Sermon Illustrations for Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 (2013)
Illustration
Object:
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Phil Mickelson was so excited in winning the 2004 Masters that he jumped for joy -- a reaction captured for posterity in an iconic photograph. He understands though that his jump, which barely took his feet off the ground, will never be compared to that of Michael Jordan. Mickelson believes that the jump will be the most remembered thing of his golfing career. Mickelson said of that event, "It will always be the '04 Masters in showing my Olympic jumping ability."
Application: Jesus was concerned that people will not know him. Another concern is that people will know Jesus for the wrong reasons.
Ron L.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
The text reminds us how skilled we are in doing evil, in sinning. Seventeenth-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal well describes our misery:
Sometimes when I set to thinking about the various activities of men, the dangers and troubles they face... I have often said that the sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room... The only good thing for men therefore is to be diverted from thinking of what they are, either by some occupation which takes their mind off it, or by some novel and agreeable passion... What people want is not the easy peaceful life that allows us to think of our unhappy condition... but the agitation that takes our mind off it and diverts us.
(Pensees, pp. 67-68)
The more we live with this understanding of ourselves, the more important God becomes. It is like Martin Luther once wrote: "... we never correctly praise God unless we first disparage ourselves" (Luther's Works, Vol. 10, p. 162).
Famed 20th-century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr then describes the joy this insight brings: "This means, don't be so morbid about the fact that you're selfish; don't deny that you are self-regarding, but work in life and hope that by grace... you will be redeemed" (Justice and Mercy, p. 43).
Mark E.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
It's usually a complaint. It's usually said in frustration or resignation. When the job goes to the boss' nephew and not to the more qualified stranger; when someone makes a call to the right people and suddenly things go their way; that's when we say it. "It's not what you know. It's who you know." Ultimately, however, it's true. Your cleverness doesn't save you, Jesus does. All the facts in the world can't bring you happiness; only a connection to God can do that. Wisdom is knowing who God is and who you are. For peace, for hope, for forgiveness and meaning and truth, it is truly not what you know, but who you know.
Scott B.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Joshua Milton Blahyi, a member of the Sarpo tribe in Liberia, was a high priest for the biggest god of the Krahn tribe and spiritual advisor to Samuel Doe, who ruthlessly took over the country in a coup in 1980. Joshua became a warlord under the name of General Butt Naked, leading his troops into battle wearing nothing but shoes and a gun. Before battles he would offer a ritual child sacrifice for protection favors from the gods, sharing the heart to eat with his troops. He was responsible for killing thousands of Liberians during the horrible years of their civil war. His life changed after the witness of a Christian pastor to him and also a theophany in which he claims Jesus appeared to him in a blinding light. Now, Pastor Joshua preaches the gospel of Jesus. He has appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, confessing his sins, and has indicated his willingness to be tried for war crimes before the International Court in the Hague. He dedicates his life to rehabilitating former soldiers like himself. He agrees with the apostle Paul: "I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has... appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy."
Mark M.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
God appointed Paul. He did not take on this responsibility by himself. Because God considered Paul faithful, he gave him the strength for the job. His background sounds terrible! He had only been "faithful" in hurting and killing Christians before. But he acted in ignorance -- and unbelief. Do we have that excuse? No Christian can claim ignorance if we grew up in the faith and (or) learned it in church and Sunday school. So we had better be careful. If God can use a man like Paul was, then he can use us, so we dare not make excuses. We should rejoice that God deemed us worthy if he has called us to serve him in some way. The Bible seems to say that we all have a calling of some kind!
God can pour out his grace on us, which includes faith and love. It sounds like that is not something we drag up from inside us or work to accomplish. It is a gift of God! So if you think your faith is weak, then ask God to give you more! If you don't feel you have love in your heart, then ask God to give you love. It all comes from God!
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Our church is a hospital for sinners, not a saints club. We only become saints by giving our life to him. God is counting on us to be examples to others. When I drove my car in New York years ago, I was not a great driver, but when I wore my clerical collar I drove extra carefully in case I got picked up or others saw me driving. When someone knows you claim to be a Christian, you should act like one. Hopefully you will not wait until someone knows you are one before behaving! We should live the life of a Christian at all times -- even when no one is looking!
When I was a prison chaplain I always rejoiced when an inmate gave his life to Christ. We could all see the change in him (or her) and others were won to Christ by that good example. Some asked one fellow why he seemed to be so happy now. Then it was his opportunity to share what God had done for him.
