Sermon Illustrations for Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 (2021)
Illustration
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
There is no more important nationalistic moment for the nation which defines itself by the presence of the ark in the Lord’s temple in the City of David, Jerusalem. This moment defines the identity of a people set apart because they belong to God. Yet even in this moment the portion of the prayer of Solomon in 1 Kings 8:41-43 is staggering. Solomon, on behalf of the people, prays that God will grant the prayers of foreigners, directed to the Lord, that all might know that the Lord reigns. This plea that the prayers of “others,” of outsiders, is an amazing prayer, especially when we’re trying to corner the market on God for just our nation, our region, or our church. This is consistent with other texts such as Leviticus 19:34 — you shall love the alien in your midst as yourself, or other places where everyone, including outsiders, get the benefit of the sabbath.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Stephanie was excited when her parents bought a new house. It meant she would not have to share a bedroom with her little sister. She loved it, until it got dark. On the first night, after reading her a story, her parents kissed her good-night and turned off the light. The small glow of a nightlight did little to illuminate the room. What was once a beautiful place was filled with unnatural sounds and probably monsters. Her fear grew, so she called out, “Daddy!” Her father came in. She begged him to stay with her. Even in the darkness, if he was close, she’d be all right.
Sometimes kids just want their dad to be close. In a similar way we, as Christians, want our Father to be nearby. His presence is reassuring. We desire his attention. We want him to hear our cries and prayers. We need his forgiveness, and we beg him to see us. His being there shows his care and his love.
In this text, Solomon dedicated the temple and pleaded for God to come near. It was an urgent and real desire. God’s people recognized, at that moment, their need for God. Though the night around us is dark and scary, God is there. Today, we are his temple, and his Holy Spirit abides in us.
Bill T.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
We need armor to fight the war with evil. We could say we need a vaccine like earlier in the year we needed the COVID vaccine? John Wesley seems to see the love of God as our armor or vaccine. He wrote:
A consciousness of the love of Christ Jesus will effectually quench them all [the temptations of Satan]... Jesus hath died for you! What can your faith not withstand?
Believe, hold fast your shield! And who shall pluck you from His hand? (Works, Vol.6, p.380)
John Calvin said much the same: “If the Lord aids us by His mighty power, we have no reason to shrink from combat.” Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XXI/1, p.334)
Mark E.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
Put on the whole armor of God: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit, the Word of God. These are gifts which we can all seek. These are gifts God wants to pour over us — not for battle against people, but for battles against the evil within and among ourselves, and a need to keep alert for the transformation that comes from God. This was Paul’s prayer. This was the proclamation of Paul, that he shared with all those to whom he proselytized the faith and the kingdom of God. This was Paul’s life’s work — to share the need for focusing on truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. This day and in all the days to come, let us seek that armor, that protection, for ourselves and our faith.
Bonnie B.
* * *
John 6:56-69
Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It is popular around the world and is one of the world’s oldest foods. I ran across an article that notes interesting facts about bread. It notes, “Within five years of the invention of machine for making sliced bread, 80% of bread sold in the USA was sliced.”
It also mentions, “In medievaltimes, bread was used as absorbent plate. It was called trencher. And after the meal trencher could then be eaten, given to the poor or fed to the dogs. There is a theory that a pizza comes from a trencher.”
Finally, “Unit sales of fresh bread and rolls in the United States totaled $5.8 billion for the 52 weeks ending August 11, 2013.”
Jesus makes it clear in this passage that he is the Bread of Life. Verse 58 notes, “But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” Though this teaching was hard to understand, Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
Bill T.
* * *
John 6:56-69
Some churches seem to be more comfortable than others with the cannibalistic language Jesus uses when talking about himself as the living bread, and the Bread of Life. For some the language is downright distasteful. This extended dialogue, which shifts from the seaside to the synagogue in Capernaum at some point in a seamless, cinematic fashion, reaches a climax (there are several) with the declaration that this is a difficult teaching. As the New English Bible puts it: “This is more than we can stand! Why listen to such talk?” But not everything can be dumbed down or changed for our convenience. During the recent pandemic there were many, probably some in your congregation, maybe even you, who resisted doing anything, whether wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing your hands, or simply paying attention to scientific experts. People wanted an easy road out of a medical emergency. There is the saying attributed to the ancient mathematician Euclid, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, and who was asked by a king if there wasn’t an easier way to learn geometry. Euclid is said to have replied, “Your highness, there is no royal road to geometry.” Nor is there a royal road around the Sermon on the Mount, the cross, and difficult words of Jesus in this extended passage.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus is the Lamb of God. He is the sacrifice, given up for us. This horrifying language may be part of it, but as Simon Peter says, when Jesus asks if the apostles want to leave with the other disciples who have heard all they can stand, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
If you have come to believe and know, then you’ll have to swallow this difficult language. No royal road.
