Sermon Illustrations for Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 (2024)
Illustration
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
That God would actually dwell in a temple, apparently confined by earthly things as this text seems to entail, may sound offensive to our ears at first glance. Most Americans, according to the most recent poll data, believe in a distant God. But the insights of Quantum Physics provide us with ways of talking about God both dwelling among us and in us, yet still being greater than the cosmos. For example, in physics, it is common to talk about a field of reality in which all the molecules of atoms are brought together, the Higgs Field. In that context, it makes sense to construe God as in that field providing the energy to unite matter, in a quantum field which is omnipresent in all matter so that in that sense God is in us. Yet at the same time, God as light could be described as the source of energy for the Big Bang, greater than all the universes and space which the Big Bang has produced. Famed modern theologian Karl Barth provided another way of depicting how God can be in one place and still in all places. He wrote:
God’s omnipresence, to speak in general terms, is the perfection in which he is present, and in which he, the one who is distinct from and pre-eminent over everything else, possesses a place, his own place, which is distinct from all other places and also pre-eminent over them all. God’s omnipresence in the Christian sense of the concept has the very opposite meaning that God possesses his own space, and that just because of spatiality, he is also able to be Triune... God dwells on earth in his own way, not in the way in which anyone else dwells on earth. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.II/1, pp.468-469)
Mark E.
* * *
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
This is Solomon’s big moment on the stage – leading the dedication of the new temple, built at his direction but through the hands of so many people. Indeed, after Solomon’s death the people will meet with Rehoboam, his successor, and beg him not to drive them as hard as his father.
There’s a lot to unpack here, I’m sure, but I want to focus on verses 41-43. Although this is a dedication of a temple honoring the Lord (YHWH) the God of Israel, Solomon calls upon God to hear the prayer of the foreigners, the outsiders, those, in the words of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)
Throughout the scriptures, there is this tension between a God for God’s people and a God for all nations. The Sabbath rest is for everyone in the household, including the resident alien. In Leviticus 19:34, we discover that we are to love the resident alien in our midst as ourselves. In the Greek New Testament the word for hospitality, philoxenia, means literally “love of strangers.” In this most nationalistic of ceremonies, Solomon calls on God to hear the prayers of all who seek and serve God.
Frank R.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, is a day that lives in infamy in United States history. The surprise attack by the empire of Japan was launched from 200 miles north of Pearl Harbor from the decks of six aircraft carriers under the command of Admiral Yamamoto. In less than two hours, Japanese airmen destroyed two U.S. battleships and badly damaged six others. Only six U.S. planes managed to get into the air to defend against their Japanese attackers. The assault took 2,330 American lives and left 1,145 wounded. It was a devastating blow to the United States and brought her into World War II.
The most difficult thing about the attack on Pearl Harbor is that the United States did not see it coming and were not prepared for it. Not being prepared for battle is not wise, whether the battle be physical or spiritual.
Paul tells the church at Ephesus and the surrounding churches of Asia Minor to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power” (vs. 10). He urges them to put on the armor of God because the struggle is not against flesh and blood, but the powers of darkness (vs. 12). The battle is real and if we are to stand, we must be prepared. To prepare for the frontline of battle we need to operate with our eyes wide open, our minds on cue, and our spirits tuned to the voice of the Lord.
Bill T.
* * *
John 6:56-69
To speak of Christ as Bread of Life is an affirmation that Christ enters our lives and bodies like bread does. But is this not just another way of saying that the Spirit enters us? In short, like bread gives us the nourishment and energy we need to live so Christ in us gives us the nourishment and energy to do good works and care for others. Martin Luther put it this way once in a sermon on this text:
Christ must come to you before you can do the works of the law. When Christ comes, then you will do what the law prescribes and whatever else you are to do. (Luther’s Works, Vol.23, p.151)
In the same sermon, Luther also reflected on how Christ could dwell in us this way and its implications. As he put it:
This union is so constituted that Christ is in us and truly one body with us, that he abides in us mightily with his strength and power, much more closely than any friend. (Ibid., p.150)
But of course the reformer reminds us that “Christ will never come to me if he has to wait until I draw and attract him to me. That is the preaching of works...” (Ibid., p.151)
Mark E.
* * *
John 6:56-69
The Pharisees always seem to take the statement of Jesus with such absolutism and without any nuanced understanding of his teaching. Jesus is not calling us to actually eat his body or drink his blood. Rather, he reminds us to be nourished by the body of his life, ministry, death and resurrection, to drink of the fruits of the spirit he exemplifies to us. There was a time in the early life of the church that followers of the Way were thought to be cannibals, just because people took these statements so literally. It’s curious to me thought that we don’t take the other words of Jesus so literally.
When Jesus calls us to welcome the stranger, heal the sick, clothe the naked, give water to the thirsty, visit the prisoner, we don’t take those words as literally. We make excuses for why we can’t do those things. We begin to make judgments about who deserves that care and grace. If only we would take the need to love our neighbor and care for one another seriously. The world would be very different.
