Oculi

Rev. Thomas Van Hemert

St. Luke 11:14-28

Oculi

March 7, 2021

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is a man of many sorrows. He offers only love and forgiveness and instead is turned away. He wins and secures freedom and salvation, freedom from even the threat of harm and instead, He is refused. He came to His own but His own despised and rejected Him.

He said, “Come to me, ye who are heavy laden. Come to me and find rest,” and they said, “We are busy.” He invited them to the wedding feast and they said, “We have other business to attend to.” He cleansed lepers from their disease, and the majority of them refused to thank Him. He showed them how to pray, but they would have rather slept. He said, “Take, eat; take, drink,” and they said, “We are full.” He said, “I forgive you all your sins,” and they said, “We are no sinners.” Our Lord Jesus Christ is a man of many sorrows. He is scorned, despised by those whom He loves.

We see this very clearly in the Gospel reading for Oculi, this third Sunday in Lent. Though the Lord Jesus Christ does all things well, He is often despised and doubted despite the fact that He demonstrates His Divine Authority. Though He attracts us to Himself and to His Word—to His teaching and His holiness even though we know nothing of His Word apart from it being revealed to us, it is tempting to think nothing of it. Unfortunately, often times, many people reject His Word and His gifts. We are not holy as He is. We can’t come to Him or approach Him by our own powers. A great chasm is fixed between us and God. Yet, He bridges the gap. He still comes to us and He beckons us to come to Him.

The healing of the mute and deaf man shows us that even those who are physically less well off than most of us, are attracted to Him because He not only offers freedom and relief from physical anguish, but also protection from the attacks and assaults of the devil. Jesus casts out the demon from the man and He is relieved. He is made well. He is forgiven. He is saved. But in the end, as is made quite obvious in the Gospel reading, even though this miracle was performed in the presence of many, not everyone received this miracle with joy.

Now this text from Luke’s Gospel tells us that this man was mute, that is, he was unable to speak because he was oppressed by a demon. What we may not know or realize based on a simple skimming of Luke’s account is that this man was also deaf. The word here used for “mute” in the Greek also means that this man was deaf. Because usually if someone is deaf, that person would most likely also have trouble speaking, or would be unable to speak because he wouldn’t be able to hear the sounds that words make and learn how words are formed. But as is the case here, the man is oppressed by a demon. He is rendered deaf and mute. He renders this man unable to hear the Gospel or confess it with his mouth.

By nature, this is what demons do. Demons despise God’s Word and can’t stand when we listen to it and when we receive it. If they had their way all the time, we would become like this deaf and mute man: we would be rendered unable to hear God’s Word and unable to confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. And this is essentially why Martin Luther understood the Sacrament of Holy Baptism to be an exorcism. In Holy Baptism, we are separated from the fallen world, by which, the prince of this world reigns. We’re pulled away from Satan’s grasp are marked with the sign of the cross. We’re set aside and claimed by God to live a life of holiness. In the Lord’s Supper we are given further relief as we live out our days and are strengthened so that we may resist the devil and his temptations to sin.

Jesus bridges the gap between God and men. He came to His own but His own did not know Him. He is a man of sorrows. Not everyone who hears the Gospel or learns about Jesus, receives these teachings with gladness. But that’s the beauty of it all—Jesus doesn’t stop loving us even though the majority of the world hates Him or doesn’t even know Him. Because the Gospel reading shows us how Christ and His saving Gospel fare in the world. The account in the Gospel reading show us that there are three types of ways that Jesus and His Gospel are received.

First, there are those who when they hear that they’re forgiven, when they receive absolution, when they receive the means of grace, and when they see the miracles that Jesus performed, they’re astonished. Luke records, Now, [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. They were amazed and received this action with joy and gladness. Knowing that their sin is removed from them and that they have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb, they’re comforted.

But then there are those who, in turn, slander our Lord, such as the Pharisees and scribes, and who are annoyed with Christ. Now, [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke…But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul the prince of demons.” These are the ones, much like the Pharisees and Scribes, who slander Christ and spread false witnesses that Jesus is in league with the Devil. Unfortunately, this is all too true among many people who call themselves, “Christians.” Perhaps, they’re not amused. Maybe they’re jealous of Him. But Jesus does what He does only out of pure love even though they despise Him.

 Thirdly, there are those who upon seeing and witnessing these great miracles and hearing the Gospel, remain unmoved. Rather than receiving the saving Gospel with joy, they tempt Jesus and ask Him for further signs—even though they’ve just received a great sign. It becomes a game for them. They don’t really need Christ. They’d rather bend Him to their will. Now, [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke…while others to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign from heaven. It’s almost as if they’re sitting there jeering and laughing at Him. They may want Jesus to be their own personal Savior, but only one that they can morph and mold and use for their own enjoyment so that they might gain a false sense of security.  

Repent.

Whether we want to admit it or not, all of us have identified with all three of these groups. Sure, we may at times, or even most of the time, receive the Gospel—forgiveness, the Lord’s Supper, and other gifts of Christ—in joy and gladness. But we all of us are guilty of slandering our Lord. We’ve doubted Him; we’ve questioned whether we really need what He has to give. And when we slander and bear false witness against others, especially our own Christian brothers and sisters, we slander and tear down Christ Himself. We’ve claimed we don’t need Him as much or as badly as we really do. Maybe we haven’t gone so far to say that Jesus casts out demons by the power of demons, but all of us are guilty of putting God to the test. We’ve indulged ourselves in our favorite pet sins while assuming that we’ll be forgiven in the end. We’ve tested our Lord and made Him to be our own personal credit card—abusing His grace to pay for sins we refuse to leave behind.

So let us then repent and leave whatever it is that haunts us behind us. Let us leave our pettiness, our slander, our complaints and hold fast to the forgiveness we have in Jesus. Lent is a season of intense self-examination. Whoever is not with Jesus is against Him. Whoever does not gather with Him scatters. Where do you stand? If you have slandered the Lord, if you have doubted His promises and put Him to the test, then repent. Repentance is a change of mind, a full turning away from sin and a return to our Savior. We must turn from our sinful ways. We must return to the Lord our God. For He is gracious and merciful. So where do you stand? You are here. You are present here in Church receiving Christ’s Gospel by hearing it with your ears. You have heard the absolution spoken out loud and with words you can understand. You are not deaf to hearing the Gospel. Your ears have been opened. Christ draws near to you and tells you, through His Word, that He loves you. You aren’t mute either. In a moment, you will taste the goodness of the Lord in His Body and Blood, shrouded in the form of bread and wine and then from your mouth will sound forth the Nunc Dimittis, the Song of Simeon. You will be able to depart this life in peace, knowing that your eyes have seen the Lord’s salvation. Though it’s only a foretaste of that salvation, a foretaste of the feast to come, it’s the fullness of His Redeeming Grace and it has been given to you freely. It’s what awaits us and we know it’s coming. That’s why our eyes are ever toward the Lord.

 In +Jesus’ name.