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This Week's Sermon The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany 28 January 2007 "Real Authority" LSB Series C Pastor Philip G. Meyer Soli Deo Gloria!

When you've had a problem with something you had purchased and it didn't fit or work and you had spoken with a clerk, did you ever have occasion to say, "I'd like to speak to someone with a little authority?" You say this because the person to whom you've been speaking can't resolve your problem because he or she has no authority to exchange, fix, or replace the item. You want someone who can actually DO something for you. Jesus' authority is prominent in our Gospel reading today. Luke tells us that the people "were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority." And then Jesus proceeded to demonstrate it by casting out an unclean demon and healing Simon Peter's mother-in-law. The people were amazed because Jesus actually got things done merely by speaking. That kind of authority they had never before seen.

Actually, the word that has been translated as "authority" from the Greek has more nuances than that. It means "the right to act, decide, or dispose of one's property;" the "ability, capability, might, or power to do something;" the "authority, absolute power, or warrant;" it also means "ruling power or official power." All of that is comprehended in that one English word "authority." The root of "authority" is "author," or the "origin." Jesus is the origin of the power to cast out demons and heal the sick, and especially, to forgive sins. Jesus said to his disciples when he ascended to heaven:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Matthew 28:18, ESV)

Clearly the demons recognized who Jesus was and why he had come. "Have you come to destroy us?" they asked. Indeed, this is precisely the reason Jesus had come. He had come to make right everything that Satan had done in causing the Fall of mankind with all its attendant circumstances, like sickness, trouble, and death. All of this is contained in the preaching of the Gospel, the good news. Jesus was sent to "preach the good news of the kingdom of God" by his words and his actions. Even though he preached this and proved it with his miracles, not everybody believed or accepted it, as you heard in last Sunday's Gospel reading. Sometimes his preaching provoked a very hostile reaction.

You all understand that quite well, I think. You've heard it many times. But where is Jesus' authority today? Is there anybody who speaks with Christ's authority? Jesus' authority can be found in Word and Sacrament and in the Office of the Holy Ministry. Here in the Divine Service, in the Word and Sacrament, you hear Jesus speaking to you-really!

The world looks for greater persons than one normally sees. It has always been the problem of the unbelieving world to look for spectacular displays of power. Even when Jesus displayed spectacular power-"miracles" we call them-people still did not believe. Some even attributed his power to the devil!

"Image is everything" was the slogan of Canon cameras a few years ago. Twenty-first century America seems to have proved that slogan! Image is more important than substance, and that becomes an easy thing to do with all of the electronic devices at our disposal. From celebrities to politicians, image is everything and substance counts for very little. Competent individuals will never get elected to public office if they don't have a positive image.

One would think that God would choose only eloquent speakers to convey his authority, but most of the time he doesn't. One my favorite ways of telling how God used his authority through humble means is when he spoke through Balaam's donkey. Here is the account from Numbers 22.

"Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?" And Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you." And the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?" And he said, "No." Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face." (Numbers 22:28-31, ESV)

Humility has always been God's way of doing important things. Jesus was born in all humility and raised in an obscure place. Isaiah has said that he would be a despised and rejected servant. Already in his early ministry we see that people rejected him, even wanting to kill him. Yet, others were impressed by his authority, however humbly it was clothed.

Where is Jesus' authority today? It is in the Office of the Holy Ministry. The men who occupy the Holy Office aren't anything special. They do have certain gifts necessary for the work, but we are all ordinary men. There is no supernatural power given here, as some think. No, it is merely the power conveyed by the Author himself, Christ.

I read about a man who became a pastor. He had a speech impediment, however, and stuttered. His friends said that they were glad that he didn't become a surgeon, not because his hands would shake, but because he might need a clamp during surgery to stop the bleeding and he might say, "Cl - Cl -Cl - Cl - Clamp!" Even behind a stuttering pastor's voice or even in unadorned plain speech would be Christ's authority. The Apostle Paul was one of those persons. He had some kind of thorn in the flesh. Some have suggested that it was a noticeable physical malady, maybe something wrong with his eyes. Paul even admits that he was physically unimpressive and not likely to gain a following, except that he spoke God's Word by God's authority.

Probably no other official act of the pastor is subject to misunderstanding as the Absolution. The pastor says, "I forgive you all your sins . . ." And with some of the people of Jesus' day the objection is immediately heard: "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Luke 5:21, ESV). Those words have been misunderstood and people have taken offense. You Lutherans have heard them all your lives. Others think that we are claiming that our pastors are a notch above the laity, having a special status as priests do in the Roman Church.

People sometimes don't listen to context. They hear only what they want to hear. Every time your pastor speaks those words of forgiveness they are always within this context, these words from the Rite of Individual Confession and Absolution. First, the penitent is asked,

"Do you believe that my forgiveness is God's forgiveness?"
After the penitent answers "Yes," the pastor then speaks a blessing: "Let it be done for you as you believe."
Then the pastor places his hands on the head of the penitent and says:
"In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. [LSB, p. 293]

Those words and the words from the other Absolutions that are spoken all flow from the authority of Christ. In Divine Service 2 the words are very explicit as to the source of this authority:

"As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit" [LSB, p. 167]

I never say to you: "Hi, I'm Phil, and I forgive you in the name of Phil. If anybody says you're not forgiven, tell them Phil forgave you." Those words would have no authority, no power, and your sins wouldn't be forgiven, but because the word of absolution is spoken in the place of and by the authority of Christ, those words really do forgive you all your sins! The pastor speaks only because Christ has commanded him so to speak.

Luther has quite a bit to say on this subject. In part he says:

Therefore do not regard the person, but give ear to what is said. Pay no attention to the speaker. See whether it is God who is speaking and acting through this person. If it is God who is speaking, then submit to Him. When burgher or peasant hears a pastor, he must say: "I do indeed hear and recognize the voice of the pastor. But the words which he utters are not his. No, he would be incapable of them. It is the sublime majesty of God that is speaking through him." Likewise, when a lowly pastor comforts me, then I must be discerning enough to say: "It is not you who is speaking to me. The voice is yours indeed, but it is really God who is speaking through you."¹

The authority belongs to Christ, and if he speaks words of absolution and healing, then it is the same as if Christ himself were standing before you. Indeed, he IS standing before you in Word and Sacrament, concealed by the humbleness and frailty of his called and ordained servant. Here in the Divine Service Christ will be found with all his healing power and forgiveness. And your sins are really, truly forgiven.

That's "Real Authority!"

¹Luther, M. (1999, c1957). Vol. 22: Luther's works, vol. 22 : Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 1-4 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (22:508). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.