Quinquagesima 2004

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Quinquagesima (February 22, 2004)
Luke 18:31-43
On the Baptism of Tyler Robert Yee

TITLE: “Faith, Hope and Love in Blind Bartemaus”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is the story of the beggar on the road from Luke chapter eighteen.

I’ve often wondered about St. Paul’s great chapter on love, particularly his statement in verse 13, And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. How is it that Saint Paul can pit love against faith and hope? Don’t the three work together seamlessly as one unit? And how can love be greater than faith, when St. Paul repeatedly proclaims that we are saved by faith alone. What could be more important than faith?

Jesus explains St. Paul to us this morning in the story of blind Bartemaus along the road to Jericho. Bartemaus is a beggar. He has nothing to offer anyone, nothing to give or contribute toward his health and well-being. He apparently, though, has two things: faith and hope. He has faith in Christ, and hope that Christ will heal him of his blindness.

Now both faith and hope have something in common: an object. Faith requires an object. You have to have faith in something or someone, otherwise it’s not faith. And the important part about faith is not finally how strong your faith is, but whether the object of your faith can do what you want it to do.

The same is true for hope. You hope for the future, for some event that is coming. Now you can hope in vain for something. I could mention the Cubs in the World Series, for example. But hope is only as strong as the object for which you are hoping.

Bartemaus understands this, and so he places his faith in Christ the Son of God and hopes that the Son of God will heal him of his sight. Now we’ll get back to Bartemaus, because we need to talk about you and me for a minute.

Where you and I fall down and fail when it comes to faith and hope is not so much a question of how strong your faith or hope is, but in the object. Your life is a wreck and your family is a mess, and you are sometimes bitter and tired. Why? Because you have placed your faith in the goodness of man. What were my kids thinking? Or Why do my parents act that way? Or even closer to home, why did I do that? What is your mistake? Your mistake is that there is one part of you that foolishly, against everything the Scripture teaches, believes that because they’re human, or because they or you have some vague sense of religion, that they or you won’t mess up. And when it happens, and it happens over and over again, it is a shock to you. How can this be? I did everything right. How can my life go so very wrong? Ask yourself the question: where do I place my trust?

Now let’s get back to our blind beggar. He knows where to place his trust, and it is firmly in Jesus Christ. He has great hope for what Jesus can do for him. Jesus asks him the question, what do you want me to do for you? And he answers, Lord, that I would receive my sight. It’s very clear, very simple what he needs, who can do it for him, and his faith is firmly in the hands of Jesus Christ our Lord. But he lacks one thing, the key element that ties it all together and gives life for faith and hope. He lacks love.

How can this be? It’s very simple. You don’t receive love, in and of itself. It isn’t bottled. You can’t buy it or sell it. Love is something you receive from outside of you, by someone else giving you what you need. How do you love your wife? You love your wife by taking care of her, buying her flowers or helping with the dishes or taking out the trash or whatever it may be that you know would make her happy. Love is goodwill in action.

Now think about that for just a minute when we hear St. John’s words that God is love. God is goodwill in action. St. John puts it this way, In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:10). God’s love for you takes flesh and blood in Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ, the love of God in the world, gives you His very life to demonstrate God’s love for you.

That is what you need more than anything else in the world. You don’t need your problems of this life solved. When your current problem goes away there will be another. You don’t need better children or better parents. You don’t need money or time or freedom or even happiness as you think. All of these things fade away and are gone.

But the love of God in Christ Jesus endures forever. It is that love of God which sustains your hurting soul. It is that love of God which was poured out on the cross of Calvary. It is that love of God which came to Tyler this morning in the waters of Holy Baptism. And it is that love of God which is poured out for you this day in the Cup of Salvation we call the Lord’s Supper. For there God’s love takes on flesh and blood. How do you know God loves you? How do you know? You know because He gives you Himself in His Sacrament. That is where God’s love finds you.

Jesus healed the blind man of his blindness, but this day He gives you a gift far greater than just physical sight. Today he gives you His love, which will sustain you and hold you together in this life and to the next. That love of God pours into your heart and soul. It is a gift like no other. And that is the answer to the question I asked you before, where do you put your trust? Trust Christ and His Word of forgiveness and life. Don’t trust in yourself; you are weak and sinful. Don’t trust in the goodness of man or some other such nonsense; that will fail. Trust Christ. He demonstrates that you can trust Him, by laying down His very life for you on the cross.

We begin our journey with Christ to the cross this coming Ash Wednesday. This blind beggar shows all of us beggars that when we beg at Christ’s feet, He will always come through for us. Come on the journey of salvation. You will never be the same again. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.

