Sermon Illustrations for All Saints Day (2022)
Illustration
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149
The Book of Daniel is not to be found among the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. It is in the final third of the scriptures, known as the writings. Daniel seems to have been written in the midst of the great war between the Maccabees and Antiochus IV Epiphanes between 167 and 165 BC. Prior to the atrocities committed by Antiochus in an attempt to eradicate Jewish identity, especially with regards to religious practices, the people of Judah had experienced a high degree of religious tolerance from the Persians and then the Hellenistic political descendants of Alexander the Great. When some militaristic Judeans rebelled against restrictions instituted by Antiochus, he cracked down both on the rebels and on those who had every intention of working peacefully for accommodation. Tens of thousands were killed or led away to slavery.
The “Wise Ones,” as they may have been known, turned to the stories of Daniel and his fellow Judeans who not only survived but thrived during the Babylonian exile, demonstrating that it was not only possible, but necessary to remain faithful to Jewish rituals and practices while, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, seeking the welfare of the city in which they lived, and praying on its behalf, because their welfare was tied to the welfare of the place they lived. Not just surviving, but thriving, proved to be the best strategy for ultimately triumphing.
After six chapters of stories set in the Babylonian era, during which Daniel, among other things, interprets the dreams of others, true apocalyptic passages as we know them begin with chapter 7, with Daniel himself receiving a startling dream. The interpretation of the dream comes from angelic representatives of heaven. What Daniel sees in a succession of four beasts is an interpretation of history in which God’s people triumph. Most students of the book agree that these four beasts stand for the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Greeks. What we learn in the selected verses is the crucial lesson — these empires are fearsome and dangerous — but they have their day and are gone. All of them. That’s why when someone interprets these beasts in terms of modern history, they are correct if they remember that these beasts correctly stood for the succession of dictators and Thousand Year Reich’s that have come and gone! The key learning is in verse 18. Jesus is right. The meek shall inherit the earth.
Psalm 149 is a good choice to go along with this passage. Our new song celebrates the fact that “…the Lord….adorns the humble with victory.” (149:4) Instead of monstrous beasts lording it over God’s people temporarily, “…the faithful…will sing for joy” (149:5) and will ultimately “…bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron…” (149:8)
Frank R.
* * *
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149
I came across this story in reading some of Lou Nicholes’ writings. It was a Saturday afternoon. Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin was packed. Over 60,000 University of Wisconsin fans were watching their Badgers take a beating from the Michigan State Spartans. What seemed odd was that as the score became more lopsided, bursts of cheers kept being heard in the stands. People began to wonder who these strange people were who were cheering while their team was being pummeled.
A simple investigation revealed that seventy miles away from Badger stadium the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in a playoff game. Many of the Badger fans in the stands were listening to portable radios and cheering, not for what was in front of their eyes, but for what was far away. The texts today from Psalm 149 and the Daniel passage note that there will be tough times for the people of God. Some tough opposition will win the day occasionally. However, the result is clear. Daniel notes it. “But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever — forever and ever” (Daniel 7:18).
Bill T.
* * *
Ephesians 1:11-23
On this day when we reflect on how all the saints (the faithful) remain united in praise, a lesson like this one extolling the majesty of Christ in the universe is so fitting. Billy Graham has directed us to appreciate the cosmic character of Christ’s work, as he one wrote:
God undertook the most dramatic rescue operation in cosmic history. He determined to save the human race from self-destruction, and he sent his son Jesus Christ to salvage and redeem them. The work of man’s redemption was accomplished on the cross.
Famed 20th-century French Catholic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin takes the next step in finding Christ actually in matter. Just living puts you in touch with Christ who is everywhere. He writes:
The principle of unity which saves our guilty world, where all is in process of returning to dust, is Christ. Through the force of his magnetism, the light of his ethical teaching, the unitive power of his very being, Jesus establishes again at the heart of the world the harmony of all endeavours and the convergence of all beings. (Hymn of the Universe, p.147)
An eminent theologian of the 2nd-century Church, Justin Martyr believed much the same thing as he claimed that “we have shown that he [Christ[ is the reason of whom the whole human race partake.” (Apology, I.xlvi.2) Whenever we are thinking good and true thoughts, Christ is there in our midst! His presence is everywhere in life. And then we can sing with the song of comfort with Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch heroine of the Holocaust: “No matter how deep our darkness — he is deeper still.”
