Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“And they took offense at Him.”
Hmmm. Good to know that ours
is not the only generation that is easily offended. It seems, sometimes, that
being offended has become our national pastime. We are offended by the left and
the right, by social movements and social entropy, by what was and by what we
are becoming; clothes, books, artwork, movies, food all offend; we are offended
by carbon footprints and by our fingerprints in the world – you name it, and we
get offended.
What does it take to be offended? Not much, I suspect. As a
whole, we do seem to have an overall set of social norms that act as
boundaries. We should all be offended when we see racism, sexism, abuse of the
poor, the unwell, the helpless – these things should offend us, for they are an
offense against God as well. But, it seems that any time that we are challenged
by something that makes us uncomfortable, challenges us in ways we don’t want
to be stretched, makes us realize we may be wrong, or that we simply don’t like
something for any and all reasons, we throw up the battle cry, “I am offended,”
as if that gives us the moral high ground and everyone else should surrender to
our whim, wish, will and desire.
The people of Nazareth were offended by Jesus. Here He was,
the hometown boy who’s made it to the national stage. Rather than pride at what
He had become, or joy for Mary and Joseph at what their Son had attained, or
even excitement for what He might say and do in their midst, the crowds
grumbled. What makes this guy so special? We remember him from when he was a
boy – He played with our sons and daughters. What gives Him the right to teach
in our synagogue? We remember how he helped His father build in the shop – how
is it that those hands can perform miracles? He claims He’s from God? That’s a
joke – look, there’s His own mom. In fact, the whole family is here – there are
His brothers and sisters. What’s He doing, running around with people chasing
after Him like He’s someone special?
Jesus will always cause offense because of who He is: God
incarnate. It’s a scandal of worldly proportions – God sets aside His full
divinity, takes on Himself human flesh through virgin birth, lives a
more-or-less average (albeit sinless) existence in backwoods towns of Israel,
with absolutely no Godly appearance about Him: no halo, no angel army, no neon
sign that says “Immanuel in the house.” He looks like, acts like, sounds like,
lives like, and even dies like a man. There is nothing divine in crucifixion.
There’s an old adage, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” When
God looks like us, it seems too little a thing and too much to believe. God’s
not supposed to be like us, the Nazarenes said. We’re not so far away, I
suspect. God’s not supposed to be like us, either, so – well - ordinary.
Ah, yes – the ordinary. That was the problem. They saw Jesus
as ordinary. Plain, old, ordinary Jesus. But, are we do different? We see
ordinary water splashed on an ordinary child; we hear ordinary words spoken by
an ordinary man to an ordinary group of people; we taste ordinary wine and
cracker-like bread. Plain, old, ordinary things, yes; but, when those ordinary
things are combined with the extra-ordinary Word of the One made flesh,
ordinary becomes extra-ordinary. Water becomes a washing of regeneration and
renewal by the Holy Spirit. Plain-spoken words create Spirit-enlivened faith,
declare sins forgiven, and assure eternal life. Wine and bread rejected by
2-star restaurants becomes a meal fit for a royal priesthood. In these gifts,
the One who was rejected in Nazareth comes to us, dwells among us, and delivers
Himself to us now and into eternity. And we simply say, Amen. It is so.
Jesus sent an ordinary group of 12 men out into the world,
two by two, with His authority to heal and cast out demons, permission to do
what He has been doing. There is another name for the ordinary group of people
to whom Jesus gives His gifts today: the church. The Church is the Body of
Christ. He is the head; we – the Church – are the body. The body goes where the
head leads. The body, the church, we are, too, sent out into the world, to be –
as Luther said – “Little Christs,” shining His light into the darkness. You are
hope in the midst of hopelessness. You are sanity in the center of insanity.
You offer the comfort of Jesus to those who are afflicted. You speak as a
forgiven sinner to sinners who need forgiveness. Having received much, you have
much to share.
A couple weeks ago in Bible class, we talked about how long,
how hard we should press being a witness to someone who rejects the good news
of Jesus. It’s a good question, but we must be careful to not use that as an
excuse. When Jesus sends the 12, He anticipates that they will be rejected. If any
place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, he said, when you
leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against
them. The goal is not to speak the good
news in such a way that it causes offense. The world will be easily offended as
it is, looking for reasons to reject Jesus and His Word and His people.
Sadly, one the reasons people claim to be offended by the
church is an honest offense: the way the body of Christ acts in public, how we
live our lives outside of the sanctuary, how we speak of our family and
friends, how we treat brothers and sisters in Christ. Yes, the church is made
of sinners, but we dare not use that as our excuse for what we do, “I can’t
help it…it’s just my nature.” Our
Christian witness is not just with words. Our lives also demonstrate Christ in
us. When we fail to demonstrate the love of Jesus, we instead demonstrate the
failed love of the world. Lord, have mercy and forgive us when we sin against
our brothers, sisters, and you in our witness. People should not be offended
because of us. If people are offended because of Jesus and His Words, that is
to be expected.
And, if they are offended, and refuse to listen after
repeated attempts – how many attempts? Yes. – then, shake the dust off your
feet. I know it’s tough to walk away. It’s tough to admit we lost an argument
to the point that someone can’t be persuaded. But, that is what Jesus teaches
His disciples. Try, try, try again, but eventually, stop wasting energy in the
face of blatant disbelief and hostility. Keep going. Keep doing. Keep speaking.
Keep living as the body of Christ in a sin-filled, sin-darkened world. This is
not failure. It’s moving forward, with the cross, under the cross, toward the
cross, through the cross unto life everlasting.
Amen.
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