Sermon Illustrations For Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15 (2023)
Illustration
Genesis 25:19-34, Psalm 119:105-112
Have any of you been pregnant for, or known someone who was, pregnant with twins? I have and I recall the feeling like they were wrestling each other. I’m not sure what I felt was what Rebecca felt, but the explanation would not have been the same. God is clear that there were two nations wrestling inside her womb. An interesting concept and perspective. I don’t think most of us who have carried or delivered twins thought of them as separate nations. Psalm 119 tells us that the psalmist proclaims about God, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.” I am sure that Rebecca and Isaac had hopes and dreams for their sons and were dismayed about their animosity toward each other. Sibling rivalry is a real thing. And resting in God is a good thing, nonetheless. We should go to God more and be in contentiousness with each other less. We know that eventually Esau and Jacob mend their fences — but oh the challenges in the meantime.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Genesis 25:19-34
John Calvin interpreted the rivalry between Jacob and Esau and Jacob’s dominance in terms of the Will of God. He wrote:
Moses clearly demonstrates by so many circumstances that the adoption of Jacob was founded on the solid good pleasure of God, it is an intolerable presumption to so suppose it to depend upon the will of man. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.I/2, p.49)
Martin Luther then explains God’s preference for the younger son:
Here the foundations of the entire Christian doctrine are confirmed. Through the birth of these twins, God wants to pass sentence in advance of 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)
Luther also offers an image for illustrating the meaning of the story:
The Holy Spirit wants us to keep these two brothers before our eyes continually and to consider them a daily proverb for at all times we are either Esauites or Jacobites. In outward appearance, Esau is saintlier and more religious than all others and seems to be the owner and heir of the kingdom of heaven; yet he is nothing else than Esau, that is self-righteous, work-righteous... [yet] Esau or Jacob certainly originate from the same stock and from the same Gospel of salvation. (Ibid,, p.392)
The real followers of the faith (Jacob’s offspring) are more humble and less ostentatious about their religiosity.
Mark E.
* * *
Genesis 25:19-34
One of the best ways to tell a story is to start at the happy ending, give people a taste of the happy ending, go back to the beginning, work your way forward, and then, when you get to the ending, reveal that it’s not what you think and there’s a lot of the story ahead.
So, if I were writing a screenplay for Jacob’s story, I start with this beautiful moment where the two brothers, long estranged, weep in each other’s arms, so happy to see each other, reunited, everything forgiven, things back to where they should have been all along.
But to make it even more dramatic — and maybe just a little confusing, I’d intertwine some of this wrestling scene that preceded this moment. It would be dark, unfocussed, and we’d see bare arms, then two men grappling, grunts of severe pain, straining, groping — illuminated perhaps by the light of the moon. A few seconds of it, and then Jacob and Esau, a few more seconds, and the brothers weeping in joy, a few more seconds, and the contrast of words.
And then way back to the real beginning, mom in labor, deep pain, suffering, then triumph, a childbirth, a baby emerging, one of the midwives saying, “Firstborn! Firstborn son! He’s a redhead! Call him Red!”
Then, just when we think we can relax, the pains again, because there’s another baby on the way out. One of the midwives calls for the other to hand her the first baby and the reply, “I can’t! Someone’s pulling back!”
More anguish, a cry, and both babies are out, and the second is holding is holding on to the feel of the first.”
We see the mother’s face, panting, covered in perspiration, as she struggles to say, “Heel-Sneak! That’s my boy. Heel Sneak!”
That phrase “Heel Sneak” comes straight from Everett Fox’s translation of Genesis. It’s the way he renders Ya’akob, or Jacob, the name means grab by the heel. Supplanter. Heel Sneak!
Frank R.
* * *
Psalm 119:105-112
Those of us, like me, who grew up in big cities and now live in the country, don’t lose our wonder for a truly dark night sky — but we do forget that we can’t count on a light on our path if we find ourselves out hiking when suddenly we can’t see our feet, the path, or obstacles in our way. Suddenly every noise gets magnified, and a sense of danger ensues, even if we should feel perfectly safe. Meanwhile the glory of the stars above can almost be oppressive.
In recent years smart phones make up for the fact we forgot to pack a flashlight. As long as we have sufficient battery power, that is!
