The Lutheran Hour
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"Hope for the Helpless"
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Text: Matthew 14:15-16
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The words of an old hymn lead us as we begin. If you know the words, join me in saying, “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.” By God’s grace may all believe Jesus loves them and He has lived, died, and risen to save them. Lord, grant this grace to us all. Amen.
If I were to begin this message with the name Shun Fujimoto, I doubt if most of The Lutheran Hour listeners would jump up and shout, “Why, I know that name. I’ll never forget good, old Shun Fujimoto.” That’s because today, in North America, Shun Fujimoto has pretty much been forgotten. And that’s a shame, because Shun Fujimoto is one of those guys who has done things so incredible, so unbelievable, the average Joes and Janes among us must stand in awe and amazement.
Let me give you an example. Shun, because of his incredible prowess in gymnastics, had made the Japanese Olympic team. The year was 1972 and the place was Montreal. During those years the Japanese team appeared to be a juggernaut, a group of men so skilled, so strong, so solid they could roll over most of the competition without working up a sweat. One of the few exceptions to that rule was the talented team from Russia. Still, with Shun performing at his peak, the smart money was being placed on team Japan.
Those odds changed the day Shun performed his gravity-defying floor exercise. Those who were there that day say it was a beautiful thing to see as they watched his years of sacrifice; his countless hours of training begin to pay off. After a short run, Shun would launch his body into space. Then before his feet ever returned to the ground, and almost faster than the eye could see, he would twist, turn, spin, and twist again. The crowd cheered, they applauded, they stamped and whistled at this amazing show of power and coordination. But then something, something unthinkable happened. Shun took off on one of his runs, but this time when he landed, he landed hard. A tsunami of pain raced through the athlete’s body. Shun Fujimoto had broken his knee; he had broken it badly.
It was the kind of damage which often ends an athlete’s career; it was the kind of hurt which calls for months of healing and therapy. Shun knew he had hours, not months, to deal with his injury. Either he found a solution now or else he would have to leave the games a beaten, broken man. But Shun was not worried just about himself. He knew that without him the chances for his team to win would be greatly diminished. Having considered his options and in spite of the pain and the danger of never competing again, Shun decided to stay in the competition. “After all”, he thought, “I only have to survive the pommel horse and the rings. Those events are relatively easy on my leg.” That’s why; a few hours after he had shattered his knee, the crowds once again saw Shun come forward to compete. He did well. Indeed, he managed to swing his broken leg with such grace and force the judges awarded him a remarkable 9.5 out of 10.
Then, only the rings were left. Once again Shun had a choice. He could modify his program and opt for an easier dismount. To take this path would decrease his pain; it would be less dangerous and less frightening. Of course, an easy dismount would proportionately reduce his total points and his team’s chance of claiming the gold. Shun felt he had no choice. His path was clear. He had to risk everything. Performing almost flawlessly, Shun nailed his routine. Then came the all-important dismount: a triple-somersault which called for Shun to land on both feet and stand rock-solid still until the judges told him they were satisfied he was not going to shuffle, stumble, or skip a step or two.
Shun got up to speed and then he let go. His momentum shot him skyward. Eight feet Shun went up, and then he came down. Instinct and self-preservation screamed that he must protect his broken leg. He ignored that scream and he landed with his weight equally distributed on both legs. When he hit the ground, the pain was overwhelming. Shun ignored the pain. He ignored it and he stood straight. He stood straight and he stayed straight until the judges gave the signal he was done. Only then did Shun collapse. The judges, moved by this remarkable and skillful performance, gave Shun a 9.7. It was the highest score awarded on that apparatus. But there’s more. By four-tenths of a point, one of the smallest margins in gymnastics’ history, the Japanese beat the Russians and captured the gold. As I said, Shun’s story is a credit to what a man can do, what the human spirit can accomplish when it is dedicated to a purpose; when it is committed to a cause. This is the kind of story which says a person can accomplish anything if he believes hard enough, when he is committed completely to a cause.
