Sermon Illustrations For Epiphany 5 (2023)
Illustration
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
The IF-THEN command is essential in computer programming. IF the result of a calculation is “this,” THEN perform the next function. If not, then do something else. Or do nothing. And scripture has some interesting IF-THEN’s. In this passage from Isaiah people are asking what’s wrong with their programming. “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” They evidently think the humility with which we approach God is a magic formula. “Look, IF we perform the letter of the law, THEN we should get a good result. Why didn’t we get the good results we expected?”
Perhaps this is what their neighbors expected when they worshipped their gods. But the God of both the law and the prophets has programmed the universe around justice. The law of Moses is meant to create a just and equitable society in which the poor and powerless are cared for. As Isaiah notes, the letter of the law is not built into the programming. “You fast only to quarrel and to fight, and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.” (Vs 4)
Here’s the IF-THEN of God’s programming: “IF you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, IF you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, THEN your light shall shine in the darkness….Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt….you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.(vs 10,12)”
The prophets were clear — you can’t expect good results with faulty programming. It’s that simple.
Frank R.
* * *
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
Matt Capps’ “Charles Spurgeon’s ‘The Carrot and the Horse’” blog post from March 31, 2014, reports on a story attributed to Charles Spurgeon in which a gardener presents his king with the greatest carrot he has ever grown. The king is touched and responds by giving the gardener a large plot of land. A nobleman who witnesses this event decides it would be advantageous for him to present the king with his finest horse. He does so, and the king merely thanks him for the horse. The nobleman is confused and so the king explains to him, “That gardener was giving me the carrot. But you were giving yourself the horse.”
God is not impressed with mere outward expressions either. “Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day and oppress all your workers” (vs. 3). God wants his people to worship him in a genuine, authentic way. That should be visible in how they interact with others. Mother Teresa once said, “Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. By transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God himself, with Jesus our Lord.”
Bill T.
* * *
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)
Modern Reformed theologian Karl Barth makes clear how all we do that is good is the result of God’s work on us:
The personal liberation of the Christian further consists in the fact that, borne as with eagles’ wings above the abyss, he is delivered from indecision and set in action. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.I/1, p.241)
Earlier, in a parallel fashion, John Calvin interpreted references to the rewards Christ has prepared (v.9) as gifts of God. He wrote:
I prefer, however, to understand him [Paul] simply as referring to those gifts of God’s grace that are daily conferred upon believers. In these it becomes us always to observe their source, and not confine our views to their present aspect. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XX/1, p.9)
Renowned preacher of the early church John Chrysostom offers a compelling analogy in line with these points:
For God bestowed it [reason] that it might learn and receive help from him, not that it should consider itself sufficient unto itself. For eyes are beautiful and useful, but should they choose to see without light, their beauty profits them nothing; not yet their natural force, but even doth harm. So if you mark it, any soul also, if it choose to see without the Spirit, becomes even an impediment unto itself. (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.12, p.38)
Mark E.
* * *
1 Corinthians 2:1-12
Not many of us profess or even claim our weakness. Yet, in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he does just that. “And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” Paul, the church planter of all church planters confesses his coming in weakness and fear. What Paul proclaims is that we don’t have to be all-knowing. We don’t have to be strong. We don’t even have to be brave. Rather, Paul reminds us that God’s strength is sufficient. God’s truth is enough for us to profess and proclaim. There is a blessing for each of us in this letter. There is the reminder that who we are, at this moment and even into the future, is enough for God and enough for the work God has laid before us. I am so thankful for that.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Matthew 5:13-20
John Wesley preached on The Beatitudes and offered helpful comments about why they are relevant for faith:
When I say, this [Christianity] is essentially a social religion, I mean not only that it cannot subsist... at all, without society — without living and conversing with other men... But if this be shown, then doubtless, to turn this religion into a solitary one is to destroy it. (Works of John Wesley, Vol.5, pp.296-297)
This stress on the text teaching us to engage with our neighbors is balanced by an awareness that we sin in all we do and need Christ’s grace. Martin Luther makes this point:
... those who have been justified in Christ are not sinners and are sinners nevertheless... both righteous and sinner. (Luther’s Works, Vol.27, pp.230-231)
And Saint Augustine noted that because God saves, nothing we do is of ultimate importance, that our activities are a kind of game. Our “important” projects are no more significant than child’s play (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.1, p.49)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 5:13-20
I came across this humorous story. Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. In the days before electricity, an old farmer was getting onto his hired hand for carrying a lantern when he went to call on his girlfriend. He exclaimed, “When I went courting, I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark.” The hired hand nodded and then said with a wry smile, “Yes, and look what it got you.”
I’m not sure that’s a good answer for your boss, but it does make a point. Darkness can cause bad things. Jesus challenges his listeners to be “salt and light.” The world is a dark place. So many people stumble around in the dark, wounding and being wounded. As Jesus is the “light who shined in the darkness” (John 1:5), his followers are to be light, too. Illuminate truth and point to Jesus. He is the only way.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 5:13-20
When Jesus tells us “You are the salt of the earth…” he is telling us we are not just a few grains of salt in a throwaway paper shaker from a fast-food restaurant. We matter!