This passage from the longest psalm begins with words made famous by one popular song, but the verse has had a good deal of traction on its own — “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” As insightful and inspiring as this one phrase can be, it is only one chip in an elaborate mosaic whose beauty becomes apparent only when you take a step backwards and take in the whole. This 176-verse song in praise of the gift of God’s law is an elaborate acrostic. Usually an acrostic is something simple. A poet spells out the name of a beloved beginning each line with the next letter of his or her name. But in this psalm, all eight lines of the first stanza begin with aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The eight lines of the second stanza begin with beth, then gimel, then daleth, all the way to tau.
I mentioned smart phones earlier, and I’ve noticed that many Christians, like me, have several versions of the Bible on their smartphone. These are very handy, because you can do elaborate searches, write notes, highlight passages, and do any number of tasks you could with a physical Bible. Still, whenever I travel anywhere I bring along a physical copy of the scriptures. I have one in particular in which I have written in the mostly blank pages in the beginning a list of the places I’ve taken it to, including my backpack when I hiked to the floor of the Grand Canyon and back up again. I had it with me in my luggage on the verge of the pandemic when I flew out for an out of state wedding which marked the last time I saw one of my brothers alive before his passing. I look on carrying a Bible the same as I would bringing a flashlight or other essential equipment on a trip.
A real-life Bible present in the physical universe is a reminder that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. But we only benefit from that light if we also make it a point to open it up and look inside.
Frank R.
* * *
Psalm 119:105-112
Commenting on how God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths, Martin Luther noted early in his career that
Therefore, the word does not enlighten the eyes, but neither the ears. Yet it is a lamp, because it guides the feet and the heart, and faith does not require understanding. Not understanding, but willing, not knowing but doing... And you will not go astray if you believe and go, even though you do not see. (Luther’s Works, Vol.11, p.485)
About such faith he adds:
Thus faith does not enlighten the understanding, indeed, it blinds it, but rather the heart. Faith leads it where it will be saved, and it does so through the hearing of the word. The heart, hearing the word, begins to walk after it, not knowing where. (Ibid.)
This kind of courage is made possible by God, John Calvin claimed. Interpreting this psalm he wrote:
But when God stretches forth his hand to us, he bids us be of good courage, and promises that he will never fail us; and this is the source from which the boldness to swear, here spoken of [in v.106], proceeds. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VI/1, p.480)
Mark E.
* * *
Romans 8:1-11
Sarx and Pneuma. Flesh and Spirit. The first word can refer literally to our bodies, including the flesh of Jesus in language about communion, but it also can refer to our motivations, especially bad motivations, which have nothing to do with the literal flesh.
Pneuma has even more connotations — breeze, wind, stormy blast, breath, our spirit, the Spirit, evil spirits — take your choice.
The thing is, eating, drinking, sleeping, dancing, drawing, relaxing, working out, our sexual lives, our physical presence — these are all good things that have nothing to do with what Paul is talking about with regards to the flesh — just as some of our bad attitudes have nothing to do with the Spirit. With Christ in us, and of us, and all about us all of our physical activities find their proper function within the motivation of God’s will. We are less likely to stray towards and in sin, and more likely to honor God from our fingertips to our toes.
Frank R.
* * *
Romans 8:1-11
In one of the Peanuts cartoons, Lucy says to Charlie Brown, “I hate everything. I hate everybody. I hate the whole wide world!”
Charlie Brown answers, “But I thought you had inner peace.”
Lucy replies, “I do have inner peace. But I still have outer obnoxiousness.”
That’s a humorous bit from an old cartoon. However, there is a lot of spiritual truth in Charles Schultz’s work. Lucy, in many ways, embodies this passage from Romans 8. There are two paths or options where one’s mind might be set: the flesh or the Spirit. The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. It is, as Lucy says, “outer obnoxiousness.” The other choice is the set one’s mind on the Spirit. One who does that finds life and peace.
Watchman Nee once wrote, “A born-again person ought to possess unspeakable peace in the spirit.” That chance is afforded to all who choose to submit to God.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
I spent a little time looking at the Crop for Life website to study what makes soil good. The website makes it clear that soil is the most important component of agriculture. For the best yield of a crop, the availability of the best suitable soil is very important. Soil contains major nutrients which plants need during their vegetative and reproductive growth and useful microorganisms which can help the plant to have appropriate nutrients and provide protection. That’s why it is very important to know which soil is suitable for agriculture.