The belief that the human will and spirit can accomplish anything has invaded many Christian pulpits. Today much of the Christian world agrees with the TV pulpiteer who asks, “Do you need money, do you need healing, do you need a better job, a nicer car, better behaved children, a more appreciative spouse, a happier home, a winning lottery ticket? You can bend God to your will; you can compel Him to fork over these blessings if only you say the right prayer, support the right ministry, hold tight to the proper formula and use the mystical, magical product which I and my ministry will send to you. That’s what they say and then they add, “Of course, if you feel like making a pledge of appreciation for what I’m doing for you, well, who am I to say, ‘No’?” For many, God is no longer a Divine and loving Father Who will always do what is right and best for His children. Modern preachers have taken the all-powerful Creator and transformed Him into an obedient Servant Who has no greater desire than to listen to the dictates of His ever-demanding, never-satisfied children.
All of which takes me to the place in this message where I am compelled to point to a teeny, tiny, miniscule, almost microscopic problem. That little problem is this: the idea that we are masters of our fate and captains of our souls simply isn’t true. Yes, it sounds good, it makes us feel good, but life just doesn’t work out that way. The idea that we can conquer if we believe hard enough, struggle long enough, remain sincere enough, simply doesn’t work. Yes, I know, what I’m saying makes me sound like a curmudgeon, a balloon-popping, candy-stealing old grump. I know what it sounds like, but I’m telling you the truth.
What problem in humanity’s Pandora’s Box of hurt and heartbreak would not have long since been erased if sincerity and long-term longing could do the job alone? My friends, go to the Emergency Room of any major hospital; watch in any children’s cancer ward, sit beside any spouse who sees the memory of a faithful mate being slowly, systematically stripped away by Alzheimer’s. If you do, you will quickly see how absolutely, totally committed people can be. Sadly, commitment isn’t always enough and sincerity doesn’t always change things. There comes that moment when the most faithful caregiver feels a loved one slipping away; a time when the wisest of physicians can do nothing more. There come those moments when our options are exhausted, when our resources are at an end. There comes that point in time when we are helpless.
What a terrible feeling. It was a feeling Jesus’ disciples understood. Join them the day they stood with the Savior at the Sea of Galilee and they looked out upon another sea, a great sea of faces who had come to hear Jesus speak of repentance and forgiveness and the love of God which was reaching out to save the lost. The Bible says there were thousands of men, which means there were probably thousands of women and a few thousand children. A good guess at the crowd’s size might be somewhere around 12,000. That’s a lot of bodies… a lot of bodies who had spent the entire day listening to the Savior tell them that God’s promises were true and the Lord was, in Him, rebuilding the bridge between earth and heaven, rebuilding the bridge which sin had destroyed centuries ago. Yes, it had been a long day. Which is why, as the afternoon was coming to a close, the disciples came to Jesus and reminded Him that the multitudes were far away from home and they were probably getting hungry.
To their credit the disciples were concerned about the physical well-being of these followers of the Christ. It is that concern which had them approach Jesus and offer a practical solution to the problem they had identified. They said, “Lord, it’s getting late… why don’t You send these folks into the nearby towns so they can grab a bite to eat before they have to go home?” It was a reasonable request and the disciples must have believed Jesus would understand the wisdom of their plan and implement their suggestions.
The Savior’s reply must have surprised His closest friends. Instead of immediately agreeing, Jesus turned to His disciples and said something like: “Not a bad idea boys, but tell you what, I’ve got a better one: why don’t you feed them yourselves?” I really, truly wish I could have seen the faces of the Twelve when they heard Jesus say: “Guys, you feed them.” What? Out of the clear blue, without giving us any time to prepare or make plans! Jesus, You can’t be serious in asking us to host that crowd! The shocked disciples must have done a double take: looking at the crowd and then looking back to Jesus to see if He was being serious or whether He was pulling their legs. And although the Lord knew how the day would play out, He was serious. He was serious in teaching them that wishing upon a star didn’t always get the job done. He was serious in telling them that when man is helpless, God is not.
