Sermon Illustrations for Christ The King (Proper 29) (2017)
Illustration
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
The image of a shepherd is unfamiliar to most of us, and yet the prophet does a good job of sharing the characteristics God fulfills as shepherd: a searcher and a rescuer; one who feeds and provides water; one who gives places of rest; one who finds the lost, heals the injured and strengthens the weak; and one who judges who is included in the flock. Interesting, isn’t it, to view God in this way? The judgment comes at the last and then only because of unjust behavior -- those who push out the weak and the infirm and the thin and the weak are those who are judged.
What if we became like shepherds seeking out those who were lost or needed rescuing, feeding the hungry and providing water for the thirsty, providing shelter and rest, healing the injured and strengthening the weak? What if we lived out our lives sharing the gifts we have, to care for the least among us, to protect the marginalized and pushed out? That’s who Jesus was. That’s who Jesus calls us to be. Maybe being a shepherd is not so very unfamiliar after all.
Bonnie B.
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
God, speaking through the prophet, pledges to be the good shepherd we hear so much about through Jesus, whose reign we celebrate on this day. In the context of this speech God seems to be speaking to the exiles. Some people speak of one Exile, but at the time the Temple was destroyed God’s people were scattered in several exiles, not only to Babylon, but to Egypt and throughout the Western World.
Regardless of how scattered they were, God promises to shepherd them back together, seeking the lost and scattered, and healing the injured -- but God will also judge the sheep who have bullied and oppressed the others. This has not gone unnoticed. God’s reign will truly commence when a king from the line of David is restored. To Christians this is understood to be Jesus. The passage makes it clear that when Christ’s reign is recognized all over the world, there will not only be restoration and healing but also judgment towards the bullies and blowhards.
Frank R.
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
When the prophet says that David will be our shepherd, he means Jesus who was a descendant of David.
It is true that God’s people are scattered all over the world, and only God will bring his own back with him because he recognizes who we are. Not only on the mission field, but also right here in America God will sort through to find his sheep. Some have not found a church and are wandering around, but God will bring them back to his flock. Yes, there are some who will not come back, and he knows who they are. Sometimes we can tell who are God’s sheep when we meet them. But some may be goats who could even be family members -- a son or daughter who refuses to come back to the flock. I’m sure God weeps over them as much as we do.
What is our own land? Most of us Americans (other than Indian tribes) are from another land. Could God have our country in mind for today? My family migrated from Denmark, but my folks always told me that we were American. As that song goes, “This is my land...”
My first job out of college was teaching Apache Indians in New Mexico, but they seemed out of place. Our country sent them to schools where they were forbidden to use their own language and were punished if they did. They were also forced to live in isolated reservations that might have been only a small part of their land. Their only hope is that they were living in the land that God gave them, even if it might be a smaller part of it.
We may all be from different parts of the world, but now we are back in the land God has given us. We are where we are because God’s Shepherd has led us here.
Our church can also help us feel at home!
Bob O.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Bishop Desmond Tutu once said: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” That’s a remarkable quote from a person who’s seen a lot of difficulty and suffering. How do people who go through the most difficult of circumstances maintain hope? The answer lies in what Paul wrote to the churches of Asia Minor in Ephesians 1. Paul is praying for the Christians there to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation as they come to know him. He wants the eyes of their hearts enlightened so they might know the hope to which they were called. What is that hope? The riches and the glorious inheritance of the saints! The whole letter of Ephesians is written to encourage and strengthen the believers of Asia Minor. Is there any greater encouragement than a reminder of the hope that is ours in Christ?
I’m reminded of the man who once walked by a Little League field and saw a boy in the outfield. There was a lull in the game, so the man asked the boy how it was going. “Aw,” the boy said, “We’re losing 22-0.”
“Wow,” the man said. “It’s been a rough game for you. Are you bummed about it?”
The boy turned and looked at the man and shook his head. “Nah,” he said. “We haven’t been up to bat yet.”
That’s hope. When things are looking bleak, know that what Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesians applies to us. We may be down, but God’s team still gets to bat.
Bill T.
Ephesians 1:15-23
A 2011 LifeWay Research poll of the unchurched found that 57% of them think finding the meaning of life is a priority. The idea that the glorified Christ points us to the meaning and purpose of life is the message of this lesson, according to several famed theologians. Twentieth-century Reformed theologian Karl Barth put it this way: “When the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ and his community it really speaks of the goal (and therefore of the origin and beginning) of all earthly things.... It is the goal and end of all the ways of God” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/2, p. 301).