The website continues to address what are the best or most suitable soils for agriculture. The four listed were red soil, black soil, sand, and peaty soil. While each of the four different types could grow different things, the only one marked as “good” was the black soil. Black soil was defined as, “soil enriched with organic material with a black surface horizon. It suits best to crops like cotton, millet, tobacco, sugarcane, wheat, and oilseeds.”
I found this website interesting in connection with the parable Jesus told. Those who first heard this parable in Jesus’ day would be well aware of the different soils and how they affected plants. While the word (the seed) is sown among different kinds of people, it grows in the “good soil.” What is the good soil? One who hears the word, understands it, and bears fruit (vs. 23). May we receive the word as good soil and allow it to grow in our lives.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
There is general agreement among New Testament scholars that the reference to the different kinds of soil in this parable is not intended to get us thinking about what kind of soil we are (the usual trite way of explaining this parable), but to get us focused on Jesus’ fate and to realize that its failure to bear fruit was all planned and expected. Ultimately, God is in control (Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew, p.297). In this spirit, John Wesley notes “... it is not the will of God that hinders, but their [humanity’s] own voluntary perverseness.” (Commentary On the Bible, p.414) What we need is to heed the lesson taught by the 16th-century Heidelberg Catechism:
Q.1. What is your only comfort in life and in 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 along... and honor him with my whole heart. (The [Presbyterian] Book of Confessions, 4.001)
In this same spirit, Martin Luther referred to the confidence we can have in God, for he is said to be “like an eternal, inexhaustible fountain, which, the more it gushes forth and overflows, the more it continues to give.” (The [Lutheran] Book of Concord [2000 ed.], p.447)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
For many of us who garden the sowing of seeds is an important activity. Most gardeners I know prepare the soil for planting, for the sowing of seeds. We want to ensure that the crop is healthy. Also, it’s not surprising that Jesus knows what happens to seeds that are sown on rocky ground or the footpath. Most people would have known this, as do people now. The challenge of course is moving from the metaphor to the true lesson. We have all heard this passage preached on enough times to know what the response of Jesus to the disciples will be. The Word of God is the seed and how prepared we are to receive it can be compared to the soil. What kind of soil are we? Can we prepare ourselves to be fertile and ready for the word to enter us and blossom? I hope so.
Bonnie B.
Have any of you been pregnant for, or known someone who was, pregnant with twins? I have and I recall the feeling like they were wrestling each other. I’m not sure what I felt was what Rebecca felt, but the explanation would not have been the same. God is clear that there were two nations wrestling inside her womb. An interesting concept and perspective. I don’t think most of us who have carried or delivered twins thought of them as separate nations. Psalm 119 tells us that the psalmist proclaims about God, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.” I am sure that Rebecca and Isaac had hopes and dreams for their sons and were dismayed about their animosity toward each other. Sibling rivalry is a real thing. And resting in God is a good thing, nonetheless. We should go to God more and be in contentiousness with each other less. We know that eventually Esau and Jacob mend their fences — but oh the challenges in the meantime.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Genesis 25:19-34
John Calvin interpreted the rivalry between Jacob and Esau and Jacob’s dominance in terms of the Will of God. He wrote:
Moses clearly demonstrates by so many circumstances that the adoption of Jacob was founded on the solid good pleasure of God, it is an intolerable presumption to so suppose it to depend upon the will of man. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.I/2, p.49)
Martin Luther then explains God’s preference for the younger son:
Here the foundations of the entire Christian doctrine are confirmed. Through the birth of these twins, God wants to pass sentence in advance of 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)
Luther also offers an image for illustrating the meaning of the story:
The Holy Spirit wants us to keep these two brothers before our eyes continually and to consider them a daily proverb for at all times we are either Esauites or Jacobites. In outward appearance, Esau is saintlier and more religious than all others and seems to be the owner and heir of the kingdom of heaven; yet he is nothing else than Esau, that is self-righteous, work-righteous... [yet] Esau or Jacob certainly originate from the same stock and from the same Gospel of salvation. (Ibid,, p.392)
The real followers of the faith (Jacob’s offspring) are more humble and less ostentatious about their religiosity.
Mark E.
* * *
Genesis 25:19-34
One of the best ways to tell a story is to start at the happy ending, give people a taste of the happy ending, go back to the beginning, work your way forward, and then, when you get to the ending, reveal that it’s not what you think and there’s a lot of the story ahead.
