Sermon Illustrations For Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 (2017)
Illustration
Genesis 25:19-34
When I was in elementary school, I collected baseball and football cards. I suppose quite a few boys have done that, and probably some girls have too. I had a friend in the 5th grade who was also a card collector. I remember that at that time my favorite player was a quarterback for the (then) Baltimore Colts by the name of Bert Jones. I thought Bert Jones was the greatest player ever. My friend Jimmie had a Bert Jones football card; I did not. I thought I’d make a trade to get my favorite player. I gave up three superstars (Franco Harris, Drew Pearson, and Dave Casper) for him. Though Jones was a good player, I made a bad trade.
Bad trades are not limited to elementary school card collectors. The Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000. That’s it. No other player, just cash. The Philadelphia 76ers traded future Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry. Not a great trade on the part of the 76ers.
Another bad trade takes place in our text. Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah. As such, he has the birthright. What did that mean? The birthright, in that culture, went to the eldest son. All sons received a “portion” of the inheritance of their father, but the one who received the birthright inherited a double portion. Esau thought little of the birthright, and Jacob would do what he needed to do to get ahead. So on a day when Esau had been hunting and came in famished, Jacob pounced. He’d prepared a stew. Esau was famished and wanted some. Jacob offered it in exchange for the birthright. In another ludicrous trade, Esau gave up his birthright for a bowl of stew. It’s hard to believe, but that’s the trade he made. The birthright for a bowl of beans; makes little sense. It’s a bad trade.
Bill T.
Genesis 25:19-34
This is a story of how one who has no privilege (Jacob) receives God’s blessing (rightly belonging to Esau). This story is a testimony to the surprising, hidden ways of God. The theme of God favoring one not entitled to the blessing reflects the thinking of Latin American liberation theology. One of its principal proponents, Rubem Alves, writes: “God therefore is to be found not among the powerful but among those who are subject, who suffer, who are not given a future” (A Theology of Human Hope, p. 117).
The entire story reflects God’s hidden ways of preferring what contradicts the ways of the world, according to Martin Luther: “Here the foundations of the entire Christian doctrine are confirmed. Through the birth of these twins God wants to pass sentence in advance on the entire world; yes, even to anticipate and put an end to all righteousness of the flesh. He wants to teach that all wisdom and excellence of the flesh is lost and vain” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 4, p. 370). “He [God] has hidden his power under nothing by weakness, his wisdom under foolishness, his goodness under severity, his righteousness under sins, and his mercy under wrath” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 25, p. 370).
God’s hidden, surprising ways help make life sweeter. Neurobiologists have found surprise to be good for the brain, for it can provide opportunity to exercise the prefrontal cortex and all the pleasant, amphetamine-like brain chemicals associated with its exercise (Daniele Turner, Cerebral Cortex [August 2004]).
Mark E.
Genesis 25:19-34
Dr. Wogaman, a professor of ethics and the former dean of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, began the first day of all of his classes with this question: “What is the central theme of the Bible?” As a member of one of his classes I listened intently to the answers offered, but I was too shy to present my own opinion. Dr. Wogaman heard from the students the expected responses of love, forgiveness, and salvation. I am sure you could name the continuing list of replies. The one answer he did not receive was the word “hope.” The professor then lectured that hope is the central message of the scriptures. Hope is the message of the resurrection. It is the message that there is always a new day in the morning. It is the message that no matter how tragic life may be there is the possibility for a new beginning. This does not lessen the sorrow or suffering of those who have befallen tragedy. It does not discount the severity of their present agony. What it does mean is that in the midst of these horrible circumstances there is the possibility for a new beginning.
Application: Our lesson from Genesis is a lesson of hope.
Ron L.
Romans 8:1-11
Living into the Spirit is a tough task, especially when we live in such a human culture. Speaking with friends recently, I discussed the difficulty of working with and within the church when the culture seems so nasty, uncivil, and hateful. The reality is that we all behave as our worst selves sometimes. It’s our human nature.
Every time I say that phrase I am reminded of a quote from Katherine Hepburn in the film The African Queen. Hepburn plays the sister of a missionary, Rose Sayer. Humphrey Bogart portrays the pilot of a boat, Charlie Allnut. Charlie is something of a curser and a drinker, and on one occasion he claims that his behavior is only human nature. Rose responds, “Human nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we have been put on earth to overcome.”
