“Heavy Lifting”

Jesus covers a lot of ground in the Gospel today. All the way from millstones around the neck that drown you in the depths of the sea, to serial sinners, to mulberry trees pulled up by the roots, to servants can’t really contribute anything of service to their Master. What ties it all together? Where is Jesus going with this talk?

Heavy lifting. All these different things are tied together by heavy lifting. If someone has a millstone tied around their neck and they go for a little swim in the ocean, it will take a lot of heavy lifting to pull them up from the depths. If a brother sins against you seven times in one day, the same sin, over and over, and each time says “Oh! Look! I did it again. My bad. I’m sorry. Forgive me?” It would take a lot of heavy lifting to overcome the anger rooted deep in your heart and let it all go.

If you passed a mulberry tree and for some odd reason didn’t like mulberries (even though it’s a pretty tree with tasty fruit) and you thought it would look better in the depths of the sea (right next to the guy with the millstone around his neck) it would take some heavy lifting to pull it up by the roots and cast it into the sea. And if you’ve been out in the fields all day, tending sheep, or plowing, and you are bone tired and you come in and your master goes “It’s about time! Can’t you see I’m hungry? Get me some dinner!” It would take some heavy lifting to patiently prepare a meal (while your stomach is growling away).

Heavy lifting. That’s the thing today. But the weird thing (and isn’t there always some weird little thing whenever Jesus gets talking?) is that there’s just one thing that can do all this heavy lifting: from millstones that drown offenders, to forgiveness for the serial sinner, to mulberry trees and late suppers for a grumpy Master. But that one thing that does all that heavy lifting is no bigger than a mustard seed. It’s the tiniest thing—nothing really. It’s Faith. Faith in Christ. That little, inconsequential mustard seed sized thing lifts all these heavy loads.

And hearing that, what would you say? I’d say with the apostles, “Lord! Increase our faith! Give us a bushel basket of Faith!” But Jesus says, “Naw. One mustard seed sized helping of Faith is all you need. That’s plenty enough to lift all these heavy things.” To which we go, “How?”

Let’s start with the sin thing. Jesus says that stumbling blocks are bound to come to us in life. But woe to that person who sets them up! It would be better to fit that guy with a big millstone and have him do a 5k open water ocean swim. Sin is that heavy. That’s the point. We can’t help tripping over sin. But when we sin and thereby lay stumbling blocks for others, well, we belong in the bottom of the sea with a millstone necklace.

So Jesus says if our brothers sins against us, that’s bad. Don’t just let it go. Point it out. Rebuke him for his sin. Because it drags him down too. And when he repents, forgive him. Completely. And if it happens again, repeat the rebuking/forgiving thing as often as needed.

But that’s weird. I understand the rebuking part. But, if sin is such a big problem, shouldn’t we smack the sinner around instead of forgiving? Shouldn’t we teach ‘em all a lesson, make an example out of ‘em? We should—except, like charity, rebuking of sin starts at home. If you’ve started with the log in your own eye (as Jesus says elsewhere) and found forgiveness for that yourself, you’ll be able to help with the speck in your brother’s eye.

So check your own life. How’s it going so far? Have you ever laid a little stumbling block in someone’s life? Ever done some things to your friends and family that you aren’t so proud of? Ever made life tough for your neighbor? If you have, then you should fit yourself for a millstone and take a dip in the deep end of the ocean. Because that’s what God does with sin and sinners.

But Jesus counsels forgiveness for others. Because He promises forgiveness for you. That’s what connects the millstone around our necks with the forgiveness we lavish on those who sin against us. See, there is One who does this heavy lifting. Could you lift yourself from the ocean floor with a millstone around your neck? Me neither. But Jesus can. He might not look all big and buff, but there really is no rock so big He can’t lift it. Make your sin as rough and rocky and heavy as you like. Jesus will lift that rock. He can lift anything. Really.

This is what Jesus is all about. He came down from heaven, descended to the depths where we are drowning. By the cross He dives down deep into the depths of hell itself to find sinners. And when He finds us there on the bottom with the big millstone of our sin anchoring us firmly to the bottom, He lifts us up, like it’s a feather, a float. By His death He descends into hell with us. By His resurrection He pulls us up to the surface with Him and puts us on that lovely little island with palm trees, warm sand, and all the fresh fruit and drink you could want.

Heavy lifting. That’s what Jesus came to do. There’s no heavier weight than sin and by the cross Jesus lifted that millstone off all our necks. By His Word of pardon He takes it all away. And light and free you float with Him right to the top. It’s nice up there. You’ll like the view, the fresh sea breeze, the blue sky, the gentle sound of the surf lapping against the shore.

And when Jesus has done that kind of heavy lifting for you, when He’s taken away the big rock from around your neck and dropped it into the sea never to weigh you down again, and you run into your brother with that big rock around his neck and he drops it on your toe, you don’t just yell “Klutz! Be more careful!” No, you say “man, that’s heavy and that hurts!” And when he says “my bad” you forgive (just as you are forgiven) in the Name of Jesus, and by that word of forgiveness, that rock drops away, and together, you and your brother float right to the top with Jesus.

Jesus does all this. And He does it in us through Faith. Faith is the lever that connects us with Christ, the fulcrum by which all burdens are lifted off us and put on Him. Faith is nothing itself. A mustard seen. A grain of sand. But it connects you to Christ and in this way, some real heavy lifting gets done. The mulberry tree is very pretty but its roots go really deep. Our righteous indignation, our sense of justice seems pretty too, but it tangles our hearts with roots of hate. Faith pulls all that up by the roots; casts it into the sea. So we float light and free.

And there’s no rock laid in our path, no burden, no worry, no duty, no care that Faith in Christ can’t lift—no matter how heavy. And when all that weight is lifted from us, we say: “I didn’t do a thing—Jesus did all the heavy lifting. I only enjoy the fruits of His labor…”

What millstones are you still lugging around? By Word and Sacrament, by Jesus’ forgiveness of all your sins, the heavy lifting is all done for you, right here, right now; and the Peace that passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind—make you light and free—in Christ Jesus. Amen.