Sermon Illustrations for Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 (2013)
Illustration
Object:
Jeremiah 2:4-13
In the text God laments the waywardness of Israel, of our waywardness for changing our God for what is unprofitable. This idolatry is evident in the growing secularization in America, evidenced by the fact that "not affiliated" is the fastest growing religious category in America, according to a 2013 study conducted by University of California sociologists (jumping from just over 5% forty years ago to 20% today). We waste our time on what does not matter, absolutizing the resources God has given us. Modern theologian Paul Tillich well explains how we regularly practice idolatry. It is, he says, "the elevation of a preliminary concern to ultimacy. Something... essentially partial is boosted into universality, and something essentially finite is given infinite significance" (Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, p. 13).
Tillich proceeds to identify nationalism as such an idol. Twentieth century American novelist E.W. Howe suggests we have made business an idol, and the lifestyle of wanton accumulation that most Americans live (research firm NPD found the average family has $7,000 of unused goods just sitting in their homes) seems resoundingly to endorse this recognition of our economic idolatry.
Despite our waywardness the prophet proclaims good news that God has done great things for his people. John Calvin claimed that "God often mentions his favors to us, in order to encourage our hope..." (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. IX/1, p. 74). We can have hope that God will continue to remain faithful to his people, that his love can change us.
These dynamics were well described by German medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen. She reminds us that "... the Holy Spirit is the kindler and illuminator of the hearts of faithful men... who gently kindles the hearts of the faithful" (In Her Words, p. 110).
C.S. Lewis also powerfully proclaims that forgiving love will not quit -- no matter how wayward we go: "But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference."
Mark E.
* * * * *
Jeremiah 2:4-13
All children, they say, tend to prefer the box. They ignore the present -- the doll, the toy, the brilliant new game -- and play instead with the packaging. We look for the positive in this, hoping desperately that a preference for the box is a sign of some creative genius in the child. Perhaps it is. Probably it isn't. The child didn't ask for a box; didn't whine and plead and campaign for the box. The parents didn't save and sacrifice and pay good money for the box. The box isn't the present. The box isn't the gift. The box isn't a token of love from the parent to the child. The box is just a box.
Scott B.
* * * * *
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Ariel Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years for his abduction, enslavement, and physical and sexual abuse of three Cleveland women for eleven years. During Castro's sentencing Judge Michael Russo said, "Sir, there is no place in this city, there is no place in this country, indeed there is no place in this world for those who enslave others, those who sexually assault others or those who brutalize others."
Application: God brought forth His judgment upon the Israelites for their disobedience.
Ron L.
* * * * *
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Contentment is not easily achieved in our consumer society, where the art of advertising is to get us to want what we really do not need. John C. Bogle, founder and former CEO of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group, writes in his book Enough, "When John D. Rockefeller was asked how much was enough, he answered, 'Just a little bit more.' But for most of us, as it is said, enough is $1 more than you need. And that's a pretty good way to look at it." Faith sees beyond even our financial needs to find our deepest contentment in our relationship with God.
Mark M.
* * * * *
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
The writer (Paul?) urges those to whom he is writing, to keep on loving each other. If there were one word to remember in all of scripture, it is "love." God is love! Jesus came to suffer for us because of love! When I read of militant groups who are blowing themselves up and killing others, I say they have no god!! God would not do such things. If there were some who needed punishment, God told us "vengeance is mine says the Lord." He will repay in his own way.
He asks us to entertain strangers since they may be angels of the Lord. Abraham and Lot both discovered that. I don't recall anyone turning into an angel, but I remember inviting in guests who turned out to be a real blessing to me. In my church in Ohio, I had a fellow stop to ask for money for a bus to take him to a job interview. I had those requests every day, and I had the feeling that some was going to be spent in the local tavern. Instead of giving this fellow money, I offered to drive him to his job interview. That would sometimes get a bum to walk out the door! But this fellow gave me an address and I dropped him off with a few cents to get a bus back. A few weeks later, this fellow came into my office with a wife and two children to thank me for trusting him. Now they have a home in Dayton and a good job. Sometimes we don't know who to trust. But we still must be generous. It could be an angel.
Before I even thought of being a prison chaplain I received a call from a girl in jail. Her husband was in jail for murder, and she sold drugs to pay for a good lawyer for him and got caught. As we talked and prayed other prisoners came into the room where we sat, and when we were finished they asked me if I could come back and help them. This was the start of years of part time chaplaincy. I could share with them my sufferings and the sufferings of others I knew.
If God will judge the adulterer, then there are many movie stars and even presidents who might have to pay the price!
The hardest one is to keep free from the love of money. I'm sure it does not occupy all our thoughts, but aren't there times when we have felt the love of money creep into our lives when we saw others enjoying the blessings of life that we might envy -- and feel we deserved? We are not always content with what the Lord has given us.