Paul reminds us that we are called to live into the Spirit, to embody the Spirit rather than our human nature. It’s tough, but when we try, when we allow the Spirit to dwell within us, we are closer to the people God created us to be than ever before.
Bonnie B.
Romans 8:1-11
Too often Paul’s language about “Law” and “Jews” is taken out of his social context and reinterpreted in anti-semitic terms. It’s important to remember that Paul was Jewish, most of the major players we meet in the New Testament were Jewish, and that Paul delighted in the no-holds-barred hurly-burly of Biblical discussion -- well, argument -- common in his day. In his time Judaism was as multi-faceted as Christianity is today. There were many “denominations” of Judaism, and he is really railing against a particular form of interpretation and not condemning an entire people or faith.
The Law, spoken about so harshly in this passage and indeed throughout Romans, is the Torah, pure and simple. The Torah, or Law -- consisting of what we consider the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy -- is also referred to, and even translated, as “The Way.” By the way (pardon the expression), before we were called Christians our faith was also known as “The Way.” Paul seems to have had great respect for the Torah/Law/Way. Recall that when he was arrested in Jerusalem it was because he was advocating basic Jewish practices, in this case liberating some Nazarenes by paying the fee they owe along with their Nazarite vow.
Would Paul really suggest that God’s revelation is evil, or that it sets us up to fail? Paul is actually getting back to the fundamentals of the Law, rather than the fundamentalism of one group’s interpretation of what the Law means. Paul speaks of the law of the spirit of Christ freeing us from the law of sin and death. Paul, raised in the true Pharisaic tradition, the tradition of Hillel and Gamaliel, knows that the Law gives life when we work together to interpret its meaning. It becomes dead and lifeless when we act like someone claiming to collect butterflies by killing them and pinning them to a pasteboard card. Paul clearly interprets the Law through the Spirit of Christ Jesus.
Frank R.
Romans 8:1-11
The role of a pastor is not to be a member of the Supreme Court who rules only by the words of the constitution. We are not judged by the laws of God, even if we find those laws in scripture.
The law of the Spirit has set us free of the endless rules in scripture. The Jews found over 600 rules in the Bible. What a burden!
It is the Spirit, which has put in us that gift of life and peace that only he can give. Without that gift of the Spirit we are lost and condemned.
There are churches that are captured by the rules they think are in the Bible. Some think that drinking wine is a sin, and that Jesus must have drunk grape juice at the last supper... and at the wedding he turned water into grape juice, and that it is evil to dance or watch movies. They also clam that the end of the world would be in the year 2000. They missed it, but even if they tried they might have to make the end date three of four days earlier if they are timing it from the “real” date of Jesus’ birth. Some say that the world was created in seven 24-hour days, but when I point out that the Bible tells us “a day to the Lord is as a thousand years” they then tell me that it must have been created in 7,000 years. You can’t win! Some brothers in Christi feel it is wrong even to look out the window to see what’s going on outside on Sunday.
But they are still brothers in Christ. Jesus was not a Mormon bishop with several wives. The Bible tells us that we are the “bride of Christ.” He only has one bride. He doesn’t have a Baptist bride, a Roman Catholic bride, a Lutheran bride, etc. We are all “one” in Christ.
If our mind is controlled by the evil one, we can’t submit to God’s law. We only have power to live as God wants us to by letting his Spirit control our life. If we let God take control of our lives, we will have eternal life.
We should realize that hell is a choice. We were created with free will. We can believe in Jesus and what he has done for us and accept his reward, or we can take another road not by the Spirit and be lost. It is like being thrown a life preserver when we are drowning. We can accept it and grab it, or we can drown. Even here we can’t grab the life preserver without the strength of Jesus leading us!
Bob O.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
In the town in which I live, the riverfront has a beautiful park and great walking trails. The city does a good job of keeping it clean and nice-looking. One Sunday a year our church has a “Hands on Washington” day in which we forgo morning worship to serve in the community. One place where we always send crews is the riverfront. The work task there is always the same; remove the honeysuckle along the walking path. I’ve been told that honeysuckle, though it isn’t ugly, is one of those plants that chokes out all other vegetation. If you allow honeysuckle to flourish, nothing else will.
