Keeping Others in Mind
Commentary
Those of you who read my material know that I am always insistent that we keep the people and the events related to our daily selection uppermost in mind. In fact, the most accurate exegete will remember: the original event and what it must have meant to those present; those who were being addressed by the writer, when he chose to record the event for purposes related to his own day; what the church has often made of such material; and our own day and situation. It seems to me that we bring the most legitimate lessons into the present when we are as faithful to the original meanings as we can be.
Often we get an idea, write our sermon, and then begin to scratch through the scriptures in an attempt to see if we can find something that will fit. It is then that we are most likely to interpret the scriptures less accurately.
So, do the homework. We do have much knowledge about the people and the times of the Bible. We ought to use it. It will fire our imagination, color our language, give what we say a sense of reality, and develop a sense of interest on the part of our listeners, which will be both surprising and maybe even a little threatening to us.
It never ceases to surprise me just how contemporary the Bible remains. Perhaps it is because it dwells on the heart of our relationship to God and to one another as well as ourselves. In these areas of life and passion it seems that things have a way of remaining much the same. That is why we can trust what we read and trust ourselves if we remain faithful to the text, to the writers, and to the people whose lives and passions were addressed long ago.
OUTLINE I
Exaggeration!
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Introduction: As you begin, remember that you are working with what is considered Isaiah 1; this material is composed as it is becoming clear that exile is inevitable. It will be helpful if you will at least scan all the preceding chapters once again, just to refresh your mind as to the level of pain, disappointment, and despair in the hearts of the people.
Isaiah 1 paints more than a coming scene of gloom and doom. He can peer past what he sees in the near future and realize that it will be his God who will, at the last, have the final word of victory. He is so clearly overwhelmed by this victorious vision that nothing less than exaggeration will carry his message.
A. Assurance. In a time when it was thought that if a people failed, in war or some other undertaking, they were following a weak god, this prophet is able to stand in the midst of a proclamation of coming disaster and yet proclaim the sovereignty and ultimate power of Yahweh. That is true faith. It is easy to make such statements when all goes well and victories are on every hand. It is another matter to stand in the face of IsaiahÕs plight and keep asserting confidence.
B. Exaggeration. A dream. Illness, pain, suffering, deprivation, hunger, thirst, want -- all these were more the order of the day for many in IsaiahÕs land. Here he brings a vision that turns the world inside out and upside-down, and lets one gaze upon the coveted Messianic Age when there will be more than plenty for all.
Conclusion: GodÕs people know they exaggerate. Such was necessary for the Hebrew, because their language was bereft of hyperbole. But their language was not bereft of poetry, which could speak marvelously of the outrageousness of a prodigal God who stands ready to bestow more upon us than we dare ask. Encourage your people to ask, and to anticipate receiving, because there is one who wishes to offer showers of blessing greatly exceeding our dreams.
OUTLINE II
Helpful Hints for Churchmanship
James 1:17-22, 23-27
Introduction: One of the helpful things to remember when reading a letter like JamesÕ is that such letters are addressed to real people in real situations. Sometimes I think we consider these letters to be part of a collection of guidelines that someone put together for the benefit of churches down through the ages. Far from it. These are life and blood documents addressed to real people with real problems, people who needed direction. Note how todayÕs selection breaks easily into three useful sections.
A. Clean Up Your Act. It is helpful to remember that, although many pagan people of that day were very religious, most of them made little or no connection between their religion and their daily lives. Christianity, heir to the ethical religion of the Jews, had its hands full as it sought not only to preach and teach the act of God in Christ, but to call for ethical response as well. For many, this was not only something new, but irrelevant. There are still those who want to separate life and faith: to plead that God knows their heart, and what they do with the body does not matter. Note that the New Testament has much to say in opposition.
B. Deference. Not only is there a call for new life among Christians, there is also a call for equality. Before the God of Jesus there are no privileged. All are equal. This must have blown the minds of people of that day. On every hand, including among the Jews, status, power, position, deference were the order of the day. It is a problem constantly addressed in the New Testament; and, it is a problem that still needs addressing, in the church as well as out of it. Comment on ways in which we violate this spirit of equality, even in the church, and call for a change.
Conclusion: Be careful not to just deal with problems present in New Testament times. There are certainly some contemporary ones that need addressing in the spirit of this letter.
OUTLINE III
Awareness in Retrospect
Mark 7:31-37
Introduction: They must have kicked themselves many times. There they were, right in the presence of the Messiah and too blind to see what was going on.
It is well to remember that this earliest Gospel was written thirty to thirty-five years after the events. One can find in Mark, and in all the Gospels, a sense of a dawning ÒAha,Ó as insight pours into their hearts and minds.
Many of us imagine that we would have tumbled to the truth much earlier, been overcome by his presence. Who says so?
A. Normal. We, too, would have been burdened by our preconceptions. We, too, would have, in all likelihood, been looking for a magnificent king on a white charger. We, too, would have marveled at his power and what he could do and say, and then talked about his IQ or something else. So we have no right to look down on those with him. They acted just as we would, or vice versa.
B. Wake Up Time. Like them, it takes us time to wake up, to begin to put the pieces together and see what is really going on. We expect too much of ourselves and others. We imagine a sudden failing of insight that will turn life upside down and inside out. It is more likely that a gradual dawning will come -- a growing understanding will mature and ripen in heart and mind, until it finally takes root and becomes a part of who and what we are. Then we can declare that we see clearly, and begin to witness as do the writers of the New Testament.
