Does Anything Amaze You Anymore?

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God, our Father and our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ, Amen. Our text is a portion of the Gospel reading where we read in verse 37 that "they were astonished beyond measure, saying He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." Is there anything that amazes you anymore? Is there anything that amazes you? Our young people, a moment ago, when they were asked that question had a hard time answering. Or maybe, they were answering in that they just aren't amazed by anything.

And I suppose there's a part of me that really isn't amazed by much in our world, either. But I remember as a child watching Saturday morning cartoons, and one of those cartoons was The Jetsons. George Jetson, and his wife Jane, daughter Judy and son Alroy. And in The Jetsons, they had a treadmill in the house. They had a robot in the house. They even had a box that the robot would put stuff in, punch a bunch of buttons, and when the bell rang, she'd take it our and she'd put it on the table. And I thought, wow, wouldn't it be neat to have a robot someday? Or to have that box to put something in, and then a meal comes out. And lo and behold - even at that age, I didn't care for the treadmill. But now, there are many that have treadmills in their own homes. Many have robots. Now, you might say, well Pastor... But if you've got one of those little round things that scoots around on your floor at your home and sweeps up after you, you have a robot.

And I think almost all of us have that box that we put something in and we punch some buttons, and when the bell rings, we take it out and we put it on the table. We call it a microwave oven. And I don't know about you, but I was pretty amazed when my grandma - the first one in our family to get a microwave. And we really weren't sure if it was even safe. Or that the food coming out of it would be hot. Later on, we realized you don't want to put plastic in there, cuz it melts.

But those things amazed us. Many of us witnessed a man walking on the moon, and that was amazing. We'd sit glued to our TV, watching the rockets launch. And then after awhile, it didn't become so amazing. Now, after many years, rockets are being launched, and maybe we take a little interest in it.

Technology is amazing. I'm not a Trekkie, but I'd watch Star Trek and I'd look at those little communicators, and I thought, wow, they can talk to anybody. At the time, we were still on a party-line, they didn't have to wait for the other party to get off the party line, you could just make your call. And you could be anywhere. You didn't have to be connected to a telephone wire.

And lo and behold, my first cell phone was a Motorola flip phone that looked pretty much like one of those communicators. And in fact - not in the presence of anybody else - but when I was alone, I kind of flipped it to see if that thing would flip. Unfortunately, it just kind of slipped out of my hand. But those things amazed us.

I suppose there are things that amaze us. Technology is wonderful, but it isn't always a guarantee of working properly, and if you were here last Sunday, you saw the failure of technology, and I'll take the blame for that because it looked really good on my computer screen and sounded really good on my computer screen, but when it got magnified on the big screen and amplified, it just didn't come out very good. So I'm sorry for that.

But we live in a world where maybe we just aren't amazed. Maybe we've just grown dull and blunt to the things around us. And yet, we live in a world in which there are lots of people that are hurting. People affected by wildfires. Floods. Hurricanes. Wednesday, New York hadn't been flooded yet, but now New York's been flooded. Philadelphia. Not to mention the damage from the hurricane itself down in the south. But then, all those regions where it went through. And people are hurting because they've lost home. They've lost loved ones. They've lost businesses. People are hurting.

There are people hurting because they've had to leave their country and come to a different country. Leaving behind everything, for many of them. There are people hurting because they see what appears to be a failure of leadership in our country.

But there's also hurt right here in our sanctuary, isn't there? People are hurting because they're grieving loved ones. People are hurting over the whole COVID, mask, vaccine, the whole works. I just talked to a friend this weekend down in Illinois, and down there, the governor mandated everybody's got to wear a mask in church, we're all back to square one, sort of. And people are hurt, because relationships have been hurt about that. Now suddenly, we're at odds with people we used to get along with. There are people hurting because a pastor they loved is no longer serving here.

And people are hurting because some of the people that they used to see in the sanctuary are now not in the sanctuary. They're at home. Because of technology, they can be home. But guess what? They could not be watching us. They could be watching - heaven forbid - somebody else. But that's not how God planned the church to be. He planned for us to be communal. To be able to help and encourage and empower and comfort those around us who are hurting.

In our text, I'll skip over Jesus going up north. But a woman comes. Jesus just wants to get away. Some people, this is the last chance to get away, and they don't want to be bothered. Imagine Jesus wanting to get away and not be bothered. And this woman comes. Heal my daughter. Drive out the demon. Then, He goes to another place, and right away, they come with a deaf man who has a speech impediment, and they want Jesus to heal him. We're only, like, in the seventh chapter of Mark's gospel. And maybe, go back to the first chapter and read through to the seventh chapter, and you'll find out that there's an awful lot of people coming, looking for Jesus for Him to do something for them.

And they're amazed by it. That He could raise someone from the dead. Or restore sight. Or here with this man, restore his hearing and clear up his speech. They're amazed. And Jesus says "Don't tell a word to anybody." Don't tell a word to anybody.

