Sermon Illustrations For Presentation Of The Lord (2017)
Illustration
Malachi 3:1-4
I’ve never watched a metal worker in person as they purify metal, dividing it into its elements and removing the impurity. Yahoo has over 7 million different files on the subject of purifying metals. All in all, it is a tedious process that requires an understanding of the properties of metals, their melting points, and likely the content of the original ore. It’s definitely a specialized skill, even more so in the Persian period when Malachi is thought to have prophesied.
To speak of Jesus as the one who comes to restore the covenant, as one who is coming to refine and purify the descendants of Levi, is to clearly mark Jesus as a messenger from God, as one who knows us implicitly and understands us and our straying from covenant. Refining and purifying are not easy -- either for the one doing the purifying or the one being purified. There’s testing and purging attached to being purified, but I will admit that if anyone is going to purify me I want it to be Jesus -- Jesus who acts with mercy, compassion, love, and justice. He’s the wisest of all and the purifier I would choose.
Bonnie B.
Malachi 3:1-4
Malachi’s name means both “messenger” and “angel” in both the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew scriptures. In the case of the prophet, both messenger and message are mysterious -- neither are easily tied to a particular era or personality. Malachi’s message to God’s people is that we are truly revealed, like silver, in the refining process, which purges us of all impurity. In an era when the prophet said that some offerings were perfunctory or even hypocritical, devoid of spiritual meaning, Malachi told the people that it is only after we have passed through the refining fires that we will know if our offering is acceptable.
This text is shared in the lectionary context of the Presentation of our Lord, when Joseph and Mary present Jesus in the temple along with the appropriate Levitical offering. I wonder if there are two directions the homily can go -- both our children, presented before God in baptism, and we ourselves as parents -- should recognize and celebrate that the offering of our lives to our savior may well include a measure of refining. We’re not immediately great parents, and kids are refined through the process of spiritual growth that we share in committed participation in the body of Christ. An offering that is pure and acceptable before God is revealed in refining, a lifelong process that is perfected in the love of Christ.
Frank R.
Malachi 3:1-4
I was invited to a Unitarian church once. They told me that they are all searching. So I told them that if you find what you are searching for, then you are no longer a member. Right?
When HE comes he will be like a refiner’s fire, or laundry soap. He will cleanse us for his coming -- which may not be easy, but once we are purified we will be like gold and silver!
When I was a teen, I searched for the Lord in the Bible, but I started in the wrong place: the book of Genesis. I read that and Exodus, but got bored with the next three books and quit. I was lost for 10 years. It was the temptation to make a lot of money that made me try again to find out the truth -- to find out if I was heading in the wrong direction. I started with prayer and then turned to the New Testament, where I found that the Lord was seeking me. He came, but it was not easy and I had to endure the message that I had deserted him for years. So he had to refine me to bring me back -- which he did so that I left the temptations that were tormenting me and allowed myself to be restored.
Sometimes it takes an experience in life to turn us around and bring us back to the Lord. He may purify you before you come back. So hang in there -- you have your church to support you!
Bob O.
Hebrews 2:14-18
Undercover Boss is a two-time Emmy Award-winning reality series that follows high-level executives as they slip anonymously into the rank-and-file of their own organizations. Each week, a different leader sacrifices the comfort of his or her office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of the operation. The show has offshoots in at least 15 different countries. There is something unique and interesting about watching the “boss” lower himself/herself and become one of the regular folks. The show usually wraps up with an eye-opening revelation or acknowledgment. On some of the shows (though not all), the boss or CEO will end up giving the unknowing employees a reward or gift for the hard work they do. Great Wolf Lodge’s CEO Kimberly Schaefer gave an employee $80,000 for a child’s education, another $6,000 for flying lessons, and paid $50,000 for knee replacement surgery and recovery for another. Other CEOs have been generous too. It’s not hard to see why this show appeals to people.
As interesting and remarkable as it is for a CEO to become a “regular Joe or Jane,” something more amazing is referenced in this text. Jesus became like us. He became human, flesh and blood. The Hebrews writer says: “Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people” (v. 17). Jesus became one of us to save us. He did so to atone for our sin. The CEOs on Undercover Boss give some pretty incredible gifts. None of them, though, can give eternal life. Only Jesus can do that. It’s the most astonishing “undercover boss” story ever. What’s even more important? He did it for you.
Bill T.
Hebrews 2:14-18
This lesson reminds us, like the entire festival of the Presentation, how important Jesus and his work are for us. This lesson is about how Jesus’ death sets us free from the fear of death. And fear of death is what we feel, no matter how much we bluff it. Woody Allen said it well: “I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
John Calvin did a great job of explaining how comforting it is to know that Christ died for us. He once wrote: “The Son of God had no need of experience that he might know the emotions of mercy; but we could not be persuaded that he is merciful and ready to help us, had he not become acquainted by experience with our miseries.... Therefore whenever any evils pass over us, let it ever occur to us that nothing happens to us, that but what the Son of God has himself experienced in order that he might sympathize with us” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XXII, p. 75).