Barth’s contemporary, French Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, speaks of Christ’s permeation of the entire cosmos: “In the beginning was the Word, supremely capable of mastering and molding whatever might come into being in the work of matter. In the beginning there were not coldness and darkness: there was Fire... once again the Fire has penetrated the earth.... All things individually and collectively are penetrated and flooded by it, from the innermost core of the tiniest atom to the mighty sweep of the most universal laws of being: so naturally as it flooded every element, every energy, every connecting-link in the unity of our cosmos; that one might suppose the cosmos to have burst spontaneously into flame” (Hymn of the Universe, pp. 21, 23-24).
By permeating all that is, Christ sets us and the world on fire with meaning and love. He also embodies God’s commitment to justice, and so his permeation of the universe assures us that in the midst of all the chaos and meaninglessness of life God will ensure that justice prevails. Martin Luther King Jr. said it this way: “Those of us who call the name of Jesus Christ find something at the center of our faith which forever reminds us that God is on the side of truth and justice. Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumph of Easter.... Yes, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice” (A Testament of Hope, p. 88).
Mark E.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Rev. Mary Finklea is the pastor of Cross and Crown Lutheran Church in Florence, South Carolina. She wrote an article in which she recognized Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation, and his contribution to making the Bible available to all Christians. Finklea expressed her gratitude of being able to become a student of the Bible when she wrote: “I like to think of it as a library. The Bible is full of books and letters of different times and places, written for different purposes. And yet it comes together for people of faith as a revelation of who God is and who we are, as God’s people.”
Application: A central theme in our reading is the desire to obtain wisdom.
Ron L.
Matthew 25:31-46
Sheep and goats, both are raised in the area around where I live. Both are raised for their meat, sometimes both for their coats, and often both for their milk. Jesus uses the sheep and goats to demonstrate something beyond their usefulness. Jesus uses the sheep and goats to remind us of our duty to the world, to see and care for the Christ in all of us, especially those in need.
In the gospels, much earlier, Jesus claims he is the one anointed by the Spirit to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. In many ways Jesus is checking to see if we have paid attention in our own lives to our own calling to feed the hungry, offer drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those imprisoned. What have we done in our lives to fulfill this calling? Where have we given of our blessings to care for the other? When have we shared from our hearts and our spirits and our purses to make the world better for one person, for any person? That’s the question. Only we know the answer.
Bonnie B.
Matthew 25:31-46
In the other gospel passages in which Jesus speaks about the end time, he mostly warns us that the signs don’t mean anything. Wars, rumors of wars, false prophets, false messiahs -- that’s pretty much the default setting. Don’t get too excited each time these things happen.
Here is the one time Jesus describes the last judgment. At the time he speaks these words he is not recognized as king, except perhaps by his enemies who want to denounce him as a danger to the emperor. One assumes that now, as then, the majority of people do not know they behold the king when they behold Jesus. “By whose authority do you do these things?” he has been asked. By his own authority.
Here it is revealed that the Son of Man is judge and king.
And now history -- and our own salvation -- hangs in the balance. So the big question as you stand before the judge is: on what are you going to be judged? Jesus is pretty clear how we will be judged. He tells the sheep they will be rewarded because “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-46).
In the end Christ is the king. He gets to choose what it means to be saved. He has the right, the moral authority of a king who was crucified -- that was the charge, right there on the cross.
Frank R.
Matthew 25:31-46
Notice that the angel called all the nations of the world together -- not just Americans or Israelites!
God has his sheep all over. Even those of us who think we know everything can’t separate God’s sheep from Satan’s goats. We can’t pull out our map or globe and point out where God’s sheep may be found.
It sounds like our only job is to make sure we are one of the sheep. One of the places that God is gathering his sheep is in his house -- his church. God has called us there.
Jesus gives us a hint on how we may recognize the sheep -- even in his church! They (we) are the ones who treat everyone as they would treat Jesus. Our generosity is a sign of sheephood.
One thing to remember is that neither the good nor the bad realize what they are doing or are not doing. It is not obvious to us. We need Jesus’ story to help us. Our church can guide us to do the right thing to our neighbor or through the offering plate where funds go to serve Jesus’ people. It is something we have to be aware of every day.
When I had a city church, strangers would stop in and beg for money. In one of my churches we were right across the street from a restaurant. I would give the beggars one of my cards with writing on the other side to the restaurant, telling them to give the recipient a free meal that I would pay for. I would often get a great thank you. But sometimes I watched them through my office window trying to sell the card to someone else. I figured that they must be the goats.
Yes, both sheep and goats came to us for help. I also had to decide if I were a sheep or a goat by whether I sent them away or gave them some help. Sometimes we have to just let God sort them out. It may not be up to us which ones are Jesus in “disguise.”
All l know is that I want to be one of the ones that will come to eternal life!
