Sermon Illustrations for Palm/Passion Sunday (2022)
Illustration
Isaiah 50:4-9a
A 2021 Harris poll found that nearly half of the American labor force feels burned out. This is a lesson which offers a word of hope and comfort to our weariness (v.4). John Calvin made clear how the servant/Christ described in this text never wants to give up on us. He writes:
However that may be, he always watches carefully and runs to give aid; and even when we fly and resist, he calls us to him that we may be refreshed by tasting his grace and kindness. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p. 54)
As for the suffering the servant/Christ does for us, Martin Luther claimed it was good news:
... it hurts the Lord to see that we weep at the sight of his suffering. He wants us to be glad, praise God, thank his grace, extol, glorify, and confess him; for through this journey we come into the possession of the grace of God. (What Luther Says, p.180)
Mark E.
* * *
Philippians 2:5-11
Tim Hansel, in his book Eating Problems for Breakfast, writes about an anecdote Samuel Wakefield once told. It was the story of the famous inventor Samuel Morse who was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn’t know what to do. Morse responded, “More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding. Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: “I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and he was pleased to reveal it to me.”
It's clear to all the Samuel Morse was a humble man. As we approach the passion of Jesus, we are reminded of his humbling himself. “He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (vs. 5). To consider the incredible humility of Jesus is to contemplate the depth of his love. It is a challenge for us today. Augustine once wrote, “If you plan to build a tall house of virtues, you must first lay deep foundations of humility.”
Bill T.
* * *
Philippians 2:5-11
You know, it’s hard not to take advantage of the fact that when I visit a certain restaurant chain in the area I live, because my oldest son is the general manager of one franchise and his wife is the general manager of another franchise. This is a popular restaurant chain, and there are often long waits for a table. If I mention my relationship to their boss, I’m likely to get a table quicker, get great service, and often, no bill. And for that reason, I don’t say anything. I try to accept the world as it is for everyone.
I don’t know if there’s a situation for you, as you prepare to preach on this text that is analogous, but I’m sharing this to get you started, because the prelude to the Christ hymn, about the willingness of God Incarnate to be the suffering servant predicted in Isaiah, that though Messiah Jesus (Christ Jesus) was “in the form of God, did not count equality with God as something to be exploited….”
In the game of Monopoly, a “Get Out of Jail Free” card is a valuable object, one we play at a crucial moment. Jesus does not take advantage of knowing the person who runs the restaurant, does not play his “Get Out of Jail Free” card, his God card if you will, but takes on the form of a slave. Jesus is God Incarnate, but Jesus plays fair, and accepts the condition of poverty and slavery that is the inheritance of most people in the Roman empire. That language must have been horrifyingly shocking to the status conscious Roman citizens of Philippi. But this is example we are called to follow!
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 22:14--23:56
The great 20th-century theologian Karl Barth has an insightful observation about our sin reflected in these accounts. As he put it: We are so crooked that we even think crookedly about our crookedness [sinfulness] (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/1, p. 361).
In John Calvin’s view, Peter’s denial may be applied to the whole church, those in fear and in order to comfort them (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/1, p.260). He adds:
Let us therefore remember that our strength is so far from being sufficient to resist powerful attacks, that it will give way, when there is the mere shadow of a battle. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p.261)
And then about the denial he adds that “we shall never cease to fall, if the Lord does not stretch out his hand to uphold us.” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 264) Because this stupidity of ours never ends, the reformer would have us always remember:
Let us therefore know, that whenever anyone has fallen, his repentance will never begin, until the Lord has looked at him. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/1, p.265)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 23:1-49
Martin Luther contended that our sin distorts our entire outlook on the passion story. He writes:
We should weep for ourselves, because sin has polluted us so, and because so terrible a judgment awaits us. But where is the man to be found who weeps? The deeper men sink into the slime of sin, the more secure and joyful they grow. (Sermons on the Passion of Christ, p.152)
Sixteenth-century Spanish Catholic Mystic St. John of the Cross offers a beautiful reflection on the daily significance of the passion. He wrote, “Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.” His contemporary Martin Luther adds that the passion is a testimony to Christ’s “tremendous love.” (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.372)
Mark E.
