Jesu Juva
“A One Man March for Life”
Text: Isaiah 9:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Matthew 4:12-25
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
Those are familiar words. We hear them on Christmas Eve every year. Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah. Matthew confirms that interpretation for us today. That Jesus’ coming is the light in the darkness. Light in a land of deep darkness.
When Isaiah first proclaimed and then penned those words, Israel’s darkness was deep indeed. They had been drifting farther and farther away from God, worshiping false gods, not trusting God to protect them and provide for them and instead making unholy alliances with the nations around them. And it would all soon come to an end. God was bringing in the Assyrian army to conquer them, and their nation would be no more. Strong medicine. But medicine. For God had sent prophet after prophet to His people, but they would not listen, would not return, would not repent. So time to bring out the big guns - literally! - so that with no thing and no one else to rely on, His people would return to Him. And live. God was acting for their life.
Perhaps we could say the same today, some 2,700 years after Isaiah first proclaimed those words. For 50 years now, thousands of people have walked in darkness - the darkness of the disregard for life in our country. For 50 years now, there has been a March for Life - like there was on Friday, two days ago - because of the darkness of abortion. But it’s not just abortion. The darkness is deeper than that. It is a darkness of which abortion is just a symptom. It is the darkness that says: that life doesn’t matter. Or worse, that we would be, I would be, better off without that life. Whether that life is a baby still developing in the womb, or an elderly person in need of much care, or a disabled person in need of patience and understanding, or a spouse contemplating divorce, or a person who is suffering, depressed, or suicidal and thinks she would be better off, the world would be better off without her, or that person we just can’t get along with, that person on the other side of the political aisle, that person who keeps getting in my way . . . This darkness looks at some people as disposable, as unnecessary, as an infringement on what I want, on my happiness, on my self-fulfillment. So they have to go. They have to be cut off, cut up, or cut out.
But there’s another darkness, too, related to this first, that says: that life doesn’t matter, so rather than getting rid of that person, I can use that person to get what I want. This is the darkness of sexual abuse, rape, sex trafficking, identity theft, phishing, scamming, slavery, theft, murder. That life doesn’t matter, but my life does, so all’s fair. Game on. No regrets. Every man for himself.
These attitudes towards life has made it very dark in our world. A darkness that seems to keep getting deeper and keeps spreading farther. A darkness not only that we’re living in, but that creeps into us and wants to live in us. That we look at one another and say, or think, or act like that life doesn’t matter.
But for 50 years now, thousands of people have walked in darkness because they have seen a great light; because on us has light shined. The light of the world. The promised Messiah. The light who came into this world and said your life matters. He said that with His birth and with His life, but most of all, with His cross. That your life matters so much that God the Father gave the life of His Son for your life, and God the Son laid down His life for your life. And not just your life, but also that life, that person. I want them, God says. I love them. They matter to me. Imagine if we saw every other person like that!
But, Paul said, this way of looking at life, this word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing. Folly to those in the darkness. Because obviously, some people matter more than others, some are more important than others, and there are undoubtedly some people we would be better off without. So to them, this message of the cross is silly, it’s stupid, and maybe even dangerous.
But, just for the sake of argument, let’s grant that; let’s agree with that for the moment. That some people matter more than others, that some are more important than others. So, when Jesus came, who mattered? Who was important? Who did He hang out with? It was those people many thought didn’t matter, weren’t important, that the world would be better off without, or could be freely used and abused. The lepers, the prostitutes, the Samaritans, the beggars. Jesus turned everything upside down. And, He said, those people you think are first, and matter more, and are more important are going to be last, and those people you think are last, they are going to be first. And for that, those people who thought they mattered and were important showed Jesus what they thought of Him and His upside-down ways by putting Him on the cross. For, they thought, there is a life we - and the world - would be better off without.