In his encounter with death, as in his life on earth, the Son of God came to empathize with us. “Empathy”: what a good word and what a wonderful quality to encounter. Novelist Geraldine Brooks has noted that religion is closely related to empathy. When you are around an empathetic person (like Jesus) it makes you relax, makes you feel content with life and with yourself. American educator Stephen Covey said about it: “When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it.” New Zealand musician Tim Finn claims that “true contentment comes with empathy.”
Given these psychological dynamics, it is not surprising to observe that Martin Luther claimed that Christ’s empathetic saving work leads to the contempt of death (Luther’s Works, Vol. 29, pp. 134-135). And we can now proclaim boldly with him: “I conclude, therefore, that for a Christian there is nothing more to fear either in this life or in the life to come, since for him both death and all evils have been changed into a blessing and a gain” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 29, p. 141).
With the gospel we can do what Frank Sinatra once said: “I’m gonna live ’til I die.”
Mark E.
Hebrews 2:14-18
The 26th president of the United States loved his home, Sagamore Hill on Oyster Bay, Long Island. Theodore Roosevelt moved into the 23-room, single-style Queen Anne house in 1887. It was the only home he ever owned, and he visited it whenever he could -- spending so much time there that it became known as the summer White House. He personally decorated the entire house, so the decor reflected his adventurous lifestyle -- in the entrance hall there is the head of a huge Cape buffalo shot by Roosevelt, and below the buffalo are two tusks from an elephant (also Roosevelt trophies). At the age of 60, Theodore Roosevelt died in bed at his beloved home.
Application: The story of Jesus being our high priest is a story of comfort.
Ron L.
Luke 2:22-40
The Hebrew people had been waiting for a messiah for centuries. In this reading we hear about only two -- Simeon and Anna. Both of them are aging people who have been faithfully hoping and praying for the messiah to come. As Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to be presented at the temple and have him designated as holy to the Lord, Simeon and then Anna realize they are in the presence of someone touched by God, blessed by God, and sent by God. They proclaim the divinity of Jesus, the redemptive nature of his coming. Whether or not you believe there are prophets in our current age, you may have experienced the presence of the Holy at a baptism or an infant dedication. It is as if the Spirit of God is in the air, in the water, and in the people gathered. This and more are the feelings that Simeon and Anna have. Would that we would treat every child, every person as holy and blessed by God -- not to save us, but perhaps to lead us in the paths of being better people than we are.
Bonnie B.
Luke 2:22-40
I was an only child, but my mother (and I assume my father also) dedicated me to the Lord’s ministry. That prayer was not confirmed until I was ordained as a pastor 30 years later. It is a mystery why they only dedicate the first-born male child! That was an Old Testament rule, though there is still a bit of prejudice in the New Testament. The Lord is still talking to us and telling us females can also be called! We must be guided by his Spirit and not only rules and regulations.
The question that every pastor has to solve is which rules from the Bible still apply today. That is not easy, but it must be done. Most Christians have dropped the literal verse that says the earth was created in seven days (not years or millennia). When the Bible also says that a day to the Lord is as a thousand years, some try to say that the earth was created in 7,000 years!
We desperately need God’s Holy Spirit to guide us when we read or hear scripture. We still have to determine which passages must be taken literally, like “do not steal or commit adultery,” etc.
The two old people who thank God for letting them see God’s savior had been waiting a long time! One message here is “don’t lose patience.” When God makes a promise to you, don’t assume that he will keep it in a time that you have set!
There were many on the mission field who if they were searching had waited their whole life for the Lord’s answer. So don’t give up! Ask your pastor and your fellow members to give you patience.
Bob O.
Luke 2:22-40
There are, of course, many aspects of this text that could be examined -- but one that could be overlooked is the seamless way that the passage from Leviticus quoted by Luke allows both rich and poor to participate in the life of the faith community. As the Law (Leviticus 12:8) notes, “If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.”
It’s not enough to suggest a particular offering to help cover the expenses for participation in a specific ministry, whether for children or adults, and then add, “But if you can’t afford it, don’t worry about it.” For some people the inability to pay a particular amount will mean they will choose not to participate at all, or pay the amount even though it is far beyond their means. It reinforces the image that God’s church is a country club for the middle class.
Instead of suggested offerings, they allow the option of in-kind volunteer service, or other sacrificial options individuals of all economic brackets can participate in a meaningful way without feeling like they are not carrying their weight.
