Sermon Illustrations for Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 (2015)
Illustration
Object:
Proverbs 1:20-33
At first this sounds like a love poem where the husband is being rejected. God is often referred to as the husband. He had Habakkuk marry a prostitute to find out how God feels when we reject him. It took that experience to have Habakkuk wake the people up to their failure to love the Lord and serve only him!
Socrates said that nature taught him nothing, but that he learned through talking with the men he met walking in the streets -- those who cry out in the public square. That seems too casual. The advantage of the people on the street is that they may have no agenda. They may not know you, so they will tell you exactly what they think of you!
It is not words alone or wisdom alone that brings us to the Lord. It is both. That’s the way the Spirit works. When I was praying to find the Lord years ago, God opened my eyes and I saw the Bible my folks had given me lying on my coffee table. When I opened it I found not only God’s words but also God’s wisdom. The words and wisdom had been there all along, but I ignored them until I was almost 30 years old! Finally God got through to me and I felt his rebuke, but it took a while. How glad I am that he kept after me!
In order to reach us, God brings various experiences and sometimes tragedies to us to open our eyes. They can happen when we are young or old. That is up to God, but we should listen before that final calamity overtakes us like a storm.
Are we insulted by God’s rebuke? Do we feel we have not done anything bad enough for his rebuke? Do we feel so holy just attending church? Do we feel even holier when we retreat down the aisle after we have had our communion? How often do we search our hearts to see if we are hurting our Lord?
We should pray to our Lord for wisdom! Then we should pray for the strength to repent and start over again.
As a former prison chaplain I talked with many prisoners who told me that calamity overtook them like a storm. It took prison to open their eyes. Some were bitter, but some rejoiced that the Lord was turning them around.
We are helping a girl in the women’s prison, and when we first went to meet her she cried: “Why would you come to see someone as wicked as me?” But she gradually realized that God sent her there out of love to open her eyes!
What will it take to open our eyes? Yes, even a pastor’s eyes?
Bob O.
Proverbs 1:20-33
The sign was posted by the pond. The warning was clear, direct, and to the point -- it simply said, “No Swimming. Gators.” It was a scorching day in early August. The sun beat down on the coastal Florida town with a relentless passion. The teens were bored with hanging out at the mall -- they had no money for movies, and the pool was crowded. They wanted someplace to go by themselves. Chilling out at the small lake seemed like a good time. Four or five couples sat on the tailgates of their trucks. They drank beer from a common cooler and were having a good time. As the empty cans piled up in the bed of one of the trucks, the courage of some of the group built up as well. It’s so hot! Yeah! Let’s go swimming in the lake. What about the gators? Forget it! Have you seen any? It’s just a stupid sign.
Three or four jumped into the water. They were splashing, laughing, and having a great time. Even those watching from the bed of the truck had to admit it looked like fun. All of them were having such a good time that none of them saw the three pairs of eyes moving through the water. A horrific scene might have been avoided if only they had listened to wisdom...
Bill T.
Proverbs 1:20-33
In Tom Wilson’s Ziggy comic, Ziggy always seems to be struggling with his place in life. In one strip he is standing in the doorway of his home as he greets a door-to-door salesman with the word “opportunity” written on the side of his case. Ziggy is initially excited, until the jovial salesman says: “Don’t get too excited, I only knocked to ask for directions!”
It seems when opportunity does knock on our door, we passively let it go to the neighbors instead of seizing the opportunity for ourselves. Our lesson says that “Wisdom cries out in the streets.” Wisdom wants to be heard and entertained. The lesson concludes with the observation that “those who listen to wisdom will be secure.” In leading up to this, the author notes that some “will not find wisdom.” These individuals are the “simple ones who love being simple.” When “calamity comes like a whirlwind,” they will seek wisdom but will not find it.
Application: When wisdom knocks, are we going to passively allow it to go next door, or are we going to aggressively keep it on our front porch so that we may learn and be enlightened? Will we accept the challenge of Proverbs to seek out wisdom?
Ron L.