Now what does Jesus mean when he adds “…but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.”
Chemically, salt will be salt. But if you mix it up with things that are impure — if you mix it with mud, for instance, it’s just gunk. It’s useless. Keep your focus on who we are — we are those who are living kingdom life. We turn the other cheek. We love our enemies. We are the peacemakers, the merciful, the pure of heart. We are salt. We improve everyone’s life. We’re essential for life.
Jesus continues. “You are the light of the world.” Like salt, light is foundational. In Genesis, even before there’s the sun, moon, and stars, God creates light. It is the first act of creating order. There’s the primeval chaos, the world that was, the abyss, chaos, the waters, but the Spirit of God hovers over the waters, chaos is repelled, and God says, “Let there be light.” The universe is changed! Now God’s story can begin.
This is reiterated in the Gospel of John, where we are told in the word is life, and “…the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” A little further on John gets even more specific, talking how Jesus is “The true light, which enlightens everyone…” (John 1:4-5,9)
Now to understand just how we are the ones who cast that light with others, and what a change it makes, consider this verse from Proverbs: Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor. (Proverbs 22:9)
This involves a little bad science but good theology. The ancients believed that the eye sent forth light which illuminated the things we see. In other words, the eye was the source of light. Light shot from your eye and bounced off objects, coming back to you. So, what you see and how you seek it makes a difference — between evil wishes or hope.
They believed in the evil eye — looking at someone with malice could harm them. And that’s true, regardless of the science. We’ve all heard the saying, “If looks could kill….” In a certain sense they do. This proverb emphasizes the opposite. Instead of the evil eye, it speaks of the good eye. The words for good eye are translated as “generous” in most translations. Those who look on the poor with the good eye bless both themselves and those who they help.
We can look with the good eye at the marginalized, the suffering, and the struggling. Keeping in line with the Sermon on the Mount, our eye can be on those who mourn, providing comfort, on the meek, helping them inherit the earth, on the peacemakers, so that all who see them in our light will know they are children of God.
Our light, shooting out of our eyes — again, I know that’s not how light works, and Jesus no doubt knew this too, but Jesus was speaking in terms people understood then and this is what Jesus is telling us now — makes us the city on the hill. We want to be seen. We don’t want to hide our lamp under a bushel basket where we can no longer help people. We shine our light and people see good works and give the glory to our Father in heaven.
(Adapted from the author’s book No Room for The Inn, CSS 2022.)
Frank R.
The IF-THEN command is essential in computer programming. IF the result of a calculation is “this,” THEN perform the next function. If not, then do something else. Or do nothing. And scripture has some interesting IF-THEN’s. In this passage from Isaiah people are asking what’s wrong with their programming. “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” They evidently think the humility with which we approach God is a magic formula. “Look, IF we perform the letter of the law, THEN we should get a good result. Why didn’t we get the good results we expected?”
Perhaps this is what their neighbors expected when they worshipped their gods. But the God of both the law and the prophets has programmed the universe around justice. The law of Moses is meant to create a just and equitable society in which the poor and powerless are cared for. As Isaiah notes, the letter of the law is not built into the programming. “You fast only to quarrel and to fight, and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.” (Vs 4)
Here’s the IF-THEN of God’s programming: “IF you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, IF you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, THEN your light shall shine in the darkness….Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt….you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.(vs 10,12)”
The prophets were clear — you can’t expect good results with faulty programming. It’s that simple.
Frank R.
* * *
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
Matt Capps’ “Charles Spurgeon’s ‘The Carrot and the Horse’” blog post from March 31, 2014, reports on a story attributed to Charles Spurgeon in which a gardener presents his king with the greatest carrot he has ever grown. The king is touched and responds by giving the gardener a large plot of land. A nobleman who witnesses this event decides it would be advantageous for him to present the king with his finest horse. He does so, and the king merely thanks him for the horse. The nobleman is confused and so the king explains to him, “That gardener was giving me the carrot. But you were giving yourself the horse.”
God is not impressed with mere outward expressions either. “Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day and oppress all your workers” (vs. 3). God wants his people to worship him in a genuine, authentic way. That should be visible in how they interact with others. Mother Teresa once said, “Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. By transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God himself, with Jesus our Lord.”
Bill T.
* * *
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)
Modern Reformed theologian Karl Barth makes clear how all we do that is good is the result of God’s work on us:
The personal liberation of the Christian further consists in the fact that, borne as with eagles’ wings above the abyss, he is delivered from indecision and set in action. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.I/1, p.241)
Earlier, in a parallel fashion, John Calvin interpreted references to the rewards Christ has prepared (v.9) as gifts of God. He wrote:
I prefer, however, to understand him [Paul] simply as referring to those gifts of God’s grace that are daily conferred upon believers. In these it becomes us always to observe their source, and not confine our views to their present aspect. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XX/1, p.9)
Renowned preacher of the early church John Chrysostom offers a compelling analogy in line with these points:
For God bestowed it [reason] that it might learn and receive help from him, not that it should consider itself sufficient unto itself. For eyes are beautiful and useful, but should they choose to see without light, their beauty profits them nothing; not yet their natural force, but even doth harm. So if you mark it, any soul also, if it choose to see without the Spirit, becomes even an impediment unto itself. (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.12, p.38)
Mark E.
