Sermon Illustrations for Proper 16 | OT 21 (2022)
Illustration
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Like this lesson proclaims, John Calvin had a real sense of looking at life from God’s eternal perspective, a viewpoint which helps give more meaning and significance to the everyday events of life. As he put it:
... God chooses every single individual according to his own will, and at the same time appoints and also sanctifies him... (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. IX/1, p. 36)
There is a promise made to Jeremiah and to the people of God that he will deliver them (v.8). On that topic, famed spiritual author Henri Nouwen once wrote:
No matter the life-shattering circumstance that delivers the devastating blow to our spirit, God is bigger. He is faithful and unchanging, merciful and consistent with his offer to us, that through it all, we will be comforted, we will be loved, we will be HELD.
Of course, we are sometimes upset when we face issues like despair, injustice, poverty, or the pandemic, and wonder why we have not been delivered. Medieval mystic Catherine of Siena offers wonderful comfort:
God cannot leave us. It is just that our soul is so vast, we do not always feel his lips upon the veil.
Mark E.
* * *
Psalm 71:1-6
Martin Luther sees that the psalm is about our justification, and yet we remain sinners. He once wrote about the psalm on this subject:
For even though guilt has been removed, many results of sin still remain for us, namely, weakness in memory, blindness in the intellect, lust or disorder in the will. From these three, every sin originally comes down. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 10, p. 395)
This insight is needed, because “no one can say and save me except one who understands and acknowledges himself to be weak and sick and condemned.” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 10, p. 395)
To this point, John Calvin adds, “As when we approach God, it is faith alone, which opens the way for us...” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. V/2, p. 82)
Mark E.
* * *
Hebrews 12: 18-29
I love any reason to bring up the Book of Haggai, which only pops up once in the three-year lectionary cycle. The author of Hebrews quotes Haggai 2:6 in Hebrews 12:26 when writing about the thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai – “His voice shook the earth then, but now he has made a promise: Still once more I will shake not only the earth but heaven also.”
In the first chapter of this two-chapter prophetic book, Haggai called those who returned from exile in Babylon back to the promised land to resume the task of rebuilding the temple. The work lagged because of a combination of emotional, spiritual, and political fatigue, but with the assurance of God’s presence the people returned to the task. In this second chapter, Haggai addresses those who criticize the work, insisting it doesn’t measure up to what they imagined the destroyed temple had been. They were relying on the memories of the very old, who had seen the temple when they were children. A great shakeup is coming, Haggai insisted, and the great treasures would be returning, and the nations would laden the returnees with even more treasure, as had the Egyptians when they sent the slaves packing to freedom.
The future is bright, Haggai insisted, and the glory of the future will outshine the wonders of the past.
The author of Hebrews, the prophet Haggai, and others, speak to those who imagine a glorious past that never happened. I’m reminded of a comment made by the author Isaac Asimov when someone told him the old days were better, because people had so many servants to take care of their needs. “And we would have been the servants!” he reminded her. Many also opine for the days of Christendom, when church attendance was the default setting and people filled church buildings (at least in our memories of childhood, or someone else’s childhood) because they had to in order to do business. In our post pandemic world those who attend church, or worship at home watching the service on YouTube or Facebook, are there because they are true believers. God is preparing to do great things with the true believers. We are past the days when the American Christian church either tolerated or supported racism, economic inequality, and greed, when some preached timidly because they did not want to offend the wealthy and powerful. Still once more God intends to shake earth and heaven. The best days are yet to be.
Frank R.
* * *
Hebrews 12:18-29
In one of the oddities of history, French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, is reported to have said, “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests—and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning— and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”
The reality is there is no evidence he ever said it. The origin of that story goes back to a 1922 letter to a Presbyterian magazine called the Herald and Presbyter. According to that letter, Rev. John McDowell, included the quote in a Sunday sermon and attributed it to de Tocqueville. There is no evidence to suggest where he found it.
It wasn’t de Tocqueville, but someone penned an elegant statement about greatness. Reading the passage from Hebrews 12 reminded me of what defines “greatness.” Certainly, the Hebrew writer is noting the greatness of God. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (vs. 22-23). The Hebrew writer also notes followers of Jesus “are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (vs. 28). All of this is truly great. The greatest thing in this passage, though, is what is referenced in the erroneously attributed quote. America’s churches, in the late 1800’s, were promoting the righteousness of Christ. God’s people have come to “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (vs. 24). Everything about God is great, but nothing is greater than what he did through his Son Jesus.
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 13:10-17
John Calvin offers a word of comfort in view of how long it took the woman healed by Jesus to be victimized by her paralysis:
And the length of time points out to us that, though the Lord does not immediately relieve our distresses, yet we ought not despair. (Calvin’s Commentaries, XVl/2, p. 157)
Regarding Jesus’ violation of sabbath law, such freedom from the law can also be exercised by the faithful when for the sake of love or justice we break the law. As Martin Luther put it:
Since then, all law exists to promote love, law must cease where it is in conflict with love. (Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 161)
Luther’s modern spiritual heir Paul Tillich once claimed that “love is the ultimate law as it is the negation of the law.” We might think of how the 20th-century German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer sought to break the commandment against murder in seeking to assassinate Hitler. Jesus’ actions in our text suggest that Bonhoeffer did not fail to do God’s will in his assassination efforts.