Frank R.
There is no more important nationalistic moment for the nation which defines itself by the presence of the ark in the Lord’s temple in the City of David, Jerusalem. This moment defines the identity of a people set apart because they belong to God. Yet even in this moment the portion of the prayer of Solomon in 1 Kings 8:41-43 is staggering. Solomon, on behalf of the people, prays that God will grant the prayers of foreigners, directed to the Lord, that all might know that the Lord reigns. This plea that the prayers of “others,” of outsiders, is an amazing prayer, especially when we’re trying to corner the market on God for just our nation, our region, or our church. This is consistent with other texts such as Leviticus 19:34 — you shall love the alien in your midst as yourself, or other places where everyone, including outsiders, get the benefit of the sabbath.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Stephanie was excited when her parents bought a new house. It meant she would not have to share a bedroom with her little sister. She loved it, until it got dark. On the first night, after reading her a story, her parents kissed her good-night and turned off the light. The small glow of a nightlight did little to illuminate the room. What was once a beautiful place was filled with unnatural sounds and probably monsters. Her fear grew, so she called out, “Daddy!” Her father came in. She begged him to stay with her. Even in the darkness, if he was close, she’d be all right.
Sometimes kids just want their dad to be close. In a similar way we, as Christians, want our Father to be nearby. His presence is reassuring. We desire his attention. We want him to hear our cries and prayers. We need his forgiveness, and we beg him to see us. His being there shows his care and his love.
In this text, Solomon dedicated the temple and pleaded for God to come near. It was an urgent and real desire. God’s people recognized, at that moment, their need for God. Though the night around us is dark and scary, God is there. Today, we are his temple, and his Holy Spirit abides in us.
Bill T.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
We need armor to fight the war with evil. We could say we need a vaccine like earlier in the year we needed the COVID vaccine? John Wesley seems to see the love of God as our armor or vaccine. He wrote:
A consciousness of the love of Christ Jesus will effectually quench them all [the temptations of Satan]... Jesus hath died for you! What can your faith not withstand?
Believe, hold fast your shield! And who shall pluck you from His hand? (Works, Vol.6, p.380)
John Calvin said much the same: “If the Lord aids us by His mighty power, we have no reason to shrink from combat.” Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XXI/1, p.334)
Mark E.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
Put on the whole armor of God: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit, the Word of God. These are gifts which we can all seek. These are gifts God wants to pour over us — not for battle against people, but for battles against the evil within and among ourselves, and a need to keep alert for the transformation that comes from God. This was Paul’s prayer. This was the proclamation of Paul, that he shared with all those to whom he proselytized the faith and the kingdom of God. This was Paul’s life’s work — to share the need for focusing on truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. This day and in all the days to come, let us seek that armor, that protection, for ourselves and our faith.
Bonnie B.
* * *
John 6:56-69
Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It is popular around the world and is one of the world’s oldest foods. I ran across an article that notes interesting facts about bread. It notes, “Within five years of the invention of machine for making sliced bread, 80% of bread sold in the USA was sliced.”
It also mentions, “In medievaltimes, bread was used as absorbent plate. It was called trencher. And after the meal trencher could then be eaten, given to the poor or fed to the dogs. There is a theory that a pizza comes from a trencher.”
Finally, “Unit sales of fresh bread and rolls in the United States totaled $5.8 billion for the 52 weeks ending August 11, 2013.”
Jesus makes it clear in this passage that he is the Bread of Life. Verse 58 notes, “But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” Though this teaching was hard to understand, Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
Bill T.
* * *
John 6:56-69
Some churches seem to be more comfortable than others with the cannibalistic language Jesus uses when talking about himself as the living bread, and the Bread of Life. For some the language is downright distasteful. This extended dialogue, which shifts from the seaside to the synagogue in Capernaum at some point in a seamless, cinematic fashion, reaches a climax (there are several) with the declaration that this is a difficult teaching. As the New English Bible puts it: “This is more than we can stand! Why listen to such talk?” But not everything can be dumbed down or changed for our convenience. During the recent pandemic there were many, probably some in your congregation, maybe even you, who resisted doing anything, whether wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing your hands, or simply paying attention to scientific experts. People wanted an easy road out of a medical emergency. There is the saying attributed to the ancient mathematician Euclid, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, and who was asked by a king if there wasn’t an easier way to learn geometry. Euclid is said to have replied, “Your highness, there is no royal road to geometry.” Nor is there a royal road around the Sermon on the Mount, the cross, and difficult words of Jesus in this extended passage.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus is the Lamb of God. He is the sacrifice, given up for us. This horrifying language may be part of it, but as Simon Peter says, when Jesus asks if the apostles want to leave with the other disciples who have heard all they can stand, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
If you have come to believe and know, then you’ll have to swallow this difficult language. No royal road.
Frank R.