Bonnie B.
That God would actually dwell in a temple, apparently confined by earthly things as this text seems to entail, may sound offensive to our ears at first glance. Most Americans, according to the most recent poll data, believe in a distant God. But the insights of Quantum Physics provide us with ways of talking about God both dwelling among us and in us, yet still being greater than the cosmos. For example, in physics, it is common to talk about a field of reality in which all the molecules of atoms are brought together, the Higgs Field. In that context, it makes sense to construe God as in that field providing the energy to unite matter, in a quantum field which is omnipresent in all matter so that in that sense God is in us. Yet at the same time, God as light could be described as the source of energy for the Big Bang, greater than all the universes and space which the Big Bang has produced. Famed modern theologian Karl Barth provided another way of depicting how God can be in one place and still in all places. He wrote:
God’s omnipresence, to speak in general terms, is the perfection in which he is present, and in which he, the one who is distinct from and pre-eminent over everything else, possesses a place, his own place, which is distinct from all other places and also pre-eminent over them all. God’s omnipresence in the Christian sense of the concept has the very opposite meaning that God possesses his own space, and that just because of spatiality, he is also able to be Triune... God dwells on earth in his own way, not in the way in which anyone else dwells on earth. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.II/1, pp.468-469)
Mark E.
* * *
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
This is Solomon’s big moment on the stage – leading the dedication of the new temple, built at his direction but through the hands of so many people. Indeed, after Solomon’s death the people will meet with Rehoboam, his successor, and beg him not to drive them as hard as his father.
There’s a lot to unpack here, I’m sure, but I want to focus on verses 41-43. Although this is a dedication of a temple honoring the Lord (YHWH) the God of Israel, Solomon calls upon God to hear the prayer of the foreigners, the outsiders, those, in the words of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)
Throughout the scriptures, there is this tension between a God for God’s people and a God for all nations. The Sabbath rest is for everyone in the household, including the resident alien. In Leviticus 19:34, we discover that we are to love the resident alien in our midst as ourselves. In the Greek New Testament the word for hospitality, philoxenia, means literally “love of strangers.” In this most nationalistic of ceremonies, Solomon calls on God to hear the prayers of all who seek and serve God.
Frank R.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, is a day that lives in infamy in United States history. The surprise attack by the empire of Japan was launched from 200 miles north of Pearl Harbor from the decks of six aircraft carriers under the command of Admiral Yamamoto. In less than two hours, Japanese airmen destroyed two U.S. battleships and badly damaged six others. Only six U.S. planes managed to get into the air to defend against their Japanese attackers. The assault took 2,330 American lives and left 1,145 wounded. It was a devastating blow to the United States and brought her into World War II.
The most difficult thing about the attack on Pearl Harbor is that the United States did not see it coming and were not prepared for it. Not being prepared for battle is not wise, whether the battle be physical or spiritual.
Paul tells the church at Ephesus and the surrounding churches of Asia Minor to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power” (vs. 10). He urges them to put on the armor of God because the struggle is not against flesh and blood, but the powers of darkness (vs. 12). The battle is real and if we are to stand, we must be prepared. To prepare for the frontline of battle we need to operate with our eyes wide open, our minds on cue, and our spirits tuned to the voice of the Lord.
Bill T.
* * *
John 6:56-69
To speak of Christ as Bread of Life is an affirmation that Christ enters our lives and bodies like bread does. But is this not just another way of saying that the Spirit enters us? In short, like bread gives us the nourishment and energy we need to live so Christ in us gives us the nourishment and energy to do good works and care for others. Martin Luther put it this way once in a sermon on this text:
Christ must come to you before you can do the works of the law. When Christ comes, then you will do what the law prescribes and whatever else you are to do. (Luther’s Works, Vol.23, p.151)
In the same sermon, Luther also reflected on how Christ could dwell in us this way and its implications. As he put it:
This union is so constituted that Christ is in us and truly one body with us, that he abides in us mightily with his strength and power, much more closely than any friend. (Ibid., p.150)
But of course the reformer reminds us that “Christ will never come to me if he has to wait until I draw and attract him to me. That is the preaching of works...” (Ibid., p.151)
Mark E.
* * *
John 6:56-69
The Pharisees always seem to take the statement of Jesus with such absolutism and without any nuanced understanding of his teaching. Jesus is not calling us to actually eat his body or drink his blood. Rather, he reminds us to be nourished by the body of his life, ministry, death and resurrection, to drink of the fruits of the spirit he exemplifies to us. There was a time in the early life of the church that followers of the Way were thought to be cannibals, just because people took these statements so literally. It’s curious to me thought that we don’t take the other words of Jesus so literally.
When Jesus calls us to welcome the stranger, heal the sick, clothe the naked, give water to the thirsty, visit the prisoner, we don’t take those words as literally. We make excuses for why we can’t do those things. We begin to make judgments about who deserves that care and grace. If only we would take the need to love our neighbor and care for one another seriously. The world would be very different.
Bonnie B.