* * *
1 Corinthians 2:1-12
Not many of us profess or even claim our weakness. Yet, in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he does just that. “And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” Paul, the church planter of all church planters confesses his coming in weakness and fear. What Paul proclaims is that we don’t have to be all-knowing. We don’t have to be strong. We don’t even have to be brave. Rather, Paul reminds us that God’s strength is sufficient. God’s truth is enough for us to profess and proclaim. There is a blessing for each of us in this letter. There is the reminder that who we are, at this moment and even into the future, is enough for God and enough for the work God has laid before us. I am so thankful for that.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Matthew 5:13-20
John Wesley preached on The Beatitudes and offered helpful comments about why they are relevant for faith:
When I say, this [Christianity] is essentially a social religion, I mean not only that it cannot subsist... at all, without society — without living and conversing with other men... But if this be shown, then doubtless, to turn this religion into a solitary one is to destroy it. (Works of John Wesley, Vol.5, pp.296-297)
This stress on the text teaching us to engage with our neighbors is balanced by an awareness that we sin in all we do and need Christ’s grace. Martin Luther makes this point:
... those who have been justified in Christ are not sinners and are sinners nevertheless... both righteous and sinner. (Luther’s Works, Vol.27, pp.230-231)
And Saint Augustine noted that because God saves, nothing we do is of ultimate importance, that our activities are a kind of game. Our “important” projects are no more significant than child’s play (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.1, p.49)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 5:13-20
I came across this humorous story. Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. In the days before electricity, an old farmer was getting onto his hired hand for carrying a lantern when he went to call on his girlfriend. He exclaimed, “When I went courting, I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark.” The hired hand nodded and then said with a wry smile, “Yes, and look what it got you.”
I’m not sure that’s a good answer for your boss, but it does make a point. Darkness can cause bad things. Jesus challenges his listeners to be “salt and light.” The world is a dark place. So many people stumble around in the dark, wounding and being wounded. As Jesus is the “light who shined in the darkness” (John 1:5), his followers are to be light, too. Illuminate truth and point to Jesus. He is the only way.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 5:13-20
When Jesus tells us “You are the salt of the earth…” he is telling us we are not just a few grains of salt in a throwaway paper shaker from a fast-food restaurant. We matter!
Now what does Jesus mean when he adds “…but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.”
Chemically, salt will be salt. But if you mix it up with things that are impure — if you mix it with mud, for instance, it’s just gunk. It’s useless. Keep your focus on who we are — we are those who are living kingdom life. We turn the other cheek. We love our enemies. We are the peacemakers, the merciful, the pure of heart. We are salt. We improve everyone’s life. We’re essential for life.
Jesus continues. “You are the light of the world.” Like salt, light is foundational. In Genesis, even before there’s the sun, moon, and stars, God creates light. It is the first act of creating order. There’s the primeval chaos, the world that was, the abyss, chaos, the waters, but the Spirit of God hovers over the waters, chaos is repelled, and God says, “Let there be light.” The universe is changed! Now God’s story can begin.
This is reiterated in the Gospel of John, where we are told in the word is life, and “…the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” A little further on John gets even more specific, talking how Jesus is “The true light, which enlightens everyone…” (John 1:4-5,9)
Now to understand just how we are the ones who cast that light with others, and what a change it makes, consider this verse from Proverbs: Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor. (Proverbs 22:9)
This involves a little bad science but good theology. The ancients believed that the eye sent forth light which illuminated the things we see. In other words, the eye was the source of light. Light shot from your eye and bounced off objects, coming back to you. So, what you see and how you seek it makes a difference — between evil wishes or hope.
They believed in the evil eye — looking at someone with malice could harm them. And that’s true, regardless of the science. We’ve all heard the saying, “If looks could kill….” In a certain sense they do. This proverb emphasizes the opposite. Instead of the evil eye, it speaks of the good eye. The words for good eye are translated as “generous” in most translations. Those who look on the poor with the good eye bless both themselves and those who they help.
We can look with the good eye at the marginalized, the suffering, and the struggling. Keeping in line with the Sermon on the Mount, our eye can be on those who mourn, providing comfort, on the meek, helping them inherit the earth, on the peacemakers, so that all who see them in our light will know they are children of God.
Our light, shooting out of our eyes — again, I know that’s not how light works, and Jesus no doubt knew this too, but Jesus was speaking in terms people understood then and this is what Jesus is telling us now — makes us the city on the hill. We want to be seen. We don’t want to hide our lamp under a bushel basket where we can no longer help people. We shine our light and people see good works and give the glory to our Father in heaven.
(Adapted from the author’s book No Room for The Inn, CSS 2022.)
Frank R.