So, if I were writing a screenplay for Jacob’s story, I start with this beautiful moment where the two brothers, long estranged, weep in each other’s arms, so happy to see each other, reunited, everything forgiven, things back to where they should have been all along.
But to make it even more dramatic — and maybe just a little confusing, I’d intertwine some of this wrestling scene that preceded this moment. It would be dark, unfocussed, and we’d see bare arms, then two men grappling, grunts of severe pain, straining, groping — illuminated perhaps by the light of the moon. A few seconds of it, and then Jacob and Esau, a few more seconds, and the brothers weeping in joy, a few more seconds, and the contrast of words.
And then way back to the real beginning, mom in labor, deep pain, suffering, then triumph, a childbirth, a baby emerging, one of the midwives saying, “Firstborn! Firstborn son! He’s a redhead! Call him Red!”
Then, just when we think we can relax, the pains again, because there’s another baby on the way out. One of the midwives calls for the other to hand her the first baby and the reply, “I can’t! Someone’s pulling back!”
More anguish, a cry, and both babies are out, and the second is holding is holding on to the feel of the first.”
We see the mother’s face, panting, covered in perspiration, as she struggles to say, “Heel-Sneak! That’s my boy. Heel Sneak!”
That phrase “Heel Sneak” comes straight from Everett Fox’s translation of Genesis. It’s the way he renders Ya’akob, or Jacob, the name means grab by the heel. Supplanter. Heel Sneak!
Frank R.
* * *
Psalm 119:105-112
Those of us, like me, who grew up in big cities and now live in the country, don’t lose our wonder for a truly dark night sky — but we do forget that we can’t count on a light on our path if we find ourselves out hiking when suddenly we can’t see our feet, the path, or obstacles in our way. Suddenly every noise gets magnified, and a sense of danger ensues, even if we should feel perfectly safe. Meanwhile the glory of the stars above can almost be oppressive.
In recent years smart phones make up for the fact we forgot to pack a flashlight. As long as we have sufficient battery power, that is!
This passage from the longest psalm begins with words made famous by one popular song, but the verse has had a good deal of traction on its own — “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” As insightful and inspiring as this one phrase can be, it is only one chip in an elaborate mosaic whose beauty becomes apparent only when you take a step backwards and take in the whole. This 176-verse song in praise of the gift of God’s law is an elaborate acrostic. Usually an acrostic is something simple. A poet spells out the name of a beloved beginning each line with the next letter of his or her name. But in this psalm, all eight lines of the first stanza begin with aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The eight lines of the second stanza begin with beth, then gimel, then daleth, all the way to tau.
I mentioned smart phones earlier, and I’ve noticed that many Christians, like me, have several versions of the Bible on their smartphone. These are very handy, because you can do elaborate searches, write notes, highlight passages, and do any number of tasks you could with a physical Bible. Still, whenever I travel anywhere I bring along a physical copy of the scriptures. I have one in particular in which I have written in the mostly blank pages in the beginning a list of the places I’ve taken it to, including my backpack when I hiked to the floor of the Grand Canyon and back up again. I had it with me in my luggage on the verge of the pandemic when I flew out for an out of state wedding which marked the last time I saw one of my brothers alive before his passing. I look on carrying a Bible the same as I would bringing a flashlight or other essential equipment on a trip.
A real-life Bible present in the physical universe is a reminder that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. But we only benefit from that light if we also make it a point to open it up and look inside.
Frank R.
* * *
Psalm 119:105-112
Commenting on how God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths, Martin Luther noted early in his career that
Therefore, the word does not enlighten the eyes, but neither the ears. Yet it is a lamp, because it guides the feet and the heart, and faith does not require understanding. Not understanding, but willing, not knowing but doing... And you will not go astray if you believe and go, even though you do not see. (Luther’s Works, Vol.11, p.485)
About such faith he adds:
Thus faith does not enlighten the understanding, indeed, it blinds it, but rather the heart. Faith leads it where it will be saved, and it does so through the hearing of the word. The heart, hearing the word, begins to walk after it, not knowing where. (Ibid.)
This kind of courage is made possible by God, John Calvin claimed. Interpreting this psalm he wrote:
But when God stretches forth his hand to us, he bids us be of good courage, and promises that he will never fail us; and this is the source from which the boldness to swear, here spoken of [in v.106], proceeds. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VI/1, p.480)
Mark E.