Frank R.
I’ve never watched a metal worker in person as they purify metal, dividing it into its elements and removing the impurity. Yahoo has over 7 million different files on the subject of purifying metals. All in all, it is a tedious process that requires an understanding of the properties of metals, their melting points, and likely the content of the original ore. It’s definitely a specialized skill, even more so in the Persian period when Malachi is thought to have prophesied.
To speak of Jesus as the one who comes to restore the covenant, as one who is coming to refine and purify the descendants of Levi, is to clearly mark Jesus as a messenger from God, as one who knows us implicitly and understands us and our straying from covenant. Refining and purifying are not easy -- either for the one doing the purifying or the one being purified. There’s testing and purging attached to being purified, but I will admit that if anyone is going to purify me I want it to be Jesus -- Jesus who acts with mercy, compassion, love, and justice. He’s the wisest of all and the purifier I would choose.
Bonnie B.
Malachi 3:1-4
Malachi’s name means both “messenger” and “angel” in both the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew scriptures. In the case of the prophet, both messenger and message are mysterious -- neither are easily tied to a particular era or personality. Malachi’s message to God’s people is that we are truly revealed, like silver, in the refining process, which purges us of all impurity. In an era when the prophet said that some offerings were perfunctory or even hypocritical, devoid of spiritual meaning, Malachi told the people that it is only after we have passed through the refining fires that we will know if our offering is acceptable.
This text is shared in the lectionary context of the Presentation of our Lord, when Joseph and Mary present Jesus in the temple along with the appropriate Levitical offering. I wonder if there are two directions the homily can go -- both our children, presented before God in baptism, and we ourselves as parents -- should recognize and celebrate that the offering of our lives to our savior may well include a measure of refining. We’re not immediately great parents, and kids are refined through the process of spiritual growth that we share in committed participation in the body of Christ. An offering that is pure and acceptable before God is revealed in refining, a lifelong process that is perfected in the love of Christ.
Frank R.
Malachi 3:1-4
I was invited to a Unitarian church once. They told me that they are all searching. So I told them that if you find what you are searching for, then you are no longer a member. Right?
When HE comes he will be like a refiner’s fire, or laundry soap. He will cleanse us for his coming -- which may not be easy, but once we are purified we will be like gold and silver!
When I was a teen, I searched for the Lord in the Bible, but I started in the wrong place: the book of Genesis. I read that and Exodus, but got bored with the next three books and quit. I was lost for 10 years. It was the temptation to make a lot of money that made me try again to find out the truth -- to find out if I was heading in the wrong direction. I started with prayer and then turned to the New Testament, where I found that the Lord was seeking me. He came, but it was not easy and I had to endure the message that I had deserted him for years. So he had to refine me to bring me back -- which he did so that I left the temptations that were tormenting me and allowed myself to be restored.
Sometimes it takes an experience in life to turn us around and bring us back to the Lord. He may purify you before you come back. So hang in there -- you have your church to support you!
Bob O.
Hebrews 2:14-18
Undercover Boss is a two-time Emmy Award-winning reality series that follows high-level executives as they slip anonymously into the rank-and-file of their own organizations. Each week, a different leader sacrifices the comfort of his or her office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of the operation. The show has offshoots in at least 15 different countries. There is something unique and interesting about watching the “boss” lower himself/herself and become one of the regular folks. The show usually wraps up with an eye-opening revelation or acknowledgment. On some of the shows (though not all), the boss or CEO will end up giving the unknowing employees a reward or gift for the hard work they do. Great Wolf Lodge’s CEO Kimberly Schaefer gave an employee $80,000 for a child’s education, another $6,000 for flying lessons, and paid $50,000 for knee replacement surgery and recovery for another. Other CEOs have been generous too. It’s not hard to see why this show appeals to people.
As interesting and remarkable as it is for a CEO to become a “regular Joe or Jane,” something more amazing is referenced in this text. Jesus became like us. He became human, flesh and blood. The Hebrews writer says: “Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people” (v. 17). Jesus became one of us to save us. He did so to atone for our sin. The CEOs on Undercover Boss give some pretty incredible gifts. None of them, though, can give eternal life. Only Jesus can do that. It’s the most astonishing “undercover boss” story ever. What’s even more important? He did it for you.
Bill T.
Hebrews 2:14-18
This lesson reminds us, like the entire festival of the Presentation, how important Jesus and his work are for us. This lesson is about how Jesus’ death sets us free from the fear of death. And fear of death is what we feel, no matter how much we bluff it. Woody Allen said it well: “I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
John Calvin did a great job of explaining how comforting it is to know that Christ died for us. He once wrote: “The Son of God had no need of experience that he might know the emotions of mercy; but we could not be persuaded that he is merciful and ready to help us, had he not become acquainted by experience with our miseries.... Therefore whenever any evils pass over us, let it ever occur to us that nothing happens to us, that but what the Son of God has himself experienced in order that he might sympathize with us” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XXII, p. 75).
