Sermon Illustrations for Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 (2011)
Illustration
Exodus 17:1-7
Living in a desert nation, it would have been no news to Moses that you could get water from striking a rock. Porous rocks like limestone can trap small amounts of water locked in by mineral deposits. Striking a rock can break away these deposits that stop up the water and cause water to stream forth. The miracle is that it was a sufficient flow of water for a party we're told numbers over a million! God's sign to the Israelites was something like Jesus' sign to Simon Peter when he had Peter cast out his nets and bring in a catch so large the nets began to break. It wasn't impossible that there were fish precisely there, though Peter had been fishing all night and it was unlikely, but God alone can provide in such abundance. Sometimes God asks his people to do ordinary things to produce extraordinary results.
Brian H.
Exodus 17:1-7
We always want more. Sometimes it is greed: we want more wealth, a bigger house, another car. Sometimes it's legitimate: we want to fulfill our needs. We are hungry. We are thirsty. We are shivering with cold. We can see how the Israelites' request is justifiable: they will die without water and then what was the purpose?
Isn't it better to live in bondage than die in freedom? And while we all might be nodding along to that in agreement, I know of at least one who, at least through his actions, is shown to disagree. Dying on a cross may not be the gold standard for freedom but Jesus' death was his greatest act of defiance against the bondage of oppressive dogma.
Leah T.
Exodus 17:1-7
In the October 1739 edition of Poor Richard's Almanac, Benjamin Franklin made this astute observation: "Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden but it is forbidden because it's hurtful."
The Israelites experienced a lot of hurt in the desert, less for their want of thirst and more for their doubt.
Ron L.
Philippians 2:1-13
We live in a society dominated by the American dream. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and make your way in the world. Go from rags to riches. Look out for number one. Don't let anyone stand in the way of becoming great. That mentality has even reached the church in some forms. Get a bigger church. Build that new addition. Get the most people through the doors you can so that others will see how big a congregation you have. Be the best.
While it is good to be industrious and work hard, the drive to be number one goes completely in the opposite direction of this passage. Jesus, the Son of God, left his heavenly throne to not only take on human form but also to die a horrible, tortuous death. If he is to be our example, we cannot look to be a Christian and yet also live out the look-out-for-number-one American dream. As Paul said, "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" (vv. 3-4).
Craig K.
Philippians 2:1-13
When Wayne Muller was ordained he invited Henri Nouwen to preach his ordination sermon. Throughout the sermon Nouwen repeatedly mentioned two words -- "downward mobility" -- so that Muller would never forget these words and their meaning. Muller, fresh out of seminary, was filled with dreams of accomplishing great things for God. Nouwen had a different picture in mind. He challenged the young man to do his work quietly in secret, explaining: "God's loving eye will see your good work in secret and you will be rewarded in secret. Do not seek glory for yourself; the quiet reward is sweeter."
How like Paul's magnificent picture of Jesus' humble style recorded in this Philippian scriptural passage: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself..." (Philippians 2:6).
Richard H.
Matthew 21:23-32
Everybody at school calls Crystal names behind her back. Bad names. They whisper that she pushes drugs. That she's in a gang. That she had an abortion. Each whisper, each insult, is a cut to Crystal's heart. But when she goes home at night, Crystal rocks her toddler half-sister to sleep and tells her stories to cover the noise of the neighbors fighting upstairs. In the morning, she stops by old Miz Thomas' house to see if the lonely old woman needs anything. And when she does run around with her friends -- friends who most people wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole -- they teasingly call her "Mom," because she's always there to give a friend a hand. Crystal knows she's made some mistakes and she knows she can't hope to make up for them -- at least not enough to be accepted by the "nice kids." So she does what she does. And she doesn't expect any rewards.
Leah T.
Matthew 21:23-32
In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall and was used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we use the expression or title "chairman" or "chairman of the board."
Observing Jesus' teachings and healings, the Jewish authorities asked, if not demanded, to know "By what authority are you doing these things?" In turning the question back on the high priests and then sharing a parable, Jesus clearly established that his authority came from God. Jesus clearly was the "chairman of the board" when it came to interpreting the law and the prophets.
Ron L.
Matthew 21:23-32
It can be tempting to look admiringly at some politicians for the amount of power they hold. It's not always clear how much our vote really impacts the process but they have a direct voice in one of the most powerful governments in history. Sometimes we wish our views and opinions counted as much. But we forget that whether at their best or their worst, politicians don't have the luxury of representing their true convictions but have to tailor their platforms to public opinion. They have to say they believe what their constituencies believe or they will soon be out of office. The chief priests and the elders are in a similar situation. They can't respond to Jesus however they want; if the crowds don't like their answer, the people might stop listening to their authority and follow Jesus even more. They're victims of their own power.
