Sermon Illustrations For Epiphany 7 (2017)
Illustration
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
What does it mean to be holy? There are all kinds of ways that this question could be answered. The word “holy” means “to be set apart” or “dedicated” to God. It seems to me that there are a lot of Christians who wrestle with understanding this term. Certainly “moral purity” is a part of what it means, but there seems to be more to it. One way, I think, to consider this word is to remember that it implies that we belong to God. That fact leads to the question “What does belonging to God look like?” The answer to that is seen in Leviticus 19. The essence of it is found in the axiom “Actions speak louder than words.”
The young boy asked his grandmother about a problem he was having in school. A student was being made fun of by other kids and it bothered him, but he didn’t know what to do about it. His grandmother was wise and didn’t just give him a solution. She asked him what he thought that he ought to do. He thought for a minute and then offered, “Well, I could tell him that I’m sorry that he gets picked on and I wish he didn’t.” She nodded her head. He could do that. She asked, “Do you think that will help the problem go away?” He shook his head. It was just words. There wasn’t any action behind it. He continued to think for a bit. He then offered, “Maybe I can stand with him and confront the kids who make fun of him and tell them to stop.” His grandmother nodded as he decided that’s what he’d do.
Holiness is seen in what we do and how we interact. Be mindful of the poor; don’t steal; don’t defile the deaf; these are actions that flow from a heart that seeks to be like God. We aren’t found to be like God in our words alone. Do your actions with others indicate that you are holy?
Bill T.
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
Family and friends took great care shuffling through the lab papers of Thomas Alva Edison. Discovered among the documents was the recording of an experiment repeatedly tried and failed. Scribbled along the margin, from Edison’s own hand, was a message of encouragement: “When down in the mouth remember Johan -- he came out all right!”
Application: Many people are discouraged, disheartened, dejected, and depressed. This is why we cannot have hate in our hearts, but must be willing to help them.
Ron L.
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
This is a text about poverty and God’s concern for the poor. [See my Epiphany 5 illustration for Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12) for some relevant statistics.] Over one in three Americans (35.4% of us) are on welfare. The Church could and should do more. John Calvin commented on this lesson and pointed out how the working poor were defrauded in his day (not unlike what we do to the working poor today): “Finally, he points out one mode of unjust oppression, when a person, who has hired himself as a laborer, is defrauded of his wages, and not only if he be sent away without payment, his wages being denied him, but if payment be deferred to the morrow. For we know that hirelings generally live from hand to mouth, and therefore, if there be ever so little delay, then he must go without food. Consequently, if a rich man keeps a poor and wretched individual... in suspense, he deprives him as it were of life” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. III/1, pp. 112-113).
Martin Luther King Jr.’s proposal written 50 years ago still resonates: “Those at the lowest economic level, the poor white and Negro, the aged and chronically ill, are traditionally unorganized and therefore have little ability to force the necessary growth in their income. They stagnate or become even poorer in relation to the larger society.... We must create full employment or we must create incomes” (A Testament of Hope, p. 615).
Faith can help sensitize us, famed martyr for the faith Dietrich Bonhoeffer noted: “God’s truth alone allows me to see others. It directs my attention, bent on myself, to what is beyond and shows me the other person” (A Testament to Freedom, p. 217).
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to seem foolish. Yet in this passage, Paul tells us we should become fools so that we can become wise. This seems to make no sense until we start to think about the foundation of all wisdom, the foundation on which our faith rests -- Jesus. If we read the scriptures critically (not criticizing, but rather with a discerning mind), Jesus often does the foolish thing. He moves into the margins and welcomes everyone. He eats with sinners, travels with the common folks, tells us that the widow’s mite is more valuable than a large contribution, breaks the sabbath tradition, and submits to arrest and crucifixion. In the world’s view, he is foolish indeed. The Jesus brand of foolishness is about compassion and mercy, generosity and inclusion, sacrifice and love. The Jesus brand of foolishness is one that I think I can strive to emulate. How about you?
