Zechariah 9:9-12

Pentecost 6 | 09.06.2023 | Zec 9:9-12 | Andrew Weisner |

Zechariah 9:9-12

Psalm 145:1-14

Romans 7:14-25a

Matthew 11:25-30

Homily

         There is a quote that I heard many years ago attributed to our theological grandfather, Martin Luther, stating, “If we look at the way things go in the world, we may conclude that either there is no God, or if there is, he hates us.” We look at the suffering that happens around the world: war between Ukraine and Russia;  strife, enmity, murder and retaliation going on between Israel and Palestinians; immigration and border security issues debated in the United States and round the world; human trafficking, the buying and selling of human beings, especially children; issues of what is happening in our public schools; what is happening – what will happen – to general health care; our society’s lack of attention to and funding for mental health; near us and across the country, random shootings in schools and other public places. And then, even much closer to home: domestic violence; child abuse; unemployment; under employment, i.e., people working full-time jobs, but still too poor to support their families and pay their bills. Within our families, within ourselves: the ever constant possibilities of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and anything else that can go wrong with us. What will become of our country’s, our community’s, future, jobs and opportunities, for the sake of our children and grandchildren? The list can go on, and I don’t need to recite such a list: all of us, in our own hearts and minds, compose and think about such lists every day. All of these things are the work, the results, of “sin, death, and the devil,” as Martin Luther succinctly described it in the catechism. Yes, when we are really hard-pressed, when the ways of the world weigh heavily upon us, we may be tempted to stop and think: “Looking at the way things go in the world, we conclude that either there is no God, or if there is, he hates us.”

         We also hear this word of wisdom: None of these problems, none of these issues, is new; somehow, they’ve always been with us. That is a perspective expressed in the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, “there’s nothing new under the sun.” And for every issue, every problem we consider today, there is, running through the stories of the Bible, an equivalent: war between countries, bondage and slavery, draught, hunger; strife within families; poverty for some, too much work for others. And finally I will mention: misunderstanding of others, jealousy and anger, planning and plotting false accusations, mistreatment, torture, and death by crucifixion. These last items especially, all happening particularly to the King of glory, God’s very own presence in this world, our Lord Jesus. In fact, one can argue and describe that all the ugliness, pain, suffering and sadness in the world, all the works of “sin, death, and the devil,” are indeed a reflection, the shadow casts across the ages, by the cross of Christ.

         And if all these sad, terrible, problems and events in this world, and throughout history, are reflections, or shadows cast from our Lord’s suffering and death, that means that all these bad things are certain to be conquered and overcome. Because God, the world’s loving creator and our Father, dispelled the works of darkness and vanquished the powers of sin and death by the triumphant resurrection of Jesus, when Jesus was raised from the dead, thus giving to the world new light, new life, and hope.

         The God of this world is not a God who hates us or is “out to get us.” Instead, we hear this description of who and what God truly is today from the Psalmist: “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all his works.” As we are co-laborers with God, united to God in Christ through baptism and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, the evil, sickness and sadness in this world is among us as something that we can and will overcome. The good and merciful God does – and will – work through us, despite our own frailties, to change the world: to bring light out of darkness, to give hope where there is despair; to give gentleness and love where there is hatred and anger. We are his people, chosen and empowered by God’s very own Spirit, to reflect, to give, goodness to the world.

         And so, our gracious and compassionate God calls out to us today. God, “in Christ,” God who is fully revealed in Jesus of Nazareth, who is “of one being with the Father,” God in Christ calls to us today, “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens.” He calls us – has called us, in our baptism – to take, to share, his yoke, to struggle against pain and suffering in this world. He calls us to come to him, for he will empower us. He calls us to join with him, to receive and share the strength and power of his resurrection. And such empowerment is simple: He calls us to receive it when we come forward to receive him, the presence of God, the presence of the risen Christ, when we meet him, when we receive him, in Bread and Wine.  Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The Rev. Andrew F. Weisner, Ph.D., The North American Lutheran Church (NALC)
Antioch Lutheran Church, Dallas, North Carolina