Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Rev. Richard A. Bolland

Mark 6:7-13
(August 3, 2003 Sermon Transcript)

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        This is the text. Please be seated.

        Good morning! We wish you a blessed day as we gather this day in the Lord’s house. We are here because someone, somewhere, at sometime, once brought the word of grace and life to you. Perhaps, for most of us, that happened at the fount of Holy Baptism, where God washed us gently with His water and His word and we became the children of God.

        That word is coming to people in out text. That word of grace, of Jesus Christ crucified and risen, is coming to people in Israel. He sends out the apostles two by two. I think there is an untold story here.

        I wonder, though I must admit the scriptures do not tell us, what went through the apostles’ minds when Jesus is given them these detailed instructions about how to proceed. Keep in mind for a moment that this happens very early in Jesus’ ministry. They hadn’t been with Him all that long.

        Once more I want you to keep in mind the fact that they had been watching their master do amazing and miraculous things. They had been watching Him turn water into wine. They had been watching Him touch people and heal them of diseases. They had been watching Him as He said everything exactly in a perfect way, using exactly the right terms at exactly the right time.

        And now He says to the apostles, "You go out and do that!"

        One must wonder what was going through their minds and their thoughts. One must wonder what comments passed between the twelve apostles, between the time of the charge and the time of their departure. And I’ll bet you that, being human beings just like I am and you are, they felt inadequate. They probably thought to themselves, "How in the world can I say the right thing at the right time as my master has done every single time? Wherein can I have authority as He does to heal the sick? And to do miracles? Cast out demons? How in the world can I be well-qualified enough? How can I be well-trained enough? I’ve just been here with Him a short time!"

        Does any of this sound vaguely familiar?

        Again and again people make excuses why in the world it is not their view that they are the ones who should be going out and sharing the word of grace and life about Jesus Christ. And us Lutherans get all squirrelly and squeamish about it. And we have some of the same feelings, I’m willing to bet, they had. Fear of rejection. Fear of giving offense. Fear of being completely inadequate for the task.

        Well, I would suggest to you that, in fact, we might consider what training God has given us. First of all, I would suggest that we were marked as God’s people at the time of our baptism. That during that baptism, the pastor marked upon us the sign of the cross, both upon the forehead and upon the breast, as marked as one who has been redeemed by Christ the crucified.

        From that moment on, we were in God’s family. From that point on and forever. WE wore the sign of the cross on us in everything that we say and in everything that we do because we were His, and because we are His.

        And from that point in time God began to strengthen that faith which He granted to us, by giving us His word. By strengthening the faith He had given us by the power of that word to transform us, and to change us into the image of His son.

        It is an ongoing work that is happening in every Christian’s life.

        And now, I would suggest, that you have had a lot of training. I would suggest that there have been literally thousands and thousands of Sunday School lessons, which you heard as a child over and over again. There have been thousands of hours, hopefully, gathered around the altar regarding family devotions, and hearing there God’s word speak to us. There have been literally thousands of hours spent, I hope, in personal Bible study, just between you and the word, listening to God speak in that special and private way.

        There have been two or three years, depending on where you grew up, of intensive communication of God’s truth to you through that exquisite agony called "Confirmation Classes", wherein memory work was given, and committed to the brain. Let me tell you a little about that.

        In the parish I was at in Marshall Missouri several years ago, I used to go on nursing home visits and there was a lady there who suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease. She did not know who I was. She did not who her children were. But let me tell you, when I began to talk to her in the language of the Small Catechism, suddenly the light came on, and this woman responded word for word with the meaning for the third article of the creed of Luther’s Small Catechism! I was dumfounded!

        Do not sell that training you received short!

        What’s more, there have literally been thousands of Sunday sermons that you have heard, through which God speaks through His word to strengthen His people and to equip them for the task not only of life, but also the sharing of His word.

        And don’t forget all those Lenten services and all those Advent services. And what’s more, think about all those great Adult Bible Classes you’ve been going to! (You have been going, haven’t you?)

        All of that is for a purpose! All of that is to say that God is giving you what you need, to do what He calls us to do!

        You understand that it’s kind of like, when you’re a pastor in a Lutheran church, you look out at all the faces out there that God has called to this place. Precious gifts of God He gives to each and every congregation. And sometimes, in my not-so-good days, I picture it as an airplane on a runway, ready to take off. And all the pre-checks have been done, the plane has been fueled, the engines are revved up, everything is ready to go! But it never seems to get down the runway. It doesn’t fulfill the purpose for which it has been prepared.

        Now that is certainly not always true. Many are the words that are spoken by people like you. Engaging in spiritual conversation with people who do not know Christ bear great fruit. But it is always over and against the temptations of the evil one to feel inadequate and under-prepared, and fearful of giving offense.

        Do you believe the promises that were given you connected with your baptism? The forgiveness of sins, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? When you come forward to the Lord’s Table, do you believe the promises connected with that Holy Meal that He provides for His people? Plainly and clearly He tells us, "This is my body. This is my blood, given and shed for you for the remission of sins." And remember that through it He strengthens our faith. And through this means of grace He also comes to us and gives us the grace to serve Him with a God-pleasing life.

        Are you still convinced you are not prepared? Oh, you won’t answers for every question. I don’t either. But you don’t need a seminary education!