Bob O.
The image of a shepherd is unfamiliar to most of us, and yet the prophet does a good job of sharing the characteristics God fulfills as shepherd: a searcher and a rescuer; one who feeds and provides water; one who gives places of rest; one who finds the lost, heals the injured and strengthens the weak; and one who judges who is included in the flock. Interesting, isn’t it, to view God in this way? The judgment comes at the last and then only because of unjust behavior -- those who push out the weak and the infirm and the thin and the weak are those who are judged.
What if we became like shepherds seeking out those who were lost or needed rescuing, feeding the hungry and providing water for the thirsty, providing shelter and rest, healing the injured and strengthening the weak? What if we lived out our lives sharing the gifts we have, to care for the least among us, to protect the marginalized and pushed out? That’s who Jesus was. That’s who Jesus calls us to be. Maybe being a shepherd is not so very unfamiliar after all.
Bonnie B.
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
God, speaking through the prophet, pledges to be the good shepherd we hear so much about through Jesus, whose reign we celebrate on this day. In the context of this speech God seems to be speaking to the exiles. Some people speak of one Exile, but at the time the Temple was destroyed God’s people were scattered in several exiles, not only to Babylon, but to Egypt and throughout the Western World.
Regardless of how scattered they were, God promises to shepherd them back together, seeking the lost and scattered, and healing the injured -- but God will also judge the sheep who have bullied and oppressed the others. This has not gone unnoticed. God’s reign will truly commence when a king from the line of David is restored. To Christians this is understood to be Jesus. The passage makes it clear that when Christ’s reign is recognized all over the world, there will not only be restoration and healing but also judgment towards the bullies and blowhards.
Frank R.
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
When the prophet says that David will be our shepherd, he means Jesus who was a descendant of David.
It is true that God’s people are scattered all over the world, and only God will bring his own back with him because he recognizes who we are. Not only on the mission field, but also right here in America God will sort through to find his sheep. Some have not found a church and are wandering around, but God will bring them back to his flock. Yes, there are some who will not come back, and he knows who they are. Sometimes we can tell who are God’s sheep when we meet them. But some may be goats who could even be family members -- a son or daughter who refuses to come back to the flock. I’m sure God weeps over them as much as we do.
What is our own land? Most of us Americans (other than Indian tribes) are from another land. Could God have our country in mind for today? My family migrated from Denmark, but my folks always told me that we were American. As that song goes, “This is my land...”
My first job out of college was teaching Apache Indians in New Mexico, but they seemed out of place. Our country sent them to schools where they were forbidden to use their own language and were punished if they did. They were also forced to live in isolated reservations that might have been only a small part of their land. Their only hope is that they were living in the land that God gave them, even if it might be a smaller part of it.
We may all be from different parts of the world, but now we are back in the land God has given us. We are where we are because God’s Shepherd has led us here.
Our church can also help us feel at home!
Bob O.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Bishop Desmond Tutu once said: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” That’s a remarkable quote from a person who’s seen a lot of difficulty and suffering. How do people who go through the most difficult of circumstances maintain hope? The answer lies in what Paul wrote to the churches of Asia Minor in Ephesians 1. Paul is praying for the Christians there to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation as they come to know him. He wants the eyes of their hearts enlightened so they might know the hope to which they were called. What is that hope? The riches and the glorious inheritance of the saints! The whole letter of Ephesians is written to encourage and strengthen the believers of Asia Minor. Is there any greater encouragement than a reminder of the hope that is ours in Christ?
I’m reminded of the man who once walked by a Little League field and saw a boy in the outfield. There was a lull in the game, so the man asked the boy how it was going. “Aw,” the boy said, “We’re losing 22-0.”
“Wow,” the man said. “It’s been a rough game for you. Are you bummed about it?”
The boy turned and looked at the man and shook his head. “Nah,” he said. “We haven’t been up to bat yet.”
That’s hope. When things are looking bleak, know that what Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesians applies to us. We may be down, but God’s team still gets to bat.
Bill T.
Ephesians 1:15-23
A 2011 LifeWay Research poll of the unchurched found that 57% of them think finding the meaning of life is a priority. The idea that the glorified Christ points us to the meaning and purpose of life is the message of this lesson, according to several famed theologians. Twentieth-century Reformed theologian Karl Barth put it this way: “When the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ and his community it really speaks of the goal (and therefore of the origin and beginning) of all earthly things.... It is the goal and end of all the ways of God” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/2, p. 301).