* * *
Romans 8:1-11
Sarx and Pneuma. Flesh and Spirit. The first word can refer literally to our bodies, including the flesh of Jesus in language about communion, but it also can refer to our motivations, especially bad motivations, which have nothing to do with the literal flesh.
Pneuma has even more connotations — breeze, wind, stormy blast, breath, our spirit, the Spirit, evil spirits — take your choice.
The thing is, eating, drinking, sleeping, dancing, drawing, relaxing, working out, our sexual lives, our physical presence — these are all good things that have nothing to do with what Paul is talking about with regards to the flesh — just as some of our bad attitudes have nothing to do with the Spirit. With Christ in us, and of us, and all about us all of our physical activities find their proper function within the motivation of God’s will. We are less likely to stray towards and in sin, and more likely to honor God from our fingertips to our toes.
Frank R.
* * *
Romans 8:1-11
In one of the Peanuts cartoons, Lucy says to Charlie Brown, “I hate everything. I hate everybody. I hate the whole wide world!”
Charlie Brown answers, “But I thought you had inner peace.”
Lucy replies, “I do have inner peace. But I still have outer obnoxiousness.”
That’s a humorous bit from an old cartoon. However, there is a lot of spiritual truth in Charles Schultz’s work. Lucy, in many ways, embodies this passage from Romans 8. There are two paths or options where one’s mind might be set: the flesh or the Spirit. The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. It is, as Lucy says, “outer obnoxiousness.” The other choice is the set one’s mind on the Spirit. One who does that finds life and peace.
Watchman Nee once wrote, “A born-again person ought to possess unspeakable peace in the spirit.” That chance is afforded to all who choose to submit to God.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
I spent a little time looking at the Crop for Life website to study what makes soil good. The website makes it clear that soil is the most important component of agriculture. For the best yield of a crop, the availability of the best suitable soil is very important. Soil contains major nutrients which plants need during their vegetative and reproductive growth and useful microorganisms which can help the plant to have appropriate nutrients and provide protection. That’s why it is very important to know which soil is suitable for agriculture.
The website continues to address what are the best or most suitable soils for agriculture. The four listed were red soil, black soil, sand, and peaty soil. While each of the four different types could grow different things, the only one marked as “good” was the black soil. Black soil was defined as, “soil enriched with organic material with a black surface horizon. It suits best to crops like cotton, millet, tobacco, sugarcane, wheat, and oilseeds.”
I found this website interesting in connection with the parable Jesus told. Those who first heard this parable in Jesus’ day would be well aware of the different soils and how they affected plants. While the word (the seed) is sown among different kinds of people, it grows in the “good soil.” What is the good soil? One who hears the word, understands it, and bears fruit (vs. 23). May we receive the word as good soil and allow it to grow in our lives.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
There is general agreement among New Testament scholars that the reference to the different kinds of soil in this parable is not intended to get us thinking about what kind of soil we are (the usual trite way of explaining this parable), but to get us focused on Jesus’ fate and to realize that its failure to bear fruit was all planned and expected. Ultimately, God is in control (Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew, p.297). In this spirit, John Wesley notes “... it is not the will of God that hinders, but their [humanity’s] own voluntary perverseness.” (Commentary On the Bible, p.414) What we need is to heed the lesson taught by the 16th-century Heidelberg Catechism:
Q.1. What is your only comfort in life and in 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 along... and honor him with my whole heart. (The [Presbyterian] Book of Confessions, 4.001)
In this same spirit, Martin Luther referred to the confidence we can have in God, for he is said to be “like an eternal, inexhaustible fountain, which, the more it gushes forth and overflows, the more it continues to give.” (The [Lutheran] Book of Concord [2000 ed.], p.447)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
For many of us who garden the sowing of seeds is an important activity. Most gardeners I know prepare the soil for planting, for the sowing of seeds. We want to ensure that the crop is healthy. Also, it’s not surprising that Jesus knows what happens to seeds that are sown on rocky ground or the footpath. Most people would have known this, as do people now. The challenge of course is moving from the metaphor to the true lesson. We have all heard this passage preached on enough times to know what the response of Jesus to the disciples will be. The Word of God is the seed and how prepared we are to receive it can be compared to the soil. What kind of soil are we? Can we prepare ourselves to be fertile and ready for the word to enter us and blossom? I hope so.
Bonnie B.
