Sermon Illustrations for Lent 2 (2022)
Illustration
Genesis 15:1-12,17-18
John Wesley notes how in this text God identifies himself as a “shield” for his people (v.1), “to secure them from all destructive evils, a shield ready to them, and a shield round them, should silence all perplexing fears” (Commentary on the Bible, p.37). John Calvin offers thoughtful insights into the nature of God’s promises:
... whatever benevolence, love, zeal, attention, or service, might be found among men, they are far inferior to the paternal mercy with which God encircles his people... for sooner shall laws of nature be overturned a hundred times, than God should fail his people. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. IV/2, p.460)
Elsewhere, he makes a similar point about how God’s promises always prevail:
Whence the gratuitous kindness of God shines the more clearly, because, although men impede the cause of it by obstacles of their own, it nevertheless comes to them. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.I/1, p.459)
Martin Luther spoke powerfully of the constancy of God’s promises, even if does not appear to be the case. The first reformer wrote:
But this is not because God may have changed his mind... His will to save us through his son to whose kingdom he has called us, remains steadfast and unchangeable; but this awareness of this mercy is removed for a time. (Luther’s Works, Vol.3, p.7)
Mark E.
* * *
Philippians 3:17--4:1
Being a citizen means legally belonging in a place and having all the rights that come along with it. Citizenship has not always been something that people have enjoyed. Where did the idea come from? It can be traced back to ancient Greece, especially Athens. In addition to things like philosophy and art, the Greeks took citizenship seriously. Being recognized as a citizen meant that you were a true inhabitant of the polis, that you legally belonged. It also meant that you had certain rights and responsibilities. Citizenship was important.
Paul knew and understood the value of citizenship. He, himself, was a Roman citizen. He knows of an even greater citizenship, however. In verse 20 he writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” That phrase says a lot. Christians have a place in God’s kingdom and are part of God’s family. Billy Graham once wrote, “The Bible says that as long as we are here on earth, we are strangers in a foreign land. There are enemies to be conquered before we return home. This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven.”
Bill T.
* * *
Philippians 3:17--4:1
I learned the term hapax legomena in seminary, and just the sound of that term was enough to cement it in my memory. It means “used only once,” and it applies to words or phrases that appear only once in scripture. As a result, their meaning is slippery. There’s not a lot of context from which we can draw meaning and which we can use for comparison.
The word translated “citizenship,” Philippians 3:20 (“But our citizenship is in heaven….”) is a hapax legomena, and the definition is a bit trickier than simply citizenship as we know it. The term politeuma is used to designate a colony established in foreign territory not only to establish political control, but especially spread the culture, laws, customs, and lifestyle of the host nation. The Romans, who dominated the western world at this time, wanted to establish the Roman way in conquered territories so that the surround areas, adopting Roman customs, became Roman in reality, and not just because they were subjugated. Philippi, a city in Macedon, had been rewarded with the designation ius italicum, granting its residents Roman citizenship, a place many of them would not have seen. Many veterans of the Roman legions retired there, and they would have been honored and accepted, not strangers in a strange land. You may remember that the apostle Paul did not hesitate to flaunt his Roman citizenship when he faced serious difficulties.
So, what is Paul saying to the Philippians — and to us — when he uses this term? We Christians are citizens of a place we have not seen? Yes. But also, I expect that it is God’s intention, by recognizing ourselves as a colony of outsiders in a land that belongs to Jesus, whether they realize it or not, or like it or not, we can familiarize our neighbors with the culture, laws, customs, and lifestyle of the kingdom of God. By this it’s to be hoped we change the larger culture, until they too recognize that Jesus Christ is Lord. Indeed, this reversal of course is expected. Just as a Roman outlier is meant to turn the residents of the regions into Romans, so our Christian “citizenship” should subtly lead others into Christianity.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 13:31-35
John Wesley saw the Christian life as bearing the cross. He nicely describes what is entailed in taking up the cross:
And every one that would follow Christ, that would be his real disciple, must only deny himself, but take up his cross also. A cross is anything contrary to our will, anything displeasing to our nature. (Works, Vol.6, p.108)
At a number of points Martin Luther spoke of the Christian life as walking the golden mean between affirming the legitimate pleasures of the goods of the earth and their rejection. About love of music, he claimed that “next to the word of God, music deserves the highest praise...” (Luther’s Works, Vol.53, p. 223). He was a wine lover too (Luther’s Works, Vol. 54, pp.71-72). Christians can enjoy the things of life with gladness:
Thus, a Christian man who lives in this confidence toward God knows all things, can do all things, ventures everything that needs to be done, and does everything gladly and willingly. (Luther’s Works, Vol.44, p.27)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth finds in this text a testimony to the fact that Jesus is the Lord of time, that there is always continuity between what he did and will continue to do:
The past to which we look back for the present of the man Jesus, is like the present and the future which lies before it, his time, the time of this man Jesus. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.III/2, p.478)
While preaching a sermon on this text, Martin Luther also testified to the “staying power” of faith over the centuries:
The second external proof is that no faith on earth has produced such miracles as has this faith... Thus at all time, also in the Old Testament, this faith has rumbled and created a stir in the world, doing heroic things... (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.301)
Another testament to how an authentic Christian life is the best argument for faith was offered by early 20th-century presidential candidate and champion of the anti-evolution movement, William Jennings Bryan. As he once put it:
A speech may be disputed; even a sermon may not convince, but no one has yet lived who could answer a Christian life; it is the unanswerable argument in support of the Christian religion.