One reason we need the fellowship of a church is to help us realize that God provides for all our needs and we need the example of a good pastor!
Bob O.
* * * * *
Luke 14:1, 7-14
In the election of 1888, Benjamin Harrison was most concerned about the results from his home state of Indiana. When those results were announced around 11 p.m., he went to bed without knowing the final returns from the other states. In the morning, a friend congratulated him on his victory, and then inquired why he went to bed so early. To which Harrison replied, "I knew that my staying up would not alter the result if I was defeated, while if I was elected I had a hard day in front of me. So a good night's rest seemed the best in either event."
Application: We need to be rested to do the hard work of inviting the disenfranchised into the kingdom of the Lord.
Ron L.
* * * * *
Luke 14:1, 7-14
We stand in line and wait. If we have to cash the check, if we want to buy tickets, if we need to pay our respects at the funeral home, if we are eager to congratulate the bride, we stand in line. It's only fair.
Sometimes however, it isn't fair. Sometimes people cheat. Some of them cut in. Others get the VIP treatment and go right to the front. Sometimes those who are last in line truly are the least important, truly are forgotten, and truly are the last.
Jesus comes and stands in the back of the line, behind the forgotten, behind the unimportant, far away from the VIPs, and calls us all to turn around. In Jesus, the back of the line is now the front. Jesus isn't fair. Jesus cheats on our behalf.
Scott B.
* * * * *
Luke 14:1, 7-14
You've gotta promote yourself, or you get nowhere in the economy. The internet is filled with sites extolling the virtues of self-promotion. The humility Jesus teaches in the gospel does not seem to make much sense -- until we consider its psychological payoff.
Lives engaged in self-promotion lead people to spend their time acting and ever reinventing themselves. This is what the famous 19th-century German intellectual Friedrich Nietzsche observed in his book Thus Spake Zarathustra. But, he added, wanting people to enjoy looking at us is not wise; it is laughable. Famed cellist Benjamin Whichcoate made a similar point: "None are so empty as those who are full of themselves."
Self-promoting people are empty. That is why they crave attention. The truly humble are by contrast filled, filled with God's love. That is why they need not be so concerned with what people think of them. Martin Luther well describes the lifestyle Jesus had in mind for the faithful: "But the truly humble look not to the result of humility but with a simple heart regard things of low degree and gladly associate with them. It never enters their mind that they are humble. Here the waters flow from the well..." (What Luther Says, p. 671).
Mark E.
In the text God laments the waywardness of Israel, of our waywardness for changing our God for what is unprofitable. This idolatry is evident in the growing secularization in America, evidenced by the fact that "not affiliated" is the fastest growing religious category in America, according to a 2013 study conducted by University of California sociologists (jumping from just over 5% forty years ago to 20% today). We waste our time on what does not matter, absolutizing the resources God has given us. Modern theologian Paul Tillich well explains how we regularly practice idolatry. It is, he says, "the elevation of a preliminary concern to ultimacy. Something... essentially partial is boosted into universality, and something essentially finite is given infinite significance" (Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, p. 13).
Tillich proceeds to identify nationalism as such an idol. Twentieth century American novelist E.W. Howe suggests we have made business an idol, and the lifestyle of wanton accumulation that most Americans live (research firm NPD found the average family has $7,000 of unused goods just sitting in their homes) seems resoundingly to endorse this recognition of our economic idolatry.
Despite our waywardness the prophet proclaims good news that God has done great things for his people. John Calvin claimed that "God often mentions his favors to us, in order to encourage our hope..." (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. IX/1, p. 74). We can have hope that God will continue to remain faithful to his people, that his love can change us.
These dynamics were well described by German medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen. She reminds us that "... the Holy Spirit is the kindler and illuminator of the hearts of faithful men... who gently kindles the hearts of the faithful" (In Her Words, p. 110).
C.S. Lewis also powerfully proclaims that forgiving love will not quit -- no matter how wayward we go: "But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference."
Mark E.
* * * * *
Jeremiah 2:4-13
All children, they say, tend to prefer the box. They ignore the present -- the doll, the toy, the brilliant new game -- and play instead with the packaging. We look for the positive in this, hoping desperately that a preference for the box is a sign of some creative genius in the child. Perhaps it is. Probably it isn't. The child didn't ask for a box; didn't whine and plead and campaign for the box. The parents didn't save and sacrifice and pay good money for the box. The box isn't the present. The box isn't the gift. The box isn't a token of love from the parent to the child. The box is just a box.
Scott B.
* * * * *
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Ariel Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years for his abduction, enslavement, and physical and sexual abuse of three Cleveland women for eleven years. During Castro's sentencing Judge Michael Russo said, "Sir, there is no place in this city, there is no place in this country, indeed there is no place in this world for those who enslave others, those who sexually assault others or those who brutalize others."
