“But Deliver Us from Evil”

[Pr. McDermott preached this sermon while on vacation at

Highland Park Lutheran Church, Los Angeles, CA]

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

After Jesus fed the five thousand on the hillside near Capernaum, immediately He knew that He must leave, or else risk being mobbed as the crowds figured out what He had done. So He directed the Twelve to get into the boat and shove off across the lake, while our Lord retreated to an isolated place to pray. When He came back down to the sea-shore, Jesus saw that “they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.”

While possibly not the same acute peril they faced in other storms, this was nevertheless a hard force against which the disciples rowed and fought. The wind was beating against them, buffeting them about and pushing them off course. The waves were stirred up, making it rough going and hard to steer. After hours of this, anyone would be fatigued, frustrated, and fed-up.

Now, one thing that bears considering is why they were out on the lake in the first place.

It is unclear as to exactly where they got into the boat, but it seems as though the furthest they might have been going was about two miles, which in the storm turned into about five. And that distance was right down the shoreline, where they should have been able to stay in relative safety. Of course, if the sea was at all rough, or if the wind was really that high, why were they out in the boat in the first place? It would seem that they could have saved a lot of time and energy by simply walking to their destination. The answer is – because Jesus forced them to get into the boat and go out on the water. It has been suggested that Jesus did not want the disciples talking about the origin of the food just served.

Regardless of Jesus' reason, however, the point remains that the Twelve were in the boat because Jesus forced them, and the reason was probably not apparent to them at the time. It may even have seemed a bit crazy. Although they ought to have been used to Jesus doing things that seemed crazy by this point. So they got in the boat, started rowing, and spent all night fighting against the sea and surf.

Likewise, you also fight against the storm of Satan's attacks upon you. He comes at you upon the path where the Lord has placed you, and he does his best to knock you off course, turn you around until you lose your bearings, and sink your ship when you think you're just barely off the shore. Of course, the devil does not often work through wind and waves, but he works powerfully nevertheless.

Satan's greatest aim is to sow dishonor and unbelief in Jesus. Sometimes he works openly, poisoning the hearts of men with lies and deceit preached openly. He promotes the spread of false religions and pagan idolatry. He even lurks under so-called secular principles, such as tolerance and co-existence. He would have you even, the faithful Christian, dishonor your Lord by allowing other truths to lie alongside the Word of the Lord, as though there were merely an array of options, all equally valid. Satan would have you discouraged and distraught by the obstacles to the preaching of the Gospel and the worship of God. Whether it is the execution of the faithful in Muslim lands or the persecution of the Church in our own land, the devil would have you disheartened until he can plant his poisonous seed within you.

The storm that the devil stirs up around the faithful also includes hindrances to the work of God's kingdom. He would not see God's will done or His kingdom come, and puts up roadblocks to such work. He does not want you to hallow God's Name or receive the forgiveness of your sins, and he will do what he can to prevent it.

Sometimes this means causing scandal in the Church. In some places, he stirs up dissent and disdain toward the pastor whom God has called into a congregation. In other places, he saps the financial strength of a congregation, until the people are faced with dire questions regarding their continued association. He would have regulations put in place to tamp down the faithful preaching of God's Law. He would make it unprofitable and impractical to give a Christian witness to the world.

And while the devil is kicking up storms in the life of the Church, he is also stirring up problems in the lives of the saints. He spreads greed and fear and covetousness among people. He foments disasters and rebellions which cause difficulties in food supplies. He causes all manner of difficulty in receiving the daily bread for which you pray, and which God has promised to give to you.

And so, what is the Christian to do about all these evil tidings? Pray. Pray fervently that the Lord God who created the heavens and the earth would put an end to the calamities and chaos which the devil and his forces stir up around the faithful. As Martin Luther says, “Therefore there is nothing for us to do upon earth but to pray against this arch-enemy without ceasing. For unless God preserved us, we would not be safe from him even for an hour.” (LC III:7:116)

The disciples had spent the night rowing and straining against the storm, on what must have seemed like a journey to nowhere. But Jesus saw them out there in the stormy night, and “He came to them, walking on the sea.” He saw the disciples in their distress and had compassion on them. He did not wait for them to come ashore to heal their wounds or patch their boat. He walked out on the water and came to them in the midst of the wind and waves. Land and sea were no barrier to the Lord of Hosts as He came to the rescue of His people.

And when the Lord came to them, the wind ceased and the waves died down. All was calm in the presence of God. There was no cause for distress or worry or fear, because the Savior of the World was at hand to rescue them from their peril on the sea.

Likewise, in the midst of your helpless condition, Jesus has come to you and helped you out of all your distresses. He saw you while you were yet dead in your sins and trespasses, and He saved you from all your sins and iniquities. He looked upon you as you warred against the forces of darkness in the spiritual realms, and He had compassion upon you.

Our Lord Jesus Christ had such compassion upon you that, in the fullness of time, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.” He was incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary, that He might take upon Himself the sins of the whole world and die on the cross to atone for them all. He came into flesh and blood like yours, that He might be your savior. He died in the flesh and rose in the same flesh, that your flesh and blood might die and rise with Him to newness of life.

And now, in the midst of all the trials and temptations which the devil can stir up in your life, you always have the cross of Christ before you. The cross of Christ stands as your ensign, your lighthouse in the storm, the symbol of your redemption. It is the rock upon which you are founded, which will never sway nor falter in the storm.

Trials and temptations will come upon you, to be sure. No one on earth can escape the assaults of the devil. Evil will befall you. You will suffer the ravages of sin and death. But you can take comfort in the knowledge that in Jesus Christ, God has come to His people and redeemed them. Upon the cross, Christ was lifted up, so that all may see and believe, and believing, have life in His Name.

“Thus God has briefly placed before us all the distress which may ever come upon us, so that we might have no excuse whatever for not praying” (LC III:7:119). So Luther writes, as he talks about the necessity of prayer. When trials come upon the faithful, God uses them to teach you how to pray. He has promised to preserve your life, and He wants to you remember that and call upon Him to keep that promise.

You have no excuse for not praying, for God has commanded you to pray, and He has promised to hear you when you do. He has promised that He will provide for every need of your body and life, and He will do just that. God is faithful; He cannot fail you. He will answer your prayer with just exactly what He, in His infinite wisdom, knows that you need. It does not matter if it is not exactly what you wanted.

Just as Jesus got into the boat with the disciples and stilled the storm, so our Lord has drawn you safe and dry into His holy Ark – the Church – so that you might be kept in the faith and hope of His grace until you reach heaven's shore. He is with you on the hillside, feeding you in green pastures. He is with you on the water, stilling the storm. He is with you on the road, lighting your path. And do not forget what comes out after the storm clears – the glorious rainbow which fills the sky with the proof that God loves you and will never let you be destroyed.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.