Sermon Illustrations For Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 (2023)
Illustration
Exodus 1:8--2:10
God uses unusual circumstances to save people. Consider this story about one of Dwight L. Moody’s assistants, Ira Sankey. Ira Sankey was a musician who worked closely with Dwight L. Moody. On a riverboat one night, he was prodded by a crowd to sing the song “Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us,” even though he wanted to sing some Christmas carols as it was that season. He relented and sang the hymn they requested.
After the song, one of the guests pulled him aside and asked if Sankey had been a Union soldier. When he answered he had, he pressed him if he had ever been on guard duty on a particular night in a particular place. Sankey told him he had. The other man then said that he had served in the Confederate army. On the evening in question, he started to shoot at a group of Union soldiers when of them began to sing “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.” The Confederate soldier, who had often heard his mother sing that song, couldn’t do it. Singing “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us” saved Sankey’s life. Later, aboard the riverboat, Sankey was then able to lead the ex-Confederate soldier to Christ.
In another set of unusual circumstances, God spares the baby Moses from the slaughter of Hebrew boys. A basket in the Nile River discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter becomes the vehicle through which God saves Israel’s deliverer. Max Lucado wrote, “The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God’s plan to save his children.” That was God’s business then and now.
Bill T.
* * *
Exodus 1:8--2:10
John Calvin offered some reflections on the meaning of the pain and suffering the people of Israel endured in Egypt, what they have to do with us:
But this passage is especially intended to console the believer, that he may be prepared to take up his cross more patiently; since God is sufficient to supply the help, to which the wrath of the wicked must finally yield. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.II/1, p.29)
It is truly amazing what become of Moses given his humble beginnings and near annihilation.
Famed talk-show host Larry King used to note modestly that success was related to luck, that no successful person can deny of the role of luck in success. Calvin claims that all our successes, like the outcome of Moses’ life from humble beginnings, are more than luck. He wrote:
Scoffers would say that all [good] occurred accidentally, so that they are blind to the manifest works of God and that that the human race is governed by mere chance. But we must hold fast to the principle, that whilst God rules all men by his providence, he honours his elect with his peculiar care and is for their deliverance and support... (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.II/1, pp.43-44)
Moses’ life and ministry were truly pleased by God’s presence in his life. We are all blessed with the divine presence. Modern American trappist monk Thomas Merton compellingly explained God’s presence in our lives. He wrote:
God, who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet he seems sometimes to be present, sometimes to be absent. If we do not know him well, we do not realize that he may be more present to us when he is absent than when he is present.
Mark E.
* * *
Romans 12:1-8
Adrian Rogers once said, “The same Jesus who turned water into wine can transform your home, your life, your family, and your future. He is still in the miracle-working business, and his business is the business of transformation.” Jesus is in the transformation business. Transformations can make a difference.
On a Monday morning in February 2008, every sports page in the world heralded the New York Giants’ astonishing Super Bowl upset over the undefeated New England Patriots. How did the Giants manage to stun the football world? Many insist the Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin did it by being nice. Entering the season with his boss grumbling about the future of his job, Coughlin decided he needed to change his leadership style. Jackie McMullen of The Boston Globe on January 30, 2008, reported an incident that took place on media day, seventy-two hours before the big game:
A boy no more than eight or nine years old was handed a microphone…and he made a beeline toward Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin, who spotting the junior inquisitor leaned over in an almost grandfatherly fashion and tenderly attended to his question. “I hear you’ve been a lot nicer this year,” said the child. “Who put you up to that?” said the coach to gales of laughter.
After going 8-8 in the 2007 season, Tom Coughlin met with his veteran players. They told him he yelled too much, communicated too little and listened barely at all. Veteran player Michael Strahan calls the change “a transformation, sometimes I barely recognize him.”