Application: God brought forth His judgment upon the Israelites for their disobedience.
Ron L.
* * * * *
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Contentment is not easily achieved in our consumer society, where the art of advertising is to get us to want what we really do not need. John C. Bogle, founder and former CEO of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group, writes in his book Enough, "When John D. Rockefeller was asked how much was enough, he answered, 'Just a little bit more.' But for most of us, as it is said, enough is $1 more than you need. And that's a pretty good way to look at it." Faith sees beyond even our financial needs to find our deepest contentment in our relationship with God.
Mark M.
* * * * *
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
The writer (Paul?) urges those to whom he is writing, to keep on loving each other. If there were one word to remember in all of scripture, it is "love." God is love! Jesus came to suffer for us because of love! When I read of militant groups who are blowing themselves up and killing others, I say they have no god!! God would not do such things. If there were some who needed punishment, God told us "vengeance is mine says the Lord." He will repay in his own way.
He asks us to entertain strangers since they may be angels of the Lord. Abraham and Lot both discovered that. I don't recall anyone turning into an angel, but I remember inviting in guests who turned out to be a real blessing to me. In my church in Ohio, I had a fellow stop to ask for money for a bus to take him to a job interview. I had those requests every day, and I had the feeling that some was going to be spent in the local tavern. Instead of giving this fellow money, I offered to drive him to his job interview. That would sometimes get a bum to walk out the door! But this fellow gave me an address and I dropped him off with a few cents to get a bus back. A few weeks later, this fellow came into my office with a wife and two children to thank me for trusting him. Now they have a home in Dayton and a good job. Sometimes we don't know who to trust. But we still must be generous. It could be an angel.
Before I even thought of being a prison chaplain I received a call from a girl in jail. Her husband was in jail for murder, and she sold drugs to pay for a good lawyer for him and got caught. As we talked and prayed other prisoners came into the room where we sat, and when we were finished they asked me if I could come back and help them. This was the start of years of part time chaplaincy. I could share with them my sufferings and the sufferings of others I knew.
If God will judge the adulterer, then there are many movie stars and even presidents who might have to pay the price!
The hardest one is to keep free from the love of money. I'm sure it does not occupy all our thoughts, but aren't there times when we have felt the love of money creep into our lives when we saw others enjoying the blessings of life that we might envy -- and feel we deserved? We are not always content with what the Lord has given us.
One reason we need the fellowship of a church is to help us realize that God provides for all our needs and we need the example of a good pastor!
Bob O.
* * * * *
Luke 14:1, 7-14
In the election of 1888, Benjamin Harrison was most concerned about the results from his home state of Indiana. When those results were announced around 11 p.m., he went to bed without knowing the final returns from the other states. In the morning, a friend congratulated him on his victory, and then inquired why he went to bed so early. To which Harrison replied, "I knew that my staying up would not alter the result if I was defeated, while if I was elected I had a hard day in front of me. So a good night's rest seemed the best in either event."
Application: We need to be rested to do the hard work of inviting the disenfranchised into the kingdom of the Lord.
Ron L.
* * * * *
Luke 14:1, 7-14
We stand in line and wait. If we have to cash the check, if we want to buy tickets, if we need to pay our respects at the funeral home, if we are eager to congratulate the bride, we stand in line. It's only fair.
Sometimes however, it isn't fair. Sometimes people cheat. Some of them cut in. Others get the VIP treatment and go right to the front. Sometimes those who are last in line truly are the least important, truly are forgotten, and truly are the last.
Jesus comes and stands in the back of the line, behind the forgotten, behind the unimportant, far away from the VIPs, and calls us all to turn around. In Jesus, the back of the line is now the front. Jesus isn't fair. Jesus cheats on our behalf.
Scott B.
* * * * *
Luke 14:1, 7-14
You've gotta promote yourself, or you get nowhere in the economy. The internet is filled with sites extolling the virtues of self-promotion. The humility Jesus teaches in the gospel does not seem to make much sense -- until we consider its psychological payoff.
Lives engaged in self-promotion lead people to spend their time acting and ever reinventing themselves. This is what the famous 19th-century German intellectual Friedrich Nietzsche observed in his book Thus Spake Zarathustra. But, he added, wanting people to enjoy looking at us is not wise; it is laughable. Famed cellist Benjamin Whichcoate made a similar point: "None are so empty as those who are full of themselves."
Self-promoting people are empty. That is why they crave attention. The truly humble are by contrast filled, filled with God's love. That is why they need not be so concerned with what people think of them. Martin Luther well describes the lifestyle Jesus had in mind for the faithful: "But the truly humble look not to the result of humility but with a simple heart regard things of low degree and gladly associate with them. It never enters their mind that they are humble. Here the waters flow from the well..." (What Luther Says, p. 671).
Mark E.