I thought about honeysuckle when I read this parable. Jesus talks about the seed that fell among the thorns. That seed hears the word, but the cares of this world and the lure of wealth choke it out and it bears no fruit. That’s a powerful word picture. What can choke out a person’s spiritual fervor and excitement? If you allow the cares of this world to have too much prominence, the word can’t grow. When the lure of and lust for wealth is too strong, then the word can’t take root. Just like with the honeysuckle, those things must be cut out for the important and meaningful to grow. Though it may not look like it, some things are deadly predators. Honeysuckle, greed, and attachment to this world are deadly if too strong. Be warned. Clean them out so other things can grow.
Bill T.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Self-reliance is the American way. Especially since the Clinton era, it has been common to speak of America as a meritocracy, a nation in which the most talented people rise to the top no matter where they started (Robert Reich, The Work of Nations). But in linking the idea of merit to quality education, the intellectual (liberal) elite overlook how this excludes the majority of Americans who never have graduated or never will graduate from college. This philosophy of life effectively puts the blame on those on the receiving end of inequality, on the poor rather than on a system rigged against them (Thomas Frank, Listen Liberal or Whatever Happened To the Party of the People?, pp. 30ff).
This gospel, when correctly understood as not being about the different kinds of soil into which the seed falls but upon what God does in planting and growing the seeds -- for soil is passive (see Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew, p. 297) -- undermines American meritocracy. Good illustrations of this insight are evident in the father of modern liberal theology, Friedrich Schleiermacher. He identified faith as “the consciousness of being absolutely dependent, or, which is the same thing, of being in relation with God” (The Christian Faith, p. 12). This parable reminds us that we are absolutely dependent on God for everything we have or are!
There is a wonderful comfort in this insight, one we have profoundly expressed in the Reformed 16th-century Heidelberg Catechism:
Q.1. What is your only comfort, in life and death?
A. That I belong -- body and soul, in life and in death -- not to myself but to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ... [to] expect all good from him alone... and honor him with my whole heart (The Book of Confessions, 4.001).
Martin Luther offers further observations about how good it is to be totally in the hands of God, for we have a God, he says, who is “like an external, inexhaustible fountain, which, the more it gushes forth and overflows, the more it continues to give” (The Book of Concord [2000 edition], p. 447). A vision like this is so powerful it could “intoxicate” us, as Luther once put it, with a passion to serve God that is driven by the one on whom we are absolutely dependent, not by us (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p. 349).
Mark E.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
It is time we stop pretending otherwise. It is Christmas, and the name does matter. It may be the middle of summer, but the Christmas story is still central to our faith. Our lesson discusses the need to always be learning; so should not the message of Christmas be a yearlong learning experience?
According to David French, a columnist for Patheos, which is a website dedicated to inter-religious dialogue, we are in our tenth consecutive year regarding the “War on Christmas.” We have moved beyond the standard criticism of the holiday season as one of secularization and merchandizing to an ideological battle of reason vs. faith and inclusiveness vs. a singular religious identity. The conflicting views cannot be shooed away as inconsequential, for it matters immensely if one refers to the season as a “Happy Holiday” or a “Merry Christmas.”
To be empowered and inspired by Christmas, one must identify with it by affirming its name. John Chrysostom (347-407), the bishop of Constantinople, acknowledged this in his Homily 4 on the gospel of Matthew. He preached on God’s empowerment of Joseph as he participated in the nativity. Chrysostom wrote that God said to Joseph: “You never touched the virgin. Nevertheless, I am giving you what pertains to a father. I give you the honor of giving a name to the One who is to be born. For you, Joseph, shall name him.” The name given to the child of Mary was Jesus. As Chrysostom attested, only when we associate ourselves with the name do we become an active participant in the event.
This is affirmed by Catholic theologian Tim Muldoon, when he wrote in a column for the Washington Post: “At their root, religious holidays are both expressions of a group’s identity and an invitation to others to learn about them. In the case of Christmas, believers are expressing what it means to believe that God became a human being when Jesus was born.” Christmas is a testimony of a religious conviction, unadorned with gold and silver tinsel. Its public celebration is not to coerce, but to inform and invite.
It is debated whether or not the United States is a Christian nation. Though the Constitution was not modeled on the Bible but on the Articles of Confederation, the constitutions of the colonies, French political philosophers, British common law, and a review of other British statutes to prevent any possibility of a monarchy, it can be affirmed that biblical principles guided the original framers.
