Here I Am

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

Sometimes God gives object lessons – case studies, if you will, that show what He has said before in a more concrete way. If you do not understand what He has said before, He will spell it out in a way that might make sense before your eyes.

Today, one might say that that God has given a sort of case study on Isaiah. The prophet spoke the Word of the Lord to the people of Judah all those centuries ago, and sometimes the prophets can seem a bit murky. In today's Old Testament lesson, he speaks of the Lord coming to His people and finding a rabble who did not seek Him or ask for Him. He found a rebellious people doing their own thing, doing things which were detestable under the Law. His people were eating pork, making illicit sacrifices, and making their dwelling place among tombs and in the places of the dead.

And yet the Lord drew near to these people, even though they told Him to go away and leave them alone in their sins. However, instead of drawing near in blessing, He promised to repay their wickedness with His vengeance in a way that only the Lord of Hosts could manage.

But yet, the Lord promised that even in the midst of His anger, He would not destroy them completely. He would bring forth offspring from Jacob and Judah to possess His holy mountain and to inhabit His land, that His chosen people might dwell there forever. The wicked will be destroyed, but the remnant of the faithful will be rescued and preserved by the Lord.

So, where is the object lesson? Well, consider our Gospel lesson. People who did not look for Jesus – check. Person living in tombs and among the dead – check. People who eat pigs – check. Person cleansed and preserved from wrath – check. You even have the onlookers who are dumbfounded by Jesus' work and ask Him to go away, since He just killed their livelihood.

The man, who is unnamed himself, might well be a stand-in for Israel. Jesus comes upon him naked, insane, demon-possessed, and living among the dead. He is filled with all manner of evil thoughts and desires, and cannot be controlled even by shackles and armed guards.

No doubt, this is a severe lesson, but this is the natural state of every man, woman, and child on this earth. Naked you entered this world, and naked you will leave it. No matter what you may gain or lose in this world, you cannot take it with you. And you are likewise naked in your spirit. You are unclothed, laid bare for all to see your shame and vice and guilt.

Oh, sure, there are some ways to cover up those sins. Respectable sorts excel at paneling over that big stain on the wall where your sin went splat all over. Just dab it off, paint over it, put a new coat of varnish, and you will look as good as new.

Until the mold grows through the paint. And spreads. And begins to stink. And finally, you have to rip off the plaster, tear down the wall, and start over again. Sin is like that. It is a mold that infects the walls of humanity and grows and spreads its tendrils throughout your heart and mind and body. And you know it is there, whether you try to paint over it, or knock holes in yourself trying to get rid of it.

Ezekiel called this being a whitewashed tomb. Outwardly, you are beautiful, scrubbed clean, and gleaming in the sunshine, but inwardly you are filled with nothing but stillness, death, and decay. Your sins are still inside you, waiting to get out, growing and festering and stinking the place up.

When the demon-possessed man saw Jesus, he begged the Lord not to torment him. Neither the man, nor the demons inside him, wanted to be tortured by the Lord. For that is what the shame of sin is – torture that you bear about in your body and soul on account of your sins.

This man was laid naked in body and mind because of the forces of Satan acting upon him. But he is not so different from you, or any other sinner who feels the barbs of Satan's arrow. He may not come at you with a legion of demons, but he will, and he does come after you with attacks upon your weaknesses. He will lay you bare in body and soul and inflict his worst upon you, whether you know it or not.

For the devil, if he cannot get you to give in to your sin, will use your guilt against you. He will hang it in front of your face and use it to torment your conscience. Are you really forgiven of those sins? Did God really say? Is that absolution really for you?

Where there is vacant real estate, the devil is an eager squatter. There is no middle ground in this fight. You are either under the tyranny of the devil, or you are under the rule of the Lord. You cannot serve two masters, and you cannot be naked and clothed at the same time.

On the spot, Jesus settles the claim regarding this unnamed Everyman. Jesus evicts the legion of demons squatting in his body and soul, and drives them into the unfortunate herd of pigs, who are then drowned into the sea.

When the people rush to the scene, they find the man sitting calmly at the feet of Jesus, dressed and in his right mind, and ready to declare how much and what sort of miracle Jesus had done for him. Jesus even sent him out as a witness to the grace of God among his people.

And so He has done for you. He has not left you under the tyranny of the devil. He has not allowed the legion of demons to occupy you and hold you captive. He has come to stand before you and has driven the forces of darkness away with His all-consuming light.

Jesus has driven the demons from you by drowning not pigs but you in the heart of the sea. He has drowned you, so that you, having died to sin, might now live to God. You have been sundered from the number of the unbelieving and joined to the multitude of the saints who are one in Christ Jesus our head.

The stain of sin is washed away by the washing and renewal of the Holy Spirit in the waters of Baptism. The demons are drowned and driven out by the blessed flood of the blood of the Lamb which was shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins. You are now clothed with the righteousness of Christ. You are bedecked with the bridal dress of a bride waiting to meet her bridegroom. You are robed with the vestments of royal priesthood, the garments of the saints of God who worship their Lord day and night before His throne.

You sit before Him, here and now, in your right mind, because your mind is captive to Christ. You are filled with His Spirit and His truth, and you have set your minds on things above, because He is your Head and your life. You cannot help but be focused upward, to where your Lord and Head is seated at the right hand of God.

You are here, sitting at the feet of your Lord, gathered to receive His gift and to hear from His lips the forgiveness of your sin proclaimed against all who would cause you to doubt. And how wonderful it would be to remain here, to stay at Jesus' feet and hear His Word and sing His praises forever. But you cannot.

For, like the man now in his right mind, you must go forth from here, declaring how much God has done for you. Shout from the rooftops and hillsides that the God who created everything out of nothing has died on the cross and rose again for you. Proclaim the wonders of Him who died and is now raised. This is the blessing of the Lord for you.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.