26 July 2009
St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
Pentecost 8 Vienna, VA
“The
God Who is Able”
Text:
Mark 6:45-56; Ephesians 3:14-21; Genesis 9:8-17
Grace, mercy, and peace
to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Now to him who is able
to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.
St. Paul wrote those words to the Ephesians. He proclaimed them today to you. That they
then, and you today, might know: our God
is the God who is able.
Able to create all
things with only His Word.
Able
to send great floods to cover the earth, and then able to make those same
waters recede.
Able
to create great nations from an old man and a barren woman.
Able
to use men bent on sin to nevertheless accomplish great things.
Able
to defeat giants and mighty armies and walled cities.
Able
to raise up shepherds to be prophets and kings.
Able
to feed a multitude of people in the desert with manna, and later with only
five loaves of bread and two fish.
Able to cleanse lepers.
Able to give eyes to
the blind and ears to the deaf.
Able to give legs to
the crippled and life to the dead.
He is the God who is
able.
Who is able for you.
Paul wants you to know
that, and believe it. So do you? Do you believe that? That God is able?
Then why don’t you live
like it? Why don’t you act like it when storms come your way? Big storms,
powerful storms, mighty storms, havoc-wreaking storms, life-turning-upside-down
storms. Why do we think at those times that God is not able? That these things are too big for us . . . for Him.
For that is what we are
saying when we give up. That God is not
able.
Not able to fix my
marriage.
Not able to help my
friend.
Not able to give me
hope.
Not able to provide
what I need.
Not able to rescue.
God is not able.
That is also what we
are saying when we think we have to do it. That God is not able. Or that
He is not willing. If it’s going to be
its up to me. Have you heard that little ditty? It doesn’t take long for
that attitude to crush you. It is a most heavy weight to bear. Like the
disciples, trying to make headway against a most powerful wind. Ever feel that
way? That all your efforts are getting you nowhere . . . and the storm’s just
gonna win anyway?
Repent. Repent of your
unbelief. Repent and consider what happened to the disciples. The disciples who
were Joes and Schmoes just like you and me. Not understanding, hardened of
heart, often frightened and confused. Consider not what they did, but rather
what happened to them. For Jesus happened to them. Jesus, who
they did not think was with them, but they thought was ghost - unreal. Jesus, who
meant to pass them by, but who in compassion could not, but came to
them who without Him had no hope. Not because they asked, because they didn’t.
But because He knew. And to give life is why He came.
And so he
spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Now, I have to get a
little technical on you here, to help you understand exactly what this means.
For when Mark says: “he spoke to them and said” he is not being repetitious, but
actually uses two different verbs for speaking there - the first (“he spoke”)
is used for the proclamation of God’s Word, the second (“and said”) for human
speech. And so from a human mouth and human lips comes a divine and living
Word; a divine and living Word which does what it says. The same divine and
living Word that spoke in creation, that gave these same seas their boundaries,
now speaks into the ears and hearts of frightened disciples. To work in them. To
create in them what was not there before.
And what is created by
this Word? Faith. They can “take heart” and “no
longer be afraid” because, Jesus says: “it is I.” Now, here’s
where I have to get technical again, because that’s a lousy translation. What
Jesus actually says is: I AM. That
is the Divine Name of the Old Testament. The name so holy it could not be
uttered by human lips. The name told to Moses when he asked what God’s name
was. The name which tells us that God is unchangeable - He is never an I WAS or an I WILL BE, He is always I
AM. Dependable, unchangeable, the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb
13:8)
Or in other words,
putting that all together, Jesus comes to them in the midst of life and says: Take heart, or be of good courage. The God
who created the world and these seas and you and all things, is with you, here,
in my flesh. You no longer have to be afraid. And then, just to prove that
point, when He gets into the boat with them, the wind, the storm, ceases.
Utterly.
For He is the God who is able.
Our
Saviour who is able and does not give up on us - even if, at times and mired in
sin, we give up on Him.
