Sermon Illustrations For Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 (2017)
Illustration
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Stories of sibling rivalry are common. There have been a lot of them in American culture. The Andrews Sisters, who were a famous singing trio at one time, barely spoke to one another offstage. Sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine competed against each other in everything, including getting their mother’s attention. Brothers Charles, David, Bill, and Fred Koch are four siblings who don’t get along well. Charles and David have battled Bill and Fred for years over the future of Koch Industries. Settlement was finally reached with Charles and David heading the corporation while Bill and Fred have other ventures. Even “Dear Abby” and “Abigail Van Buren” struggled to get along. They are twins named Eppie Lederer and Pauline Phillips. Though both wrote advice columns for others, they couldn’t patch up their relationship wracked by jealousy. After the twins died, even their children carried on the feud.
We look at this and shake our heads. It shouldn’t be that way, and we know it. While there might be some humorous stories of sibling rivalry, there isn’t anything funny about it. How does it start? Our text for today shows us. “Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children.” It’s not complicated. His siblings knew that, and they hated him. As in the stories above, the outcome isn’t good, not initially anyway. The brothers decided to get rid of Joseph. They contemplate killing him before settling on selling him. Though God used all of this for good in the end, favoritism leads to problems and rivalry. “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1).
Bill T.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
This lesson is the story of Joseph being sold into slavery. And slavery or its vestiges are still with us. A 2011 CNN report found that 35.8 million people remain in slavery. In addition, a 2014 Department of Justice report found that while African-Americans comprise only 12% to 13% of the population of America, 35% of the incarcerated are black. We are not really in the post-racial society some Americans thought we had achieved after the Obama election.
Famed theologian Reinhold Niebuhr well explains how our human interactions in capitalist society lead to slavery and oppression: “Since man’s insecurity arises not merely from the vicissitudes of nature but from the uncertainties of society and history, it is natural that the ego should seek to overcome social as well as natural insecurity and should express the impulse of ‘power over men’.... The will-to-power in short involves the ego in injustice. It seeks as security beyond the limits of human finiteness” (Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 143).
Uptight about myself and what may come next, I want things my way, and that means I’ll do it at your expense. Power over others makes insecure me feel good. This is what slavery and other exploitative practices are all about. Niebuhr suggests elsewhere that this egoism manifests itself in our establishing certain preferences for the race and class to which we belong (Justice and Mercy, p. 42).
In the case of Joseph, the words of Malcom X are borne out: “Truth is on the side of the oppressed.” God and the truth vindicated Joseph. God and truth may also be on the side of today’s slaves and the heirs of American slaves. How about society as a whole, what we can or should we do about this exploitation? Martin Luther King Jr. gave us food for thought: “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
If God was on Joseph’s side we’ll want to get on the side of today’s oppressed, or we might miss the train when it runs.
Mark E.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Martin Luther King finished his demonstration. It was time for everyone to return from Montgomery to Selma. Black participants, most unable to drive, were in need of transportation. White brothers and sisters from across the nation came to carry them home. One volunteer was Viola Liuzzo, a mother of five, who traveled from Detroit to protest segregation. Unfamiliar with the roads, Mrs. Liuzzo was given a 19-year-old black guide. On her second trip from Selma a car followed behind her; soon there was a high-speed chase on Highway 80. Shots rang out in the night; her windshield shattered, Viola Liuzzo died at the wheel of her car. Four members of the Ku Klux Klan were arrested for murder, but the district attorney refused to prosecute them. President Lyndon Johnson condemned the killing. Addressing the nation on television, the president said that Mrs. Liuzzo “was murdered by enemies of justice, who for decades have used the rope and the gun, the tar and the feathers to terrorize their neighbors. They struck by night... for their purposes cannot stand the light.”
Application: Our lesson discusses being persecuted for our beliefs.
Ron L.
Romans 10:5-15
Paul writes, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ” Salvation is complicated. No matter how you view it, salvation is complicated. When I call upon God, when I proclaim my belief in Jesus, I am saved. Or am I only saved because Jesus was crucified for my sins and if I am washed in his blood? Or are their doctrines and tests I need to fulfill and pass in order to be saved? What’s the real story here?
Paul would say that if you profess Jesus is Lord, if you believe Jesus to be risen, then you are justified by your faith and saved. If you can proclaim this Good News you are saved, more than that you are beautiful in the sight of God. So maybe we need to worry a little less about the pathway to salvation. Maybe we need to act and proclaim our salvation as a gift from God, as a recognition of Jesus, as a filling of our hearts with the Holy Spirit, and just leave it at that.
Bonnie B.
Romans 10:5-15
Using Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (the farewell speech of Moses to the people in the desert) as the basis for his exhortation, the apostle echoes Moses by insisting that God’s word is doable. God’s word is not in the heavens, so one does not need to build a tower (of Babel?) to reach it. It’s not across the waters, so one does not need to go on some heroic quest like Gilgamesh in seeking (and failing) to save his friend Enkidu. God’s word is in our mouth and in our hearts. We can do this thing. Despite the fact that Paul is quoting several verses from the Hebrew scriptures, he insists that independent knowledge of scriptures, though helpful, is not necessary. Believe that Jesus is Lord and you’ll be saved. This is only a little more tightly defined that Joel’s scripture that is quoted at the first Pentecost -- believing in the Lord is what saves you, according to Joel. Identifying Jesus as that Lord is something that people of all ethnic backgrounds can do.
Frank R.
Romans 10:5-15
A man who does everything his wife asks him to do can’t demand her to give him what he really wants -- her love. The only thing that can preserve a marriage and make it work is if each one has faith that they are loved by their mate.
It is he same with our children. We will forgive them almost anything if we know they love us!
Not only are there ten commandments, but the Jews found over 600 other rules that they must live by. To obey all the commandments in the Bible is overwhelming! We would feel lost. One of those commands tells us that whoever looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery in his heart. Another tells us that we must forgive our brother if we want to be forgiven. Another condemns us for desiring only riches and glory. The list goes on and on, and we realize it is hopeless to obey every one of God’s laws in everything we do and say and think! That doesn’t mean we should not try to obey, as God gives us the strength.
How comforting it is to read this text and know that faith can save us, even if we have messed up now and then. That is why Jesus gave his life for us, so that if we believe in what he has done we will be with him for eternity! God knew the commands were not enough.
Every Sunday we confess with our mouth and also believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord. That is sufficient for salvation!
If anyone asks why they should go to church, you can tell them that it is the place where they hear the word of salvation preached. It is the place where we come to know the Lord! It is not our works that will save us, even if we claim to live a good life. It is faith in our Lord. It is his sacrifice that saves us, not our own obedience!
Bob O.
Matthew 14:22-33
Babe Ruth, one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history, once said: “I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball. The harder you grip the bat, the more you can swing it through the ball, and the farther the ball will go. I swing big, with everything I’ve got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.” Ruth had 1330 strikeouts in his illustrious big league career, but he led baseball for many years as its home run king with 714 round-trippers, until falling to third place in the last three decades.
I like that part about living “big.” “I hit big or miss big” is an incredible line. The apostle Peter is well-known for taking his eyes off Jesus and sinking in the water as he is walking out to him on the sea. Many times, when that story is told, it is told in the context of “don’t look at the things that could bring you down, but fix your eyes on Jesus.” It’s a good message. As I read it this time, though, I was struck by something else. It’s found in verse 29. What is it? It says, “So Peter got out of the boat.” It’s easy to skip over that, but that’s an amazing statement. No one else got out. Peter, like the Babe, went “big.” Did he hit a homer and find absolute success? No, he didn’t. He did, though, walk on water. Who else can make that claim?
If you’re going to be a home run king, you should swing big. If you’re going to walk on water, you must get out of the boat.
Bill T.
Matthew 14:22-33
What are we to make of miracles like the one reported in the gospel? Martin Luther did not think that miracles meant much for faith: “I would not want the grace to perform miracles; for those who pay no attention to the Word, against which the whole world has no reason to grumble, will not be moved by signs” (What Luther Says, p. 954).
In fact, he adds, the world is really full of God’s miracles, but we fail to recognize this: “We are so accustomed to find that grain grows out of the earth annually, and we are so blinded by this that we pay no attention to it; for what we daily see and hear we do not consider a miracle. And yet it is as great a miracle... as Christ feeding the multitude with seven loaves [or walking on water]” (What Luther Says, p. 954).
Famed New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann explained why these events are miracles. A miracle, he says, is not “an action which happens between worldly actions or events, but as happening within them” (Jesus Christ and Mythology, p. 61). Miracles are happening all the time, if we just keep our eyes open to them. If we worshiped Jesus a little more fervently, we might see them as often as the disciples did.
Mark E.
Matthew 14:22-33
In 1727, the Moravian community in Saxony was engulfed in dissension. Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf realized that only a revival would restore harmony. On May 12, a celebration was held and the Holy Spirit descended upon the adherents. Relishing in the blessing, the communicants desired for the revival to continue. On August 27, a group of 24 men and 24 women gathered to spend one hour in prayer, scheduled so someone would be praying every hour of the day. Soon others joined what became known as the “hourly intercession.” This prayer vigil lasted uninterrupted for 100 years.
Application: Our lesson teaches us about the importance of having regular and systematic time for devotions.
Ron L.
Stories of sibling rivalry are common. There have been a lot of them in American culture. The Andrews Sisters, who were a famous singing trio at one time, barely spoke to one another offstage. Sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine competed against each other in everything, including getting their mother’s attention. Brothers Charles, David, Bill, and Fred Koch are four siblings who don’t get along well. Charles and David have battled Bill and Fred for years over the future of Koch Industries. Settlement was finally reached with Charles and David heading the corporation while Bill and Fred have other ventures. Even “Dear Abby” and “Abigail Van Buren” struggled to get along. They are twins named Eppie Lederer and Pauline Phillips. Though both wrote advice columns for others, they couldn’t patch up their relationship wracked by jealousy. After the twins died, even their children carried on the feud.
We look at this and shake our heads. It shouldn’t be that way, and we know it. While there might be some humorous stories of sibling rivalry, there isn’t anything funny about it. How does it start? Our text for today shows us. “Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children.” It’s not complicated. His siblings knew that, and they hated him. As in the stories above, the outcome isn’t good, not initially anyway. The brothers decided to get rid of Joseph. They contemplate killing him before settling on selling him. Though God used all of this for good in the end, favoritism leads to problems and rivalry. “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1).
Bill T.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
This lesson is the story of Joseph being sold into slavery. And slavery or its vestiges are still with us. A 2011 CNN report found that 35.8 million people remain in slavery. In addition, a 2014 Department of Justice report found that while African-Americans comprise only 12% to 13% of the population of America, 35% of the incarcerated are black. We are not really in the post-racial society some Americans thought we had achieved after the Obama election.
Famed theologian Reinhold Niebuhr well explains how our human interactions in capitalist society lead to slavery and oppression: “Since man’s insecurity arises not merely from the vicissitudes of nature but from the uncertainties of society and history, it is natural that the ego should seek to overcome social as well as natural insecurity and should express the impulse of ‘power over men’.... The will-to-power in short involves the ego in injustice. It seeks as security beyond the limits of human finiteness” (Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 143).
Uptight about myself and what may come next, I want things my way, and that means I’ll do it at your expense. Power over others makes insecure me feel good. This is what slavery and other exploitative practices are all about. Niebuhr suggests elsewhere that this egoism manifests itself in our establishing certain preferences for the race and class to which we belong (Justice and Mercy, p. 42).
In the case of Joseph, the words of Malcom X are borne out: “Truth is on the side of the oppressed.” God and the truth vindicated Joseph. God and truth may also be on the side of today’s slaves and the heirs of American slaves. How about society as a whole, what we can or should we do about this exploitation? Martin Luther King Jr. gave us food for thought: “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
If God was on Joseph’s side we’ll want to get on the side of today’s oppressed, or we might miss the train when it runs.
Mark E.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Martin Luther King finished his demonstration. It was time for everyone to return from Montgomery to Selma. Black participants, most unable to drive, were in need of transportation. White brothers and sisters from across the nation came to carry them home. One volunteer was Viola Liuzzo, a mother of five, who traveled from Detroit to protest segregation. Unfamiliar with the roads, Mrs. Liuzzo was given a 19-year-old black guide. On her second trip from Selma a car followed behind her; soon there was a high-speed chase on Highway 80. Shots rang out in the night; her windshield shattered, Viola Liuzzo died at the wheel of her car. Four members of the Ku Klux Klan were arrested for murder, but the district attorney refused to prosecute them. President Lyndon Johnson condemned the killing. Addressing the nation on television, the president said that Mrs. Liuzzo “was murdered by enemies of justice, who for decades have used the rope and the gun, the tar and the feathers to terrorize their neighbors. They struck by night... for their purposes cannot stand the light.”
Application: Our lesson discusses being persecuted for our beliefs.
Ron L.
Romans 10:5-15
Paul writes, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ” Salvation is complicated. No matter how you view it, salvation is complicated. When I call upon God, when I proclaim my belief in Jesus, I am saved. Or am I only saved because Jesus was crucified for my sins and if I am washed in his blood? Or are their doctrines and tests I need to fulfill and pass in order to be saved? What’s the real story here?
Paul would say that if you profess Jesus is Lord, if you believe Jesus to be risen, then you are justified by your faith and saved. If you can proclaim this Good News you are saved, more than that you are beautiful in the sight of God. So maybe we need to worry a little less about the pathway to salvation. Maybe we need to act and proclaim our salvation as a gift from God, as a recognition of Jesus, as a filling of our hearts with the Holy Spirit, and just leave it at that.
Bonnie B.
Romans 10:5-15
Using Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (the farewell speech of Moses to the people in the desert) as the basis for his exhortation, the apostle echoes Moses by insisting that God’s word is doable. God’s word is not in the heavens, so one does not need to build a tower (of Babel?) to reach it. It’s not across the waters, so one does not need to go on some heroic quest like Gilgamesh in seeking (and failing) to save his friend Enkidu. God’s word is in our mouth and in our hearts. We can do this thing. Despite the fact that Paul is quoting several verses from the Hebrew scriptures, he insists that independent knowledge of scriptures, though helpful, is not necessary. Believe that Jesus is Lord and you’ll be saved. This is only a little more tightly defined that Joel’s scripture that is quoted at the first Pentecost -- believing in the Lord is what saves you, according to Joel. Identifying Jesus as that Lord is something that people of all ethnic backgrounds can do.
Frank R.
Romans 10:5-15
A man who does everything his wife asks him to do can’t demand her to give him what he really wants -- her love. The only thing that can preserve a marriage and make it work is if each one has faith that they are loved by their mate.
It is he same with our children. We will forgive them almost anything if we know they love us!
Not only are there ten commandments, but the Jews found over 600 other rules that they must live by. To obey all the commandments in the Bible is overwhelming! We would feel lost. One of those commands tells us that whoever looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery in his heart. Another tells us that we must forgive our brother if we want to be forgiven. Another condemns us for desiring only riches and glory. The list goes on and on, and we realize it is hopeless to obey every one of God’s laws in everything we do and say and think! That doesn’t mean we should not try to obey, as God gives us the strength.
How comforting it is to read this text and know that faith can save us, even if we have messed up now and then. That is why Jesus gave his life for us, so that if we believe in what he has done we will be with him for eternity! God knew the commands were not enough.
Every Sunday we confess with our mouth and also believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord. That is sufficient for salvation!
If anyone asks why they should go to church, you can tell them that it is the place where they hear the word of salvation preached. It is the place where we come to know the Lord! It is not our works that will save us, even if we claim to live a good life. It is faith in our Lord. It is his sacrifice that saves us, not our own obedience!
Bob O.
Matthew 14:22-33
Babe Ruth, one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history, once said: “I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball. The harder you grip the bat, the more you can swing it through the ball, and the farther the ball will go. I swing big, with everything I’ve got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.” Ruth had 1330 strikeouts in his illustrious big league career, but he led baseball for many years as its home run king with 714 round-trippers, until falling to third place in the last three decades.
I like that part about living “big.” “I hit big or miss big” is an incredible line. The apostle Peter is well-known for taking his eyes off Jesus and sinking in the water as he is walking out to him on the sea. Many times, when that story is told, it is told in the context of “don’t look at the things that could bring you down, but fix your eyes on Jesus.” It’s a good message. As I read it this time, though, I was struck by something else. It’s found in verse 29. What is it? It says, “So Peter got out of the boat.” It’s easy to skip over that, but that’s an amazing statement. No one else got out. Peter, like the Babe, went “big.” Did he hit a homer and find absolute success? No, he didn’t. He did, though, walk on water. Who else can make that claim?
If you’re going to be a home run king, you should swing big. If you’re going to walk on water, you must get out of the boat.
Bill T.
Matthew 14:22-33
What are we to make of miracles like the one reported in the gospel? Martin Luther did not think that miracles meant much for faith: “I would not want the grace to perform miracles; for those who pay no attention to the Word, against which the whole world has no reason to grumble, will not be moved by signs” (What Luther Says, p. 954).
In fact, he adds, the world is really full of God’s miracles, but we fail to recognize this: “We are so accustomed to find that grain grows out of the earth annually, and we are so blinded by this that we pay no attention to it; for what we daily see and hear we do not consider a miracle. And yet it is as great a miracle... as Christ feeding the multitude with seven loaves [or walking on water]” (What Luther Says, p. 954).
Famed New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann explained why these events are miracles. A miracle, he says, is not “an action which happens between worldly actions or events, but as happening within them” (Jesus Christ and Mythology, p. 61). Miracles are happening all the time, if we just keep our eyes open to them. If we worshiped Jesus a little more fervently, we might see them as often as the disciples did.
Mark E.
Matthew 14:22-33
In 1727, the Moravian community in Saxony was engulfed in dissension. Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf realized that only a revival would restore harmony. On May 12, a celebration was held and the Holy Spirit descended upon the adherents. Relishing in the blessing, the communicants desired for the revival to continue. On August 27, a group of 24 men and 24 women gathered to spend one hour in prayer, scheduled so someone would be praying every hour of the day. Soon others joined what became known as the “hourly intercession.” This prayer vigil lasted uninterrupted for 100 years.
Application: Our lesson teaches us about the importance of having regular and systematic time for devotions.
Ron L.
