Sermon Title
Scripture References
Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Call of Jeremiah
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
1 Corinthians 12:31b – 13:13
The Way of Love
And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Luke 4:31-44
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon
31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Jesus Heals Many
38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. 40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Synagogues
42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Sermon Script
Shadows
Today we have a special opportunity to celebrate the change of seasons. Not in the Church year, but in the weather. You might be aware that today is Groundhog day. Sure enough, this morning bright and early, approximately 30,000 people in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania gathered at the peak of gobblers’ knob to witness a groundhog named Phil… who is going to observe, or not observe his shadow.
Even though he has a great name, I have a hard time wrapping my head around this event and how it got so much recognition. Regardless, folklore places quite a bit of authority on the shadow of a groundhog as to what the rest of winter will look like. Now I just so happen to have checked in with Punxsutawney Phil this morning to see what the results were, if he saw his shadow, word has it there will be six more weeks of winter, or if he did not… it will be an early spring. Well dress warm because there will be six more weeks of winter.
Shadow of Epiphany
Either way it does not affect what we do on this day of worship, where we find ourselves gathering at the peak of the Epiphany season… between the morning shadow of Jesus’ incarnation and the evening shadow of His resurrection.
However, we are not making any predictions here… just looking to what is before us or what is behind us, depending on what direction Jesus’ light is directing our attention.
In the Gospel lesson you heard just moments ago, Luke reveals to us that Jesus’ light is shining brightly with authority and power. Casting His shadow upon the demons, healing the sick and downtrodden.
This is in sharp contrast to last week where Jesus was rejected and driven out of Nazareth. Jesus realized that right there in His hometown was not the time or place to demonstrate His authority and power. However, when He went to Capernaum shortly after fleeing Nazareth, it become the place and time to reveal who He really is.
The Long Shadow of Christ
As a matter of fact, He cast a pretty long shadow, as the people in the synagogue were amazed at His teaching… Except of course for the guy with the unclean spirit who cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are… the Holy One of God.” Yes, Jesus rebuked him, and the demon was thrown out.
How can that be? The people in the synagogue were astonished. Jesus speaks and demons flee… Can you imagine being in that room? The demon, in fear, announced that Jesus is the Holy one of God and quite possibly leaves the people in that sanctuary with a lot more questions lingering in the air than answers…
And we thought holding up a groundhog on a cold winter day was out of the ordinary.
Regardless, those who had the privilege of witnessing what just happened in the synagogue, spread the news quickly. I’m sure whatever social media they had at that time; they were using it. Telling others that there is a guy named Jesus that could very well be the Messiah. The one whom prophets had been telling them about and the one they had been waiting for…
Authority and Power
As we look at these things at the onset of Jesus’ ministry… The fact that Jesus drove out many demons… healed the mother-in-law of Simon, whom we better recognize as Peter… as well as healed many other people with sicknesses and diseases… demonstrated that He was indeed the Christ. The one who has authority and power as the very Son of God… All Jesus had to do was speak, and things started happening.
What is the significance of this event? People flock just to see a groundhog’s shadow. What would they make of the many marvelous things Jesus would do or have done? As you know, it is very clear in scripture that later in Jesus’ ministry when He speaks, lepers leap, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the dead will live again. But I will remind you once again… in the text today, this is the dawn of Jesus’ ministry. Try to imagine for just a second if you could have been there as His authority was revealed… what your thoughts might have been…
That is why it’s hard to over emphasize the power in His Word. The one who’s shadow is bigger than any mountain. That’s what they were starting to realize…. as Luke said in verse 32, “and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.”
The words of Christ spoke to their heart as well as to their mind and cut deep into the soul of mankind. These words were not like the other Rabbis. Even those who did not want to believe could not question the authority Jesus spoke with. No other spiritual force was a match to His Word. As the people sat there in awe, they proclaimed in verse 36, “And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this Word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.””
“Aha” Moments
The world was about to change, as something was starting to click. When the people in the synagogue heard Jesus teach, their soul had opportunity to resonate with understanding that they were hearing divine authority. Yet on the other hand, questioned what they were hearing might not be as it appeared… For sure the demon knew that Jesus’ power to heal and command dark forces belonged to God alone. Regardless, it was in the best interest of those present, to pay close attention to what was going on around them.
Do you think there were any “aha” moments in Capernaum that day… Like I said, as they sat there wondering if what they were seeing and hearing was true… or if they might have heard something else instead.
