Sermon - Epiphany III - Matthew 8:1-13

Why do you go to church? Why are you here? What’s the point of it? What value is there in regularly attending church? Why would it be a bad thing to miss church, even occasionally? What’s so important about this?

Those are legitimate questions, right? Those are questions people are asking today and realizing that they don’t know the answer to, and so they’re leaving the church because they can’t figure out why they were ever going there to begin with. I can’t blame them, because if you don’t know why you’re doing something, then why would you bother going to the work of doing it?

So the question of why we go to church can be answered in one of two ways. Either: we’re going to church in order to offer up something to God so that we may earn something in return; OR, we’re going to church in order to receive something from God, and in response we give thanks. 

For most people and most religions around the world, it’s all about the first. For most religions it’s about offering sacrifices up to an angry god in order to appease his wrath. It’s all about performing good deeds in order to make god act in your life. So native american and pagan religions are formed around notions of having to get your gods’ attention by making sacrifices or performing rituals. Muslims pray and perform works in order to get allah to do something for them. Buddhists, Hindus, and other followers of eastern religions must constantly practice their mindfulness and prayers in order to get out of themselves and be saved.

Even for the vast majority of Christian denominations, worship in their mind is primarily about giving thanks to God and praising Him. Worship for the vast majority of Christians is all about us acting and performing for God. Much of this comes from Revivalistic theology in which being saved is tied directly to how you feel about your salvation. 

Therefore, if it’s all about our feelings, the purpose of worship is to make us feel this “spiritual high” and feel on fire for Jesus. This is what has led to the vast majority of Christian churches in America placing such a strong emphasis on making people feel something through concert like music, smoke machines, lighting effects, and pastors who are little more than motivational speakers or comedians. 

But our Gospel lesson today shows us that it’s all together different from that. Rather than worship being about us getting to God, it’s all about how God comes down to us in order to cleanse us. So today, let us firstly see that God speaks to us from on high, secondly that He comes down to us in order to cleanse us from our lowliness, and thirdly, that in response to all of that, we humbly give thanks to God by proclaiming His deeds among the nations.

Before that, let us pray: Most gracious heavenly Father, look down upon us in our meek and lowly estate. We have sinned against You and one another, polluting ourselves with our unholy lives. In Your mercy, dear Lord, cleanse us from the leprosy of our sin by the waters of Baptism and the blood poured out for us in the chalice. Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.

Our lesson today begins: “When Jesus came down from the mountain…” What was Jesus doing on the mountain? He was preaching of course! Immediately prior in Matthew Jesus was preaching His great sermon on the mount. So it is, just as Moses received the great commandments of God upon the mountain, so does Jesus proclaim His Word from high upon a mountain. The same thing happens today in our midst.

God’s Word is a great and powerful thing. Here in Iowa we have no mountains, so if you’ve ever been out west or east and seen mountains, you know the feeling of awe that floods over you when you first see them! Likewise, God’s Word is more majestic than the highest mountains, and indeed His Word comes down to us from heaven itself.

When we gather for worship, the reading of scripture, God’s Word, is no little thing. When the Bible is read we are carried up the highest mountain to Mt. Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, where we hear God speaking to us with all the power and majesty and awe of God. It’s no wonder therefore that our sanctuaries are built with steps up front, to remind us that we have come to a holy mountain top from which God speaks to us!

So we move to our second point: God not only remains on high, but He descends from the mountain, and comes down to us in order to cleanse us. God in His abundant mercy came down to us by becoming man in the person of Jesus. In the incarnation, when Jesus took on flesh, He descended from heaven and brought His Word with Him. So the most wondrous fact about God’s Word is not just that He deigns to speak to us poor unholy creatures, but that through His Word He performs great miracles that bring us up to Him. When God speaks, His Word does things!

Jesus said “be clean” and immediately the man’s leprosy was cleansed. Jesus said “let it be done for you as you have believed,” and the servant was healed at that very moment. Jesus comes down from this mountain of heaven so that He might cleanse mankind from the pollution of our sins by the proclamation of the Word of God.

So in the Divine Service, the Divine descends from heaven and enters into our world. When Jesus descends to us, He doesn’t come alone, but He brings with Him the entirety of heaven! Here in the Divine Service Jesus doesn’t only come down to us, but He brings us up to Him! When He comes to us He comes in order to perform works of love and mercy. 

Here in the Divine Service Jesus is still speaking and acting as He calls pastors to be His hands and lips. Here Jesus stretches out His hands and says “I forgive you.” Here Jesus pours out the water and says “I baptize you.” Here Jesus lifts up the bread and wine and says “Take eat; take drink; this is My body; this is My blood.” Here Jesus takes His seat at the lectern and pulpit and continues to preach to His people. 

In the Divine Service it’s not about the pastor and his personality, if it were then this would be little more than a cult following some guy. It’s not about the people feeling the right emotions or doing the right ceremonies, if it were then we would just be pagans. Here in the Divine Service it’s about God proclaiming His Word from on high and descending into our presence in order to serve us. In the Divine Service it’s all about the Divine serving us, His people.

Here in this Sanctuary, the same sacrifice of love poured out for you from the cross is poured out for you today. The same forgiveness from the cross is delivered to you in the absolution. The same blood shed upon the cross is delivered to you in the chalice. Here in this sanctuary you’re cleansed from all of your shame and guilt; you’re comforted from the past week’s trials and tribulations; you’re given the strength to begin the week anew with the Lord on your side; you’re served by the Divine.

As a result of that Divine Service,  we come now to our third point. In response to Jesus speaking and descending to cleanse us, we return thanks to God by speaking His Word back to Him. Our response is exactly that, just like a little child imitates its parents, so do we as God’s children imitate Him by repeating His Word back to Him as praise. So the entirety of our liturgy is little more than speaking God’s Word back to Him and the best of our hymns sing of God’s mighty works. 

While our response doesn’t merit any blessing from God, it’s still the necessary reaction of a faithful Christian. When Jesus speaks to us and comes down to us, the only thing we can do is join with the great crowds and follow Him. The only thing we can do is pray to Him in faith and know that He gladly hears us and answers our prayers. The only thing we can do as sick leprous sinners is go to Him for healing.

Therefore, the questions we asked at the beginning of the service have their obvious answers. Why would we want to go to church and what is it’s value? In this place God speaks His holy word to us. In this place God descends from heaven to cleanse us from all impurity and strengthen us for the race. In this place we get to return thanks to God. Even though the Centurion’s words are our words: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof,” still Jesus comes to us not only under this roof, but in this sanctuary Jesus comes under the roofs of our mouths in the sacrament of the altar. The reason you come here is because this is the only place God has promised to be present for you to bring you up to Him. This, the Divine Service, is all a gift for you.