In his encounter with death, as in his life on earth, the Son of God came to empathize with us. “Empathy”: what a good word and what a wonderful quality to encounter. Novelist Geraldine Brooks has noted that religion is closely related to empathy. When you are around an empathetic person (like Jesus) it makes you relax, makes you feel content with life and with yourself. American educator Stephen Covey said about it: “When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it.” New Zealand musician Tim Finn claims that “true contentment comes with empathy.”
Given these psychological dynamics, it is not surprising to observe that Martin Luther claimed that Christ’s empathetic saving work leads to the contempt of death (Luther’s Works, Vol. 29, pp. 134-135). And we can now proclaim boldly with him: “I conclude, therefore, that for a Christian there is nothing more to fear either in this life or in the life to come, since for him both death and all evils have been changed into a blessing and a gain” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 29, p. 141).
With the gospel we can do what Frank Sinatra once said: “I’m gonna live ’til I die.”
Mark E.
Hebrews 2:14-18
The 26th president of the United States loved his home, Sagamore Hill on Oyster Bay, Long Island. Theodore Roosevelt moved into the 23-room, single-style Queen Anne house in 1887. It was the only home he ever owned, and he visited it whenever he could -- spending so much time there that it became known as the summer White House. He personally decorated the entire house, so the decor reflected his adventurous lifestyle -- in the entrance hall there is the head of a huge Cape buffalo shot by Roosevelt, and below the buffalo are two tusks from an elephant (also Roosevelt trophies). At the age of 60, Theodore Roosevelt died in bed at his beloved home.
Application: The story of Jesus being our high priest is a story of comfort.
Ron L.
Luke 2:22-40
The Hebrew people had been waiting for a messiah for centuries. In this reading we hear about only two -- Simeon and Anna. Both of them are aging people who have been faithfully hoping and praying for the messiah to come. As Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to be presented at the temple and have him designated as holy to the Lord, Simeon and then Anna realize they are in the presence of someone touched by God, blessed by God, and sent by God. They proclaim the divinity of Jesus, the redemptive nature of his coming. Whether or not you believe there are prophets in our current age, you may have experienced the presence of the Holy at a baptism or an infant dedication. It is as if the Spirit of God is in the air, in the water, and in the people gathered. This and more are the feelings that Simeon and Anna have. Would that we would treat every child, every person as holy and blessed by God -- not to save us, but perhaps to lead us in the paths of being better people than we are.
Bonnie B.
Luke 2:22-40
I was an only child, but my mother (and I assume my father also) dedicated me to the Lord’s ministry. That prayer was not confirmed until I was ordained as a pastor 30 years later. It is a mystery why they only dedicate the first-born male child! That was an Old Testament rule, though there is still a bit of prejudice in the New Testament. The Lord is still talking to us and telling us females can also be called! We must be guided by his Spirit and not only rules and regulations.
The question that every pastor has to solve is which rules from the Bible still apply today. That is not easy, but it must be done. Most Christians have dropped the literal verse that says the earth was created in seven days (not years or millennia). When the Bible also says that a day to the Lord is as a thousand years, some try to say that the earth was created in 7,000 years!
We desperately need God’s Holy Spirit to guide us when we read or hear scripture. We still have to determine which passages must be taken literally, like “do not steal or commit adultery,” etc.
The two old people who thank God for letting them see God’s savior had been waiting a long time! One message here is “don’t lose patience.” When God makes a promise to you, don’t assume that he will keep it in a time that you have set!
There were many on the mission field who if they were searching had waited their whole life for the Lord’s answer. So don’t give up! Ask your pastor and your fellow members to give you patience.
Bob O.
Luke 2:22-40
There are, of course, many aspects of this text that could be examined -- but one that could be overlooked is the seamless way that the passage from Leviticus quoted by Luke allows both rich and poor to participate in the life of the faith community. As the Law (Leviticus 12:8) notes, “If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.”
It’s not enough to suggest a particular offering to help cover the expenses for participation in a specific ministry, whether for children or adults, and then add, “But if you can’t afford it, don’t worry about it.” For some people the inability to pay a particular amount will mean they will choose not to participate at all, or pay the amount even though it is far beyond their means. It reinforces the image that God’s church is a country club for the middle class.
Instead of suggested offerings, they allow the option of in-kind volunteer service, or other sacrificial options individuals of all economic brackets can participate in a meaningful way without feeling like they are not carrying their weight.
Frank R.
