Sad Divider [Lent 3]

 READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:

• Jeremiah 26:1-15

• Ephesians 5:1-9

• St. Luke 11:14-28

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

 

Who speaks to us today, saying,

“And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”

Of course we can answer our Lord and say, that it won’t stand. How can it, as He has already asked. In fact, satan was doomed from the beginning. Its in his name after all. Diabolos, which is the Greek, very literally means to divide. It has the same prefix as “diagonal”, which is to cut across, or draw through two non-adjacent angles, as us nerds would say.

Satan is divided from the start, even against himself. Why? Because on one hand he is a creature of God and knows Him very completely. He understands God’s will of mercy and salvation. On the other hand, he just can’t bring himself to face that scientific fact of God’s will. His will, his heart, and his soul are divided and he will stop at nothing to divide the entire world with him.

And what does this division produce? Fear. And fear produces hypocrisy. Our two groups accusing Jesus today, illustrate this point. The first group that accuses Him of demon possession, is in fact the ones that are demon-possessed, as are all sinners. As we say in our baptismal rite, “Therefore depart, thou unclean spirit and make room for the Holy Spirit” (LSB Agenda, 13).

The second group attempting to tempt Jesus, are in fact afflicted with temptation. So much so, that they are hell-bent on proving that God is the Tempter, and not them, with their own temptations. The vision of their skeptic minds was keen enough to make them blind to any unexpected act too large for their small world of fact (LSB 472:2).

We shout at God along with these two groups: You are not like us! You are not possessed like us. You do not suffer like us! You are not tempted like us! We cast you out like these demons! We will embrace our sinful hypocrisy, since there is no alternative, and instead exorcise the holy from us forever.

The Lord says, “challenge accepted”. You will be given over to your lusts. You will fear, love, and trust everything and anything besides Me. You will take my Name in vain, you will desecrate my Sabbath, you will dishonor father and mother, you will murder, steal, lie, and you will covet.

You will reach a point of disregard for others and self so deep, that you will say, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Lk. 12:19). For when you become strong in that, just as our strong man in the Gospel, you can safeguard your new normal. When everyone agrees with you, there is peace. When you force true unity upon everyone, then utopia is gained.

Jesus says that there is always someone stronger than you and in this case it holds true. For a stronger Man has descended upon the scene and has called out His challenge. In the face of all humanity loving their sins, He in His humanity loves the sinner. 

He who knows no temptation is not so far removed as to not understand temptation, but He proves His point to us by becoming weak enough to have to endure it. He Who does not suffer and is not sorely oppressed by demons, suffers as a Man and allows the demons to have their way of betraying Him, scourging Him, and killing Him. 

The Man Who knew no sin is the God-Man Jesus Christ and He is the stronger man Who takes on the role of domestic terrorist, in order to plunder the devil’s treasure house, the earth. And His victory is complete. Not because His heavy sword of righteous and holy wrath falls upon the devil to end him, but because the heavy weight of responsibility and righteousness falls upon Jesus.

God may be a “man of war” (Ex. 15:3), but God is love (1 Jn 4:8). How can this all be true at the same time? Through God’s selfless act of suffering on the cross for all of you, that’s how. The war that the Lord fights is for the honor and glory of His Name which He has placed upon you and you have soiled with sin. In this fight, there is no other path but the path of love, the upside-down path where the innocent is punished, God, and the guilty go free, you.

Jesus is the stronger man, indeed the strongest man, and spoils the spoiler of his prey, but makes that spoil so wonderful and precious that not even heaven would reject it. He takes the spoils of satan, of the divider, and unites them to Himself, body and soul. There is now no separation and no condemnation in Christ, for sin has been atoned for and hypocrisy has been put away forever.

In the cross, the Lord shields us from temptation and guards us from every evil, even the demonic. There is no fear where Jesus fights for His forgiven sinners, for His war, this perfect love, casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18). His struggle to be cast out as a demon, suffer, die and 3 days later rise again has ended the war and this work has accomplished salvation for all who are baptized and believe.

In Christ, we are given the baptism that breaks the darkness and drives out demons. In Christ, we are given the Supper that ends all ills and woe of body and soul and converts our temptation into hunger for God’s Word. In Christ, we are handed the Word of God in the flesh and are blessed without fear of betrayal or sabotage.

For, in Christ, we have nothing on the line in this deal with God. There is no collateral we have put up, no inheritance we have to divide, and no loved ones we have to give up in order to gain His favor and blessing. It is all on God and His honor and His holiness and His fight to keep His promise to save His people from their sins.

In this blessed baptismal life, we have been given a life that never ends and so we say with Jesus, what can man do to me, if the Lord is my helper? I will not fear (Heb 13:6). “…though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam” (Ps 46:2-3), though “the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain”, though “the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed”, He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me (Heb 13:5).

For if He does not shrink away from a horrible death at the hands of His enemies, that He could have prevented, “how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things” (Rom 8:32), even His entire kingdom (Lk 12:32).

Do not give in to fear. Do not lose hope. Do not turn on those whom you love and treasure. Your Lord has defeated fear and despair to free you to live and love fully and completely. Truly and deeply “relax, eat, drink, be merry”, but do so in the Word and Sacraments that the Lord provides, for they are the way out of this mess. They are the signposts towards the promise of the end of all suffering and pain.

“A man reaps what he sows” and the devil sows division. “A man reaps what he sows” and Jesus sows unity with God. If it divides people, you can be sure the devil’s hand is in it. If the forgiveness of sins is being handed out freely to all people, you can be sure that is God’s unifying hand. Beware of the Divider, but be more aware of the great, personal union you have been given with God and commune with Him as often as possible.