Bonnie B.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
One of the images used in this lection is that of building a house and choosing the right foundation. While we are living temples that house God’s Spirit in us as individuals, I think Paul is also intentionally using the image of houses in the sense of house churches. Christian fellowships did not meet in separately constructed church buildings, at least during the first decades of their existence. They met in homes. Some of the homes, like those of Philemon or Lydia, were probably the center around which Christians engaged in a shared business, such as manufacturing or a craft (like, as in Lydia’s case in Philippi, the manufacture of royal purple dye).
This suggests that the church at Corinth consisted of at least four house churches: the Paul church, the Peter church, the Apollos church, and the Christ church. There seems to have been some rivalry between the various houses. Earlier in the book Paul identifies these churches and insists they are to cease being rivals and perhaps even antagonists, and to start thinking of themselves as one body. Does this mean the Christ church was right and the other three were wrong? Probably not. Probably all four were wrong, if the Christ church thought that Jesus was their sole possession.
We are divided into different denominations and congregations within those denominations, or perhaps we belong to an independent church which believes by itself it is something special. Or perhaps we are in harmony ecumenically, but different Sunday school classes (or other fellowship groups) within our congregation think they worship more perfectly than the others. Paul is at pains to remind us that we are one, which is why he says at the end of this passage that we are not to boast about human leadership, after which he lists names and things that might separate us. We are, after all, Christ’s first, and through Christ, God’s.
Frank R.
Matthew 5:38-48
The election of 2016 was a difficult and challenging one for our country. Our nation was bitterly divided. A cursory glance through social media would find venomous posts and tweets. It was as if whoever had a different view was an enemy. I can remember looking through the posts on my Facebook page om the day after the election. There were some gracious posts that indicated that we needed to pray for our leaders and our nation. There were some, though, that talked about the other side as if they were bad people, not good citizens, and full of hate.
Sometimes, when we run across something like that on social media or even in a personal encounter, there is a tendency in us that wants to lash out. We want to confront the one who is attacking us. We want to “fight fire with fire.” This passage, however, dampens my desire to lash out. Jesus makes it clear: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” That’s not an easy thing to do. Our emotions get involved and we tend to take things personally. That something in us that wants to lash out or get even must be put under the control of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Jesus, in this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, puts parameters on our conduct.
Followers of Jesus have a responsibility to model the conduct shown to us by Jesus himself. Love those who persecute you, just as he loved and prayed for those who crucified him. We need to go beyond the way the world acts and handles things. Don’t just love those who love you. That’s not a big deal. Love those who appear to be your enemies. Pray for those who seek to hurt you. Doing these things is contrary to the way our human nature leads us. It is the higher calling to which we are called. How do you treat those who want to oppose you?
Bill T.
Matthew 5:38-48
Norman Vincent Peale, who was the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City and published the popular book The Power of Positive Thinking in 1952, explained that he learned early in his ministry that he was to act as a “relay station.” As a relay station, Peale realized he was to pass along secondhand compliments. When someone was well spoken of but not present to hear the kind remark, Peale made it his duty to share the compliment with the person intended.
Application: It is important for us to pass along compliments, as well as speak directly to an individual in a complimentary manner. To live the good life as a Christian is to be a “relay station” of good tidings to others.
Ron L.
Matthew 5:38-48
We have an inflated opinion of ourselves. We are a society preoccupied with self-esteem (Jean Twenge, Generation Me, pp. 53ff). But we aren’t as good as we think we are. More often than not, we are like the judgmental people Jesus addressed in our lesson. We are too moral for our own good and for our neighbor’s good. Famed social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr put it well: “...you cannot be moral if you are too strictly moral. The highest morality of forgiveness is, as Berdyaev says, ‘the morality beyond morality.’ Nobody who is strictly moral can forgive” (Justice and Mercy, p. 15).
Martin Luther makes a penetrating point about dealing with all sorts of people (including the difficult ones): “There is not a single man on earth who has to put up with one percent of what he [God] has to suffer every day from evil men.... Still he is so faithful that daily he sends the sunshine and his other superabundant blessings upon people who do not deserve even to have a blade of grass or a moment of sunshine (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, pp. 126-127).
A lifestyle patterned on God’s style would change people’s lives, Luther (and Jesus) think: “You shall not desire harm for your neighbor but prevent it, and, if possible, help him and promote his advantage. In this way you can finally move him, and by your kindness you can overcome and soften him” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, p.128).
