St. Mark 6:14–29
In the name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit –
Who else but the Church of God sings praise
on such a day as the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist? Who else can
confidently call it a feast and sing a Te Deum? The Church sings. And her song
is a song of Truth. It is a song learned by hearing the Word of Truth from her
Lord’s lips and echoing that Truth back to Him. It is a song raised above every
lie born in the darkness of men’s hearts. It is a song of forgiveness and
victory in the Lord’s death and resurrection.
Still, on the face of it, the
martyrdom of John the Baptist doesn’t look anything like victory. It is a dark
and sordid tragedy, filled with politics and back-stabbing, corruption and rash
vows, lust, vengeance, wrongful imprisonment and a grizzly spectacle for an
execution. It’s hard to hear the song of Truth in this cacophony of sin. But
it’s there in John’s preaching. John’s voice rang out in the wilderness. The
Law of God resounded in its truth and purity. Repent! Repent, Herod! Repent,
Herodias! What you are doing is not lawful. And the hearts of believing Judeans
soared at hearing such a preacher. A true prophet of God, proclaiming God’s Law
against the wickedness of the elite. And we also rightly delight in the Law of
God, in hearing God’s judgments delivered in such a violent and shameless world.
Yet, even as we sing our Amens
to John’s sermon, his preaching convicts us too. For like Herod, we have lusted
after what is not ours. Like Herodias, we have harbored anger and bitterness. We
have been offended by those who speak the Truth. We have defended and
rationalized even our most blatant sins. And even though we don’t have a
prophet to behead, we have sought to silence God’s Word in less obvious ways. Avoiding
the Word of Truth or pretending it doesn’t apply is no less damning than chopping
off the preacher’s head. Of course, none of that can actually silence the
Truth. Despite his beheading, John’s preaching has come down to us in the
Spirit’s Holy Scripture and is still proclaimed from pulpits throughout the
ages. Prepare the way of the Lord. Repent.
Prepare the way of the Lord. The
Lord who baptizes you with His very own Name. The Lord who baptizes you with
His very own Spirit. The Lord who died and rose again in order to give you that
Baptism. For Christ didn’t suffer so that you wouldn’t suffer. He wasn’t
crucified so that you would be spared the cross. He didn’t die so that you
wouldn’t die. Rather Christ suffered, was crucified, and died so that in Him –
united with Him in His Baptism – You might be plunged into His same death and
so also emerge alive again in His resurrection.
Who is the real forerunner here?
In history John was born before Jesus, preached before Jesus, and was killed
before Jesus. But in Truth, Jesus is the One who runs before us all. Running
into death and hell, dragging sin and Satan down with Him. Running before John
and before all His saints, preparing the way for us through death and into
life.
Christ is our Head, we are his
Body. Can the head rise and leave its members in the grave? No. Just as surely
as Christ is risen from the dead so shall we. Just as surely as Christ our Head
reunites Himself with His members, so shall the head of St. John be reunited to
his body. The saints in Christ do not die in vain. The martyrs give witness to
the Truth with their words and also with their blood. They witness to that
blood that forgives all sin and gives everlasting life.
This is why the Church still
sings a Te Deum and holds a feast on the day of a martyrdom. We praise You, O God; the noble army of martyrs praise You.
The holy Church throughout all the world
does acknowledge You. The Church is an army for the Lord. But not an army
with marching feet and shining swords. This is a singing army. Her weapon is
God’s Word – written, spoken, preached, and sung. The holy Church sings the
Truth of God as she has learned the song from the Lord Himself, and from His
faithful preachers like John. The nations rage, the kings of the earth rise up,
believers are killed, and the wicked jeer, making up parodies to mock the
Truth. But still the Church sings over the din and disharmony of lies. Satan whispers
his twisted tunes of doubt and despair, but the Church sings to soothe the
troubled conscience with the forgiveness of sins.
Ultimately, she sings it in
preparation for that Day when the whole heavenly host will be united around the
throne of the Lamb. You are the king of
glory, O Christ; You are the
everlasting Son of the Father. When
You took upon Yourself to deliver man, You
humbled Yourself to be born of a Virgin. When You had overcome the sharpness of death, You opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. On that Day,
John and the goodly fellowship of
prophets will rise up, along with the
glorious company of the apostles, and with you too, baptized saints of God.
All joined and living forever with Your Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, and singing
a joyful and everlasting Alleluia.
In the Holy Name of Jesus –
Trinity Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, IA
Iowa District East Worship Workshop
August 29, 2015
