Wednesday of Trinity 17

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many people believed Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God (John 12:42-43).

Dear friends in Christ, how many of us know this exact feeling! We believe the truth, know what is good and right, and yet the weakness of our flesh causes us to act in fear and cowardice. We have opportunity to speak of Christ before friends or coworkers, but we are paralyzed by the fear of what they will think of us. We are at a family get together, and we would rather not be known as the “religious nut”, so we keep our mouth shut when the discussion becomes antagonistic toward Christianity.

We can sympathize with the behavior of the rulers mentioned at the end of today’s Gospel. Their reaction is understandable, for the Pharisees had significant influence in the religious sphere. And because of the first-century integration of religion and politics, the Pharisees also had significant social influence. To be put out of the synagogue was to become a religious and social outcast. We don’t have an exact parallel in our day because of the separation of church and state. But imagine becoming a complete social and religious outcast—You have no friends, nowhere where people will welcome you. Everyone avoids you when you leave your house. You are completely rejected by society and your church. This was the risk of truly believing in Christ. And for these rulers, the risk simply wasn’t worth it. They would believe in their heart, but they were not willing to confess Christ with their mouth. They were hypocrites whose belief went no further than the belief of the demons.

Dear friends in Christ, this is the stumbling stone and the rock of offense of which St. Paul speaks when citing the prophet Isaiah. Belief in Christ—true belief in Christ—is not merely an intellectual exercise. It involves willingness to sacrifice in this life for the sake of Christ.

At the heart of it all is the insidious sin of pride which needs to be fed by the praise of men. If our pride is not fed by the praise of others, it will starve…and we would be better for it if our pride did starve and humility grew in its place. But human pride will not go down without a fight! It always wants to be on top, always wants to be well-thought-of. It never allows us to consider what will happen if we let ourselves be humbled, which, in the end, would be better for us. Pride fears humility and will seek to avoid it at all costs.

But the truth of the Gospel is this: If you do not receive the praise of men, what’s the big deal? Man does not live on the praise of men; he lives on the grace of God. Being in right standing before others cannot provide peace, wholeness, and well-being. Being right with God—that is, having the righteousness of faith—however is the only source of true peace.

When we seek a life of meaning through human works, and when we prefer the praise of men above all other things, we are just like ancient Israel. We will not achieve the peace and wholeness that we seek because we do not seek it by faith. This is the stumbling stone and the rock of offense.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Romans 10:4). This means that peace, wholeness, and acceptance cannot be found by human works. Only Christ can grant the praise and the wholeness that we seek.

And so, dear friends in Christ, let us set aside our cowardice and our pride. Let us rejoice in the pride-destroying confession that we join together in speaking when we gather. Let us embrace the truth that we are poor, miserable sinners who continue to sin in thought, word, and deed. But the Almighty God has had mercy upon us and has given His only Son to die for us and for His sake forgives us all our sins. It is through this humility of confession and the gift of grace given in the absolution, and indeed in the Sacrament of which we will soon partake, that Christ is at work to kill our sinful pride and to grow within us the seed of faith.

So, let us not be weighed down by our many sins and failures of faith. Let us believe Christ’s word. And let us rejoice that He who has gone to the cross for our forgiveness gives us the strength to both believe with our hearts and to confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.