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 6:20-31
As a student and fan of history, I was fascinated by this story and have read it in various forms and publications. A Baptist pastor, named Peter Miller, lived during the American Revolutionary War. Miller lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the friendship of George Washington. Michael Wittman, an evil-minded sort who did all he could to oppose and humiliate Miller, also lived in Ephrata.
One day Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die. Peter Miller walked seventy miles to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the traitor.
“No, Peter,” General Washington said. “I cannot grant you the life of your friend.”
“My friend!” exclaimed the old preacher. “He’s the bitterest enemy I have.”
“What?” cried Washington. “You’ve walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in different light. I’ll grant your pardon.”
How do we treat those who oppose us? Jesus makes it clear what his followers are to do. “Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). Corrie Ten Boom once said, “You never so touch the ocean of God’s love as when you forgive and love your enemies.”
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 6:20-31
Woes and blessed
Check this week’s sermon!
I’d like to chuckle over that statistic, but I remember when I was in junior high, praying earnestly for the Rams to beat the Packers. Twice.
Junior high was my first year out of parochial school. For once I was going to school without wearing a uniform. I still had to learn that blue didn’t match blue, as in blue sneakers, and a dark blue polo shirt. Now in those days you didn’t always get to see the local team play so I listened to the first game in late December. I prayed and I prayed during that game, and with time running out, the Rams blocked a punt, ran it back to the five yard line, and scored shortly thereafter, to win 27-24. Go Rams! Go God!
A couple weeks later the two teams met in the playoffs, and I prayed! The Rams scored first but failed to take a ten point lead when they missed a field goal. After that the game went south and the Packers won 28-7, and then beat the Cowboys in that classic — the Ice Bowl.
Fifty-five years later I’m now pretty certain that the outcome of the game had less to do with the fact that the first game was play in LA in 57 degree weather, and the second was played in Green Bay where the wind chill was -3.
Now I’m not the first one who thinks God cares about the outcome of the big game. Shades of Ben Hur. Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire when someone purchased a curse to use against the Blue Chariot Team. The first part of the curse called on the pagan gods Sarkenos, Belchmu, Parthaon, Didyme, Muphike to “smite the horses of the Blues and hold them back….” But to be fair, the same curse called on the Christian angels Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, Boueol, go off to the hippodrome so that you may cast down, cause to fall, and bind the horses….”
And then there’s this other curse, from the fourth century AD, that was directed against three specific runners in an important race. “Remain like stones, unmoving, un-running…” Sounds like me when I ran the hundred-yard dash in high school.
Well, if God doesn’t care about the big game, what does God care about? Well, this passage from the beginning of Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, gives us a pretty good idea.
Jesus is not saying there is something blessed about being poor, or hungry, or weeping with sorrow, or being excluded, reviled, and defamed. Those are bad things. But we are to identify with us, live with us, work with us, change things.
What kind of blessing is it to say, Lucky for you you’re poor. I’m so envious. You’ve got it made.
Many in Jesus’ day, as now, were living hand to mouth, unsure always what was coming next. Many were enslaved. They were weeping for real reasons. But we are not to be treated like a separate species.
Because Luke’s Gospel is filled with rich people who follow Jesus. It is addressed to Theophilus who is Luke’s patron, and pays him for the time he spent writing the gospel. Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, with his wife, the centurion who built the synagogue for the locals out of his own pocket, Mary and Martha who own their home, Zaccheus the tax collector, the rich women Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Salome with others who support the ministry of Jesus — these are well off people. In Volume 2 of his work, The Acts of the apostles, Luke talks about who seems to have had a monopoly on the manufacture of purple dye, as well as Mary, the mother of Mark, who owned the upper room where the last supper, Pentecost, and which served as the house church for believers when Peter was miraculously released from prison. Their lives are touched by Jesus as much as the widow of Nain who loses her support with the death of her son, or the woman with the flow of blood who has spent all her money on medicine.
Jesus is not suggesting that we should seek misery — but he knows misery will find us. And the woes, which are terrible, are for those on the sideline. When Jesus addressed these woes, they were addressed to all of who stand on the sideline.
