Dear Faith Lutheran Church and School,
The devil is constantly attacking the human race. He tramples the church and the testimony of Christ in the mud. He lies incessantly. And the hearts of men believe him.
For as the prophet Jeremiah reminds us,
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
Most of us can see this sickness at work in our world. We see it in those who commit and celebrate acts of violence and murder, from all too frequent church and school shootings to the murders of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, NC subway; and the murder of Charlie Kirk in front of a crowd that included his own wife and children. And we see it in those who are committed to abortion and to the propagation of various forms of LGBTQ+ gender and sexual ideology.
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
We can see this sickness at work in others; but what about in ourselves? Where and how are our own hearts manifesting deceit and sickness? Perhaps it’s in our love for money or possessions. Maybe it’s showing up in our unwillingness to give up our time for the sake of others. It could be in our devotion to sports. Or maybe we find it in the form of bitterness and a resistance to give and receive forgiveness.
So Jeremiah asks the question: Who can understand the deceitful and sick heart of man?
And Paul echoes this in Romans 7:24, when he asks, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
The answer is both cases is, Jesus. Jesus understands temptation and the weakness of our flesh. He experienced these, but never succumbed to them. Instead, like an expert surgeon of the soul, our Lord went to work to heal us. In Baptism, he put to death our sin, drowning it. There also, He raises us to new life with Him. At the font we are connected to the death and resurrection of our Savior, who understands exactly what is wrong with us. Not only does He know what’s wrong with us, but He also understands exactly what must be done to save wretched sinners from this body of death. To do this, He gave His own body into death on the cross. His flesh was given for the life of the world.
Who can understand the deceitful and sick heart of man? Jesus understands
Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
Jesus has delivered us from this body of death into life.
It is for this reason that our mission at Faith is to connect people to Jesus. That’s what we do. And we do it all the more urgently when we see the state our world is in.
God grant us the wisdom and help to stand firm in this one true faith and to boldly connect others to Jesus. Amen!
The Peace of Christ be with you all,
Pastor Shaun