How many of you have ever told somebody "don't tell anybody about this"? It doesn't have to be something bad either. I mean, it's like you bought somebody a gift and it's supposed to be a surprise, or you're throwing a surprise party. And then suddenly, it gets blurted out. Maybe sometimes accidentally. Like oh, did you know so-in-so likes such-in-such? That was supposed to be between us. You weren't supposed to tell anybody that, especially not that person.

And I don't think Jesus is using Reverse Psychology by telling the people not to say anything. You knows what they're going to go blab. I think I can use the word "blab." You know what I mean when I say blab? Spread the news around. But what are they doing? All they're doing is spreading the news that Jesus raise somebody from the dead. He restored sight, He restored a lame person, He gave back hearing, you know, all those, just all these amazing things that He was doing. And that word that's translated "deaf," it can also be translated "blunt." Now, not like blunt in telling it like it is, but blunt as in not sharp. Or dull. And what can possibly amaze us, or surprise us in the world in which we live?

Since Wednesday, now, there's a case in Texas, or a law in Texas. No abortion after 6 weeks. This morning, I saw on the news, a rather prominent actress protesting against that law and her wisdom, her words of advice were to women, don't have sex with a man until they repeal that law. And I thought, well, if they'd follow that advice in the first place, there wouldn't be a need for that wall. But anyways. But those same people, they'll say, well you shouldn't do this, but you should do this. And that you should be vaccinated. You should wear a mask. I'm not going to go political on that, but you hear it from both sides. We don't know who to believe, who to trust.

All kinds of strange things being taught in our world. Young people struggling with their identity, and somebody, they're pushing well, if you're not really sure, here, try the other way. And then, they end up realizing, now what do I do? That wasn't the right thing. And for them, the answer is suicide. And suicide is never an answer or a solution to a problem. All it does is produce more problems.

But now, there are people hurting because those checks aren't going to be coming anymore. And inflation is going up, and pretty soon, there will be conflicts at home between how do we spend our money? Or how we going to make ends meet? And some will say, well I just can't bear this anymore. That's not what I signed on for. And they'll say well, let's get divorced. And believe me, divorce is not a solution to a problem. All it does is produce more problems, more hurts. Don't believe that? Talk to any one of your friends or family who have been through a divorce.

People are hurting. Not to say that that woman with a demon-possessed child wasn't hurting, or that that man with the deaf ears and the mute tongue wasn't suffering. But is that really why Jesus came? Before He heals the man, we're told that Jesus sighed. Jesus sighed. *sighs*

Now, sometimes, that sigh is good. Physiologically speaking, we have little alveoli in the bottom of our lungs, and most of the time, they go without air until we take in a deep sigh. And then they're filled up, and that's a good thing because otherwise physiologically, we have problems with those little alveoli down there in our bottom of our lungs. But sometimes we sigh, why? Because we're frustrated. We're exasperated. We're in despair.

*Sigh* There we go, again.

And Jesus sighs. And the whole week, that's been bothering me. Jesus sighed. Why would Jesus sigh? He's certainly not in despair. But I bet He's frustrated. Cuz like I said, you read up to this point in Mark: everybody's asking for Him to do something. Poor fella doesn't even have a chance to get away on His own. And we see Him step in and take care of it. But that's not why Jesus came. And unfortunately, a lot of people in our world, even believers, have this idea that Jesus is just the answer to all our problems.

They were astounded that He healed a man. We get astounded too, don't we, when a prayer is answered, and there's healing for the person that's healed. Or provision for the person who's cried out for provision, or guidance given for those who cry out for guidance. But Jesus is not the call center. You know, whenever you have a problem, they give you an 800 number to call.

Have you ever wondered if those people in the Gospels that are amazed that what Jesus has done, are they amazed by seeing the Son of God hanging from a cross? For that matter, are we amazed at seeing the Son of God hang on a cross for us? Are we amazed that He steps out of an open tomb three days later, just like He promised? Are we amazed that He ascended to Heaven?

Or are we dull to it? We've become dull to the world around us. And that's dulled us to God's word. But guess what? God's word is not dull. God's word is sharp. Sharper than any two-edged sword, able to divide between bones and sinews.

Isn't it nice if they have already cut-up and boned-out chicken? And pork? Isn't that wonderful? I really love that. Because if it weren't available, I'd have to do it. And I know I'd certainly make a mess of it. But if you had to, what is the worst thing you could possibly have? It's a danger to yourself if you have one. I've got proof on my hand. It's not very big, but there's proof of it. A dull knife. A dull knife. Can hurt yourself, could kill yourself with a dull knife. And we can just as easily be killed spiritually by a dulled heart, soul, ears to God's word.

But it's sharp. It penetrates. It points out our sin, our failings, like James. You can do everything in the law, but if you fail in one point, you're guilty of it all. Some of you are serving or have served in the military. You have that inspection, and you put everything, I mean your boots are shiny. Your bed is made nice and taught, so the quarter will bounce, or whatever the coin they use. And you thought you've dusted everything, and then the fellow comes by with his white glove. And there's a one speck of dust.

