July 15, 2012 at Calvary
Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA
“It was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for
the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.
For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your
brother’s wife.’ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted him put to
death.”
Two voices speak against those
in positions of power. So you heard in this morning’s Old Testament and Gospel
Readings. The two voices have similar messages for the royal house of Israel: “You
have been judged. You stand under divine condemnation.” That is what both Amos
and John the Baptist speak in the hearing of the nobility.
Amos’ message to Israel is the
making known of the vision he had seen from the Lord.
Amos tells what he saw: “This is what the
Lord God showed me: behold the
Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in
His hand.” The prophet sees a vision of the Lord’s
building a wall, straight and true. But then the Lord speaks to Amos: “Then
the Lord said, ‘Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of My people
Israel; I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made
desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise
against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
The vision is made clear to the
prophet. The Lord had measured the
people of Israel with His plumb line. His standard of righteousness had been
applied to them. And what does the Lord
find? Not a straight wall anymore, but a tilted one. Israel’s following the Lord’s way had gone from faithfulness to
disloyalty. The high places and sanctuaries dedicated to any deity other than
the Lord had been set up and used.
Instead of having no other gods, Israel had plenty of idolatry. And the royal
house of Israel had been more than complicit in this; they had led the people
on their crooked way. So the Lord
pronounces judgment against them through the mouth of the prophet, as Amos
describes: “I was no prophet, nor a
prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock,
and the Lord said to me, ‘Go,
prophesy to My people Israel.’”
Then there was John the Baptist.
Just three weeks past, the Church celebrated John’s nativity. He had been given
a task from before birth, the destiny of being the Messiah’s Forerunner. John
was to prepare the people. So he preached about making straight the crooked
paths, leveling the hills, filling the valleys—all the ancient, poetic,
Scriptural ways of proclaiming repentance that leads to forgiveness of sins.
And John showed no favor based on class: the rich and the poor, the powerful
and the weak all received the same message: “Bear
fruits worthy of repentance…. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the
trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and
thrown into the fire.”
John applied the divine standard
of righteousness to the people. The same way that John spoke to the crowds was
how he spoke to the royal house of Israel. Herod receives the message of
judgment, just as the ancient Israelite kings had. His adulterous sin is
pointed out, as the Gospel Writer tells us: “John
had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s
wife.’” Divine judgment was leveled against Herod and Herodias.
So how were Amos’ and John’s
words received? What was their effect? The nobility would have none of it. They
would not heed it. Instead, their desire was to rid themselves of these
meddling prophets. You heard how the Royal Chaplain of Israel responded to
Amos: “Then Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O
seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy
there, but never again at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a
temple of the kingdom.’” Amaziah gives Amos the bum’s rush: “Down to Judah
with you. Don’t dare bring that prophecy of judgment back here in Israel.
Jeroboam and his family will not have it said in their hearing.” And John
receives the same treatment: “It was
Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias,
his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.” Herod says to the
Baptist: “No more of that talk about sanctity of marriage. To the prison you
go. The public speech against my sin and my wife’s sin will no longer be heard.”
But that is the reaction that
mankind has to the judgment of God. The Lord’s
words of condemnation are unpleasant to hear. They are hurtful. They sting. Those
divine words expose what all desire to keep hidden. Who wants to hear how
unrighteous they are? Who wants to be shown all their flaws, all their
blemishes, all their faults? Anything that can be done to keep those words from
being heard and received is tried. Cover the ears. Shout over the voice that speaks
the indictment and judgment against you. Repeat over and over that it’s not
actually so, it’s not true, it’s not how I am. That is how humanity acts.
And yet, what happens even if
the prophet is exiled to Judah, the forerunner is beheaded, or the preacher is
tuned out? The voice of judgment still speaks. It is put in another mouth and
another mouth and another mouth. Over and over again, the Lord’s rightful condemnation is leveled
against you and all who have fallen short of His standard of holiness: “You are
guilty. You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.”
But another call is issued to
you, just as the prophets of old had spoken to their audiences. It is the same
call that Jesus and His apostles proclaimed: “Repent and be saved. Turn from
your wicked ways and live. Acknowledge the sin and receive the remedy.”
That is what you also heard this
morning. The sound of divine judgment was placed in your ears, showing that you
are a poor, miserable sinner, pointing out that you had sinned against God in
thought, word, and deed. But there was also this spoken to you, if you would
hear the sound of the Lord’s
voice: “Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.”
Blessed be God? Blessed be the
One who issued His judgment against you and your sinfulness? Yes, blessed be
God, because of what He has done. His condemnation was not the only thing that
He has spoken. No, He has blessed you. That is what the apostle explains: “In love He predestined us for adoption
through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of
His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He
set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in
Him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
The apostle proclaims the
reconciling act that the Lord has
done for you. Reconciliation has been accomplished for you who have
transgressed and broken every aspect of the Divine Law. You have been weighed
and found wanting. But you have also been provided what you lack. There is a
hope for you, a new fate for you, a new reality for you. It is for you who have
been shown your sin, your guilt, your imperfection and who acknowledge it to be
true. It is for you who have heard the prophetic voice of judgment instead of
shutting it out and refusing to listen. The word of Gospel is spoken to you: “Your
sin is great. Your guilt is immense. But that has been atoned for. Your slate
is wiped clean. You now stand under divine grace. You have been rebuilt,
straight and true. That is My desire for you. That is what I, the Lord, do for you.”
That is the message heard in the
apostolic words: “In Him we have obtained
an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who
works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the
first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also,
when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in
Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.”
The word of truth is not only
that you have sinned much and deserve nothing but punishment. It also is this: “Jesus’
accomplishments have overcome your failures. Jesus’ death has atoned for your
guilt. Jesus’ resurrection has brought you life. Jesus lacks nothing and has
bestowed His goodness to you. You have been baptized into Jesus’ death and
resurrection. You have heard Jesus’ pardoning word. You have eaten of His
life-giving body. You are not given half of an earthly kingdom, but have been
made part of the divine household. That is your inheritance. That is the Lord’s gracious will for you.”
Both words—the word of judgment
and the word of absolution—are necessary. This is what your ears must also
hear. Do not tune out what the Lord
speaks. Instead, receive it as true. When His voice exposes your guilt,
acknowledge that it is so. Then when you hear His voice that discloses His salvific
work done for you, you will also know just how great it is, covering every last
bit of your sinfulness. Be not like Jeroboam and Amaziah or Herod and Herodias
who used all their earthly power attempting to silence the Lord’s voice. Instead, let the psalmist’s
words be your motto and creed: “Let me
hear what God the Lord will speak,
for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints; but let them not turn
back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory
may dwell in our land.”
+ In the Name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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