This is made prominent in the closing words of George Washington’s farewell address as he resigned his commission with the Continental Army. Reaching the last paragraph of his speech, the future president said with trembling hands: “I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last final act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God.” And hence this declaration has guided the majority of our citizens through the decades.
In a 2005 survey conducted by the conducted by the Pew Research Center, 83 percent of Americans said that displays of Christmas symbols should be allowed on government property. The issue is not that the season is called Christmas and is to be displayed prominently in the public square, but that the majority abides by the Constitution and refrains from restricting the observances of other religions on the same lawns.
Nations, like individuals, need a moral compass. Regarding Christmas, David French concluded that the name does matter because “our national past shapes our national future.” French substantiated this when he asserted: “For those who despise Christianity or see America as a purely secular state, old crosses in the desert, chiseled religious images on public buildings, and a more than 200-year legacy of public prayer say we were -- and are -- a religious people, a people who wish to acknowledge their God in public life.” Imperfect as we may be as a nation, the message of Christmas has been our guiding principle.
Probably the real war on Christmas began at its conception. The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE established that Christmas should be celebrated on December 25. The celebration of “Christ’s Mass” was to counter the Roman pagan festival held that same day in honor of Sol Invictus (“The Invincible God”). As Christians participated in the celebration of the eucharist, they would abstain from engaging in the pagan rituals associated with the official sun god of the emperor.
Christ is in Christmas. “Xmas” does keep Christ in Christmas. The “X” comes from the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word x??????, translated as “Christ.” The following word “mass” is Latin, which references the liturgical Mass conducted on Christmas Day. Xmas does not take Christ out of Christmas but places him at the center of the celebration. It was used by the Church fathers as both as a symbol and as an abbreviation confessing “Christ Mass.”
I like to refrain from overgeneralizations, but if Christmas becomes “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings,” do we surrender its meaning to the type of god it was supposed to triumph over? Perhaps then, the critics who maintain that Christmas is a meaningless secularized religious holiday may be correct.
Application: Our lesson discusses the need to always be learning, and then to use that learning for evangelism.
Ron L.
When I was in elementary school, I collected baseball and football cards. I suppose quite a few boys have done that, and probably some girls have too. I had a friend in the 5th grade who was also a card collector. I remember that at that time my favorite player was a quarterback for the (then) Baltimore Colts by the name of Bert Jones. I thought Bert Jones was the greatest player ever. My friend Jimmie had a Bert Jones football card; I did not. I thought I’d make a trade to get my favorite player. I gave up three superstars (Franco Harris, Drew Pearson, and Dave Casper) for him. Though Jones was a good player, I made a bad trade.
Bad trades are not limited to elementary school card collectors. The Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000. That’s it. No other player, just cash. The Philadelphia 76ers traded future Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry. Not a great trade on the part of the 76ers.
Another bad trade takes place in our text. Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah. As such, he has the birthright. What did that mean? The birthright, in that culture, went to the eldest son. All sons received a “portion” of the inheritance of their father, but the one who received the birthright inherited a double portion. Esau thought little of the birthright, and Jacob would do what he needed to do to get ahead. So on a day when Esau had been hunting and came in famished, Jacob pounced. He’d prepared a stew. Esau was famished and wanted some. Jacob offered it in exchange for the birthright. In another ludicrous trade, Esau gave up his birthright for a bowl of stew. It’s hard to believe, but that’s the trade he made. The birthright for a bowl of beans; makes little sense. It’s a bad trade.
Bill T.
Genesis 25:19-34
This is a story of how one who has no privilege (Jacob) receives God’s blessing (rightly belonging to Esau). This story is a testimony to the surprising, hidden ways of God. The theme of God favoring one not entitled to the blessing reflects the thinking of Latin American liberation theology. One of its principal proponents, Rubem Alves, writes: “God therefore is to be found not among the powerful but among those who are subject, who suffer, who are not given a future” (A Theology of Human Hope, p. 117).