Coach Coughlin’s transformation helped his football team win a Super Bowl. There are transformations even greater than that. Paul urges the Christians in Rome to present their bodies as living sacrifices and not to be conformed to this age, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Jesus is in the business of changing people. Will you allow him to transform you?
Bill T.
* * *
Romans 12:1-8
The first two verses of this passage are the frosting on the cake, and since I sometimes eat the frosting and leave the cake I know I have written on those verses with enthusiasm and insight in the past. You can look it up by doing a search on this site, I’m sure.
So, this time I’m focusing on 12:4 — “…or as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function….” The use of the word “member” to translate mele is unintentionally unfortunate. It should be translated “body parts.” Now the word ‘member’ means body part, but we don’t use it that way. We think of individuals who are members of a group, such as a church, and when we say there are fifty or a hundred members in a group we don’t understand this word to mean they are not only as varied as they can be, but that their function together is complementary and essential. We think of members as interchangeable. If one is missing, just plug in another. But that’s not true in real life, and its especially true when it comes to the members as body parts. We can get by missing a finger, but we have to compensate. The loss of an arm or leg is more difficult. We are essential to each other, and that is what Paul is telling the Romans. Our modern society tends to be individualistic, and we expect ourselves to be self-sufficient. Biblically we are meant to see ourselves in no such way. We’re dependent on each other, and we work as the Body of Christ much better together than without each other.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 16:13-20
This is a lesson both about forgiveness and about the church. The two are woven together, since the church lives by and is charged with proclaiming forgiveness. The lesson begins with a poll of incorrect ideas regarding who Jesus is. About that matter John Calvin once wrote:
Here we perceive the weakness of the human mind; for not only is it unable of itself to understand what is right or true, but even out of true principles it coins errors. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI/2, pp.287-288)
Martin Luther wanted to make clear that the power of the keys to forgive sins was not just given to Peter but to all Christians. On that subject he wrote:
For any Christian can say to you, “God forgives you your sins, in the name,” etc... and if you can accept that word with a confident faith, as though God were saying it to you, then in that same faith you are surely absolved. (Luther’s Works, Vol.35, p.12)
Regarding how forgiveness works, the first reformer offered good advice:
But where there is love, it covers sin and is glad to forgive. Where there is anger, you will find a rude person who refuses to be reconciled and remains full of anger and hatred. On the other hand, a person who is full of love cannot be angered, no matter how greatly he is offended. He covers everything and pretends not to see it, so that this covering is meant with reference to the neighbor, not with reference to God. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 30, p.123)
Regarding the role of the church in this matter, modern theologian Karl Barth urged that the church not get caught up on other agendas. He made this point when he wrote that
It [the church] will not be surprised or annoyed if it is pushed even more into the corner... It is always erroneously mistaken if it tries to grow in this dimension, The church of Jesus Christ can never — in any respect — be a pompous church. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/2, p.648)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 16:13-20
Much is made of Peter receiving the keys of the kingdom, and the authority to bind and loose on earth and in heaven. Peter, and somehow his successors, are possessors of some special power, including binding and loosing, referring perhaps to sins. This power is somehow exclusively possessed by certain individuals who hold the keys to the kingdom. Amy-Jill Levine, co-editor of The Jewish Annotated New Testament, annotates this passage thusly: “Christian traditions disagree on whether the “rock” is Peter…or his faith.” (p.30). Among those Christian traditions that dissent is the Gospel of John, where the resurrected Jesus breathes upon the all the disciples before saying, “’Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” (John 20:22-23)
If this forgiving and retaining, binding and loosing, belongs to all of us as Spirit-led disciples of the risen Lord, then we have a great responsibility to seek reconciliation, to forego retribution, and to stop using the Good News of Jesus Christ as a weapon.
I admire Peter’s bravery for getting out of the boat and walking across the water towards Jesus. I picture myself clutching the sidewalls of the boat as it rocks helplessly upside down, my eyes planted towards my feet, afraid even to look up despite what someone is saying about Jesus walking towards us. Sit down, you’re rocking the boat.
Frank R.
God uses unusual circumstances to save people. Consider this story about one of Dwight L. Moody’s assistants, Ira Sankey. Ira Sankey was a musician who worked closely with Dwight L. Moody. On a riverboat one night, he was prodded by a crowd to sing the song “Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us,” even though he wanted to sing some Christmas carols as it was that season. He relented and sang the hymn they requested.
After the song, one of the guests pulled him aside and asked if Sankey had been a Union soldier. When he answered he had, he pressed him if he had ever been on guard duty on a particular night in a particular place. Sankey told him he had. The other man then said that he had served in the Confederate army. On the evening in question, he started to shoot at a group of Union soldiers when of them began to sing “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.” The Confederate soldier, who had often heard his mother sing that song, couldn’t do it. Singing “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us” saved Sankey’s life. Later, aboard the riverboat, Sankey was then able to lead the ex-Confederate soldier to Christ.
In another set of unusual circumstances, God spares the baby Moses from the slaughter of Hebrew boys. A basket in the Nile River discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter becomes the vehicle through which God saves Israel’s deliverer. Max Lucado wrote, “The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God’s plan to save his children.” That was God’s business then and now.
Bill T.
* * *
Exodus 1:8--2:10
John Calvin offered some reflections on the meaning of the pain and suffering the people of Israel endured in Egypt, what they have to do with us:
But this passage is especially intended to console the believer, that he may be prepared to take up his cross more patiently; since God is sufficient to supply the help, to which the wrath of the wicked must finally yield. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.II/1, p.29)
It is truly amazing what become of Moses given his humble beginnings and near annihilation.
Famed talk-show host Larry King used to note modestly that success was related to luck, that no successful person can deny of the role of luck in success. Calvin claims that all our successes, like the outcome of Moses’ life from humble beginnings, are more than luck. He wrote:
Scoffers would say that all [good] occurred accidentally, so that they are blind to the manifest works of God and that that the human race is governed by mere chance. But we must hold fast to the principle, that whilst God rules all men by his providence, he honours his elect with his peculiar care and is for their deliverance and support... (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.II/1, pp.43-44)
Moses’ life and ministry were truly pleased by God’s presence in his life. We are all blessed with the divine presence. Modern American trappist monk Thomas Merton compellingly explained God’s presence in our lives. He wrote:
God, who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet he seems sometimes to be present, sometimes to be absent. If we do not know him well, we do not realize that he may be more present to us when he is absent than when he is present.
Mark E.
* * *
Romans 12:1-8
Adrian Rogers once said, “The same Jesus who turned water into wine can transform your home, your life, your family, and your future. He is still in the miracle-working business, and his business is the business of transformation.” Jesus is in the transformation business. Transformations can make a difference.
On a Monday morning in February 2008, every sports page in the world heralded the New York Giants’ astonishing Super Bowl upset over the undefeated New England Patriots. How did the Giants manage to stun the football world? Many insist the Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin did it by being nice. Entering the season with his boss grumbling about the future of his job, Coughlin decided he needed to change his leadership style. Jackie McMullen of The Boston Globe on January 30, 2008, reported an incident that took place on media day, seventy-two hours before the big game:
A boy no more than eight or nine years old was handed a microphone…and he made a beeline toward Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin, who spotting the junior inquisitor leaned over in an almost grandfatherly fashion and tenderly attended to his question. “I hear you’ve been a lot nicer this year,” said the child. “Who put you up to that?” said the coach to gales of laughter.
After going 8-8 in the 2007 season, Tom Coughlin met with his veteran players. They told him he yelled too much, communicated too little and listened barely at all. Veteran player Michael Strahan calls the change “a transformation, sometimes I barely recognize him.”
Coach Coughlin’s transformation helped his football team win a Super Bowl. There are transformations even greater than that. Paul urges the Christians in Rome to present their bodies as living sacrifices and not to be conformed to this age, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Jesus is in the business of changing people. Will you allow him to transform you?