Proverbs 1:20-33
But personified Wisdom is to be seen as another authoritative voice, and in fact more than a voice; she is a persona who is to be loved,one who loves those who love her.... An astonishing feature of Wisdom’s speeches in chapters 1-9 is that she speaks like the Lord no less.... What was referred to God is now referred to her. It is she who feels rebuffed, and who threatens those who refuse to listen. She has divine authority, and she hands out reward and punishment. She does not mention the Lord; she does not urge conversation to God, but to herself!
(Roland E. Murphy, Proverbs [Word Biblical Commentary 22], pp. 11-12)
Frank R.
James 3:1-12
As this text concerns the tongue, what our words can do, Martin Luther’s insights on the subject are of interest. As he put it, “There is nothing around or in us that can do greater good or greater harm in temporal or spiritual matters than the tongue, although it is the smallest and weakest member” (The Book of Concord, edited by Theodore Tappert, p. 424). Publius Syrus, a Roman author of the first century BC, nicely summarized the power of our words: “Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he.” We need to be careful how and when we speak, for words can harm. Ralph Waldo Emerson is reported to have said, “A cynic can chill and dishearten with a single word.” A Saudi Arabian proverb echoes these sentiments: “The wound of words is worse than the wound of swords.” And a Spanish proverb proclaims that “A word from the mouth is like a stone from a sling.” Of course, by God’s grace the tongue can do great things. Our words have the power of God in these occasions. And then our language can function like the Saudi Arabian proverb promises: “A kind word can attract even the snake from the nest.”
Mark E.
James 3:1-12
A tongue like an adder, a smart mouth, sarcastic and caustic -- these and other metaphors can be used for the harshness of our mouths. I heard a story about a boy who said hateful things as an expression of anger. To teach him a lesson, his father had him go out to the wooden fence and hammer in a nail every time he spoke harshly. Over time the boy held his tongue more and more, and so hammered fewer nails into the fence. After a while, the father encouraged his son to remove a nail from the fence every time he said a kind word. When the nails had all been removed, the father and son went out to examine the fence. There were no nails in the fence, but it was very damaged by the holes left behind. The father explained that the damage of harsh words remains long after an apology or remedy is offered. I have always remembered this, and have sought not to cause injury in the first place. Surely our faith in Jesus can be as effective a bridle for our tongues as a leather bridle and metal bit is for a horse.
Bonnie B.
Mark 8:27-38
The Smithsonian magazine recently had an article titled “This Renaissance Painting of Fruit Holds a Modern-Day Science Lesson.” The painting -- “Still Life of Fruit” by Giovanni Stanchi (1645-1672) -- depicts two watermelons in the lower right corner. But the melons look nothing like the ones we consume today. The melons in the painting do not have the distinctive red coloring we know today because they lacked lycopene, the protein that gives the fruit its red color. Instead, the seeds are surrounded by the watermelon placenta, which contains a low level of lycopene. Watermelons were not domesticated until years after Stanchi made his paining. Over time people selectively bred watermelons for size and color, which accentuated the red coloring we presently have come to expect. The article opened with this line: “Paintings can be a window to more than outmoded dress and strange customs of the past -- sometimes, they have modern-day science lessons to impart too.” (Note: If your sanctuary uses a screen, you may want to project Stanchi’s painting.)
Application: We often do not understand until we are informed. When the disciples misunderstood who Jesus was, they were still uninformed -- they needed a science lesson.
Ron L.
Mark 8:27-38
What are you carrying? That seems like an odd question, doesn’t it? Not long ago I saw a man carrying a toolbox back to his truck. This morning I saw a couple of guys carrying a sign to load onto their truck. I saw a kid on his way to school carrying a backpack. I saw a toddler in the nursery carrying a blanket. If you do a bit of people watching, you’ll notice that a lot of folks are carrying a lot of things. That’s true in the physical world we see, but I think it is even more true in the realm we don’t see. People are toting around with them all kinds of baggage. Some of it contains pride, wealth, status, and all that the world affords. Some of it is full of guilt, shame, and sin.
Jesus makes it clear that his followers should carry something else. “Deny yourself and take up a cross.” Carrying a cross doesn’t sound appealing. The cross was a symbol of suffering and death. But that’s the point, isn’t it? If one is to be a follower of Jesus, one must die to self. No longer can a follower of Jesus conduct “business as usual.” The other bags must be dropped in order to take a cross. You can’t carry the things of this world, good or bad, and carry a cross. It makes you ask yourself the question: “Just what am I carrying?”
