Sermon for Laetare, 2025

The devil is always about us. That’s one of the major themes the season of Lent drives home: the devil and his demons and minions are seemingly everywhere. The devil himself is there, in the wilderness, tempting our Lord. Then, there are the demons, possessing the Canaanite woman’s daughter and the son of the father, both of whom came to Jesus for help, not to mention the mute man, of which we heard about last Sunday. And then, there are the devil’s minions, who accuse Jesus of being in league with the prince of demons and question His authority; next Sunday, these children of the devil will go so far as to claim Jesus Himself as being possessed by a demon. Then, there comes Holy Week, in which the devil enters into Judas Iscariot. Yes, the devil, his demons and minions, they who are the enemies of the Lord and us, are everywhere, it seems. 

Everywhere, except here, in this Gospel. Here, there’s no devil, no demons, no enemies. Indeed, there’s no disease, no want, no hunger; there’s not even death. Here, there’s only Jesus with a multitude of His followers. Here, in this Gospel, we come to an oasis, as it were; here, we find reprieve from the devil and all manner of troubles that beset us in the wilderness of this life. For where Jesus is, He who is the Bread of Life, all is well for those who partake in Him.

Readings:

• Old Testament: Exodus 16:2-21

• Epistle: Galatians 4:21-31

• Holy Gospel: John 6:1-15

Sermon: