Sermon Illustrations for Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
The lesson recounts Joseph being sold into slavery, the beginning of Israel's slavery in Egypt. Slavery is still a problem to this day. A 2007 U.S. State Department estimated that there are 27 million people worldwide who are enslaved. Here in the States many of the (grand)sons and daughters of the slaves remained scarred by this evil institution. How else can we explain the fact that while 1 in 7 Americans live in poverty, more than 1 in 4 black Americans endure that state? In 2012 African Americans reportedly comprised 30% of the American population as a whole, however, 60% of those in jail were black. Racism seems alive and well, and those whites insisting African Americans in their communities "get over it" are just exacerbating the problems. This text will not let us forget this data.
Famed black liberation theologian James Cone invites us all to address the problems by becoming black (for our text shows that this is God's will). He writes: "...blackness is the primary mode of God's presence..." Blackness in Cone's view is making sure "your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body are where the dispossessed are..." (Black Theology and Black Power, pp. vii, p. 217). God is on the side of the victims of slavery and that is where we and the church belong!
Martin Luther made a similar point, a word of comfort to those like Joseph and his people who have been victims. In the sacraments and the word of God, he contends, those oppressed hear God proclaim: "I am the Lord your God, do not be troubled! I will care for you! Cast your care on me!" (Luther's Works, Vol. 6, p. 364).
A God who carries the cares of the oppressed is a God with people who will overcome!
Mark E.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Reverend Dudley Tyng was an Episcopal priest serving a church in Philadelphia. Because of his strong opposition to slavery he was forced to leave Episcopal dioceses and he then started the Church of the Covenant. He was a strong preacher, once holding a rival on March 30, 1858, where 5,000 men attended. Two weeks after the rival he was visiting in the countryside when he came to close to a corn-thrasher and his right arm was ripped from its socket. Several days later he died from the wound. As he was dying he told his father to "stand up for Jesus, father, and tell my brethren of the ministry to stand up for Jesus." Pastor George Duffy was so stirred by Tyng's funeral that he wrote a poem based on that statement that has become the beloved hymn "Stand Up For Jesus."
Application: Joseph may rightly been referred to by his brothers as the "dreamer" for he always stood up for his faith.
Ron L.
Romans 10:5-15
We write letters and emails, editorials and blogs. We tweet and we message and we text. Occasionally we go old school and pass notes in class. There's Morse code and semaphore. There are pictograms and smoke signals. There are a hundred ways and more to speak our minds, to express our feelings, to say what is on our hearts. But before we get the word out, there has to be a word. Before we can speak, we must have something to say.
Scott B.
Romans 10:5-15
Saving faith comes through our invitation for Christ to forgive us of our sins. He does not force himself on us but stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. David Wilkerson said that saving faith is the kind of faith that arrives out of deep contrition for sin; out of a heart that has repudiated all iniquity and moral sins; out of a heart totally and daily surrendered to the lordship of Christ -- only that kind of faith guarantees grace.
Ann Kiemel said that faith is like jumping out of an airplane thousands of feet above ground. If God doesn't catch you, you splatter. But how do you know whether or not he is going to catch you unless you jump out... that is faith!
Are you ready to jump in faith to a guaranteed relationship with Christ?
Derl K.
Romans 10:5-15
There are two ways people think you come to God. Moses' way is by the law and even today many Christians are trying to come to God by obeying every tiny item of God's law: don't dance, don't smoke, don't drink, and so forth. But the "righteous" will live by faith.
How many Christians write books on how to bring Christ down or to go down to bring him up. The Bible bookstores are full of them and they often go into great detail. I don't have to name which denominations go in that direction. Even Lutherans have a few rules spelled out.
The message is to keep God's word near you and let it come out of your mouth when the Spirit directs you. We must remember that the word we proclaim is the word of faith so that you may believe it in your heart.
If we all have that faith in Christ, then it makes no difference whether our background is Jew, Greek, black, white, yellow, or red. We are all one in Christ. There is no difference between us. Whoever we are, if we call on the name of the Lord, we will be saved.
It asks if we believe in our heart. Sometimes it is easier to believe in our heart than with our minds. Our minds can have all kinds of questions for which there are no easy answers. It may be hard to believe in a resurrection with out minds. It makes no sense, but if we believe in our hearts that God can do all things, then we are saved.
The next step is to confess with our mouth as we do every Sunday in church. Do we confess with our mouth all week long to friends and even family that we believe? Some do but most of the time we just take it for granted! We don't want anyone thinking that we are one of those fundamentalist nuts who are always shouting about our faith and passing out leaflets in the airport! But how can non-Christians hear unless we speak to them? Are we ashamed to speak out about our faith?
We hear the pastor speak out but that is his job! He even wears a fancy collar so people expect it. We would question his faith if he didn't speak out. How do people know we are Christians unless we speak out? Even wearing a cross around our neck is a statement.
One lady wrote that she read her Bible when she was traveling. She waited for a passenger next to her to ask about it. That opened the door to giving her testimony.
There are ways that we can let others know about our faith without grabbing them by the collar and preaching to them. Not only what we wear but also the way we live speaks a message that others can read. If we believe with our heart, it will show in our lives.
Bob O.
Matthew 14:22-33
I don't think it's a stretch to say that the western world is enamored with Pope Francis. He has captured the imagination of both Catholics and non-Catholics alike and it seems like everywhere you look someone is talking about or writing about his refreshing spirituality and enlightenment. A significant spiritual redirection of the church comes with the position of the Vatican Almoner. Pope Francis has re-imagined the office of the Vatican Almoner. The Vatican Almoner is a centuries-old position held by a priest in the Vatican whose task is to go out into the community and minister to the needs of the less fortunate. The Vatican almoner is focused on giving alms -- that old-fashioned term for food given to the poor. In recent times, the position of Vatican Almoner has been held by an older priest who was living out the last few years of his ministry but Pope Francis has changed all of that. He tapped a vigorous, fifty-year old Polish priest named Krajewski to take on the new role. Although the Vatican has many complex and long-term ministries all over the world the Vatican Almoner's role is different for his task is very simple and direct: He is to go out each and every day to provide simple, basic "first aid" ministry to those in need: no complex bureaucracy, it is just simple, direct ministry, in the name of God and his church to the needy and hurting of this world. Here's how every day begins for Almoner Krajewski: He goes to his office, and soon after he arrives, a uniformed officer delivers a packet of letters directly from the apartment of Pope Francis. In this packet are the letters that have been addressed to the Pope requesting his help. As Pope Francis reads these letters, he writes out a simple marching order for Krajewski at the top of each letter, typically no more than a phrase, like: "you know what to do" or "go find them" or "go talk to them." So each and every day Krajewski gets into his little white Fiat and at the direction of Pope Francis responds, as best as he can, to those in need.
Application: We are all able to walk on water, as Peter tried, if we are able to follow the leadership of great men and women of faith who are inspired by Jesus Christ.
Ron L.
Matthew 14:22-33
Saint Augustine claims that this text is a lesson in humility. In our journeys we are all exposed to waves and tempests, but like the disciples we need to be in the boat. Its wood is the wood in which our weakness is carried -- the Cross. He also identifies the ship in which Jesus and his disciples sailed with the church (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6, p. 337). Augustine also found meaning in Peter's efforts to walk on water. The episode exemplifies our attempt to rely on our own strength he claimed (Ibid., p. 341). While about Jesus' walking on the water he wrote:
Just as now we see the Lord walking as it were upon the sea, under whose feet we behold the whole madness of this world subjected.
(Ibid., p. 338)
To this Augustine adds that Peter in the waters represents the church. Just as the Lord would not let him perish and snatched him from the waves, so he does the same today with the church (Ibid., p. 339).
Oftentimes our lives and our church are saved from turbulence and the world's storms. And Jesus is regularly subduing such madness and turmoil. The lesson reminds us that when such chaos is ordered and when it is subdued so that we can continue to live, even today, it is a miracle of God. We dare not forget then famed religious author C.S. Lewis' observations about miracles: "Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some to see."
Don't let the letters of this gospel story be too big for you to see Jesus still the storms in our lives this week.
Mark E.
The lesson recounts Joseph being sold into slavery, the beginning of Israel's slavery in Egypt. Slavery is still a problem to this day. A 2007 U.S. State Department estimated that there are 27 million people worldwide who are enslaved. Here in the States many of the (grand)sons and daughters of the slaves remained scarred by this evil institution. How else can we explain the fact that while 1 in 7 Americans live in poverty, more than 1 in 4 black Americans endure that state? In 2012 African Americans reportedly comprised 30% of the American population as a whole, however, 60% of those in jail were black. Racism seems alive and well, and those whites insisting African Americans in their communities "get over it" are just exacerbating the problems. This text will not let us forget this data.
Famed black liberation theologian James Cone invites us all to address the problems by becoming black (for our text shows that this is God's will). He writes: "...blackness is the primary mode of God's presence..." Blackness in Cone's view is making sure "your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body are where the dispossessed are..." (Black Theology and Black Power, pp. vii, p. 217). God is on the side of the victims of slavery and that is where we and the church belong!
Martin Luther made a similar point, a word of comfort to those like Joseph and his people who have been victims. In the sacraments and the word of God, he contends, those oppressed hear God proclaim: "I am the Lord your God, do not be troubled! I will care for you! Cast your care on me!" (Luther's Works, Vol. 6, p. 364).
A God who carries the cares of the oppressed is a God with people who will overcome!
Mark E.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Reverend Dudley Tyng was an Episcopal priest serving a church in Philadelphia. Because of his strong opposition to slavery he was forced to leave Episcopal dioceses and he then started the Church of the Covenant. He was a strong preacher, once holding a rival on March 30, 1858, where 5,000 men attended. Two weeks after the rival he was visiting in the countryside when he came to close to a corn-thrasher and his right arm was ripped from its socket. Several days later he died from the wound. As he was dying he told his father to "stand up for Jesus, father, and tell my brethren of the ministry to stand up for Jesus." Pastor George Duffy was so stirred by Tyng's funeral that he wrote a poem based on that statement that has become the beloved hymn "Stand Up For Jesus."
Application: Joseph may rightly been referred to by his brothers as the "dreamer" for he always stood up for his faith.
Ron L.
Romans 10:5-15
We write letters and emails, editorials and blogs. We tweet and we message and we text. Occasionally we go old school and pass notes in class. There's Morse code and semaphore. There are pictograms and smoke signals. There are a hundred ways and more to speak our minds, to express our feelings, to say what is on our hearts. But before we get the word out, there has to be a word. Before we can speak, we must have something to say.
Scott B.
Romans 10:5-15
Saving faith comes through our invitation for Christ to forgive us of our sins. He does not force himself on us but stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. David Wilkerson said that saving faith is the kind of faith that arrives out of deep contrition for sin; out of a heart that has repudiated all iniquity and moral sins; out of a heart totally and daily surrendered to the lordship of Christ -- only that kind of faith guarantees grace.
Ann Kiemel said that faith is like jumping out of an airplane thousands of feet above ground. If God doesn't catch you, you splatter. But how do you know whether or not he is going to catch you unless you jump out... that is faith!
Are you ready to jump in faith to a guaranteed relationship with Christ?
Derl K.
Romans 10:5-15
There are two ways people think you come to God. Moses' way is by the law and even today many Christians are trying to come to God by obeying every tiny item of God's law: don't dance, don't smoke, don't drink, and so forth. But the "righteous" will live by faith.
How many Christians write books on how to bring Christ down or to go down to bring him up. The Bible bookstores are full of them and they often go into great detail. I don't have to name which denominations go in that direction. Even Lutherans have a few rules spelled out.
The message is to keep God's word near you and let it come out of your mouth when the Spirit directs you. We must remember that the word we proclaim is the word of faith so that you may believe it in your heart.
If we all have that faith in Christ, then it makes no difference whether our background is Jew, Greek, black, white, yellow, or red. We are all one in Christ. There is no difference between us. Whoever we are, if we call on the name of the Lord, we will be saved.
It asks if we believe in our heart. Sometimes it is easier to believe in our heart than with our minds. Our minds can have all kinds of questions for which there are no easy answers. It may be hard to believe in a resurrection with out minds. It makes no sense, but if we believe in our hearts that God can do all things, then we are saved.
The next step is to confess with our mouth as we do every Sunday in church. Do we confess with our mouth all week long to friends and even family that we believe? Some do but most of the time we just take it for granted! We don't want anyone thinking that we are one of those fundamentalist nuts who are always shouting about our faith and passing out leaflets in the airport! But how can non-Christians hear unless we speak to them? Are we ashamed to speak out about our faith?
We hear the pastor speak out but that is his job! He even wears a fancy collar so people expect it. We would question his faith if he didn't speak out. How do people know we are Christians unless we speak out? Even wearing a cross around our neck is a statement.
One lady wrote that she read her Bible when she was traveling. She waited for a passenger next to her to ask about it. That opened the door to giving her testimony.
There are ways that we can let others know about our faith without grabbing them by the collar and preaching to them. Not only what we wear but also the way we live speaks a message that others can read. If we believe with our heart, it will show in our lives.
Bob O.
Matthew 14:22-33
I don't think it's a stretch to say that the western world is enamored with Pope Francis. He has captured the imagination of both Catholics and non-Catholics alike and it seems like everywhere you look someone is talking about or writing about his refreshing spirituality and enlightenment. A significant spiritual redirection of the church comes with the position of the Vatican Almoner. Pope Francis has re-imagined the office of the Vatican Almoner. The Vatican Almoner is a centuries-old position held by a priest in the Vatican whose task is to go out into the community and minister to the needs of the less fortunate. The Vatican almoner is focused on giving alms -- that old-fashioned term for food given to the poor. In recent times, the position of Vatican Almoner has been held by an older priest who was living out the last few years of his ministry but Pope Francis has changed all of that. He tapped a vigorous, fifty-year old Polish priest named Krajewski to take on the new role. Although the Vatican has many complex and long-term ministries all over the world the Vatican Almoner's role is different for his task is very simple and direct: He is to go out each and every day to provide simple, basic "first aid" ministry to those in need: no complex bureaucracy, it is just simple, direct ministry, in the name of God and his church to the needy and hurting of this world. Here's how every day begins for Almoner Krajewski: He goes to his office, and soon after he arrives, a uniformed officer delivers a packet of letters directly from the apartment of Pope Francis. In this packet are the letters that have been addressed to the Pope requesting his help. As Pope Francis reads these letters, he writes out a simple marching order for Krajewski at the top of each letter, typically no more than a phrase, like: "you know what to do" or "go find them" or "go talk to them." So each and every day Krajewski gets into his little white Fiat and at the direction of Pope Francis responds, as best as he can, to those in need.
Application: We are all able to walk on water, as Peter tried, if we are able to follow the leadership of great men and women of faith who are inspired by Jesus Christ.
Ron L.
Matthew 14:22-33
Saint Augustine claims that this text is a lesson in humility. In our journeys we are all exposed to waves and tempests, but like the disciples we need to be in the boat. Its wood is the wood in which our weakness is carried -- the Cross. He also identifies the ship in which Jesus and his disciples sailed with the church (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6, p. 337). Augustine also found meaning in Peter's efforts to walk on water. The episode exemplifies our attempt to rely on our own strength he claimed (Ibid., p. 341). While about Jesus' walking on the water he wrote:
Just as now we see the Lord walking as it were upon the sea, under whose feet we behold the whole madness of this world subjected.
(Ibid., p. 338)
To this Augustine adds that Peter in the waters represents the church. Just as the Lord would not let him perish and snatched him from the waves, so he does the same today with the church (Ibid., p. 339).
Oftentimes our lives and our church are saved from turbulence and the world's storms. And Jesus is regularly subduing such madness and turmoil. The lesson reminds us that when such chaos is ordered and when it is subdued so that we can continue to live, even today, it is a miracle of God. We dare not forget then famed religious author C.S. Lewis' observations about miracles: "Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some to see."
Don't let the letters of this gospel story be too big for you to see Jesus still the storms in our lives this week.
Mark E.