Bill T.
Mark 8:27-38
It can be a conversation starter to ask someone “Who do you say that Jesus is?” We may get different answers from many -- even fellow Christians! Ask a Muslim or a Buddhist, and see what they say. A Roman Catholic and a Pentecostal may have different answers, even if the basic tenet is the same.
So the important question for all those in the pew is: “Who do you say that Jesus is?” I’m not sure that a recitation from the catechism is sufficient. As I often say, “Knowing God is more important than knowing about God.”
Jesus didn’t want a lot of PR from his disciples or anyone else before the resurrection. There is also the point that we should not preach to others about Christ until we know who he is. The disciples did not really know him until after he was raised from the dead. Then it all started to fall into place when they were given his Spirit.
The hardest part for them to understand was Jesus’ statement that he must endure suffering and death. Peter couldn’t take it and rebuked his Lord and master. How dare he!? Jesus bawled him out in the sternest way, saying that Satan was at work in him.
The part we may not like today are the words that we also may have to be ready to endure suffering and even death. No, we are not all going to die like Jesus, though some did. The point is that there must be no limit to our dedication to our Lord!
I seldom see that in this country, but I have seen it in Nepal -- and other missionaries have told me the same. The worst thing we may suffer is embarrassment from some unbelievers who are either trying to shame us or justify their thoughts, which Jesus would have said come from Satan.
I have known good church members who said they felt ashamed to talk about their faith to Muslims or others of different faiths. We don’t want to hurt others or lose their fellowship. We may even shy away from talking to our own relatives, including their children if they have wandered away -- like I did.
The thing to remember is that we do not want Jesus to be ashamed of us!
Bob O.
Mark 8:27-38
How hard and painful does this appear! The Lord has required that “whoever will come after him must deny himself.” But what he commands is neither hard nor painful when he himself helps us in such a way so that the very thing he requires may be accomplished.... For whatever seems hard in what is enjoined, love makes easy.
(Augustine, Sermons on New Testament Lessons 46.1)
Frank R.
At first this sounds like a love poem where the husband is being rejected. God is often referred to as the husband. He had Habakkuk marry a prostitute to find out how God feels when we reject him. It took that experience to have Habakkuk wake the people up to their failure to love the Lord and serve only him!
Socrates said that nature taught him nothing, but that he learned through talking with the men he met walking in the streets -- those who cry out in the public square. That seems too casual. The advantage of the people on the street is that they may have no agenda. They may not know you, so they will tell you exactly what they think of you!
It is not words alone or wisdom alone that brings us to the Lord. It is both. That’s the way the Spirit works. When I was praying to find the Lord years ago, God opened my eyes and I saw the Bible my folks had given me lying on my coffee table. When I opened it I found not only God’s words but also God’s wisdom. The words and wisdom had been there all along, but I ignored them until I was almost 30 years old! Finally God got through to me and I felt his rebuke, but it took a while. How glad I am that he kept after me!
In order to reach us, God brings various experiences and sometimes tragedies to us to open our eyes. They can happen when we are young or old. That is up to God, but we should listen before that final calamity overtakes us like a storm.
Are we insulted by God’s rebuke? Do we feel we have not done anything bad enough for his rebuke? Do we feel so holy just attending church? Do we feel even holier when we retreat down the aisle after we have had our communion? How often do we search our hearts to see if we are hurting our Lord?
We should pray to our Lord for wisdom! Then we should pray for the strength to repent and start over again.
As a former prison chaplain I talked with many prisoners who told me that calamity overtook them like a storm. It took prison to open their eyes. Some were bitter, but some rejoiced that the Lord was turning them around.
We are helping a girl in the women’s prison, and when we first went to meet her she cried: “Why would you come to see someone as wicked as me?” But she gradually realized that God sent her there out of love to open her eyes!
What will it take to open our eyes? Yes, even a pastor’s eyes?
Bob O.