The entire story reflects God’s hidden ways of preferring what contradicts the ways of the world, according to Martin Luther: “Here the foundations of the entire Christian doctrine are confirmed. Through the birth of these twins God wants to pass sentence in advance on the entire world; yes, even to anticipate and put an end to all righteousness of the flesh. He wants to teach that all wisdom and excellence of the flesh is lost and vain” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 4, p. 370). “He [God] has hidden his power under nothing by weakness, his wisdom under foolishness, his goodness under severity, his righteousness under sins, and his mercy under wrath” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 25, p. 370).
God’s hidden, surprising ways help make life sweeter. Neurobiologists have found surprise to be good for the brain, for it can provide opportunity to exercise the prefrontal cortex and all the pleasant, amphetamine-like brain chemicals associated with its exercise (Daniele Turner, Cerebral Cortex [August 2004]).
Mark E.
Genesis 25:19-34
Dr. Wogaman, a professor of ethics and the former dean of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, began the first day of all of his classes with this question: “What is the central theme of the Bible?” As a member of one of his classes I listened intently to the answers offered, but I was too shy to present my own opinion. Dr. Wogaman heard from the students the expected responses of love, forgiveness, and salvation. I am sure you could name the continuing list of replies. The one answer he did not receive was the word “hope.” The professor then lectured that hope is the central message of the scriptures. Hope is the message of the resurrection. It is the message that there is always a new day in the morning. It is the message that no matter how tragic life may be there is the possibility for a new beginning. This does not lessen the sorrow or suffering of those who have befallen tragedy. It does not discount the severity of their present agony. What it does mean is that in the midst of these horrible circumstances there is the possibility for a new beginning.
Application: Our lesson from Genesis is a lesson of hope.
Ron L.
Romans 8:1-11
Living into the Spirit is a tough task, especially when we live in such a human culture. Speaking with friends recently, I discussed the difficulty of working with and within the church when the culture seems so nasty, uncivil, and hateful. The reality is that we all behave as our worst selves sometimes. It’s our human nature.
Every time I say that phrase I am reminded of a quote from Katherine Hepburn in the film The African Queen. Hepburn plays the sister of a missionary, Rose Sayer. Humphrey Bogart portrays the pilot of a boat, Charlie Allnut. Charlie is something of a curser and a drinker, and on one occasion he claims that his behavior is only human nature. Rose responds, “Human nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we have been put on earth to overcome.”
Paul reminds us that we are called to live into the Spirit, to embody the Spirit rather than our human nature. It’s tough, but when we try, when we allow the Spirit to dwell within us, we are closer to the people God created us to be than ever before.
Bonnie B.
Romans 8:1-11
Too often Paul’s language about “Law” and “Jews” is taken out of his social context and reinterpreted in anti-semitic terms. It’s important to remember that Paul was Jewish, most of the major players we meet in the New Testament were Jewish, and that Paul delighted in the no-holds-barred hurly-burly of Biblical discussion -- well, argument -- common in his day. In his time Judaism was as multi-faceted as Christianity is today. There were many “denominations” of Judaism, and he is really railing against a particular form of interpretation and not condemning an entire people or faith.
The Law, spoken about so harshly in this passage and indeed throughout Romans, is the Torah, pure and simple. The Torah, or Law -- consisting of what we consider the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy -- is also referred to, and even translated, as “The Way.” By the way (pardon the expression), before we were called Christians our faith was also known as “The Way.” Paul seems to have had great respect for the Torah/Law/Way. Recall that when he was arrested in Jerusalem it was because he was advocating basic Jewish practices, in this case liberating some Nazarenes by paying the fee they owe along with their Nazarite vow.
Would Paul really suggest that God’s revelation is evil, or that it sets us up to fail? Paul is actually getting back to the fundamentals of the Law, rather than the fundamentalism of one group’s interpretation of what the Law means. Paul speaks of the law of the spirit of Christ freeing us from the law of sin and death. Paul, raised in the true Pharisaic tradition, the tradition of Hillel and Gamaliel, knows that the Law gives life when we work together to interpret its meaning. It becomes dead and lifeless when we act like someone claiming to collect butterflies by killing them and pinning them to a pasteboard card. Paul clearly interprets the Law through the Spirit of Christ Jesus.
Frank R.
Romans 8:1-11
The role of a pastor is not to be a member of the Supreme Court who rules only by the words of the constitution. We are not judged by the laws of God, even if we find those laws in scripture.
The law of the Spirit has set us free of the endless rules in scripture. The Jews found over 600 rules in the Bible. What a burden!