He's going to tear everything apart. Isn't he? Cuz you're messed up with that one little spot of dust that settled after you cleaned everything up. That's us with God. And the fact that He sends His Son into the world, not purely to be a miracle worker, but to be our Savior. And we don't even need to be a horrible, terrible sinner like Robert Newton. I mean, he was bad. He was sinful. I mean, he was a sinner of sinners, a slave trader. A womanizer, a drunkard. I mean, he was as about as low on the rung of sinners as you could possibly get. Or on top of the rung, whichever way you want to look at it.

But one day, he realized that God's love for him was so great that He sent Jesus, His own son into the world to stand in his place to share that righteousness, holiness, purity of Himself, and exchange it for Robert's sin. Dirt. Filth. And that He did that on the cross, and not only for Robert, but for everybody. And that was so amazing to him that he penned a hymn. We like to sing it from time to time, don't we? Amazing Grace. Does God's grace still amaze us? Or have we grown dull to the gospel? Have we grown dull to our need for it? Maybe that's why we hurt. And when we hurt, we hurt others. And yet, the real amazing thing that Jesus does is not giving hearing and speech to this man, but He gives eternal life to those who believe in Him. To those who have been joined by water and the word to His life.

And Jesus tells the people "don't say a word about this." Guess what? Why doesn't He want them to? Cuz He doesn't want to be pestered by more people looking to be healed? Maybe on a purely human level, that may exist in our Lord Jesus. But because that's not the reason to seek Him out. The reason to seek Him is that He brings the Kingdom of God near to us in the word. In the word with the water, in the word with the bread and the wine. In the word dwelling in our hearts richly. With the comfort that we ourselves have received that we, in turn, may comfort others in their time of need.

Jesus even tells the disciples after they see His transfiguration: Do not say a word to anyone, but the time will come that what you see, what you witnessed, I want you to shout it from the rooftops." You see, there is a time for us to be blabbing the good news of Jesus Christ. But the problem is we don't really feel comfortable about sharing that good news about a Savior who dies for the forgiveness of sins and to give eternal life for those who believe in Him.

Now we'd much rather talk about the weather. How much water is in our basement. Or isn't. How many sump pumps we have. Or how many we didn't need. Or sports. Boy, those Badgers really looked bad yesterday, didn't they? And that'll be the talk all week.

But it won't help anybody. It won't comfort anybody. It won't strengthen anybody. It won't encourage anybody. It won't empower anyone. But if we were to share widely the good news of Jesus Christ, that certainly would change lives, wouldn't it? It's changed our lives. It certainly would bring peace and comfort.

Just when I think, there's nothing that will amaze me. I saw it on TV. Maybe you saw it too. This cow that was caught up in the tree because the flood waters had plumped her up in a tree. Now, we're accustomed to seeing cattle and livestock in trees after tornadoes go through. Generally, they're not alive. This cow was very much alive. That was amazing.

But there are lots of amazing things happening in our world. There are amazing things happening here at Immanuel. Oh, there have been some setbacks, and there been some hurts, and there been some concerns, and I understand that, because up until recently, your whole history, you've had your pastor. A pastor of Immanuel, and you don't have that now. I understand that hurt, that pain. Decisions were made that we agree with or we don't agree with it. That causes hurt. But there's also amazing things happening here. You're getting little dribbles, trickles of information about the strategic planning. Believe me, that was amazing. That over a hundred members of Immanuel came together and made themselves vulnerable with one another to share what their hurts were, what their hopes were, what their desires were for their congregation. And then, what was even more amazing, was that a group of 20-some came together and took all of that feedback and distilled it down into what you're receiving: core values, critical targets. More's coming and those are amazing things, because God's at work in them. But what really makes them amazing is that there are ways in which Immanuel shares that good news of Jesus Christ. Not only to a hurting world, but to her hurting members as well.

And now, yet another amazing thing takes place in this gathering, in this sanctuary. The first amazing thing was that your sins were forgiven.

Now, to a world outside, how does one fellow's words, saying "you're forgiven" forgive you all? But we understand God is in those words. God is the one speaking those words. And yet, one more amazing event this morning. God will come to us through the word with the bread and the wine to give us that very body and blood of Jesus Christ. The one who gave Himself on the cross for our sin. The one who lived the holy, spotless, sinless life that we cannot live. Who came out of the grave, making us aware and showing us the hope that one day, we too will come out of our graves. Jesus once said to the people, "You're amazed at this? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascend and descend to heaven from heaven." There, too, Jesus is saying, "Don't pay attention to these things, as great as they are, but there are even greater things."

And in that very body and blood with the bread and the wine that Jesus gives us to strengthen our faith, to sharpen our dullness, and to take in our hands and behold the awesome, amazing body of our Lord, given, broken, shed for the forgiveness of our sins.

I hope that as you leave this morning, first of all, you're thankful as I'm thankful that I'm live and in person this week, but that there are still things that amaze us. Some amaze us in a hurtful, bad way. But yet, God still continues to amaze us with His amazing grace shown to each and every one of us.

And may He keep us in that grace, and in that faith, until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, when the good work that He began in us will come to its completion. Amen. And now may the peace of God, which surpasses our understanding, keep our hearts, and our minds in faith in Christ Jesus on to life everlasting. Amen.