Our
Saviour who is the eternal, unchangeable God and does not change His mind. Who
said to you in Holy Baptism “You are mine” (Is 43:1)
- and so you are.
Our
Saviour who speaks to us and says; who speaks, and it is done. Who
still today speaks divine words through human mouths. Words that give faith.
Words that forgive. Words that give what we need.
For He is the God who
is able for you. Not absent in the storms; not passing you by; not a ghost - an unreal figment of a disturbed mind. But in the
boat with you. In human flesh, for you.
To keep us going when
we are tired and it all seems to much for us.
To lift us up when we
are frustrated and there seems to be no hope.
To speak His Word of
forgiveness when our sins seem to much.
To
comfort us when we are downtrodden and show us different feet - not the ones walking all over us, but the feet
nailed to the cross for us.
For it is when we take
our eyes and our faith off of the God who is able, and place them on ourselves
that the storms seem too much for us, too great for us, too powerful for us.
Because it’s true: they are. Way too much for us. But not for the God who is
able!
And so He comes to us
that our eyes and our faith be focused on Him.
On Him for whom nothing
is too great, too powerful, too overwhelming.
On Him who was born of
a virgin’s womb.
On Him who battled the
temptations of the devil in the wilderness.
On Him who was hated
and scorned yet returned only love and compassion.
On
Him who took the sin of the world on Himself, that it be on Him and not on you.
On
Him who died your death on the cross that He might burst the bonds of death and
the grave.
On
Him who descended into hell, storming its gates and declaring His victory.
On
Him who rose on the third day and ascended into heaven, to pave the way for
you.
On Him who often looked
defeated but was never defeated.
Can
He not overcome what is bearing upon you who are heavy laden and give you rest?
(Matt 11:28)
Is He not with you - He
who said I am with you always? (Matt 28:20)Is
He not able?
Take heart!
He is with you as He promised. With His Word, with His mighty forgiveness, with
His victory, with His flesh and blood. Perhaps there are times when it seems as
if He is not, or that He is passing you by. Perhaps He is not working for us as
we want. But faith clings not to what seems to be and not to what we want, but
to the Word and promise of Him who is able - and not only able, but who keeps
every Word and promise. That’s kind of faith is not easy. But He is able to do
what we are unable to do.
For take note of what
happens next in the story - people, Mark says, come flocking to Jesus to touch
even the hem of His garment. But is that what happened? Or has Jesus come to them, that they might touch the hem of His
garment? For has not the God who is able, come into our flesh and blood, to do
this very thing? Come to us that we may be saved?
And so He has come here
this day, to you and me, for you and me. Clothed not in garments
of cloth, but clothed in bread and wine, that our hungry souls and sin-parched
mouths may feed on Him and touch Him and be healed. Healed of our sins. Healed
of our doubts and fears. Healed of our death . . . that we may live.
When you take a look
around in this congregation, it doesn’t take much imagination to see a crowd
like those on the shore of Lake Gennesaret - people tired and sick and hurting
and struggling and much in need of help. People who look defeated by the troubles of life and our struggles with them.
But we are not defeated! Because we are not alone.
Because the God who is able is with us in the person of Jesus Christ. With His
life-giving cross and powerful resurrection, and with His forgiveness, life,
and salvation that flow from it. And so however that cross manifests itself in
your life, it is not defeat, but the
path to victory and life. Not your
path, to be sure! Not the path you would have chosen for yourself. But your
Saviour’s path. His path for you. The path He trod, and the path He now takes
you on, with Him.
And so however the
cross manifests itself in your life, you are not alone. Not alone facing the
stormy seas. Not alone facing the trials and struggles. Never alone. The One who
IS is with you. The great I AM. The One who never changes. The One who is able.
Able to create, able to keep, able to save. He will not pass you by. For you
are His. And though the way be rough and the storms be huge now, know this: He is the God who is able . . . able to do far more abundantly than
all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, [therefore]
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.
Now the peace of God
which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in
Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.