It is the Spirit, which has put in us that gift of life and peace that only he can give. Without that gift of the Spirit we are lost and condemned.
There are churches that are captured by the rules they think are in the Bible. Some think that drinking wine is a sin, and that Jesus must have drunk grape juice at the last supper... and at the wedding he turned water into grape juice, and that it is evil to dance or watch movies. They also clam that the end of the world would be in the year 2000. They missed it, but even if they tried they might have to make the end date three of four days earlier if they are timing it from the “real” date of Jesus’ birth. Some say that the world was created in seven 24-hour days, but when I point out that the Bible tells us “a day to the Lord is as a thousand years” they then tell me that it must have been created in 7,000 years. You can’t win! Some brothers in Christi feel it is wrong even to look out the window to see what’s going on outside on Sunday.
But they are still brothers in Christ. Jesus was not a Mormon bishop with several wives. The Bible tells us that we are the “bride of Christ.” He only has one bride. He doesn’t have a Baptist bride, a Roman Catholic bride, a Lutheran bride, etc. We are all “one” in Christ.
If our mind is controlled by the evil one, we can’t submit to God’s law. We only have power to live as God wants us to by letting his Spirit control our life. If we let God take control of our lives, we will have eternal life.
We should realize that hell is a choice. We were created with free will. We can believe in Jesus and what he has done for us and accept his reward, or we can take another road not by the Spirit and be lost. It is like being thrown a life preserver when we are drowning. We can accept it and grab it, or we can drown. Even here we can’t grab the life preserver without the strength of Jesus leading us!
Bob O.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
In the town in which I live, the riverfront has a beautiful park and great walking trails. The city does a good job of keeping it clean and nice-looking. One Sunday a year our church has a “Hands on Washington” day in which we forgo morning worship to serve in the community. One place where we always send crews is the riverfront. The work task there is always the same; remove the honeysuckle along the walking path. I’ve been told that honeysuckle, though it isn’t ugly, is one of those plants that chokes out all other vegetation. If you allow honeysuckle to flourish, nothing else will.
I thought about honeysuckle when I read this parable. Jesus talks about the seed that fell among the thorns. That seed hears the word, but the cares of this world and the lure of wealth choke it out and it bears no fruit. That’s a powerful word picture. What can choke out a person’s spiritual fervor and excitement? If you allow the cares of this world to have too much prominence, the word can’t grow. When the lure of and lust for wealth is too strong, then the word can’t take root. Just like with the honeysuckle, those things must be cut out for the important and meaningful to grow. Though it may not look like it, some things are deadly predators. Honeysuckle, greed, and attachment to this world are deadly if too strong. Be warned. Clean them out so other things can grow.
Bill T.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Self-reliance is the American way. Especially since the Clinton era, it has been common to speak of America as a meritocracy, a nation in which the most talented people rise to the top no matter where they started (Robert Reich, The Work of Nations). But in linking the idea of merit to quality education, the intellectual (liberal) elite overlook how this excludes the majority of Americans who never have graduated or never will graduate from college. This philosophy of life effectively puts the blame on those on the receiving end of inequality, on the poor rather than on a system rigged against them (Thomas Frank, Listen Liberal or Whatever Happened To the Party of the People?, pp. 30ff).
This gospel, when correctly understood as not being about the different kinds of soil into which the seed falls but upon what God does in planting and growing the seeds -- for soil is passive (see Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew, p. 297) -- undermines American meritocracy. Good illustrations of this insight are evident in the father of modern liberal theology, Friedrich Schleiermacher. He identified faith as “the consciousness of being absolutely dependent, or, which is the same thing, of being in relation with God” (The Christian Faith, p. 12). This parable reminds us that we are absolutely dependent on God for everything we have or are!
There is a wonderful comfort in this insight, one we have profoundly expressed in the Reformed 16th-century Heidelberg Catechism:
Q.1. What is your only comfort, in life and death?
A. That I belong -- body and soul, in life and in death -- not to myself but to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ... [to] expect all good from him alone... and honor him with my whole heart (The Book of Confessions, 4.001).