The more I think about my own life, even though I have gone to church most of my life, I am still a sinner saved by grace. Our gratitude for what God has done should make us rejoice when he counts us worthy to serve him in any way.
Bob O.
Luke 15:1-10
On the evening of Sunday, August 21, 1911, three men disguised as maintenance workers broke into the Louvre museum in Paris, removed a certain painting from its glass case and frame, then hid out for the remainder of the night. The next morning, they walked out of the museum with the Mona Lisa wrapped in a blanket. During the 28 months that the Mona Lisa lay hidden in the bottom of a trunk in a boarding house, more people went to see the empty spot where it used to hang than ever went to see the portrait itself. It became an icon precisely because it was missing. The Mona Lisa became what it is today, the most famous painting in the world, by being lost.
Scott B.
Luke 15:1-10
The great joy Jesus and the Father feel over the reclaiming of just one lost sheep and just one lost coin makes a lot more sense if the sermon is illustrated with some historical data. Non-farming communities need to be reminded that sheep are communal animals. They are vulnerable to predators if not part of a flock. To be a lost sheep is to be an inevitably dead sheep, while the 99 left in the flock are pretty much safe. To find a lost sheep was a veritable resurrection, a reclaiming from the dead. No wonder our Lord is so pleased to find one of us sheep who has been lost! This lesson also reminds us that we do not do very well apart from the "Christian flock" (the church), and we are virtually dead apart from that community.
As for the lost coin, to lose something in the corner of a floor of a typical first-century Palestinian home was to lose it forever. Most did not have windows and so the rooms were pretty dark even in the daytime.
A coin in the corner of one of these homes was effectively lost money. No wonder then that to find such a coin would create such celebration, more than we are likely to feel when finding something in our well-lit modern homes. The lesson also reminds us how little we do when our relationship with Jesus is enhanced. He finds us! Coins like us don't come rolling back to their owner through their deep faith.
Mark E.
Luke 15:1-10
Before becoming a great American novelist, Dashiell Hammett was a police detective for the Pinkerton agency. Once he received instructions to find a wanted man, and he was given a description of the individual in such minute detail as to describe a mole on the man's neck. But it would have been more helpful to Hammett if the description included the fact that the man had only one arm.
Application: As we search for the kingdom of heaven, we have all the instructions we need.
Ron L.
Phil Mickelson was so excited in winning the 2004 Masters that he jumped for joy -- a reaction captured for posterity in an iconic photograph. He understands though that his jump, which barely took his feet off the ground, will never be compared to that of Michael Jordan. Mickelson believes that the jump will be the most remembered thing of his golfing career. Mickelson said of that event, "It will always be the '04 Masters in showing my Olympic jumping ability."
Application: Jesus was concerned that people will not know him. Another concern is that people will know Jesus for the wrong reasons.
Ron L.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
The text reminds us how skilled we are in doing evil, in sinning. Seventeenth-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal well describes our misery:
Sometimes when I set to thinking about the various activities of men, the dangers and troubles they face... I have often said that the sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room... The only good thing for men therefore is to be diverted from thinking of what they are, either by some occupation which takes their mind off it, or by some novel and agreeable passion... What people want is not the easy peaceful life that allows us to think of our unhappy condition... but the agitation that takes our mind off it and diverts us.
(Pensees, pp. 67-68)
The more we live with this understanding of ourselves, the more important God becomes. It is like Martin Luther once wrote: "... we never correctly praise God unless we first disparage ourselves" (Luther's Works, Vol. 10, p. 162).
Famed 20th-century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr then describes the joy this insight brings: "This means, don't be so morbid about the fact that you're selfish; don't deny that you are self-regarding, but work in life and hope that by grace... you will be redeemed" (Justice and Mercy, p. 43).
Mark E.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
It's usually a complaint. It's usually said in frustration or resignation. When the job goes to the boss' nephew and not to the more qualified stranger; when someone makes a call to the right people and suddenly things go their way; that's when we say it. "It's not what you know. It's who you know." Ultimately, however, it's true. Your cleverness doesn't save you, Jesus does. All the facts in the world can't bring you happiness; only a connection to God can do that. Wisdom is knowing who God is and who you are. For peace, for hope, for forgiveness and meaning and truth, it is truly not what you know, but who you know.