But when they put Jesus on the cross - or better to say: when Jesus ascended the cross - that completely changed the cross. It was now no longer an instrument of death but of life. No longer a place of weakness but of strength. No longer a symbol of hate but of love. No longer a place of shame but of glory. And no longer a place of condemnation but of forgiveness. The cross became no longer the place for a life the world would be better off without, but the place of a life that the world cannot live without. The place where no matter who you are, God says: you matter.
So while the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, to us who are being saved it is the power of God, Paul goes on to say. It is the light of God’s love shining in a very dark world of sin. It is the word of forgiveness we need for our own disregard of life. It is the death and resurrection we need, that we die to our old life and old way of thinking, and rise to a new life and new way of thinking. And of looking at others. Looking at them as Jesus did. Treating them as Jesus did. Laying down your life for them, as Jesus did for you.
Which means that long before there ever was a March for Life in Washington, there was a March for Life in Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. A March not of thousands, but a one man March for Life. When the Word became flesh for the life of the world. When Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. When Jesus came and did what we heard today - proclaim the Gospel, forgive sins, cleanse lepers, heal the sick, restore the disabled, and rescue the oppressed. One person at a time. Each and every life one that mattered to Him. That was worth His time. And then Jesus marched into the darkness of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and then marched with His cross to Golgotha, where He hung for each and every life, none excepted. Each one worth His own. A one man March for Life.
And life is exactly what happened that day on Golgotha. For when Jesus died, that meant life for the world. For His is a kingdom not of this world, and a victory that comes by dying. It is a kingdom that comes only through death and resurrection. And so a kingdom that comes to us when we die and rise with Jesus in Holy Baptism. When we die in repentance and rise with absolution. When we eat and drink that dying and rising Body and Blood of Jesus in the Supper.
And with this life, Jesus’ life, and His life-giving forgiveness in us, forgiveness for all of our sins and darkness, we can then live His life in His light and no longer see others in the darkness, as disposable or for our own personal use, but now lay down our lives for others. For if I have to struggle to matter and be important, if I have to make something of myself, then I can’t do that. But if I know I already have that, that I already matter and am important to Jesus, then I can. For my life is safe in Him.
And your life is such a life. Even if the world thinks otherwise, even if you think otherwise. You matter. And only by knowing that can we see others that way, and treat them that way. When we’re forgiven, we can forgive. When we’re loved, we can love. When the light has shined on us in the darkness, we can then shine that light on others. And you can be a one man, a one woman, March for Life. In your home, at your work or school, in your neighborhood or church, with your family and friends, wherever you are. Shining the light of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. Because you matter, and they matter.
So maybe, just maybe, that’s the way to fight this battle for life. Not just to tell other people they’re wrong - though there is a time and place for that. But to show them they matter. And tell them why they matter. For that, it seems to me, is the way of Jesus. Who, while we were still sinners, laid down His life for us (Romans 5:8). So while others are still sinners, perhaps we can do the same. And show them the power of the cross and the life of the cross. It won’t be easy. It may not be safe. It certainly wasn’t for Jesus, or for the disciples He called to follow after Him. But it is the way of life. Of life everlasting. And then, maybe, just maybe, when you do, you will find your own life. For as Jesus also said: Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:39). Not how we usually think, maybe not how we usually act! But how we usually think and act hasn’t been working so well . . .
So, Isaiah says, you people walking in darkness, there is a great light. You’ve seen Him. You know Him. He came for you. He died for you. You matter to Him. He is the light no darkness can overcome. Not even the darkness of death. He is the light no sin can overcome; He is the forgiver of sins. Your sins. All of them. No matter what they are, how shameful or heinous they are. Even when we have not honored and respected life as we should. When we, each of us, have believed the lies, have been deceived, has succumbed to the darkness, in our own ways, in our own lives. He took those sins. All of those sins. He took them away from You and put them on Himself. He died for them, to set you free from them to live. And so He is the light that one day, for each of us, will say: Today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43). The darkness cannot have you. You matter. You are mine.
A one man March for Life. And if you know anyone who needs to hear those words of Jesus . . . maybe you can be a one man March for Life, for them, too.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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