Sermon for June 15th

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Jesus gave his twelve disciples authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. Then, he gave them instructions to actually go out and do it. And we say, good for them. But do we still have to deal with things like that? At Saint Peters? In Northwest Connecticut? In the year 2008? In other words, is there still a need to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons.” Do we even expect those things to happen? Is it still essential to do this when we have doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists? And even if there is a need, do we really have the abilities, the call, the knowledge, the power and the authority to do any of these things?

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” The first question to ask is, do we still have to deal with these things? Yes. I assume that we can all agree on the relevance of at least the first three. People still get sick, people still die, there are still diseases including leprosy that we have to deal with. But as for casting out demons? I am sure that there is much disagreement in the room about whether we still have to deal with that. But I hope that you realize that it is exactly on this point where the power of this passage stands or falls. To put it quite simply, if Jesus is just some religious nutcase, out of touch, or scientifically ignorant about what he calls “casting out demons”, then it is difficult to believe anything else he is talking about either. In other words, if Jesus can’t cast out a demon, or if there were never demons to cast out, how can we really believe that he could cure diseases or raise the dead. They are all about as likely.

Perhaps you have heard the following quote before, “The greatest lie the Devil ever told was that he didn’t exist.” Take a moment to consider that statement. “The greatest lie the Devil ever told was that he didn’t exist.” And yet, as my advisor at seminary, who was also the president of Luther Seminary at the time, as he told me once, “I don’t believe in the Devil. I believe in Jesus Christ who has defeated the Devil for me.” In other words, while it is important to know that there is indeed an evil enemy you are in combat with, it is even more important to know where to turn in order to defeat that enemy. That is finally, in fact, what Jesus is speaking about in the gospel today. Where can you turn to deal with sickness, death, disease and demons when they affect you in your daily life?

In my life, I have dealt primarily with two groups of people when it came to talking about the phrase “casting out demons”. I hope that you will find these two groups familiar from experience in your own life.

The first group considers evil spirits to be an antiquated and uncivilized labeling of psychological maladies. For instance, in my first “pastoral care” class, the teacher read about a time when King David was said to have a spirit in him that made him sad. She explained that nowadays we would probably just call him depressed and get him on some medication. In the New Testament, there was a little girl who had seizures and would foam at the mouth. Jesus cast an evil spirit out of her, but my teacher explained that she probably just had epilepsy. At the end of class, it seemed clear that, as a pastor, there was very little I could do for these people. I could only send them off to a hospital or psychiatrist while praying that God would find a way to help them someday. .

The second group of people I have seen or dealt with talked about life in a very different way than I did. Many times I have watched this group of people on T.V. For them, every event in life is being affected by either angels or evil spirits. If they almost get in a car accident, their guardian angel must have been watching out for them. If congress passes a particular law they disagree with in Washington, they might maintain that the Devil has gained a foothold in some government official. Every hurricane and earthquake is a sign of Christ’s second coming. What do I get out of these conversations? I should be a better Christian. I must do more, speak out, fight against temptation, accept Jesus into my heart, get ready for Armageddon and call my congressman. Everything, finally, is left in my hands. I’ve got to constantly be on guard against the Devil.

It is easy to think and worry about demons and evil spirits all the time. It is also easy to believe that they have never existed in the first place. If you focus on them too much, you can become anxious and fearful, on the other hand, ignoring their existence can lead to anxiety and fear as well. Jesus does not call us to be a part of either of these two groups I just mentioned, but instead calls us to himself where there is finally peace. We cannot take Christ’s power away from him and place it in science alone, nor can we take Christ’s power away and put it in our own hands.

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Jesus gave his twelve disciples the authority to deal with suffering whether it came from evil spirits, from sin, or from germs. The most important point to realize is that the power and the authority comes from Jesus alone. By themselves, the disciples have absolutely nothing to deal with sin, death and the devil. It is the power of God that heals. His power that casts out. His power to cleanse. His power to raise. His power to cure.

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Jesus not only has the power to give eternal life through the forgiveness of sins, but here, he is also pointing out that he has the power to sustain life. And just like his gives us the ability to forgive sins in his name, he also gives us the ability to sustain life in his name. Either way, the power, the ability and the authority comes from God, but he finds a way to get people forgiven, healed and at peace by using your hands, your feet and your mouths.

Martin Luther called Christians a “priesthood of all believers.” A priest isn’t a special kind of a person, but they do know something very important: you know who to look to guidance, who to pray to and on whose authority you speak. What I want to impress upon you is that you do have the authority to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons” because, and this is very important, because you know who is really doing it. You know who really has the power to do it. You know who is in charge of healing and sustaining life. You are just the tool God uses to do it.

My goal in telling you all this is to give you faith. Faith to believe that Jesus alone has power over all these things and you can look to him for healing and deliverance whenever you come in contact with sickness, death, disease and demons. This is true when you are praying for healing with people on your own. This is true when you are taking them to a doctor’s appointment. This is true when you are admit someone into a psych ward. This is true when you are sitting with a loved one on their death bed. This is true if you are the one needing help. You may trust that Jesus is loving enough to heal, able to heal, faithful to heal and wise enough to know when and how to heal.

But, before you leave today, I need to do one more thing. I need to equip you to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons.” Even if you know that there is suffering and are called on to do something about it in Jesus’ name, you might not have a clue how to do it. So let me give you a few ideas.

First, listen to people. Listen to their pain and listen to their hopes. Just listen to them even if you don’t like what you are hearing. And while you are listening to them with one ear, listen to God with your other ear to see if you are encouraged to pray with them.

Second, pray with people. Even if you think it might not make a difference and even if you don’t know what to say. God has promised to listen to your prayers just as a loving Father listens to his child. You can demand a hearing from God knowing that it is always his will to heal and to deliver people from evil even if the healing looks different than we expect. Ask to pray with them. If you want, you might even ask to hold their hand or touch their shoulder. Let them know you care for them just like God cares for them.

Take as much time as you would like to pray. Sometimes your prayer might be short and to the point, at other times it might take longer than you expect. There is no reason to heap up empty phrases just to sound like you know what you are doing, but if you think of something else to pray for, or just want to be silent for a little while, go ahead and take the time.

Finally, leave healing in God’s hands. Perhaps your prayer will have already been answered as soon as you open your eyes. Maybe it will happen days later. Maybe years later. Maybe you’ll never know, but, finally, you are not responsible to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons,” God is responsible and you are only doing what you have been asked to do. The authority comes from God and the power is God’s alone.

When you hear that your sins are forgiven, you can be assured that God himself has promised you eternal life. When God heals you or delivers you from evil, you can only be assured of a longer or fuller life. However, both are important, one for this life now and one for eternal life.

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons.” There is a lot of suffering in this world, God knows that we go through much each and every day. But as a member of God’s family, you know where to look for healing and deliverance while many others do not know where to place their hope. So listen to people. Pray with them. And leave the healing and deliverance in God’s hands. Amen.