Mark E.
John Wesley notes how in this text God identifies himself as a “shield” for his people (v.1), “to secure them from all destructive evils, a shield ready to them, and a shield round them, should silence all perplexing fears” (Commentary on the Bible, p.37). John Calvin offers thoughtful insights into the nature of God’s promises:
... whatever benevolence, love, zeal, attention, or service, might be found among men, they are far inferior to the paternal mercy with which God encircles his people... for sooner shall laws of nature be overturned a hundred times, than God should fail his people. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. IV/2, p.460)
Elsewhere, he makes a similar point about how God’s promises always prevail:
Whence the gratuitous kindness of God shines the more clearly, because, although men impede the cause of it by obstacles of their own, it nevertheless comes to them. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.I/1, p.459)
Martin Luther spoke powerfully of the constancy of God’s promises, even if does not appear to be the case. The first reformer wrote:
But this is not because God may have changed his mind... His will to save us through his son to whose kingdom he has called us, remains steadfast and unchangeable; but this awareness of this mercy is removed for a time. (Luther’s Works, Vol.3, p.7)
Mark E.
* * *
Philippians 3:17--4:1
Being a citizen means legally belonging in a place and having all the rights that come along with it. Citizenship has not always been something that people have enjoyed. Where did the idea come from? It can be traced back to ancient Greece, especially Athens. In addition to things like philosophy and art, the Greeks took citizenship seriously. Being recognized as a citizen meant that you were a true inhabitant of the polis, that you legally belonged. It also meant that you had certain rights and responsibilities. Citizenship was important.
Paul knew and understood the value of citizenship. He, himself, was a Roman citizen. He knows of an even greater citizenship, however. In verse 20 he writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” That phrase says a lot. Christians have a place in God’s kingdom and are part of God’s family. Billy Graham once wrote, “The Bible says that as long as we are here on earth, we are strangers in a foreign land. There are enemies to be conquered before we return home. This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven.”
Bill T.
* * *
Philippians 3:17--4:1
I learned the term hapax legomena in seminary, and just the sound of that term was enough to cement it in my memory. It means “used only once,” and it applies to words or phrases that appear only once in scripture. As a result, their meaning is slippery. There’s not a lot of context from which we can draw meaning and which we can use for comparison.
The word translated “citizenship,” Philippians 3:20 (“But our citizenship is in heaven….”) is a hapax legomena, and the definition is a bit trickier than simply citizenship as we know it. The term politeuma is used to designate a colony established in foreign territory not only to establish political control, but especially spread the culture, laws, customs, and lifestyle of the host nation. The Romans, who dominated the western world at this time, wanted to establish the Roman way in conquered territories so that the surround areas, adopting Roman customs, became Roman in reality, and not just because they were subjugated. Philippi, a city in Macedon, had been rewarded with the designation ius italicum, granting its residents Roman citizenship, a place many of them would not have seen. Many veterans of the Roman legions retired there, and they would have been honored and accepted, not strangers in a strange land. You may remember that the apostle Paul did not hesitate to flaunt his Roman citizenship when he faced serious difficulties.
So, what is Paul saying to the Philippians — and to us — when he uses this term? We Christians are citizens of a place we have not seen? Yes. But also, I expect that it is God’s intention, by recognizing ourselves as a colony of outsiders in a land that belongs to Jesus, whether they realize it or not, or like it or not, we can familiarize our neighbors with the culture, laws, customs, and lifestyle of the kingdom of God. By this it’s to be hoped we change the larger culture, until they too recognize that Jesus Christ is Lord. Indeed, this reversal of course is expected. Just as a Roman outlier is meant to turn the residents of the regions into Romans, so our Christian “citizenship” should subtly lead others into Christianity.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 13:31-35
John Wesley saw the Christian life as bearing the cross. He nicely describes what is entailed in taking up the cross:
And every one that would follow Christ, that would be his real disciple, must only deny himself, but take up his cross also. A cross is anything contrary to our will, anything displeasing to our nature. (Works, Vol.6, p.108)
At a number of points Martin Luther spoke of the Christian life as walking the golden mean between affirming the legitimate pleasures of the goods of the earth and their rejection. About love of music, he claimed that “next to the word of God, music deserves the highest praise...” (Luther’s Works, Vol.53, p. 223). He was a wine lover too (Luther’s Works, Vol. 54, pp.71-72). Christians can enjoy the things of life with gladness:
Thus, a Christian man who lives in this confidence toward God knows all things, can do all things, ventures everything that needs to be done, and does everything gladly and willingly. (Luther’s Works, Vol.44, p.27)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth finds in this text a testimony to the fact that Jesus is the Lord of time, that there is always continuity between what he did and will continue to do:
The past to which we look back for the present of the man Jesus, is like the present and the future which lies before it, his time, the time of this man Jesus. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.III/2, p.478)
While preaching a sermon on this text, Martin Luther also testified to the “staying power” of faith over the centuries:
The second external proof is that no faith on earth has produced such miracles as has this faith... Thus at all time, also in the Old Testament, this faith has rumbled and created a stir in the world, doing heroic things... (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.301)
Another testament to how an authentic Christian life is the best argument for faith was offered by early 20th-century presidential candidate and champion of the anti-evolution movement, William Jennings Bryan. As he once put it:
A speech may be disputed; even a sermon may not convince, but no one has yet lived who could answer a Christian life; it is the unanswerable argument in support of the Christian religion.
Mark E.
