The sermon for January 26 was based on Matthew 8:1-13.

          Grace and peace to you . . .

          Today’s Gospel teaches extraordinary truth about faith and about Christ. In the leper and in the centurion, you see the marks of faith, faith which Jesus Himself commends. In the words and actions of Christ, you see just how God works through means to save you.

          In both the case of the leper and of the centurion, you see the proper attitude of faith toward Christ. The leper, physically aware of his uncleanness in the eyes of God, nevertheless comes into the presence of God to submit to God’s will. The centurion publicly confesses his unworthiness before God, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.” [Mt 8:8] We learn from Luke [7:1-10] that the centurion doesn’t even dare to approach Jesus himself, but comes to Him in the person of Jewish elders and friends whom he sent. Both the leper and the centurion know that they are worthy of no good thing from the hand of God. Yet both, having heard of God’s mercy in Christ, beg from Him the blessings He has promised.

          So should your attitude be. Dare you approach the presence of God thinking yourself worthy of any good thing from His hand? You may deny it, but consider how you would feel if I denied to give you any blessing from God today. Would you react with anger? Would you confront me, thinking that I did you some injustice by not giving you forgiveness? Do you honestly think that you deserve forgiveness, or that it would be unjust if I did not forgive you all your sins? The truth is that, if I did not dispense to you God’s forgiveness, if I withheld from you the blessings of God, then you would, in fact, be getting exactly what you deserve — nothing. In fact, if I were to dispense to you what you deserved, I would dispense God’s wrath upon you. If you don’t believe this, then what did you confess this morning when you said, “I have justly deserved your punishment, now and forever.”?

          Deep within your sinful flesh, you actually think that God owes you His blessings. This wrong attitude is the reason you wonder why bad things happen to you, as if you deserved only good things. Do you think that being a member at Bethany gives you a right to God’s blessings? The Jews thought similarly, and so Jesus warned them, “The sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” [Mt 8:12] When you feel offended if Pastor Varsogea or I do not treat you the way you expect to be treated, you give evidence of this sinful lack of humility. When we point out your sins instead of praising your virtues, you are prone to feel as if we did something wrong. It is good for you to consider St. Paul ’s admonition to you this morning, “Do not be wise in your own opinion.” [Rom 12:16 ] Preaching God’s Law to you is one of the many responsibilities the Lord has given to your pastors.

          The faith God gives is the faith of the leper and of the centurion. Such faith says in proper humility, “Lord, I am not worthy.” Instead of demanding the Lord’s blessing as a right, faith humbly says, “Lord, if You are willing.” And even if the Lord responds to you by calling you a dog, faith submissively says, “Yes, Lord, but even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” [Mt 15:27] You see, faith humbly agrees with God’s Law, but faith also believes that God is merciful in Christ. “Lord, I am not worthy . . . but only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” [Mt 8:8] “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” [8:2]

          And Christ responds, “I am willing. I will come and heal.” [8:3, 7] For God is merciful in Christ. Since you are sinful and yet God loves you, He is willing to come down from heaven in order to heal you and make you clean. He does this at His own expense. He absorbs the leprosy of sin into His own flesh. He bears your infirmities in His own body. He becomes sin for you, and transforms you into the righteousness of God in Him [2Cor 5:21 ]. This is what Christ accomplished for you when He sacrificed Himself on the cross. He was so willing to come and heal you that He gave up His life for you. For this reason, faith believes that God is merciful in Christ.

          How does God give His mercy to you? Where does He willingly come to you and cleanse you? When does He speak a word and heal you? You know the answer: in the means of grace, His Word and Sacraments. He demonstrates that He works through such means in today’s Old Testament and Gospel lessons.

          Consider the leper, Naaman. God gives His mercy to Naaman and cleanses his leprosy by means of washing with water connected to His promise, “Go and wash . . . and you shall be clean.” [2 Kings 5:10]. Washing with water connected to His promise is exactly how God cleanses you from the leprosy of sin. The world and many erring Christians scoff at this, even as Naaman initially scoffed. Nevertheless, through holy baptism God gives you His mercy, His forgiveness, and His Spirit. He promises, “Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children.” [Acts 2:38 ] He promises most directly, “Baptism now saves us.” [1Pe 3:21 ] Baptism gives you a clean conscience in the sight of God, because in baptism God clothes you with the righteousness of Christ. “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” [Gal 3:27] Christ cleanses you from the leprosy of sin through holy baptism.

          Now consider the leper in today’s Gospel. How did Jesus heal him? “Jesus put out His hand and touched him.” [8:3] Physical contact with the body of Jesus cleansed the man of his leprosy. Physical contact with the body of Jesus is exactly how God cleanses you from the leprosy of sin. And notice that the leper didn’t reach up and touch Jesus; rather, Jesus put out His hand and willingly touched the unclean leper. So also Jesus willingly comes to you in His own body and touches you as the bread of this supper touches your tongue. You may humbly confess with the centurion, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.” [8:8] Nevertheless, Jesus comes under the roof of your mouth with His body and blood and thereby forgives you all your sin. You kneel at this altar as if to say, “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus puts out His hand in the bread and touches you, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately your leprous sin is cleansed.

          Finally, consider the centurion’s servant. How did Jesus heal him? The centurion knew the authority of Jesus, “Only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” [8:8] And Jesus said, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour [ 8:13 ]. So also Jesus heals you. You confess, “I am not worthy, I am a poor, miserable sinner. I pray You . . . to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being.” And Jesus responds with His Word of absolution, “I forgive you all your sins.” Faith believes this Word of Jesus, for He has promised concerning the ministers whom He has called, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” [Jn 20:23] And so you confess, “This is as valid and certain, in heaven also, as if Christ, our dear Lord, dealt with us Himself.” Jesus speaks the Word, and you are healed of sin this very hour.

          Water, Body and Blood, and Word — these are the means through which God works to save you. By holy baptism, by holy communion, by holy absolution, God forgives you when you are proud or rebellious toward His Law; God cleanses you and heals you. He washes you and touches you and speaks to you. And by these means of grace, God gives you the faith which is full of humility, the faith of the leper and the centurion. By these means God strengthens you and preserves you steadfast in this one, true faith until that day when you will come and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Last Updated: 7/15/2008