Mark E.
What does it mean to be holy? There are all kinds of ways that this question could be answered. The word “holy” means “to be set apart” or “dedicated” to God. It seems to me that there are a lot of Christians who wrestle with understanding this term. Certainly “moral purity” is a part of what it means, but there seems to be more to it. One way, I think, to consider this word is to remember that it implies that we belong to God. That fact leads to the question “What does belonging to God look like?” The answer to that is seen in Leviticus 19. The essence of it is found in the axiom “Actions speak louder than words.”
The young boy asked his grandmother about a problem he was having in school. A student was being made fun of by other kids and it bothered him, but he didn’t know what to do about it. His grandmother was wise and didn’t just give him a solution. She asked him what he thought that he ought to do. He thought for a minute and then offered, “Well, I could tell him that I’m sorry that he gets picked on and I wish he didn’t.” She nodded her head. He could do that. She asked, “Do you think that will help the problem go away?” He shook his head. It was just words. There wasn’t any action behind it. He continued to think for a bit. He then offered, “Maybe I can stand with him and confront the kids who make fun of him and tell them to stop.” His grandmother nodded as he decided that’s what he’d do.
Holiness is seen in what we do and how we interact. Be mindful of the poor; don’t steal; don’t defile the deaf; these are actions that flow from a heart that seeks to be like God. We aren’t found to be like God in our words alone. Do your actions with others indicate that you are holy?
Bill T.
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
Family and friends took great care shuffling through the lab papers of Thomas Alva Edison. Discovered among the documents was the recording of an experiment repeatedly tried and failed. Scribbled along the margin, from Edison’s own hand, was a message of encouragement: “When down in the mouth remember Johan -- he came out all right!”
Application: Many people are discouraged, disheartened, dejected, and depressed. This is why we cannot have hate in our hearts, but must be willing to help them.
Ron L.
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
This is a text about poverty and God’s concern for the poor. [See my Epiphany 5 illustration for Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12) for some relevant statistics.] Over one in three Americans (35.4% of us) are on welfare. The Church could and should do more. John Calvin commented on this lesson and pointed out how the working poor were defrauded in his day (not unlike what we do to the working poor today): “Finally, he points out one mode of unjust oppression, when a person, who has hired himself as a laborer, is defrauded of his wages, and not only if he be sent away without payment, his wages being denied him, but if payment be deferred to the morrow. For we know that hirelings generally live from hand to mouth, and therefore, if there be ever so little delay, then he must go without food. Consequently, if a rich man keeps a poor and wretched individual... in suspense, he deprives him as it were of life” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. III/1, pp. 112-113).
Martin Luther King Jr.’s proposal written 50 years ago still resonates: “Those at the lowest economic level, the poor white and Negro, the aged and chronically ill, are traditionally unorganized and therefore have little ability to force the necessary growth in their income. They stagnate or become even poorer in relation to the larger society.... We must create full employment or we must create incomes” (A Testament of Hope, p. 615).
Faith can help sensitize us, famed martyr for the faith Dietrich Bonhoeffer noted: “God’s truth alone allows me to see others. It directs my attention, bent on myself, to what is beyond and shows me the other person” (A Testament to Freedom, p. 217).
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to seem foolish. Yet in this passage, Paul tells us we should become fools so that we can become wise. This seems to make no sense until we start to think about the foundation of all wisdom, the foundation on which our faith rests -- Jesus. If we read the scriptures critically (not criticizing, but rather with a discerning mind), Jesus often does the foolish thing. He moves into the margins and welcomes everyone. He eats with sinners, travels with the common folks, tells us that the widow’s mite is more valuable than a large contribution, breaks the sabbath tradition, and submits to arrest and crucifixion. In the world’s view, he is foolish indeed. The Jesus brand of foolishness is about compassion and mercy, generosity and inclusion, sacrifice and love. The Jesus brand of foolishness is one that I think I can strive to emulate. How about you?
Bonnie B.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
One of the images used in this lection is that of building a house and choosing the right foundation. While we are living temples that house God’s Spirit in us as individuals, I think Paul is also intentionally using the image of houses in the sense of house churches. Christian fellowships did not meet in separately constructed church buildings, at least during the first decades of their existence. They met in homes. Some of the homes, like those of Philemon or Lydia, were probably the center around which Christians engaged in a shared business, such as manufacturing or a craft (like, as in Lydia’s case in Philippi, the manufacture of royal purple dye).
