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THE SUNDAY BEFORE LENT – QUINQUAGESIMAFebruary 11, 2024Pastor Tom SteersChrist the Saviour Lutheran Church, TorontoOur Opening Hymn: 685 “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v24_el_c2aYLutheran Service BookThe Invocation Confession and Absolution Page 184-185The IntroitPsalm 31: 1, 5, 9, 16; antiphon: verses 2b-3Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me.In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me. The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy)Lord Have mercy upon us.Christ have mercy upon us.Lord Have mercy upon us.Our Collect Prayer: O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers and having set us free from the bonds of our sins deliver us from every evil; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.Our Bible Readings:Old Testament Isaiah 35:3-7 Psalm 146 (antiphon: verse 2) Epistle Reading 1st Corinthians 13:1-13 Gospel Reading Luke 18:31-43THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192 HYMN OF THE DAY: 861 “Christ Be My Leader” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJk-yJJUQrc SERMON –Christ tells the disciples, ‘I am going up to Jerusalem and the cross, I will die and rise again.’He gives the twelve a detailed foretelling of His passion, and resurrection.This is the third and final prediction of the crucifixion in Luke’s Gospel.Each description was more explicit.Jesus never loses sight of His mission, but the disciples don’t understand.At this point, they simply don’t get it.Our Gospel text for today is a comparison between the disciples of Jesus and a physically blind man Christ healed on the road to Jericho. The question is, who was more blind? The answer: the disciples by their spiritual inability to see. The Church across the centuries has joined these two accounts together as the Gospel for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. The reason? They both address the same thought, but from different perspectives: only Jesus saves, and only Jesus gives sight.Salvation comes through faith in Christ, alone.The benefits of that salvation flow from His merciful presence among fallen creatures who are blind to the new creation unless He opens their eyes. The twelve disciples were pious Jews. They knew what was written about the Son of Man by the prophets.They should have understood what Christ came to do. So, when Jesus explained that He must suffer many things, die, and on the third day rise again, they could have expected it.Instead, our Bible text states, “This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.”They were spiritually blind to the words of Christ.They can’t see who Jesus is even when they’re told.Remember, these men had been with Christ for three years. He chose them as His followers, taught them personally. If the twelve didn’t understand, what hope is there for us?We like to think we have a firm grasp on spiritual matters, now that we’ve come to faith. Yet we have a sinful old Adam and Eve in us that is as blind as ever.We are, by nature, born spiritually blind.But today we have Holy Scripture, which is a clear light.This Word, the Bible, reveals all we need to know for salvation. And we have the Holy Spirit.Sometimes, we seem to see clearly. Even then, we should admit it’s not our own spiritual sight.The Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Cointhians:“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.(1st Corinthians 2:9-10)Only the Bible contains writings taught not by human wisdom, but by the Spirit of God. (1st Corinthians 2:13) Yet the old Adam within us whispers, “Trust your feelings. You can rely on your own instincts and wisdom to show you the truth.”None of us completely escapes this little voice, because the inherited sinful nature is in all of us. When we trust our feelings, we make mistakes. The crowd who tried to prevent the blind beggar from approaching Christ probably thought they were doing Jesus a favour. So, they rebuked, and tried to silence the poor man.But the man still cried out the Messianic title, “Jesus, Son of David.”The man is an image of humanity, afflicted by satan, affected by sin.Yet Jesus showed them He desired to give this man his sight. Not because of his works, nor his merits, but because of his faith.His faith in the Word of God that promised the long-awaited Messiah.In this miraculous healing, Jesus showed His compassion for all who are blind and broken in this sinful world. But Christ also shows that He desires we receive spiritual sight. Through the true Church, Jesus keeps preaching His saving message.He declares what He has done, and continues to do. He tells how He willingly laid down His life to be killed as a shameful criminal, although He was innocent and without sin.He explains how He took our sins upon Himself to the cross. And He proclaims how He rose on the third day so believers could be reconciled to our Holy God.To the natural mind this message is as incomprehensible, as it was to the disciples 2,000 years ago. On our own, we can’t understand what Christ did, or why. So, Jesus explains: I did this all for you. For your sins I was punished, and for your life, I died to save you from eternal death. I rose to show you your resurrection, through Me.No one can grasp this on their own. But now we have the Holy Spirit, sent by Christ, to open our spiritually blind eyes. In His Cross, we see God’s love and mercy.So, a man receives his sight from the One who is the true light, and giver of life.The light came into the world to give sight to the blind, and faith to those who lack it.So, we can believe the Word of God with trustful hearts. So that we recognize our promised Redeemer. We are mighty sinners, but Christ is a mightier Saviour. The Spirit leads us to not be ashamed of begging before Christ.To be completely dependent on Him.For lasting hope, and peace.“We are all beggars, this is true.”The last thing Martin Luther wrote before he died was,“We are all beggars, this is true.”And it is from Luther and His translation of the Bible that we have a crucial insight.According to the Reformer’s translation of the original Greek, Jesus tells the anonymous blind man, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” According to most other translations, Jesus says, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.”The Greek word here, σεσωκεν [sozo], can be understood either way depending on the context. In Matthew 8:25 the disciples cry out in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Lord, save us using this word.Perhaps it’s best to say it comprehends and encompasses both meanings. And that is a point I would like us to take home today.Both saving and spiritual healing are to be received by faith, in Christ, that the Holy Spirit works within us.The Spirit does this using God’s means of grace – His Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.The Spirit also helps us in times of trouble and crisis.The Comforter tells us not to lose hope when facing trials.Not to be discouraged when others try to silence us, disparage our faith, or prevent us from receiving God’s gifts. The Spirit turns our eyes to look upon the One who fills our greatest need – forgiveness and salvation. Instead of falling into the abyss of death and hell, Christ has offered you Paradise and eternal life.So, we continue to cry out to Him, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!” He is the One who rescues. He is the only Saviour of the world.Amen.PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 AGNUS DEI (Lamb of God) Hymn 962 Post Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201 CLOSING HYMN 923 “Almighty Father, Bless the Word”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJu3-_3wFYM