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Main Menu Sitemap Recent Home Beliefs Liturgy and Preaching Parish Education Articles History Links Contact Pastor * Pastor's Blog Calendar Directions Photobook This Section Quinquagesima 2004 Quinquagesima 2003 Quinquagesima - 2002 Quinquagesima - 2001	Quinquagesima 2004 Todd A. Peperkorn, STM Messiah Lutheran Church Kenosha, Wisconsin Quinquagesima (February 22, 2004) Luke 18:31-43 On the Baptism of Tyler Robert Yee TITLE: “Faith, Hope and Love in Blind Bartemaus” Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is the story of the beggar on the road from Luke chapter eighteen. I’ve often wondered about St. Paul’s great chapter on love, particularly his statement in verse 13, And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. How is it that Saint Paul can pit love against faith and hope? Don’t the three work together seamlessly as one unit? And how can love be greater than faith, when St. Paul repeatedly proclaims that we are saved by faith alone. What could be more important than faith? Jesus explains St. Paul to us this morning in the story of blind Bartemaus along the road to Jericho. Bartemaus is a beggar. He has nothing to offer anyone, nothing to give or contribute toward his health and well-being. He apparently, though, has two things: faith and hope. He has faith in Christ, and hope that Christ will heal him of his blindness. Now both faith and hope have something in common: an object. Faith requires an object. You have to have faith in something or someone, otherwise it’s not faith. And the important part about faith is not finally how strong your faith is, but whether the object of your faith can do what you want it to do. The same is true for hope. You hope for the future, for some event that is coming. Now you can hope in vain for something. I could mention the Cubs in the World Series, for example. But hope is only as strong as the object for which you are hoping. Bartemaus understands this, and so he places his faith in Christ the Son of God and hopes that the Son of God will heal him of his sight. Now we’ll get back to Bartemaus, because we need to talk about you and me for a minute. Where you and I fall down and fail when it comes to faith and hope is not so much a question of how strong your faith or hope is, but in the object. Your life is a wreck and your family is a mess, and you are sometimes bitter and tired. Why? Because you have placed your faith in the goodness of man. What were my kids thinking? Or Why do my parents act that way? Or even closer to home, why did I do that? What is your mistake? Your mistake is that there is one part of you that foolishly, against everything the Scripture teaches, believes that because they’re human, or because they or you have some vague sense of religion, that they or you won’t mess up. And when it happens, and it happens over and over again, it is a shock to you. How can this be? I did everything right. How can my life go so very wrong? Ask yourself the question: where do I place my trust? Now let’s get back to our blind beggar. He knows where to place his trust, and it is firmly in Jesus Christ. He has great hope for what Jesus can do for him. Jesus asks him the question, what do you want me to do for you? And he answers, Lord, that I would receive my sight. It’s very clear, very simple what he needs, who can do it for him, and his faith is firmly in the hands of Jesus Christ our Lord. But he lacks one thing, the key element that ties it all together and gives life for faith and hope. He lacks love. How can this be? It’s very simple. You don’t receive love, in and of itself. It isn’t bottled. You can’t buy it or sell it. Love is something you receive from outside of you, by someone else giving you what you need. How do you love your wife? You love your wife by taking care of her, buying her flowers or helping with the dishes or taking out the trash or whatever it may be that you know would make her happy. Love is goodwill in action. Now think about that for just a minute when we hear St. John’s words that God is love. God is goodwill in action. St. John puts it this way, In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:10). God’s love for you takes flesh and blood in Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ, the love of God in the world, gives you His very life to demonstrate God’s love for you. That is what you need more than anything else in the world. You don’t need your problems of this life solved. When your current problem goes away there will be another. You don’t need better children or better parents. You don’t need money or time or freedom or even happiness as you think. All of these things fade away and are gone. But the love of God in Christ Jesus endures forever. It is that love of God which sustains your hurting soul. It is that love of God which was poured out on the cross of Calvary. It is that love of God which came to Tyler this morning in the waters of Holy Baptism. And it is that love of God which is poured out for you this day in the Cup of Salvation we call the Lord’s Supper. For there God’s love takes on flesh and blood. How do you know God loves you? How do you know? You know because He gives you Himself in His Sacrament. That is where God’s love finds you. Jesus healed the blind man of his blindness, but this day He gives you a gift far greater than just physical sight. Today he gives you His love, which will sustain you and hold you together in this life and to the next. That love of God pours into your heart and soul. It is a gift like no other. And that is the answer to the question I asked you before, where do you put your trust? Trust Christ and His Word of forgiveness and life. Don’t trust in yourself; you are weak and sinful. Don’t trust in the goodness of man or some other such nonsense; that will fail. Trust Christ. He demonstrates that you can trust Him, by laying down His very life for you on the cross. We begin our journey with Christ to the cross this coming Ash Wednesday. This blind beggar shows all of us beggars that when we beg at Christ’s feet, He will always come through for us. Come on the journey of salvation. You will never be the same again. Amen. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.
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TITLE: “Faith, Hope and Love in Blind Bartemaus”