Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this morning comes from our Gospel lesson (Mark 6: 1-6).                 

Most of us have seen the logo for RCA. It pictures a small black and white dog, head cocked quizzically, looking into the horn of an old Victrola record player. The name of the picture is "His Master's Voice." What RCA doesn't generally tell is the background of the picture. The dog is actually sitting on a casket, his master's casket. It sounds ghastly, but that's the way the original picture was painted. The dog's master is dead, but his voice lives on, coming via the record to a perplexed dog. The dog knows and recognizes his master's voice. The point of today's Gospel lesson is that the world and we who live in it too often fail to recognize our Master's voice. We seek worldly wisdom, not God's power.                 

This is nothing new. Many people who should have followed the master's voice gladly and enthusiastically have looked to earthly wisdom for their salvation. Centuries before Jesus appeared at the Nazareth synagogue, God came to the prophet Ezekiel. He instructed his prophet to deliver a call to heartfelt repentance. Along with his directions, God also gave Ezekiel a warning against the major frustration that would come delivering that message. God said (Ezekiel 2: 3-4), "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn." Even then people wanted earthly wisdom, not God's power. For the most part, Ezekiel's message went unheard and unheeded for the most part. We must watch lest our own hearts become obstinate and stubborn, tending toward rebelliousness toward God and His Word.                 

Centuries later, at the start of Jesus' ministry, look what happens when he returned to his hometown of Nazareth. Jesus was a local boy making good. This week a young soldier returned to her hometown with accolades, a parade, hundreds of cameras trained on her. She survived capture in Iraq, a local girl making good. Jesus was a local boy making good. He was performing miracles, delivering wondrous messages.   

He should have been making the home folks proud. But they all had more questions than accolades. "Where did this man get these things?"                 

On Saturday, the Sabbath, the leaders of the synagogue did what was right. They asked Nazareth's famous son to come forward and read from and expound upon Scripture. But the citizens of Nazareth reacted in a predictable way. To say they were displeased with their boyhood comrade is an understatement. He received no keys to the city. They had no parade. On their hearts and minds they hung out a sign that read, "Do not disturb." They were guided by worldly wisdom that ignores Christ's power to save. So strong was their rejection, so powerful their desire to silence him that Luke tells us (chapter 4) they tried to murder their hometown boy right then and there.                 

Now, some 20 centuries later, although physically murdering a resurrected Savior is not possible, many people in their "wisdom" look for salvation from their own strength rather than the power of Christ. Worldly wisdom turns us away from Christ to seeking ways to earn our salvation by good works or ignore our salvation altogether. Worldly wisdom makes us obstinate and stubborn.                 

The craving for worldly wisdom has, all too often, made us into double-talkers, where Christ's truth and virtue are only for the dweebs, losers, and nerds. We have sugarcoated sin to make it appear acceptable. Lying has become "stretching the truth." Cheating is "bending the rules." Lusting is "normal admiration." Gossiping is only "harmless talk." Drug and Alcohol abuse is "not really any one else's concern." Abortion, killing God's children, is called "choice and freedom." Homosexuals are practicing "an alternate lifestyle." And children who are disobedient to parents, bless their hearts, are "strong-willed." We want worldly wisdom, not the Saviors words and power that calls the lost from darkness into light.                 

Worldly wisdom cannot see that without Christ we are, in many ways, like the Titanic – steaming away oblivious to the dangers around us. The Titanic had received one warning after another. Multiple messages had told them they were sailing into an ice field. When a nearby ship sent an urgent caution, the Titanic radioman responded with "shut up, you are jamming my signal." He was too busy talking to the shore about chauffeurs and limousines and welcome home dinner menus that he didn't want to be bothered with icebergs. 2000 years ago that was the response of Nazareth to the Savior: "Shut up, Jesus. You are upsetting our plans." It is also the response of our modern age to the Son of God. "Don't bother us Lord. We want worldly wisdom not the Savior's powerful blood to rescue us from damnation." If that is what people want, that is just what the Lord might give them.                 