So, what did the disciples do? They did what you would do, what I would do. They did the human thing. They checked their wallets and purses. They checked out and then they confessed they didn’t have enough cash. They couldn’t feed the crowd; they couldn’t even provide appetizers for that many people. With plan “A” having crashed and burned, the disciples switched to plan “B.” They scoured the crowd to see if anybody had anything to eat. Understand, they were looking for enough food to feed thousands. It would have taken a convoy of 18-wheelers laden with happy meals to feed that bunch of hungry folk. But the disciples didn’t find a convoy of 18-wheelers; the only thing they found was a young lad who had a few small loaves of bread and a couple fish. The Bible doesn’t say if the disciples felt foolish when they brought the boy to Jesus. I have to think they did. They certainly had to conclude that their sincerity wasn’t enough to feed the crowd, and their faithfulness and their commitment wasn’t going to get the job done. At that moment the disciples were faced with the hard reality which said they were not masters of their fate, they were not captains of their souls. They could have wished upon a star until the sun came up. No matter how many plans they tried, the disciples were helpless.
At that moment the disciples had only one option left: turn the problem over to Jesus. It was the moment for which the Savior had been waiting. Jesus is good at waiting. Today He waits. He waits for us just as, that day, He waited for the disciples. Jesus waits while we come up with our “Plan A”s and our “Plan B”s. He waits as we all too slowly find out that our hoping hard enough and working long enough and believing strong enough and our wishing upon the star doesn’t always make dreams come true.
The Lord knows every one of us will reach that point in time; each of us will be confronted by that situation when the best we can do will be insufficient. And if you’re wondering, “Pastor, what kind of situation might that be”; let me explain. All of us have committed sins which we cannot remove. We are not the people we ought to be. We can adopt all kinds of self-improvement programs, but we still remain imperfect people. All of us will someday have to face death. And, no matter how we have lived our lives, we all have that gnawing notion which says, Judgment Day is not going to be a pleasant experience. In these situations, no matter how sincere we are, no matter how committed we are, no matter how hard we try, on our own we are helpless and we are lost.
How sad a day this would be if this message had to end with the words: on our own we are helpless and lost. Thank the good Lord that because of Jesus this sermon does not end there. On the contrary, there is more, much more to be said. You see, when you are weak, Jesus is strong. When you are at your rope’s end, you will find Jesus holding the other end of that rope, and He will be holding you, too. When there is nothing more you can do, when your plans have proven to be ineffective, Jesus is just beginning.
You see, your Heavenly Father has always known you were helpless. He has always known you didn’t have the ability to make yourself perfect or to wipe away your sins or prepare yourself for Judgment Day. He knew you could not face Him alone and successfully avoid the conviction and damnation which most certainly would come. Because you were helpless is why He sent His Son. To do what you could not is why Jesus lived, why He suffered, why He died, and why He rose. That Jesus has done what you could not do is the comfort which is given to those who are given faith in the Savior.
That day, by the Sea of Galilee, when the disciples could think of nothing else to do, they watched what Jesus, God’s all-powerful Son, could do. They watched in awe and amazement as Jesus took the boy’s loaves and fishes, gave thanks for the bounty and multiplied them into a satisfying banquet which was able to feed thousands of people. Did I say He provided a satisfying banquet? It was more than satisfying… it was overwhelming. After the thousands were pleasantly stuffed, they collected baskets filled with leftovers. Not only had Jesus taken care of the disciples’ problem; He had knocked it out of the park.
He can and will do the same for you. What sin have you committed which rides you, Jesus has died so that sin would be forgiven. Are you afraid of death? When you pass away, you need not be alone. Jesus has promised to take those who trust Him and lead them through the darkness which our ending brings. This, and so much more, Jesus can and will do for those who allow it. My friends, there is no circumstance so terrible that Jesus will not prove its Master; there is no stain of sin so dark that Jesus’ blood cannot cleanse. There is no weakness you possess which Jesus’ power cannot shore up. Jesus Christ is good news… He is God’s good news for your sad sin. Knowing that, St. Paul could write, (Romans 8) “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
An old hymn says it this way: “Jesus loves you this I know, for the Bible tells you so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes. Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you, the Bible tells you so.” If, dear friends, you wish to be assured of this Scriptural truth, if you wish to know more about this Savior, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour.
Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for July 31, 2011
Topic: God’s StandardsAnnouncer: And we’re back once again with our Speaker Emeritus, Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer.
Klaus: Hi, Mark, good to see you. What sort of question have you got for us today?
Announcer: I would say we have a unique question.
Klaus: Fair enough–let’s begin.
Announcer: Our listener works at an office along with other Christians who come from various theological backgrounds. Understandably, they have conversations on various issues, including morality.
Klaus: Understandably.
Announcer: Our listener notes that when they talk about morality and ethics some folks don’t like to talk all that much about sin. For them, almost everything is more a matter of personal conscience; you know, whatever feels right to them.
Klaus: That’s nothing new. In fact, that kind of attitude has been around almost as long as sin–and God’s commandments.
Announcer: Now, something I’ve noticed is that people do this; they somehow manage also to find a Bible passage that would support their belief, whatever it might be.
Klaus: Can you give me an example?
Announcer: Well, “Judge not, lest ye be judged” or “we are all saved by grace.” Or the idea that nobody but God can see into an individual’s heart.
Klaus: All right. That’s all good background. So far we don’t have a specific question, though.
Announcer: True. Actually, two questions. The first would be: “Is this sort of attitude biblically correct… and is there any way our listener can respond to her friends in such a way that they will listen?
Klaus: Now we’ve got something to sink our teeth into. If you don’t mind, Mark, I’d like to field that second question first.
Announcer: How to answer so that people will listen?
Klaus: Yeah, that’s it. The answer to that is, “Yes, there are ways to respond.” But, honestly, I’m not sure if there are ways to make these folks listen. People who hold this position are often pretty firmly entrenched in the concept that God’s commandments are more like divine suggestions.
Announcer: Which, I suppose, takes us back to now, the first question.
Klaus: Yeah, it does. The first question was basically, “Is it right to be so flexible regarding sin?”
Announcer: Now, some would say that, while they agree we’re all supposed to try and do good, exactly what “doing good” really is, that’s up to the individual conscience and it’s between that individual and God, nobody else’s business.
Klaus: So, what can we say? “Is a person’s lifestyle and propensity toward sin a personal thing between that person and the Lord alone?” The answer to that question is, “Yes. We must all answer to the Lord for what we have done or not done in this life.”
Announcer: But it kind of surprises me that you would agree with that viewpoint.
Klaus: And I’m not surprised that you’re surprised, but I’m not through yet. We all have to give an account of what we have done and the way we have lived. But it’s also true that our lives are to be a witness to the forgiveness won for us by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Announcer: In other words, Christians don’t live their lives in a vacuum.
Klaus: No, what each of us does has implications and repercussions in the lives of others.
Announcer: Can you illustrate that?
Klaus: Absolutely. Suppose, for example, you have three children.
Announcer: As I do.
Klaus: Good. It works out well. Now, if you allow child #2 to do something which you didn’t allow child #1 to do, would there be, do you think, any ramifications to that?
Announcer: Definitely. Child #1 would say, “That’s not fair.”
Klaus: Oh, and that does happen. I’ve seen it happen many a time. Child #1 would think you weren’t all that serious about what you had said in the first place. How about Child #3? What would be the reaction there?
Announcer: They might think they have the right to do the same thing Child #2 was doing, as if rules don’t mean anything.
Klaus: Yeah, which is what has happened. Mark, the truth is this: “God’s commandments are that: they are commandments which are, in part, designed to let God’s thankful people know what God likes and what He dislikes. If we wish to please Him, these laws tell us what to do and what to avoid. If we wish to make a witness to His love, those commandments tell us how to do that.
Announcer: And so our lives then become testimonies to the wonders of God’s grace, grace that is ours through faith in Jesus and the forgiveness He earned for us on the cross.
Klaus: You’ve got it.
Announcer: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Lord Jesus Christ, Life-Giving Bread” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“The Law of God Is Good and Wise” From Bunt Gemixt by 1plus3 Weigersdorfer Blechbläserquartett (© EinLaden e.V.)
“Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend” by J.S. Bach. From J.S. Bach Organ Works by Per Fridtjov Bonsaksen (© 1995 Vanguard Classics)