Martin Luther offers further observations about how good it is to be totally in the hands of God, for we have a God, he says, who is “like an external, inexhaustible fountain, which, the more it gushes forth and overflows, the more it continues to give” (The Book of Concord [2000 edition], p. 447). A vision like this is so powerful it could “intoxicate” us, as Luther once put it, with a passion to serve God that is driven by the one on whom we are absolutely dependent, not by us (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p. 349).
Mark E.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
It is time we stop pretending otherwise. It is Christmas, and the name does matter. It may be the middle of summer, but the Christmas story is still central to our faith. Our lesson discusses the need to always be learning; so should not the message of Christmas be a yearlong learning experience?
According to David French, a columnist for Patheos, which is a website dedicated to inter-religious dialogue, we are in our tenth consecutive year regarding the “War on Christmas.” We have moved beyond the standard criticism of the holiday season as one of secularization and merchandizing to an ideological battle of reason vs. faith and inclusiveness vs. a singular religious identity. The conflicting views cannot be shooed away as inconsequential, for it matters immensely if one refers to the season as a “Happy Holiday” or a “Merry Christmas.”
To be empowered and inspired by Christmas, one must identify with it by affirming its name. John Chrysostom (347-407), the bishop of Constantinople, acknowledged this in his Homily 4 on the gospel of Matthew. He preached on God’s empowerment of Joseph as he participated in the nativity. Chrysostom wrote that God said to Joseph: “You never touched the virgin. Nevertheless, I am giving you what pertains to a father. I give you the honor of giving a name to the One who is to be born. For you, Joseph, shall name him.” The name given to the child of Mary was Jesus. As Chrysostom attested, only when we associate ourselves with the name do we become an active participant in the event.
This is affirmed by Catholic theologian Tim Muldoon, when he wrote in a column for the Washington Post: “At their root, religious holidays are both expressions of a group’s identity and an invitation to others to learn about them. In the case of Christmas, believers are expressing what it means to believe that God became a human being when Jesus was born.” Christmas is a testimony of a religious conviction, unadorned with gold and silver tinsel. Its public celebration is not to coerce, but to inform and invite.
It is debated whether or not the United States is a Christian nation. Though the Constitution was not modeled on the Bible but on the Articles of Confederation, the constitutions of the colonies, French political philosophers, British common law, and a review of other British statutes to prevent any possibility of a monarchy, it can be affirmed that biblical principles guided the original framers.
This is made prominent in the closing words of George Washington’s farewell address as he resigned his commission with the Continental Army. Reaching the last paragraph of his speech, the future president said with trembling hands: “I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last final act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God.” And hence this declaration has guided the majority of our citizens through the decades.
In a 2005 survey conducted by the conducted by the Pew Research Center, 83 percent of Americans said that displays of Christmas symbols should be allowed on government property. The issue is not that the season is called Christmas and is to be displayed prominently in the public square, but that the majority abides by the Constitution and refrains from restricting the observances of other religions on the same lawns.
Nations, like individuals, need a moral compass. Regarding Christmas, David French concluded that the name does matter because “our national past shapes our national future.” French substantiated this when he asserted: “For those who despise Christianity or see America as a purely secular state, old crosses in the desert, chiseled religious images on public buildings, and a more than 200-year legacy of public prayer say we were -- and are -- a religious people, a people who wish to acknowledge their God in public life.” Imperfect as we may be as a nation, the message of Christmas has been our guiding principle.
Probably the real war on Christmas began at its conception. The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE established that Christmas should be celebrated on December 25. The celebration of “Christ’s Mass” was to counter the Roman pagan festival held that same day in honor of Sol Invictus (“The Invincible God”). As Christians participated in the celebration of the eucharist, they would abstain from engaging in the pagan rituals associated with the official sun god of the emperor.
Christ is in Christmas. “Xmas” does keep Christ in Christmas. The “X” comes from the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word x??????, translated as “Christ.” The following word “mass” is Latin, which references the liturgical Mass conducted on Christmas Day. Xmas does not take Christ out of Christmas but places him at the center of the celebration. It was used by the Church fathers as both as a symbol and as an abbreviation confessing “Christ Mass.”
I like to refrain from overgeneralizations, but if Christmas becomes “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings,” do we surrender its meaning to the type of god it was supposed to triumph over? Perhaps then, the critics who maintain that Christmas is a meaningless secularized religious holiday may be correct.
Application: Our lesson discusses the need to always be learning, and then to use that learning for evangelism.
Ron L.