Frank R.
The Book of Daniel is not to be found among the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. It is in the final third of the scriptures, known as the writings. Daniel seems to have been written in the midst of the great war between the Maccabees and Antiochus IV Epiphanes between 167 and 165 BC. Prior to the atrocities committed by Antiochus in an attempt to eradicate Jewish identity, especially with regards to religious practices, the people of Judah had experienced a high degree of religious tolerance from the Persians and then the Hellenistic political descendants of Alexander the Great. When some militaristic Judeans rebelled against restrictions instituted by Antiochus, he cracked down both on the rebels and on those who had every intention of working peacefully for accommodation. Tens of thousands were killed or led away to slavery.
The “Wise Ones,” as they may have been known, turned to the stories of Daniel and his fellow Judeans who not only survived but thrived during the Babylonian exile, demonstrating that it was not only possible, but necessary to remain faithful to Jewish rituals and practices while, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, seeking the welfare of the city in which they lived, and praying on its behalf, because their welfare was tied to the welfare of the place they lived. Not just surviving, but thriving, proved to be the best strategy for ultimately triumphing.
After six chapters of stories set in the Babylonian era, during which Daniel, among other things, interprets the dreams of others, true apocalyptic passages as we know them begin with chapter 7, with Daniel himself receiving a startling dream. The interpretation of the dream comes from angelic representatives of heaven. What Daniel sees in a succession of four beasts is an interpretation of history in which God’s people triumph. Most students of the book agree that these four beasts stand for the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Greeks. What we learn in the selected verses is the crucial lesson — these empires are fearsome and dangerous — but they have their day and are gone. All of them. That’s why when someone interprets these beasts in terms of modern history, they are correct if they remember that these beasts correctly stood for the succession of dictators and Thousand Year Reich’s that have come and gone! The key learning is in verse 18. Jesus is right. The meek shall inherit the earth.
Psalm 149 is a good choice to go along with this passage. Our new song celebrates the fact that “…the Lord….adorns the humble with victory.” (149:4) Instead of monstrous beasts lording it over God’s people temporarily, “…the faithful…will sing for joy” (149:5) and will ultimately “…bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron…” (149:8)
Frank R.
* * *
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149
I came across this story in reading some of Lou Nicholes’ writings. It was a Saturday afternoon. Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin was packed. Over 60,000 University of Wisconsin fans were watching their Badgers take a beating from the Michigan State Spartans. What seemed odd was that as the score became more lopsided, bursts of cheers kept being heard in the stands. People began to wonder who these strange people were who were cheering while their team was being pummeled.
A simple investigation revealed that seventy miles away from Badger stadium the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in a playoff game. Many of the Badger fans in the stands were listening to portable radios and cheering, not for what was in front of their eyes, but for what was far away. The texts today from Psalm 149 and the Daniel passage note that there will be tough times for the people of God. Some tough opposition will win the day occasionally. However, the result is clear. Daniel notes it. “But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever — forever and ever” (Daniel 7:18).
Bill T.
* * *
Ephesians 1:11-23
On this day when we reflect on how all the saints (the faithful) remain united in praise, a lesson like this one extolling the majesty of Christ in the universe is so fitting. Billy Graham has directed us to appreciate the cosmic character of Christ’s work, as he one wrote:
God undertook the most dramatic rescue operation in cosmic history. He determined to save the human race from self-destruction, and he sent his son Jesus Christ to salvage and redeem them. The work of man’s redemption was accomplished on the cross.
Famed 20th-century French Catholic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin takes the next step in finding Christ actually in matter. Just living puts you in touch with Christ who is everywhere. He writes:
The principle of unity which saves our guilty world, where all is in process of returning to dust, is Christ. Through the force of his magnetism, the light of his ethical teaching, the unitive power of his very being, Jesus establishes again at the heart of the world the harmony of all endeavours and the convergence of all beings. (Hymn of the Universe, p.147)
An eminent theologian of the 2nd-century Church, Justin Martyr believed much the same thing as he claimed that “we have shown that he [Christ[ is the reason of whom the whole human race partake.” (Apology, I.xlvi.2) Whenever we are thinking good and true thoughts, Christ is there in our midst! His presence is everywhere in life. And then we can sing with the song of comfort with Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch heroine of the Holocaust: “No matter how deep our darkness — he is deeper still.”