Bill T.
* * *
Romans 12:1-8
The first two verses of this passage are the frosting on the cake, and since I sometimes eat the frosting and leave the cake I know I have written on those verses with enthusiasm and insight in the past. You can look it up by doing a search on this site, I’m sure.
So, this time I’m focusing on 12:4 — “…or as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function….” The use of the word “member” to translate mele is unintentionally unfortunate. It should be translated “body parts.” Now the word ‘member’ means body part, but we don’t use it that way. We think of individuals who are members of a group, such as a church, and when we say there are fifty or a hundred members in a group we don’t understand this word to mean they are not only as varied as they can be, but that their function together is complementary and essential. We think of members as interchangeable. If one is missing, just plug in another. But that’s not true in real life, and its especially true when it comes to the members as body parts. We can get by missing a finger, but we have to compensate. The loss of an arm or leg is more difficult. We are essential to each other, and that is what Paul is telling the Romans. Our modern society tends to be individualistic, and we expect ourselves to be self-sufficient. Biblically we are meant to see ourselves in no such way. We’re dependent on each other, and we work as the Body of Christ much better together than without each other.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 16:13-20
This is a lesson both about forgiveness and about the church. The two are woven together, since the church lives by and is charged with proclaiming forgiveness. The lesson begins with a poll of incorrect ideas regarding who Jesus is. About that matter John Calvin once wrote:
Here we perceive the weakness of the human mind; for not only is it unable of itself to understand what is right or true, but even out of true principles it coins errors. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI/2, pp.287-288)
Martin Luther wanted to make clear that the power of the keys to forgive sins was not just given to Peter but to all Christians. On that subject he wrote:
For any Christian can say to you, “God forgives you your sins, in the name,” etc... and if you can accept that word with a confident faith, as though God were saying it to you, then in that same faith you are surely absolved. (Luther’s Works, Vol.35, p.12)
Regarding how forgiveness works, the first reformer offered good advice:
But where there is love, it covers sin and is glad to forgive. Where there is anger, you will find a rude person who refuses to be reconciled and remains full of anger and hatred. On the other hand, a person who is full of love cannot be angered, no matter how greatly he is offended. He covers everything and pretends not to see it, so that this covering is meant with reference to the neighbor, not with reference to God. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 30, p.123)
Regarding the role of the church in this matter, modern theologian Karl Barth urged that the church not get caught up on other agendas. He made this point when he wrote that
It [the church] will not be surprised or annoyed if it is pushed even more into the corner... It is always erroneously mistaken if it tries to grow in this dimension, The church of Jesus Christ can never — in any respect — be a pompous church. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/2, p.648)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 16:13-20
Much is made of Peter receiving the keys of the kingdom, and the authority to bind and loose on earth and in heaven. Peter, and somehow his successors, are possessors of some special power, including binding and loosing, referring perhaps to sins. This power is somehow exclusively possessed by certain individuals who hold the keys to the kingdom. Amy-Jill Levine, co-editor of The Jewish Annotated New Testament, annotates this passage thusly: “Christian traditions disagree on whether the “rock” is Peter…or his faith.” (p.30). Among those Christian traditions that dissent is the Gospel of John, where the resurrected Jesus breathes upon the all the disciples before saying, “’Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” (John 20:22-23)
If this forgiving and retaining, binding and loosing, belongs to all of us as Spirit-led disciples of the risen Lord, then we have a great responsibility to seek reconciliation, to forego retribution, and to stop using the Good News of Jesus Christ as a weapon.
I admire Peter’s bravery for getting out of the boat and walking across the water towards Jesus. I picture myself clutching the sidewalls of the boat as it rocks helplessly upside down, my eyes planted towards my feet, afraid even to look up despite what someone is saying about Jesus walking towards us. Sit down, you’re rocking the boat.
Frank R.