        Many people think, "Well, evangelism. That is the pastor’s job, is it not? After all, he has a seminary education!" These apostles didn’t have a seminary education! They had barely gotten into their training before they got sent out. They were a collection of fishermen and tax collectors, of all things! But yet God was not playing games with them. He was not setting them up for failure. He did not in any way, shape, or form say, "These guys are going to go out and fall flat on their faces!" No way! God is not a prankster!

        He’s not sent us out to things we are unable to do through His grace working in our lives. He is there to accomplish in us that which His spirit will accomplish, that which His means of grace will accomplish. Not the talents, gifts, and abilities of Dick Bolland, or anybody else!

        God is at work in us, to accomplish what He wants done. Therefore we are trained. We are prepared, and we are ready. We lack nothing, because Christ has given us all things, and every word that we are to say.

        I am reminded that sometimes our excuses will run not only to the idea that we have no training to go, but also, that if we speak, if we give witness to our faith, we might offend somebody.

        Well, I have two thoughts regarding that. Number one, count on it! How many people did our Lord Jesus Christ offend by telling them the truth? Well, let me list them for you! He offended the Pharisees. He offended the people in His own town, so much so that they took Him out to the edge of a cliff and wanted to toss Him out. He offended those who had been very impressed with what He had done. And yet, when He brings them some hard truth, and says, "If you do not eat of my body and drink of my blood you will have no part in me", people turned, who formerly wanted Him to be their king, and walked away.

        To the point where He turns to the twelve and says to them, "Do you wish to depart from me also?" And then Peter, that mercurial apostle, often engaging mouth before engaging brain, responded with beautiful words. "To whom should we go. You have the words of eternal life." And we might add, "No one else does." And no one else does.

        Yes, the gospel is an offense to anyone who carries within themselves a spirit of self-righteousness. A spirit which says, "I will take care of this matter myself." A spirit which says, "I will do the best I can, therefore demonstrating to God that I am acceptable before Him. That I will be better than my neighbor with my behavior. So God will have no choice, but to permit me in the gates of heaven."

        For such men and women, our Lord Jesus Christ reserved His harshest comments. He said, "You are like whitewashed tombs on the outside. You look fine on the outside, but inside you are full of dead men’s bones, and all uncleanness". Self-righteousness is tantamount to unbelief, because it rejects the very Lord who came to save us.

        So, if you think, in your sharing of God’s faith that it will always be accepted with joy, think again. It will not. But we must come to understand this. And that is, the very speaking of that message, the very sharing of Christ crucified and risen, the very notion that God in His grace has sent the payment for sin for us through the shedding of His own son’s blood, and the suffering of the hell that we deserve, that the speaking of it is adequate!

        That that speaking of the message is purely enough!

        We may not see the results, and frankly, we don’t need to. We are to cast the seed! Last week, in our Old Testament lesson, we heard about the prophet Ezekiel. And that prophet was told, "Go and speak to the people of Israel. They are a stubborn and obnoxious people. And whether they listen to you or not, speak to them the word, for then they will know that there has been a prophet among them! Tell them the truth, whether they listen or not!", He says.

        Good advice for anyone who wishes to engage in the witnessing to the salvation which is ours through Christ Jesus.

        (Will they be) offended? Count on it!

        Point two. Count on the Holy Spirit. We are not out there ourselves alone by our own grace, and by our own power, and by our own steam getting this thing done. But rather, we have the assurance, that is the Holy Spirit, who will act through us. Not by the power of our own words, not by our verbal skills, not by the acumen of our training and knowledge. But rather, it is by His power through which people are saved, and that through the means of grace.

        There is a man I knew very well. His name is David. He was a non-believer. And his wife was a Missouri Synod Lutheran gal. And she became seriously ill and she became hospitalized for an extended period of time. And knowing that her faith meant a lot to her, and at her request, he read to her the scriptures every single day, for over a month and a half.

        Well, David Brasley is a pastor of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in Dallas Texas. And he is a classmate of mine, and there I met him at the seminary in Fort Wayne, and he ascribes to that reading of God’s word, and to that alone his conversion to the Christian faith.

        Don’t tell me that it is not possible for God’s people, using that precious word, to change lives dramatically, whether we see it or not.

        It may take more than one planting! We may share some of the seed of God’s gospel and it may not seem to have any effect. So be it!

        But then, we may continue. Or someone else may continue to bring that word of life and light, and God in His graciousness will bring that person to faith.

        Now, people of course have the chance to walk away. That’s their choice. God never created spiritual robots with no choice but to believe. He gives us the free will to walk away from God any time we want. But His word in His heart is to bring life. And our job, and our honor, is to bring that word to others.

        Look at what happened with the apostles! Not very well trained, at least not yet. And off they went. Feeling inadequate. Feeling fearful. Fearing rejection. Fearing the giving of offense. And what do we read?

        They went out and preached that people should repent! They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them! And in a parallel gospel we see that they came back home rejoicing that even the demons fled at their words. To which Jesus replied, "Do not be impressed that the demons fled at your word, but that your name is written in the book of life!"

        When God’s people speak His word, great things indeed can happen, regardless of who we are! Or how well-prepared we think we are. Or, anything else.

        So what of our excuses? I would suggest they are empty. I would suggest to you that God gives us what we need, and that it is and honor, it is a privilege and the highest calling of life, to simply engage in spiritual conversation with people around whom we live. In the workplace, at home, with friends over the back fence, wherever the venue might be. Let it be known that God can work, and will work, through you and through me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.