Scott B.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Joshua Milton Blahyi, a member of the Sarpo tribe in Liberia, was a high priest for the biggest god of the Krahn tribe and spiritual advisor to Samuel Doe, who ruthlessly took over the country in a coup in 1980. Joshua became a warlord under the name of General Butt Naked, leading his troops into battle wearing nothing but shoes and a gun. Before battles he would offer a ritual child sacrifice for protection favors from the gods, sharing the heart to eat with his troops. He was responsible for killing thousands of Liberians during the horrible years of their civil war. His life changed after the witness of a Christian pastor to him and also a theophany in which he claims Jesus appeared to him in a blinding light. Now, Pastor Joshua preaches the gospel of Jesus. He has appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, confessing his sins, and has indicated his willingness to be tried for war crimes before the International Court in the Hague. He dedicates his life to rehabilitating former soldiers like himself. He agrees with the apostle Paul: "I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has... appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy."
Mark M.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
God appointed Paul. He did not take on this responsibility by himself. Because God considered Paul faithful, he gave him the strength for the job. His background sounds terrible! He had only been "faithful" in hurting and killing Christians before. But he acted in ignorance -- and unbelief. Do we have that excuse? No Christian can claim ignorance if we grew up in the faith and (or) learned it in church and Sunday school. So we had better be careful. If God can use a man like Paul was, then he can use us, so we dare not make excuses. We should rejoice that God deemed us worthy if he has called us to serve him in some way. The Bible seems to say that we all have a calling of some kind!
God can pour out his grace on us, which includes faith and love. It sounds like that is not something we drag up from inside us or work to accomplish. It is a gift of God! So if you think your faith is weak, then ask God to give you more! If you don't feel you have love in your heart, then ask God to give you love. It all comes from God!
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Our church is a hospital for sinners, not a saints club. We only become saints by giving our life to him. God is counting on us to be examples to others. When I drove my car in New York years ago, I was not a great driver, but when I wore my clerical collar I drove extra carefully in case I got picked up or others saw me driving. When someone knows you claim to be a Christian, you should act like one. Hopefully you will not wait until someone knows you are one before behaving! We should live the life of a Christian at all times -- even when no one is looking!
When I was a prison chaplain I always rejoiced when an inmate gave his life to Christ. We could all see the change in him (or her) and others were won to Christ by that good example. Some asked one fellow why he seemed to be so happy now. Then it was his opportunity to share what God had done for him.
The more I think about my own life, even though I have gone to church most of my life, I am still a sinner saved by grace. Our gratitude for what God has done should make us rejoice when he counts us worthy to serve him in any way.
Bob O.
Luke 15:1-10
On the evening of Sunday, August 21, 1911, three men disguised as maintenance workers broke into the Louvre museum in Paris, removed a certain painting from its glass case and frame, then hid out for the remainder of the night. The next morning, they walked out of the museum with the Mona Lisa wrapped in a blanket. During the 28 months that the Mona Lisa lay hidden in the bottom of a trunk in a boarding house, more people went to see the empty spot where it used to hang than ever went to see the portrait itself. It became an icon precisely because it was missing. The Mona Lisa became what it is today, the most famous painting in the world, by being lost.
Scott B.
Luke 15:1-10
The great joy Jesus and the Father feel over the reclaiming of just one lost sheep and just one lost coin makes a lot more sense if the sermon is illustrated with some historical data. Non-farming communities need to be reminded that sheep are communal animals. They are vulnerable to predators if not part of a flock. To be a lost sheep is to be an inevitably dead sheep, while the 99 left in the flock are pretty much safe. To find a lost sheep was a veritable resurrection, a reclaiming from the dead. No wonder our Lord is so pleased to find one of us sheep who has been lost! This lesson also reminds us that we do not do very well apart from the "Christian flock" (the church), and we are virtually dead apart from that community.
As for the lost coin, to lose something in the corner of a floor of a typical first-century Palestinian home was to lose it forever. Most did not have windows and so the rooms were pretty dark even in the daytime.
A coin in the corner of one of these homes was effectively lost money. No wonder then that to find such a coin would create such celebration, more than we are likely to feel when finding something in our well-lit modern homes. The lesson also reminds us how little we do when our relationship with Jesus is enhanced. He finds us! Coins like us don't come rolling back to their owner through their deep faith.
Mark E.
Luke 15:1-10
Before becoming a great American novelist, Dashiell Hammett was a police detective for the Pinkerton agency. Once he received instructions to find a wanted man, and he was given a description of the individual in such minute detail as to describe a mole on the man's neck. But it would have been more helpful to Hammett if the description included the fact that the man had only one arm.
Application: As we search for the kingdom of heaven, we have all the instructions we need.
Ron L.