Barth’s contemporary, French Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, speaks of Christ’s permeation of the entire cosmos: “In the beginning was the Word, supremely capable of mastering and molding whatever might come into being in the work of matter. In the beginning there were not coldness and darkness: there was Fire... once again the Fire has penetrated the earth.... All things individually and collectively are penetrated and flooded by it, from the innermost core of the tiniest atom to the mighty sweep of the most universal laws of being: so naturally as it flooded every element, every energy, every connecting-link in the unity of our cosmos; that one might suppose the cosmos to have burst spontaneously into flame” (Hymn of the Universe, pp. 21, 23-24).
By permeating all that is, Christ sets us and the world on fire with meaning and love. He also embodies God’s commitment to justice, and so his permeation of the universe assures us that in the midst of all the chaos and meaninglessness of life God will ensure that justice prevails. Martin Luther King Jr. said it this way: “Those of us who call the name of Jesus Christ find something at the center of our faith which forever reminds us that God is on the side of truth and justice. Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumph of Easter.... Yes, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice” (A Testament of Hope, p. 88).
Mark E.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Rev. Mary Finklea is the pastor of Cross and Crown Lutheran Church in Florence, South Carolina. She wrote an article in which she recognized Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation, and his contribution to making the Bible available to all Christians. Finklea expressed her gratitude of being able to become a student of the Bible when she wrote: “I like to think of it as a library. The Bible is full of books and letters of different times and places, written for different purposes. And yet it comes together for people of faith as a revelation of who God is and who we are, as God’s people.”
Application: A central theme in our reading is the desire to obtain wisdom.
Ron L.
Matthew 25:31-46
Sheep and goats, both are raised in the area around where I live. Both are raised for their meat, sometimes both for their coats, and often both for their milk. Jesus uses the sheep and goats to demonstrate something beyond their usefulness. Jesus uses the sheep and goats to remind us of our duty to the world, to see and care for the Christ in all of us, especially those in need.
In the gospels, much earlier, Jesus claims he is the one anointed by the Spirit to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. In many ways Jesus is checking to see if we have paid attention in our own lives to our own calling to feed the hungry, offer drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those imprisoned. What have we done in our lives to fulfill this calling? Where have we given of our blessings to care for the other? When have we shared from our hearts and our spirits and our purses to make the world better for one person, for any person? That’s the question. Only we know the answer.
Bonnie B.
Matthew 25:31-46
In the other gospel passages in which Jesus speaks about the end time, he mostly warns us that the signs don’t mean anything. Wars, rumors of wars, false prophets, false messiahs -- that’s pretty much the default setting. Don’t get too excited each time these things happen.
Here is the one time Jesus describes the last judgment. At the time he speaks these words he is not recognized as king, except perhaps by his enemies who want to denounce him as a danger to the emperor. One assumes that now, as then, the majority of people do not know they behold the king when they behold Jesus. “By whose authority do you do these things?” he has been asked. By his own authority.
Here it is revealed that the Son of Man is judge and king.
And now history -- and our own salvation -- hangs in the balance. So the big question as you stand before the judge is: on what are you going to be judged? Jesus is pretty clear how we will be judged. He tells the sheep they will be rewarded because “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-46).
In the end Christ is the king. He gets to choose what it means to be saved. He has the right, the moral authority of a king who was crucified -- that was the charge, right there on the cross.
Frank R.
Matthew 25:31-46
Notice that the angel called all the nations of the world together -- not just Americans or Israelites!
God has his sheep all over. Even those of us who think we know everything can’t separate God’s sheep from Satan’s goats. We can’t pull out our map or globe and point out where God’s sheep may be found.
It sounds like our only job is to make sure we are one of the sheep. One of the places that God is gathering his sheep is in his house -- his church. God has called us there.
Jesus gives us a hint on how we may recognize the sheep -- even in his church! They (we) are the ones who treat everyone as they would treat Jesus. Our generosity is a sign of sheephood.
One thing to remember is that neither the good nor the bad realize what they are doing or are not doing. It is not obvious to us. We need Jesus’ story to help us. Our church can guide us to do the right thing to our neighbor or through the offering plate where funds go to serve Jesus’ people. It is something we have to be aware of every day.
When I had a city church, strangers would stop in and beg for money. In one of my churches we were right across the street from a restaurant. I would give the beggars one of my cards with writing on the other side to the restaurant, telling them to give the recipient a free meal that I would pay for. I would often get a great thank you. But sometimes I watched them through my office window trying to sell the card to someone else. I figured that they must be the goats.
Yes, both sheep and goats came to us for help. I also had to decide if I were a sheep or a goat by whether I sent them away or gave them some help. Sometimes we have to just let God sort them out. It may not be up to us which ones are Jesus in “disguise.”
All l know is that I want to be one of the ones that will come to eternal life!
Bob O.