This suggests that the church at Corinth consisted of at least four house churches: the Paul church, the Peter church, the Apollos church, and the Christ church. There seems to have been some rivalry between the various houses. Earlier in the book Paul identifies these churches and insists they are to cease being rivals and perhaps even antagonists, and to start thinking of themselves as one body. Does this mean the Christ church was right and the other three were wrong? Probably not. Probably all four were wrong, if the Christ church thought that Jesus was their sole possession.
We are divided into different denominations and congregations within those denominations, or perhaps we belong to an independent church which believes by itself it is something special. Or perhaps we are in harmony ecumenically, but different Sunday school classes (or other fellowship groups) within our congregation think they worship more perfectly than the others. Paul is at pains to remind us that we are one, which is why he says at the end of this passage that we are not to boast about human leadership, after which he lists names and things that might separate us. We are, after all, Christ’s first, and through Christ, God’s.
Frank R.
Matthew 5:38-48
The election of 2016 was a difficult and challenging one for our country. Our nation was bitterly divided. A cursory glance through social media would find venomous posts and tweets. It was as if whoever had a different view was an enemy. I can remember looking through the posts on my Facebook page om the day after the election. There were some gracious posts that indicated that we needed to pray for our leaders and our nation. There were some, though, that talked about the other side as if they were bad people, not good citizens, and full of hate.
Sometimes, when we run across something like that on social media or even in a personal encounter, there is a tendency in us that wants to lash out. We want to confront the one who is attacking us. We want to “fight fire with fire.” This passage, however, dampens my desire to lash out. Jesus makes it clear: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” That’s not an easy thing to do. Our emotions get involved and we tend to take things personally. That something in us that wants to lash out or get even must be put under the control of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Jesus, in this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, puts parameters on our conduct.
Followers of Jesus have a responsibility to model the conduct shown to us by Jesus himself. Love those who persecute you, just as he loved and prayed for those who crucified him. We need to go beyond the way the world acts and handles things. Don’t just love those who love you. That’s not a big deal. Love those who appear to be your enemies. Pray for those who seek to hurt you. Doing these things is contrary to the way our human nature leads us. It is the higher calling to which we are called. How do you treat those who want to oppose you?
Bill T.
Matthew 5:38-48
Norman Vincent Peale, who was the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City and published the popular book The Power of Positive Thinking in 1952, explained that he learned early in his ministry that he was to act as a “relay station.” As a relay station, Peale realized he was to pass along secondhand compliments. When someone was well spoken of but not present to hear the kind remark, Peale made it his duty to share the compliment with the person intended.
Application: It is important for us to pass along compliments, as well as speak directly to an individual in a complimentary manner. To live the good life as a Christian is to be a “relay station” of good tidings to others.
Ron L.
Matthew 5:38-48
We have an inflated opinion of ourselves. We are a society preoccupied with self-esteem (Jean Twenge, Generation Me, pp. 53ff). But we aren’t as good as we think we are. More often than not, we are like the judgmental people Jesus addressed in our lesson. We are too moral for our own good and for our neighbor’s good. Famed social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr put it well: “...you cannot be moral if you are too strictly moral. The highest morality of forgiveness is, as Berdyaev says, ‘the morality beyond morality.’ Nobody who is strictly moral can forgive” (Justice and Mercy, p. 15).
Martin Luther makes a penetrating point about dealing with all sorts of people (including the difficult ones): “There is not a single man on earth who has to put up with one percent of what he [God] has to suffer every day from evil men.... Still he is so faithful that daily he sends the sunshine and his other superabundant blessings upon people who do not deserve even to have a blade of grass or a moment of sunshine (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, pp. 126-127).
A lifestyle patterned on God’s style would change people’s lives, Luther (and Jesus) think: “You shall not desire harm for your neighbor but prevent it, and, if possible, help him and promote his advantage. In this way you can finally move him, and by your kindness you can overcome and soften him” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, p.128).
Mark E.
