PENTECOST 2, B – June 14, 2009

SCRIPTURES – Ezekiel 17:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:1-17; Mark 4:26-34 

 “Jesus loves me! This I know.” This familiar children’s hymn expresses well the faith of a child, a child’s absolute certainty of God’s existence and presence as well as of His goodness and love. “Jesus loves me! This I know.” They have no doubt. Adults struggle with such faith. Are you sure that Jesus loves you? Can you be sure?

 Not only our hymns, but also our Scriptures speak with certainty this morning. “We know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” says Paul to the Corinthians. (The “house not made with hands” that Paul speaks of, by the way, is not your home with God in heaven. He’s talking about your body. Your body here is a tent, a temporary dwelling which will be destroyed when you die. But then, God will raise up a new body for you, and it will be an eternal building from God. Your body in heaven will be better than your earthly body, just as a big and beautiful house is better than a tent.) And so, Paul says, “we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” We would rather die and leave this earthly body, because the life that is awaiting us with the Lord is so much better than the life we have here! “This I know.” Do you? Are you absolutely certain of this? Would you rather die than be here?

 Interestingly, Jesus in today’s Gospel speaks of not knowing. “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.” The farmer doesn’t know how the seed grows. He can’t see it happening, for it is below the ground. He must simply plant it and trust in God to make it grow.

 In this life we Christians are farmers. We know, but we do not know, for we do not see what we know. “We walk by faith, not by sight.”  We do not see our God, not even Jesus, who became flesh and lived in this world.

q   Of course, we can say we see God at work, especially when some great disaster is averted – such as a few months ago, when the plane lost its engines and landed perfectly in the Hudson River, with no one seriously hurt. This was indeed God’s work. Others, however, might offer a perfectly plausible explanation that leaves God out of it. “It was the pilot’s training and skill that saved the plane.” And this, too, is true.

We see, but we don’t see. We do not see the Holy Spirit coming to live within a child in Holy Baptism. We do not see Jesus’ presence in Holy Communion. We do not see the dead rise. “We walk by faith, not by sight.” There is much we do not see.

 So, can we truly say and sing, “Jesus loves me! This I know.” Can we say with certainty, “We know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Yes! “For the Bible tells me so.” If the Bible says so, it is true, for the Bible is God’s words. It is God speaking to us. Because it is God’s words, it is true and reliable. But, more than that, because the Bible is God’s true words, it is the seed that has life, eternal life with God, within it. This is the reason why you must be like farmers.

 There is much that farmers do not know, even today. They do not know how the seeds grow. They do not know if and when it will rain. But, they do know this: seeds grow. And so, they act on this belief. They plant their seeds. They work hard to prepare the soil and put them in the ground. Then, they trust God to make them grow and bring forth a crop. And, year after year, a crop comes forth.

 Do you want to have a strong faith in God, the certain and unquestioning faith of a child? Do you want to be sure that your sins are forgiven and will not separate you from God? Do you want to be certain that, when you rise from the dead and stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive what is due you for how you lived your life, you will be welcomed by God into heaven? Then plant the seed! Open your Bible, read it, and believe it. Join a Bible class here and learn of your Savior. Come regularly and faithfully to church to hear God’s Word read, and then listen carefully as it is explained and applied to you in sermons. Hear it and believe it! Plant the seed deep within your heart, and follow what it says in your daily life!

 How about our church? Do you want this church to grow? Are you concerned about the decline in membership and attendance? Then plant the seed! Building God’s kingdom is far more than taking care of church buildings. Sure, buildings are important, and what we think of God and His working among us through Word and Sacrament is seen in the house we build for Him and how we take care of it. Our meeting after church today to discuss and vote on replacing the windows is important. But, if you want people to come here and receive the blessings of forgiveness in Christ, and so be prepared for that day when they, too, will “appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive what is due for what [they have] done in the body,” then plant the seed! We have such great news to share. “One [Jesus] has died for all, therefore all have died,” the Bible says. In Christ’s death we all have died, and the punishment for every sin has been completed. We are forgiven! Invite people to come here and learn of this. “And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” We now have a new, and eternal, life in Him.

 Jesus loves me! this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He who died, heaven’s gate to open wide.

He has washed away my sins, lets the little child come in.

Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

It’s such a simple song. It’s also such a deep song. It’s God’s song, the song He sings in His true and holy Word. It’s the song of heaven, the song that takes us there. May we be simple children, glad to sing this song always as our song of praise to our Savior!