Mark E.
Like this lesson proclaims, John Calvin had a real sense of looking at life from God’s eternal perspective, a viewpoint which helps give more meaning and significance to the everyday events of life. As he put it:
... God chooses every single individual according to his own will, and at the same time appoints and also sanctifies him... (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. IX/1, p. 36)
There is a promise made to Jeremiah and to the people of God that he will deliver them (v.8). On that topic, famed spiritual author Henri Nouwen once wrote:
No matter the life-shattering circumstance that delivers the devastating blow to our spirit, God is bigger. He is faithful and unchanging, merciful and consistent with his offer to us, that through it all, we will be comforted, we will be loved, we will be HELD.
Of course, we are sometimes upset when we face issues like despair, injustice, poverty, or the pandemic, and wonder why we have not been delivered. Medieval mystic Catherine of Siena offers wonderful comfort:
God cannot leave us. It is just that our soul is so vast, we do not always feel his lips upon the veil.
Mark E.
* * *
Psalm 71:1-6
Martin Luther sees that the psalm is about our justification, and yet we remain sinners. He once wrote about the psalm on this subject:
For even though guilt has been removed, many results of sin still remain for us, namely, weakness in memory, blindness in the intellect, lust or disorder in the will. From these three, every sin originally comes down. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 10, p. 395)
This insight is needed, because “no one can say and save me except one who understands and acknowledges himself to be weak and sick and condemned.” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 10, p. 395)
To this point, John Calvin adds, “As when we approach God, it is faith alone, which opens the way for us...” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. V/2, p. 82)
Mark E.
* * *
Hebrews 12: 18-29
I love any reason to bring up the Book of Haggai, which only pops up once in the three-year lectionary cycle. The author of Hebrews quotes Haggai 2:6 in Hebrews 12:26 when writing about the thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai – “His voice shook the earth then, but now he has made a promise: Still once more I will shake not only the earth but heaven also.”
In the first chapter of this two-chapter prophetic book, Haggai called those who returned from exile in Babylon back to the promised land to resume the task of rebuilding the temple. The work lagged because of a combination of emotional, spiritual, and political fatigue, but with the assurance of God’s presence the people returned to the task. In this second chapter, Haggai addresses those who criticize the work, insisting it doesn’t measure up to what they imagined the destroyed temple had been. They were relying on the memories of the very old, who had seen the temple when they were children. A great shakeup is coming, Haggai insisted, and the great treasures would be returning, and the nations would laden the returnees with even more treasure, as had the Egyptians when they sent the slaves packing to freedom.
The future is bright, Haggai insisted, and the glory of the future will outshine the wonders of the past.
The author of Hebrews, the prophet Haggai, and others, speak to those who imagine a glorious past that never happened. I’m reminded of a comment made by the author Isaac Asimov when someone told him the old days were better, because people had so many servants to take care of their needs. “And we would have been the servants!” he reminded her. Many also opine for the days of Christendom, when church attendance was the default setting and people filled church buildings (at least in our memories of childhood, or someone else’s childhood) because they had to in order to do business. In our post pandemic world those who attend church, or worship at home watching the service on YouTube or Facebook, are there because they are true believers. God is preparing to do great things with the true believers. We are past the days when the American Christian church either tolerated or supported racism, economic inequality, and greed, when some preached timidly because they did not want to offend the wealthy and powerful. Still once more God intends to shake earth and heaven. The best days are yet to be.
Frank R.
* * *
Hebrews 12:18-29
In one of the oddities of history, French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, is reported to have said, “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests—and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning— and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”
The reality is there is no evidence he ever said it. The origin of that story goes back to a 1922 letter to a Presbyterian magazine called the Herald and Presbyter. According to that letter, Rev. John McDowell, included the quote in a Sunday sermon and attributed it to de Tocqueville. There is no evidence to suggest where he found it.
It wasn’t de Tocqueville, but someone penned an elegant statement about greatness. Reading the passage from Hebrews 12 reminded me of what defines “greatness.” Certainly, the Hebrew writer is noting the greatness of God. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (vs. 22-23). The Hebrew writer also notes followers of Jesus “are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (vs. 28). All of this is truly great. The greatest thing in this passage, though, is what is referenced in the erroneously attributed quote. America’s churches, in the late 1800’s, were promoting the righteousness of Christ. God’s people have come to “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (vs. 24). Everything about God is great, but nothing is greater than what he did through his Son Jesus.
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 13:10-17
John Calvin offers a word of comfort in view of how long it took the woman healed by Jesus to be victimized by her paralysis:
And the length of time points out to us that, though the Lord does not immediately relieve our distresses, yet we ought not despair. (Calvin’s Commentaries, XVl/2, p. 157)
Regarding Jesus’ violation of sabbath law, such freedom from the law can also be exercised by the faithful when for the sake of love or justice we break the law. As Martin Luther put it:
Since then, all law exists to promote love, law must cease where it is in conflict with love. (Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/1, p. 161)
Luther’s modern spiritual heir Paul Tillich once claimed that “love is the ultimate law as it is the negation of the law.” We might think of how the 20th-century German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer sought to break the commandment against murder in seeking to assassinate Hitler. Jesus’ actions in our text suggest that Bonhoeffer did not fail to do God’s will in his assassination efforts.
Mark E.