Brian H.
Living in a desert nation, it would have been no news to Moses that you could get water from striking a rock. Porous rocks like limestone can trap small amounts of water locked in by mineral deposits. Striking a rock can break away these deposits that stop up the water and cause water to stream forth. The miracle is that it was a sufficient flow of water for a party we're told numbers over a million! God's sign to the Israelites was something like Jesus' sign to Simon Peter when he had Peter cast out his nets and bring in a catch so large the nets began to break. It wasn't impossible that there were fish precisely there, though Peter had been fishing all night and it was unlikely, but God alone can provide in such abundance. Sometimes God asks his people to do ordinary things to produce extraordinary results.
Brian H.
Exodus 17:1-7
We always want more. Sometimes it is greed: we want more wealth, a bigger house, another car. Sometimes it's legitimate: we want to fulfill our needs. We are hungry. We are thirsty. We are shivering with cold. We can see how the Israelites' request is justifiable: they will die without water and then what was the purpose?
Isn't it better to live in bondage than die in freedom? And while we all might be nodding along to that in agreement, I know of at least one who, at least through his actions, is shown to disagree. Dying on a cross may not be the gold standard for freedom but Jesus' death was his greatest act of defiance against the bondage of oppressive dogma.
Leah T.
Exodus 17:1-7
In the October 1739 edition of Poor Richard's Almanac, Benjamin Franklin made this astute observation: "Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden but it is forbidden because it's hurtful."
The Israelites experienced a lot of hurt in the desert, less for their want of thirst and more for their doubt.
Ron L.
Philippians 2:1-13
We live in a society dominated by the American dream. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and make your way in the world. Go from rags to riches. Look out for number one. Don't let anyone stand in the way of becoming great. That mentality has even reached the church in some forms. Get a bigger church. Build that new addition. Get the most people through the doors you can so that others will see how big a congregation you have. Be the best.
While it is good to be industrious and work hard, the drive to be number one goes completely in the opposite direction of this passage. Jesus, the Son of God, left his heavenly throne to not only take on human form but also to die a horrible, tortuous death. If he is to be our example, we cannot look to be a Christian and yet also live out the look-out-for-number-one American dream. As Paul said, "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" (vv. 3-4).
Craig K.
Philippians 2:1-13
When Wayne Muller was ordained he invited Henri Nouwen to preach his ordination sermon. Throughout the sermon Nouwen repeatedly mentioned two words -- "downward mobility" -- so that Muller would never forget these words and their meaning. Muller, fresh out of seminary, was filled with dreams of accomplishing great things for God. Nouwen had a different picture in mind. He challenged the young man to do his work quietly in secret, explaining: "God's loving eye will see your good work in secret and you will be rewarded in secret. Do not seek glory for yourself; the quiet reward is sweeter."
How like Paul's magnificent picture of Jesus' humble style recorded in this Philippian scriptural passage: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself..." (Philippians 2:6).
Richard H.
Matthew 21:23-32
Everybody at school calls Crystal names behind her back. Bad names. They whisper that she pushes drugs. That she's in a gang. That she had an abortion. Each whisper, each insult, is a cut to Crystal's heart. But when she goes home at night, Crystal rocks her toddler half-sister to sleep and tells her stories to cover the noise of the neighbors fighting upstairs. In the morning, she stops by old Miz Thomas' house to see if the lonely old woman needs anything. And when she does run around with her friends -- friends who most people wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole -- they teasingly call her "Mom," because she's always there to give a friend a hand. Crystal knows she's made some mistakes and she knows she can't hope to make up for them -- at least not enough to be accepted by the "nice kids." So she does what she does. And she doesn't expect any rewards.
Leah T.
Matthew 21:23-32
In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall and was used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we use the expression or title "chairman" or "chairman of the board."
Observing Jesus' teachings and healings, the Jewish authorities asked, if not demanded, to know "By what authority are you doing these things?" In turning the question back on the high priests and then sharing a parable, Jesus clearly established that his authority came from God. Jesus clearly was the "chairman of the board" when it came to interpreting the law and the prophets.
Ron L.
Matthew 21:23-32
It can be tempting to look admiringly at some politicians for the amount of power they hold. It's not always clear how much our vote really impacts the process but they have a direct voice in one of the most powerful governments in history. Sometimes we wish our views and opinions counted as much. But we forget that whether at their best or their worst, politicians don't have the luxury of representing their true convictions but have to tailor their platforms to public opinion. They have to say they believe what their constituencies believe or they will soon be out of office. The chief priests and the elders are in a similar situation. They can't respond to Jesus however they want; if the crowds don't like their answer, the people might stop listening to their authority and follow Jesus even more. They're victims of their own power.
Brian H.
