Sermon Pentecost 3B June 9, 2024 Mark 3:20-35

Grace, mercy and peace are yours from God the Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

During the Civil War of the 1860's, President Lincoln gave a speech that many historians call The House Divided speech. Lincoln’s main idea for that speech came from the Gospel reading for today. The nation he presided over was severely divided. Would it remain divided and fall, or would it stand? Jesus said; If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

When thinking of these types of issues, I am reminded of the hymn, God of Grace and God of Glory, verse 3. Cure your children’s warring madness, bend our wills to your control. Shame our wanton selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, lest we miss your kingdom’s goal. Sadly, the sinful nature is humanity’s inborn condition. We always fighting against each other. We are always resisting the love of God, and denying the Creator who made us.

In the Gospel reading, we find that there is a sort of civil war going on between Jesus and the pharisees. They resisted his person and rejected his love. Yet he continued to love his enemies.    

In the Genesis reading we see the aftermath of the fall into sin. Eve had believed the lie of the serpent, "Did God really say not to eat the fruit?" Yes, God did, say that, Eve acknowledged. But the serpent told her that God had lied about death and was trying to keep her and Adam from becoming like him. Eve took and she ate, and… Adam failed to protect his wife. He ate too. The Bible reveals many times that Adam gets the credit for the fall into sin and the reign of death. And here we are. And I am glad. God showed mercy to Adam and Eve through the promise of a savior, the son of Eve/Mary, who would lastingly defeat the Serpent by bruising the head of the serpent and his offspring. We live within the consequences of the fall. But as Paul says in the Epistle, it is a light, momentary affliction. Doesn’t seem like it at times, but we must trust the Word of God, because we also live within the promises of God in the Savior of the world, Jesus. 

The Pharisees had everything backwards. The unforgivable sin is to actively reject God's whole plan of salvation, which was announced to the serpent, Eve and Adam just after Adam's rebellion. The plan was that the Christ should suffer, die, and rise from the dead, and that forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name beginning at Jerusalem. In the Garden of Eden, God promised that the Seed of woman would crush the evil serpent's head. Jesus came to do just that. He conquered sin, Satan and death by his cross and resurrection, a thing the world finds to be backwards and offensive.

But it is the worldly who have everything backwards. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld delivered the commencement address at Duke University a couple weeks ago. Many students walked out simply because Seinfeld is Jewish. That was a good illustration of the idea of a house divided. I enjoyed listening to the speech, and I even read the transcript so I could quote from it. One of the wise things he said was; My point is, we’re embarrassed about things we should be proud of and proud of things we should be embarrassed about.

This particular month that is quite the thing to say. And I think it’s right in many ways. In another graduation speech a football kicker had the gall to stand up for true marriage as a good thing, as God's beautiful design for humanity. These thoughts and opinions, and the reactions to them, starkly illustrate the divided house we will inhabit until Jesus returns. Isaiah 5:20 has this little nugget of warning for us; Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! In those two graduation speeches, the true wisdom of the house of God, the house of light, was revealed.

The world insists that Christians be open minded towards all the garbage that our society and the world is spewing. However, the world is not about to be open minded towards the things of God in Christ Jesus. The world in fact is totally close-minded to the Word of Christ. The house is divided.

Jesus proved that he was God’s Sent One by healing people, controlling the weather, feeding people miraculously, by raising some from the dead, and by driving out many demons. This was evidence that he was God, and a preview of what his cross would accomplish for all people, forgiveness and eternal life. That is the one and only plan of salvation that saves mankind. 

Our sinful flesh and every act of disobedience we do declare that we deserve to be in the house of darkness and death. We are all conceived and born as God’s enemies, turned away from him and full of sin. We all need Jesus' Baptism to drive the devil out of us and for Jesus to take up residence. 

God’s whole plan was that we would not remain in the darkness of our sin. He wants us to be with him forever. Jesus Christ came into the world as one of us and has rescued us out of the darkness of the house of Satan. There is no compromise position to take. We cannot compromise with Satan or with the world.

You are in God’s house of light. He is not divided against himself. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in agreement perfectly. The water and the blood agree. Fed by Holy Communion, and Baptized into the Triune name of God, you have been rescued from the house of darkness and have entered His marvelous light. God commands you and enables you to remain in His house forever. In His house, you find forgiveness, life and joy in Jesus. Do not lose heart. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Amen.  

The peace that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.