confess regularly, “I can’t see it.” The truth is we can only hear it – we can only hear God’s Word and by the Holy Spirit believe those words, because “eyesight” doesn’t work with Jesus. Jesus is going to suffer and die. That’s what He tells the twelve and what He tells us. He is not going to make us rich. He’s not going to solve our marriage problems. He isn’t going to make the lives of his believers better than anyone else. He is going to suffer and be killed. Why? Because that is the way He saves you.
All of the troubles you see in your life are not the trouble – the trouble is not your stress-filled work or your dead-end job. It isn’t your investments or your expenses. It isn’t your rebellious child or your cancerous tumors. The trouble is something you cannot see, something you do not want to see, the trouble is sin. Not the sin of all those wicked, evil folks out there who don’t look like me or act like me, but the sin that resides right here, in my heart.
Christ comes, not to do what you would like to see, but to do for you what you need, what only God can do. He becomes a man to go in man’s place, your place. He takes your sin so He can take your death. He takes your sin so He can suffer your hell. He takes your sin upon Himself to take it away. Jesus does what no one wants to see their God do – He dies and only His Word makes clear why He dies. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” (Gal 3:13)
The Christian life is a mysterious life – a secret life hidden from all our eyes, but revealed by God’s Word to those who hear and believe. Consider the mystery of baptism.
Many people, even many Christians would look upon the baptism we witnessed this morning and say, “I can’t see it.” There is no visible reason to baptize a child. There is no visible indication that Vincent is a sinner and there is no visible indication that baptism does anything for him. He will still get ear infections, wake his parents in the middle of the night, and get angry with his sister. All you see is a little water and a church ritual.
What God tells us is something we cannot see. Vincent has inherited sin from his parents – we can’t see it, but give it a year. You’ll see it. God’s Word has taken hold of this water and promises that by this water Vincent’s sins are washed away. By this water Vincent is given everything Jesus did for Him. By this water the Holy Spirit stormed the Devil’s camp and rescued Vincent from captivity. Vincent died to sin this morning in baptism. He rose to life with Christ. I can’t see it. Neither can you. But we believe it because Jesus, who died and rose again, gave us baptism and all of those gifts in baptism.
Let’s face it – there isn’t much to see in entire life of the Christian. Our lives are no different than anyone else’s life. You don’t see all the Christians living into their 90s or all the Christian children turning out above average or all the Christian businesses prosper. Even when you look at the Christian Church you don’t see something that compels you to join. A good sale at the liquor store draws more people than the average church.
And so Jesus calls us to “deny ourselves” and follow Him. Deny your eyes and listen with your ears and you will hear that God Himself died for you and rose again on the third day. You will hear the forgiveness for your sins. You will hear that in a splash of water, a sip of wine and a wafer of bread you receive everything Christ did for you.
Your eyes will tell you that if you gain the whole world you’re really living. God’s Word will tell you that you can gain the whole world and still lose your soul. Abe and Sarai didn’t see themselves having children. Peter didn’t want to see Jesus on the cross. You will not see much in the Divine Service, in Church. Abraham and Sarah and Peter would tell you, “Don’t trust your eyes.” Deny yourself and listen to God’s Word and receive His promises – the laughter of Isaac, the death and resurrection of Jesus, the forgiveness of your sins, life everlasting, and the resurrection of your body. I cannot see it, but I have it and so do you.” It has been promised and delivered in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
28 February 2015 anno Domini