Conclusion: Suggest that your people give themselves a break and stop measuring themselves against some imagined perfect understanding of the Gospel. Encourage them to accept themselves for what they are, know that God does, and ready themselves to move upward and onward. Try the old faithful hymn, ÒJust as I Am,Ó and suggest a rereading of PaulÕs famous lines about himself and his own perfection in his letter to the Philippians.
Often we get an idea, write our sermon, and then begin to scratch through the scriptures in an attempt to see if we can find something that will fit. It is then that we are most likely to interpret the scriptures less accurately.
So, do the homework. We do have much knowledge about the people and the times of the Bible. We ought to use it. It will fire our imagination, color our language, give what we say a sense of reality, and develop a sense of interest on the part of our listeners, which will be both surprising and maybe even a little threatening to us.
It never ceases to surprise me just how contemporary the Bible remains. Perhaps it is because it dwells on the heart of our relationship to God and to one another as well as ourselves. In these areas of life and passion it seems that things have a way of remaining much the same. That is why we can trust what we read and trust ourselves if we remain faithful to the text, to the writers, and to the people whose lives and passions were addressed long ago.
OUTLINE I
Exaggeration!
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Introduction: As you begin, remember that you are working with what is considered Isaiah 1; this material is composed as it is becoming clear that exile is inevitable. It will be helpful if you will at least scan all the preceding chapters once again, just to refresh your mind as to the level of pain, disappointment, and despair in the hearts of the people.
Isaiah 1 paints more than a coming scene of gloom and doom. He can peer past what he sees in the near future and realize that it will be his God who will, at the last, have the final word of victory. He is so clearly overwhelmed by this victorious vision that nothing less than exaggeration will carry his message.
A. Assurance. In a time when it was thought that if a people failed, in war or some other undertaking, they were following a weak god, this prophet is able to stand in the midst of a proclamation of coming disaster and yet proclaim the sovereignty and ultimate power of Yahweh. That is true faith. It is easy to make such statements when all goes well and victories are on every hand. It is another matter to stand in the face of IsaiahÕs plight and keep asserting confidence.
B. Exaggeration. A dream. Illness, pain, suffering, deprivation, hunger, thirst, want -- all these were more the order of the day for many in IsaiahÕs land. Here he brings a vision that turns the world inside out and upside-down, and lets one gaze upon the coveted Messianic Age when there will be more than plenty for all.
Conclusion: GodÕs people know they exaggerate. Such was necessary for the Hebrew, because their language was bereft of hyperbole. But their language was not bereft of poetry, which could speak marvelously of the outrageousness of a prodigal God who stands ready to bestow more upon us than we dare ask. Encourage your people to ask, and to anticipate receiving, because there is one who wishes to offer showers of blessing greatly exceeding our dreams.
OUTLINE II
Helpful Hints for Churchmanship
James 1:17-22, 23-27
Introduction: One of the helpful things to remember when reading a letter like JamesÕ is that such letters are addressed to real people in real situations. Sometimes I think we consider these letters to be part of a collection of guidelines that someone put together for the benefit of churches down through the ages. Far from it. These are life and blood documents addressed to real people with real problems, people who needed direction. Note how todayÕs selection breaks easily into three useful sections.
A. Clean Up Your Act. It is helpful to remember that, although many pagan people of that day were very religious, most of them made little or no connection between their religion and their daily lives. Christianity, heir to the ethical religion of the Jews, had its hands full as it sought not only to preach and teach the act of God in Christ, but to call for ethical response as well. For many, this was not only something new, but irrelevant. There are still those who want to separate life and faith: to plead that God knows their heart, and what they do with the body does not matter. Note that the New Testament has much to say in opposition.
B. Deference. Not only is there a call for new life among Christians, there is also a call for equality. Before the God of Jesus there are no privileged. All are equal. This must have blown the minds of people of that day. On every hand, including among the Jews, status, power, position, deference were the order of the day. It is a problem constantly addressed in the New Testament; and, it is a problem that still needs addressing, in the church as well as out of it. Comment on ways in which we violate this spirit of equality, even in the church, and call for a change.
Conclusion: Be careful not to just deal with problems present in New Testament times. There are certainly some contemporary ones that need addressing in the spirit of this letter.
OUTLINE III
Awareness in Retrospect
Mark 7:31-37
Introduction: They must have kicked themselves many times. There they were, right in the presence of the Messiah and too blind to see what was going on.
It is well to remember that this earliest Gospel was written thirty to thirty-five years after the events. One can find in Mark, and in all the Gospels, a sense of a dawning ÒAha,Ó as insight pours into their hearts and minds.
Many of us imagine that we would have tumbled to the truth much earlier, been overcome by his presence. Who says so?
A. Normal. We, too, would have been burdened by our preconceptions. We, too, would have, in all likelihood, been looking for a magnificent king on a white charger. We, too, would have marveled at his power and what he could do and say, and then talked about his IQ or something else. So we have no right to look down on those with him. They acted just as we would, or vice versa.
B. Wake Up Time. Like them, it takes us time to wake up, to begin to put the pieces together and see what is really going on. We expect too much of ourselves and others. We imagine a sudden failing of insight that will turn life upside down and inside out. It is more likely that a gradual dawning will come -- a growing understanding will mature and ripen in heart and mind, until it finally takes root and becomes a part of who and what we are. Then we can declare that we see clearly, and begin to witness as do the writers of the New Testament.
Conclusion: Suggest that your people give themselves a break and stop measuring themselves against some imagined perfect understanding of the Gospel. Encourage them to accept themselves for what they are, know that God does, and ready themselves to move upward and onward. Try the old faithful hymn, ÒJust as I Am,Ó and suggest a rereading of PaulÕs famous lines about himself and his own perfection in his letter to the Philippians.