Proverbs 1:20-33
The sign was posted by the pond. The warning was clear, direct, and to the point -- it simply said, “No Swimming. Gators.” It was a scorching day in early August. The sun beat down on the coastal Florida town with a relentless passion. The teens were bored with hanging out at the mall -- they had no money for movies, and the pool was crowded. They wanted someplace to go by themselves. Chilling out at the small lake seemed like a good time. Four or five couples sat on the tailgates of their trucks. They drank beer from a common cooler and were having a good time. As the empty cans piled up in the bed of one of the trucks, the courage of some of the group built up as well. It’s so hot! Yeah! Let’s go swimming in the lake. What about the gators? Forget it! Have you seen any? It’s just a stupid sign.
Three or four jumped into the water. They were splashing, laughing, and having a great time. Even those watching from the bed of the truck had to admit it looked like fun. All of them were having such a good time that none of them saw the three pairs of eyes moving through the water. A horrific scene might have been avoided if only they had listened to wisdom...
Bill T.
Proverbs 1:20-33
In Tom Wilson’s Ziggy comic, Ziggy always seems to be struggling with his place in life. In one strip he is standing in the doorway of his home as he greets a door-to-door salesman with the word “opportunity” written on the side of his case. Ziggy is initially excited, until the jovial salesman says: “Don’t get too excited, I only knocked to ask for directions!”
It seems when opportunity does knock on our door, we passively let it go to the neighbors instead of seizing the opportunity for ourselves. Our lesson says that “Wisdom cries out in the streets.” Wisdom wants to be heard and entertained. The lesson concludes with the observation that “those who listen to wisdom will be secure.” In leading up to this, the author notes that some “will not find wisdom.” These individuals are the “simple ones who love being simple.” When “calamity comes like a whirlwind,” they will seek wisdom but will not find it.
Application: When wisdom knocks, are we going to passively allow it to go next door, or are we going to aggressively keep it on our front porch so that we may learn and be enlightened? Will we accept the challenge of Proverbs to seek out wisdom?
Ron L.
Proverbs 1:20-33
But personified Wisdom is to be seen as another authoritative voice, and in fact more than a voice; she is a persona who is to be loved,one who loves those who love her.... An astonishing feature of Wisdom’s speeches in chapters 1-9 is that she speaks like the Lord no less.... What was referred to God is now referred to her. It is she who feels rebuffed, and who threatens those who refuse to listen. She has divine authority, and she hands out reward and punishment. She does not mention the Lord; she does not urge conversation to God, but to herself!
(Roland E. Murphy, Proverbs [Word Biblical Commentary 22], pp. 11-12)
Frank R.
James 3:1-12
As this text concerns the tongue, what our words can do, Martin Luther’s insights on the subject are of interest. As he put it, “There is nothing around or in us that can do greater good or greater harm in temporal or spiritual matters than the tongue, although it is the smallest and weakest member” (The Book of Concord, edited by Theodore Tappert, p. 424). Publius Syrus, a Roman author of the first century BC, nicely summarized the power of our words: “Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he.” We need to be careful how and when we speak, for words can harm. Ralph Waldo Emerson is reported to have said, “A cynic can chill and dishearten with a single word.” A Saudi Arabian proverb echoes these sentiments: “The wound of words is worse than the wound of swords.” And a Spanish proverb proclaims that “A word from the mouth is like a stone from a sling.” Of course, by God’s grace the tongue can do great things. Our words have the power of God in these occasions. And then our language can function like the Saudi Arabian proverb promises: “A kind word can attract even the snake from the nest.”
Mark E.
James 3:1-12
A tongue like an adder, a smart mouth, sarcastic and caustic -- these and other metaphors can be used for the harshness of our mouths. I heard a story about a boy who said hateful things as an expression of anger. To teach him a lesson, his father had him go out to the wooden fence and hammer in a nail every time he spoke harshly. Over time the boy held his tongue more and more, and so hammered fewer nails into the fence. After a while, the father encouraged his son to remove a nail from the fence every time he said a kind word. When the nails had all been removed, the father and son went out to examine the fence. There were no nails in the fence, but it was very damaged by the holes left behind. The father explained that the damage of harsh words remains long after an apology or remedy is offered. I have always remembered this, and have sought not to cause injury in the first place. Surely our faith in Jesus can be as effective a bridle for our tongues as a leather bridle and metal bit is for a horse.
Bonnie B.
Mark 8:27-38
The Smithsonian magazine recently had an article titled “This Renaissance Painting of Fruit Holds a Modern-Day Science Lesson.” The painting -- “Still Life of Fruit” by Giovanni Stanchi (1645-1672) -- depicts two watermelons in the lower right corner. But the melons look nothing like the ones we consume today. The melons in the painting do not have the distinctive red coloring we know today because they lacked lycopene, the protein that gives the fruit its red color. Instead, the seeds are surrounded by the watermelon placenta, which contains a low level of lycopene. Watermelons were not domesticated until years after Stanchi made his paining. Over time people selectively bred watermelons for size and color, which accentuated the red coloring we presently have come to expect. The article opened with this line: “Paintings can be a window to more than outmoded dress and strange customs of the past -- sometimes, they have modern-day science lessons to impart too.” (Note: If your sanctuary uses a screen, you may want to project Stanchi’s painting.)
Application: We often do not understand until we are informed. When the disciples misunderstood who Jesus was, they were still uninformed -- they needed a science lesson.
Ron L.
Mark 8:27-38
What are you carrying? That seems like an odd question, doesn’t it? Not long ago I saw a man carrying a toolbox back to his truck. This morning I saw a couple of guys carrying a sign to load onto their truck. I saw a kid on his way to school carrying a backpack. I saw a toddler in the nursery carrying a blanket. If you do a bit of people watching, you’ll notice that a lot of folks are carrying a lot of things. That’s true in the physical world we see, but I think it is even more true in the realm we don’t see. People are toting around with them all kinds of baggage. Some of it contains pride, wealth, status, and all that the world affords. Some of it is full of guilt, shame, and sin.
Jesus makes it clear that his followers should carry something else. “Deny yourself and take up a cross.” Carrying a cross doesn’t sound appealing. The cross was a symbol of suffering and death. But that’s the point, isn’t it? If one is to be a follower of Jesus, one must die to self. No longer can a follower of Jesus conduct “business as usual.” The other bags must be dropped in order to take a cross. You can’t carry the things of this world, good or bad, and carry a cross. It makes you ask yourself the question: “Just what am I carrying?”
Bill T.
Mark 8:27-38
It can be a conversation starter to ask someone “Who do you say that Jesus is?” We may get different answers from many -- even fellow Christians! Ask a Muslim or a Buddhist, and see what they say. A Roman Catholic and a Pentecostal may have different answers, even if the basic tenet is the same.
So the important question for all those in the pew is: “Who do you say that Jesus is?” I’m not sure that a recitation from the catechism is sufficient. As I often say, “Knowing God is more important than knowing about God.”
Jesus didn’t want a lot of PR from his disciples or anyone else before the resurrection. There is also the point that we should not preach to others about Christ until we know who he is. The disciples did not really know him until after he was raised from the dead. Then it all started to fall into place when they were given his Spirit.
The hardest part for them to understand was Jesus’ statement that he must endure suffering and death. Peter couldn’t take it and rebuked his Lord and master. How dare he!? Jesus bawled him out in the sternest way, saying that Satan was at work in him.
The part we may not like today are the words that we also may have to be ready to endure suffering and even death. No, we are not all going to die like Jesus, though some did. The point is that there must be no limit to our dedication to our Lord!
I seldom see that in this country, but I have seen it in Nepal -- and other missionaries have told me the same. The worst thing we may suffer is embarrassment from some unbelievers who are either trying to shame us or justify their thoughts, which Jesus would have said come from Satan.
I have known good church members who said they felt ashamed to talk about their faith to Muslims or others of different faiths. We don’t want to hurt others or lose their fellowship. We may even shy away from talking to our own relatives, including their children if they have wandered away -- like I did.
The thing to remember is that we do not want Jesus to be ashamed of us!
Bob O.
Mark 8:27-38
How hard and painful does this appear! The Lord has required that “whoever will come after him must deny himself.” But what he commands is neither hard nor painful when he himself helps us in such a way so that the very thing he requires may be accomplished.... For whatever seems hard in what is enjoined, love makes easy.
(Augustine, Sermons on New Testament Lessons 46.1)
Frank R.