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 6:20-31
As a student and fan of history, I was fascinated by this story and have read it in various forms and publications. A Baptist pastor, named Peter Miller, lived during the American Revolutionary War. Miller lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the friendship of George Washington. Michael Wittman, an evil-minded sort who did all he could to oppose and humiliate Miller, also lived in Ephrata.
One day Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die. Peter Miller walked seventy miles to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the traitor.
“No, Peter,” General Washington said. “I cannot grant you the life of your friend.”
“My friend!” exclaimed the old preacher. “He’s the bitterest enemy I have.”
“What?” cried Washington. “You’ve walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in different light. I’ll grant your pardon.”
How do we treat those who oppose us? Jesus makes it clear what his followers are to do. “Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). Corrie Ten Boom once said, “You never so touch the ocean of God’s love as when you forgive and love your enemies.”
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 6:20-31
Woes and blessed
Check this week’s sermon!
I’d like to chuckle over that statistic, but I remember when I was in junior high, praying earnestly for the Rams to beat the Packers. Twice.
Junior high was my first year out of parochial school. For once I was going to school without wearing a uniform. I still had to learn that blue didn’t match blue, as in blue sneakers, and a dark blue polo shirt. Now in those days you didn’t always get to see the local team play so I listened to the first game in late December. I prayed and I prayed during that game, and with time running out, the Rams blocked a punt, ran it back to the five yard line, and scored shortly thereafter, to win 27-24. Go Rams! Go God!
A couple weeks later the two teams met in the playoffs, and I prayed! The Rams scored first but failed to take a ten point lead when they missed a field goal. After that the game went south and the Packers won 28-7, and then beat the Cowboys in that classic — the Ice Bowl.
Fifty-five years later I’m now pretty certain that the outcome of the game had less to do with the fact that the first game was play in LA in 57 degree weather, and the second was played in Green Bay where the wind chill was -3.
Now I’m not the first one who thinks God cares about the outcome of the big game. Shades of Ben Hur. Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire when someone purchased a curse to use against the Blue Chariot Team. The first part of the curse called on the pagan gods Sarkenos, Belchmu, Parthaon, Didyme, Muphike to “smite the horses of the Blues and hold them back….” But to be fair, the same curse called on the Christian angels Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, Boueol, go off to the hippodrome so that you may cast down, cause to fall, and bind the horses….”
And then there’s this other curse, from the fourth century AD, that was directed against three specific runners in an important race. “Remain like stones, unmoving, un-running…” Sounds like me when I ran the hundred-yard dash in high school.
Well, if God doesn’t care about the big game, what does God care about? Well, this passage from the beginning of Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, gives us a pretty good idea.
Jesus is not saying there is something blessed about being poor, or hungry, or weeping with sorrow, or being excluded, reviled, and defamed. Those are bad things. But we are to identify with us, live with us, work with us, change things.
What kind of blessing is it to say, Lucky for you you’re poor. I’m so envious. You’ve got it made.
Many in Jesus’ day, as now, were living hand to mouth, unsure always what was coming next. Many were enslaved. They were weeping for real reasons. But we are not to be treated like a separate species.
Because Luke’s Gospel is filled with rich people who follow Jesus. It is addressed to Theophilus who is Luke’s patron, and pays him for the time he spent writing the gospel. Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, with his wife, the centurion who built the synagogue for the locals out of his own pocket, Mary and Martha who own their home, Zaccheus the tax collector, the rich women Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Salome with others who support the ministry of Jesus — these are well off people. In Volume 2 of his work, The Acts of the apostles, Luke talks about who seems to have had a monopoly on the manufacture of purple dye, as well as Mary, the mother of Mark, who owned the upper room where the last supper, Pentecost, and which served as the house church for believers when Peter was miraculously released from prison. Their lives are touched by Jesus as much as the widow of Nain who loses her support with the death of her son, or the woman with the flow of blood who has spent all her money on medicine.
Jesus is not suggesting that we should seek misery — but he knows misery will find us. And the woes, which are terrible, are for those on the sideline. When Jesus addressed these woes, they were addressed to all of who stand on the sideline.
Frank R.