A 2021 Harris poll found that nearly half of the American labor force feels burned out. This is a lesson which offers a word of hope and comfort to our weariness (v.4). John Calvin made clear how the servant/Christ described in this text never wants to give up on us. He writes:
However that may be, he always watches carefully and runs to give aid; and even when we fly and resist, he calls us to him that we may be refreshed by tasting his grace and kindness. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p. 54)
As for the suffering the servant/Christ does for us, Martin Luther claimed it was good news:
... it hurts the Lord to see that we weep at the sight of his suffering. He wants us to be glad, praise God, thank his grace, extol, glorify, and confess him; for through this journey we come into the possession of the grace of God. (What Luther Says, p.180)
Mark E.
* * *
Philippians 2:5-11
Tim Hansel, in his book Eating Problems for Breakfast, writes about an anecdote Samuel Wakefield once told. It was the story of the famous inventor Samuel Morse who was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn’t know what to do. Morse responded, “More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding. Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: “I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and he was pleased to reveal it to me.”
It's clear to all the Samuel Morse was a humble man. As we approach the passion of Jesus, we are reminded of his humbling himself. “He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (vs. 5). To consider the incredible humility of Jesus is to contemplate the depth of his love. It is a challenge for us today. Augustine once wrote, “If you plan to build a tall house of virtues, you must first lay deep foundations of humility.”
Bill T.
* * *
Philippians 2:5-11
You know, it’s hard not to take advantage of the fact that when I visit a certain restaurant chain in the area I live, because my oldest son is the general manager of one franchise and his wife is the general manager of another franchise. This is a popular restaurant chain, and there are often long waits for a table. If I mention my relationship to their boss, I’m likely to get a table quicker, get great service, and often, no bill. And for that reason, I don’t say anything. I try to accept the world as it is for everyone.
I don’t know if there’s a situation for you, as you prepare to preach on this text that is analogous, but I’m sharing this to get you started, because the prelude to the Christ hymn, about the willingness of God Incarnate to be the suffering servant predicted in Isaiah, that though Messiah Jesus (Christ Jesus) was “in the form of God, did not count equality with God as something to be exploited….”
In the game of Monopoly, a “Get Out of Jail Free” card is a valuable object, one we play at a crucial moment. Jesus does not take advantage of knowing the person who runs the restaurant, does not play his “Get Out of Jail Free” card, his God card if you will, but takes on the form of a slave. Jesus is God Incarnate, but Jesus plays fair, and accepts the condition of poverty and slavery that is the inheritance of most people in the Roman empire. That language must have been horrifyingly shocking to the status conscious Roman citizens of Philippi. But this is example we are called to follow!
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 22:14--23:56
The great 20th-century theologian Karl Barth has an insightful observation about our sin reflected in these accounts. As he put it: We are so crooked that we even think crookedly about our crookedness [sinfulness] (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/1, p. 361).
In John Calvin’s view, Peter’s denial may be applied to the whole church, those in fear and in order to comfort them (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/1, p.260). He adds:
Let us therefore remember that our strength is so far from being sufficient to resist powerful attacks, that it will give way, when there is the mere shadow of a battle. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p.261)
And then about the denial he adds that “we shall never cease to fall, if the Lord does not stretch out his hand to uphold us.” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 264) Because this stupidity of ours never ends, the reformer would have us always remember:
Let us therefore know, that whenever anyone has fallen, his repentance will never begin, until the Lord has looked at him. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/1, p.265)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 23:1-49
Martin Luther contended that our sin distorts our entire outlook on the passion story. He writes:
We should weep for ourselves, because sin has polluted us so, and because so terrible a judgment awaits us. But where is the man to be found who weeps? The deeper men sink into the slime of sin, the more secure and joyful they grow. (Sermons on the Passion of Christ, p.152)
Sixteenth-century Spanish Catholic Mystic St. John of the Cross offers a beautiful reflection on the daily significance of the passion. He wrote, “Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.” His contemporary Martin Luther adds that the passion is a testimony to Christ’s “tremendous love.” (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.372)
Mark E.