When God's Old Testament people shut their ears to the prophets who spoke God's message of repentance, the Lord did not force them to hear. He allowed them to follow their own path, worship their man-made gods, and commit their own transgressions. Scripture records, in vivid detail, how worldly wisdom led them to be defeated in war, carried off into captivity, and left without hope.                 

When Jesus' neighbors in Nazareth shut their ears to his message of salvation, he did not demand that they hear him. He did not call down legions of angels to strike down the doubters. He did not perform one miracle after another until they were forced to admit he was God's Son. He did heal a few sick people, people who were apparently humble enough to hope for his words and touch. But for the most part, Jesus allowed them to reject him. He was amazed at their lack of faith. It is never recorded that Jesus returned to Nazareth to proclaim his covenant of grace.                 

What will the Lord do with us and our country? With history's record so clear, we have to ask, how long will He continue to reach out and preach to people when Bibles are forbidden in classrooms but not in jail cells? We cannot know whether the time will be long or short, but Christians should know it's the right time to get their priorities straight. It is time for us to join together and follow the Savior even as we reject the world's wisdom.                 

A young boy had a puppy, which he loved very much. Loving puppies is what little boys do. The puppy liked to bark, which is what puppies do. This was not a problem until the boy's mother became seriously ill.   

Then the puppy's yipping and yapping kept her from the rest she needed and caused her nerves to jangle. When the boy found out about his mom's discomfort, it took only a few hours before he came and reported, "The puppy won't bother you any more Mom. I gave him to a friend." The sympathetic mother replied "But you love your puppy." The boy agreed: "Sure Mom, I love my puppy, but I love you even more."                 

That is the spirit with which Christians respond to the Lord who loves them. Sure, we enjoy what the world offers. We like the toys, the gadgets, and gimmicks, the riches, power and fame. But if these things interfere with our love for God, if they displace Christ, we gladly leave them behind without a second thought.                 

That is what Jesus did for us. Saving us from sin, death and Satan was the Savior's first priority. Saving us was more important than having his hometown love him. Saving us was more important than saving himself from death on the cross. That is why we do not hesitate to say, "Our first priority is to honor and thank the Lord. Everything else is second place."   

Keeping the Lord as first priority, Christians cannot hold on to anything that separates them from God's love and power.                 

Having heard the Savior's words of peace, having seen him fulfill every prophecy, having watched his powerful sacrifice on Calvary's cross, knowing of his resurrection, we gladly make his mission our own. His desire to save lost souls becomes our desire. We may never be called on to make a heroic witness, but we can give a steady one. We may never preach before crowds of thousands, but we can quietly whisper his name. Although we may not die for Jesus, we can live for him. We may never perform miracles, but we can faithfully show our true Christian commitment. It is the steady sun, not the lightning, that illuminates the world. It is the regular rain, not the damaging downpour, that waters the field. And it is your daily faithfulness that God uses to shape and influence this world. This we cannot do on our own, but only through Christ's power.                 

Years ago, in southern Egypt, revolutionaries attacked a governor's home. The great man's young daughter was carried by one of the guards from her bedroom to safety. He risked his life to protect her.   

After the rescue, he said to her, "Will you give me a big hug for saving you?" With a pout and a shake of her head, she answered, "No hugs for you. You took me away from my toys." That little girl didn't understand the immensity of what the guard had done for her.                 

Not at the risk of but at the cost of his life, Jesus has saved you. It is a grand and glorious miracle. Now he asks, "Will you not thank me for what I have done?" How will we respond? Will we, like the girl, say, "No thanks for you. You make me give up too much. You keep me from my toys, my stuff, my own way"? That would be the worst of worldly wisdom. No instead, I invite us all to join together in amazement at the wisdom and power of God's Son, our Savior.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)

Note: This sermon is modified from but highly dependent on a sermon written by Rev. Ken Klaus in August 2000 Concordia Pulpit Resource. At the time, Rev. Klaus was the pastor at St. John Lutheran Church, Chaska, MN. He is now the Speaker for the Lutheran Hour.