This reminds me of one of my light bulb moments… Over the last few years, it is during the months leading up to the Living Nativity when the livestock manager puts a lot of thought into the animal lineup on what needs to stay or what needs to go for the next event. One day as we were sitting at the table, she looks at me and says, “there are too many mules in Kearney.”
As my mind was racing on how to reply, I was quickly trying to analyze… I don’t really care if there are too many mules in Kearney… this sounds like a city council problem… why do we have to get involved? … Well, I could tell that those thoughts must have been scrolling across my forehead like a neon sign by the way she looked at me. Thankfully my “aha moment” rescued me. I realized the correct translation was “there are 2 mini (as in miniature) mules in Kearney.”
Out Of The Shadows And Into The Light
Listening carefully and understanding what is being said is paramount. Especially when those words or actions are coming from someone with authority and power. Giving a strong witness for an aha moment to pull you out of the shadows and into the light.
I’m sure you would agree, accomplishing that is not getting any easier in today’s world. Do you struggle with understanding everything you hear? As this new year unfolds, authority and power are casting long shadows. We have seen it in the shadows of democracy… one side is saying “mini” while the other side is hearing the word “many” and questions linger in the air about authority.
Even though these misconceptions have not changed much over the years, we still struggle with authority through the shadows that darken our emotions and thoughts… Will we listen to the one in charge… or will we just lean on our own understanding?
In our sinfulness we thus tend to place authority and power in the shadows of negativity… it constrains our lives by telling us where to park, or how fast to drive… we put our shield up against mandated vaccinations, regulations, and paying taxes.
Additionally, along with submitting to authority and power, do we fear the many demons of the modern world? The demons we fear through the forces lurking in the shadows of what we cannot control. Not only the torment of economic or governmental forces… we might fret about big tech, inflation, or maybe even climate change that all render us helpless and weak.
How about the demons of greed, financial woes, health problems, or the darkness our old self wants us to cling to. Will we have the presence of mind to have Jesus speak and drive out the fear that keep controlling what we think, say, or do?
Paul tells us about love in the Epistle lesson. Does the love of which he speaks get lost in the shadows as well? Do I need Jesus to drive out the anti-love demon who has taken up residence in my heart and the very core of mainstream America?
Love Endures All Things
Absolutely! … there is no doubt we need the powerful voice of Jesus inside each of us to be our curb, mirror, and guide… for we cannot do it on our own. That is why we pray the prayer the Lord has taught us, “Lord, lead us away from these dark shadows, and deliver us from evil, for all power and authority belong to you, forever and ever.”
So, with the help of Paul, our light bulb or aha moment should come from our Epistle lesson in 1 Corinthians. What we hear in those verses is what many of us might have chosen for a scripture reading on our wedding day. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.” And he goes on to paint a beautiful picture of what perfect love looks like.
However, what you might have missed and what you probably should have heard is this… “Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind, He is not arrogant and rude, He did not insist on His own way when He willingly submitted to the cross. He loves all truth, believes all things about me, hopes all things for me, endures all things within me.” That’s right, for you and for me.
My friends, that is perfect love which describes our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The love He uses as flaming arrows to drive out demons and the same love He uses with His gentle hand to heal. That love for all humanity has not changed since the beginning of time. Jesus teaches us that love endures all things and is the very shadow He casts with divine authority and power…
Love – endures – all – things… that truth is waiting in the shadows for each one of us right now. Jesus teaches us that there is no fear in love and that love is the first and greatest commandment… His promise of everlasting life is rooted in love.
As a matter of fact, we cannot take anything else from this earth with us. Not our wealth, not our fame, nor our knowledge… nothing. Not even our faith or our hope. None of those things will go to heaven with us, despite how big of a blessing they are. In heaven there will be no need for such things. But of all that we experience on earth, love comes along with you and me to eternity… Aha!
From The Shadow Of Our Lord
It just doesn’t matter if there are six more weeks of winter or an early spring. As we look to Him, we too can be in awe of His teaching, which gives us the means to cast a long shadow through the promise in His Word. For in the shadows of the mornings until the shadows of the evenings… each day… Jesus speaks with power and authority these loving words to us all… “you are forgiven,” and our sins will flee.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, with all power and authority, these words come through loud and clear. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” My friends, that is a promise, not a prediction… from the shadow of our Lord.
Amen.