Sermon Illustrations for Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 (2018)
Illustration
Proverbs 1:20-33
Benjamin Franklin, a great admirer of wisdom, believed that access to wisdom was always open. In his view, “The doors of wisdom are never shut.” “Wisdom is not the product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it,” Albert Einstein once observed. A famed anonymous quotation put it this way: “Knowing is intelligence; knowing yourself is wisdom.” Martin Luther’s insights help us further grasp what is involved in such self-knowledge:
If you are wise you know your own ignorance; and you are ignorant if you know not yourself.
This sets the stage for appreciating the comments of well-known Anglican Evangelical J. I. Packer, who reminds us that the divine wisdom is a gift:
Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty, acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours.
Mark E.
* * *
Proverbs 1:20-33
How many books are there that reject the wisdom of God? Many are written by atheists -- some of whom may be brilliant scientists. Where did God reach out to us? It was in his holy word. God’s wisdom is found in our Bible.
Sitting next to me on a plane to Los Angeles was a fellow who mocked Christians for swallowing all the unbelievable stuff in the Bible. I asked him if he had ever read the Bible. He sneered at me for even suggesting it. But when I told him how I had become a Christian and a pastor by reading the Bible, he apologized for hurting my feelings. He looked puzzled and asked how I could believe all I read. I told him he would have to read some to find out. I gave him a list of verses to look up. He might find God mocking him.
I told him that I was convinced because when I asked God a question, I found the answer in the next verse I read. When it happened three times in a row, I felt it must be God. I read him the verse that promised, “ask and it shall be open to you, seek and you shall find.”
He said he might check it our when he got home. I told him to read with an open mind.
Some I know have already made up their mind as to what they will find. We can find what we want to find. Some deny global warming because they have already made up their minds to doubt it. We all have our doubts. If we have already made up our minds to doubt them, facts don’t help.
We need to ask the Lord to open our heart to his wisdom.
Bob O.
* * *
Song of Solomon 7:26--8:1
What is wisdom? How does one find it? Where does one look to encounter it? What does wisdom actually mean, anyway? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines wisdom as “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” The Song of Solomon claims, “She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well.” It’s curiously difficult to define wisdom, but we know it when we see it and encounter it.
The Greek word for wisdom is sophia, thus the use of a feminine pronoun. It does not mean that women have the corner on wisdom, rather that the language, unlike English, identifies sophia with a female article. When insight is needed, when deeper understanding is warranted, when skill in recognizing trends and impacts of actions are desired, then wisdom is sought. Where and when do you need to seek the wisdom of God today? How will you pause to her the voice of wisdom as she travels forth into the world? What will seeking wisdom change for you?
Bonnie B.
* * *
Song of Solomon 7:26--8:1
See the first quotes about wisdom at the outset of the Proverbs lesson. Martin Luther King, Jr. offers another sound insight about the source of wisdom: “Science gives man knowledge which is power. Religion gives us wisdom which is control.” We’ve got the power through our technology to do an awful lot of evil things, to destroy the earth. But it is only with wisdom, best obtained through faith, that we can control this power, to use it for good ends.
Reformed theologian Cornelius Plantinga nicely defines wisdom in a way harmonizing with these insights:
Wisdom in Scripture is, broadly speaking, the knowledge of God’s world and the knack of fitting oneself into it.
Mark E.
* * *
Psalm 19
This psalm testifies to how the creation sends us messages about God. One of the most eminent twentieth-century Archbishops of Canterbury William Temple helps us make this point:
Jesus [and so Wisdom] taught men to see the option of God in the regular and the normal... in the rising of the sun and the falling of the rain and the growth of the planet.
Martin Luther elaborated on why we find God in the creation:
He [God] is a supernatural, inscrutable being Who exists at the same time in every little seed, whole and entire, and yet also in all above and outside all created things. (Luther’s Works, Vol.37, p.228)
He is Present “in manure or even in a cesspool... no less than in heaven.” (Ibid., Vol.33, p.45)
Little wonder, then, that Albert Einstein once observed that “the more I study science, the more I believe in God.”
Mark E.
* * *
James 3:1-12
Pianist Artur Rubenstein, a man fluent in eight languages, once told this story about himself. He noted that some years ago he was assailed by a stubborn case of hoarseness. The newspapers were full of terrifying reports about smoking and cancer, so he decided to consult a throat specialist. “I searched his face for a clue during the thirty-minute examination,” Rubenstein said, “but it was expressionless. He told me to come back the next day. I went home full of fears, and I didn't sleep that night.” The next day there was another long examination and again an ominous silence. “Tell me,” the pianist exclaimed. “I can stand the truth. I've lived a full, rich life. What's wrong with me?” The physician said, “You talk too much.”
Rubenstein, from what I’ve read, enjoyed telling that story about as much as he liked talking. It does, though, have a clear message. James urges his readers to watch how they use the muscle known as the tongue. The Scientific American writes about the tongue, “The soft patty of flesh we call the tongue is not just one muscle, it’s a conglomeration of eight separate muscles.” The article concludes that the tongue is not the strongest muscle in the body but based on its size compared to the strength it has, it can do some amazing things. James writes about this, too. The tongue can do incredible things and cause terrible damage. How do we use our tongues? Perhaps more simply put, are we talking too much about things that don’t matter?
Bill T.
* * *
James 3:1-12
James, the brother of Jesus, writes here and elsewhere in his letter how our words can do us permanent damage if we are not careful about what we say. In some ways this warning about our words is more true now than ever. We should be careful about what we type. There is now plagiarism software, for instance, which can be used to discover if a student is cheating. If you cheat it will be discovered.
As it turns out this sort of software can also have a positive use. In recent years it has become apparent to students of William Shakespeare that it was a common practice in his day for collaborators to work together to write a play. In the “Authorship Companion” to the New Oxford Shakespeare scholars use computer models to determine conclusively that Shakespeare had a hand in writing plays you probably never heard of, like Edward III, Arden of Haversack, Sir Thomas More, and The Spanish Tragedy. And in turn it seems likely that Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, George Peale, and others had a hand in this scene or that in some of Shakespeare’s plays.
When you say or write something, the truth will come out!
Frank R.
* * *
James 3:1-12
Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of our nation. He is often called “The First American” for his constant campaign for colonial unity. He was the first United States Ambassador to France. While in that country, Franklin was attending a dinner party when someone posed this question to the guests, “What condition of a man most deserves pity?” Franklin waited for all the other guests to answer before he offered this observation, “A lonesome man on a rainy day who does not know how to read.”
Application: Our lesson shares with us how important teachers and education are to the church community.
Ron L.
* * *
Mark 8:27-38
Attention to agendas bigger than yourself and to new projects leads to the brain’s exposure to feel-good chemicals (esp. dopamine and serotonin), which not only calm us in depression but also provide us with energy (Stephan Klein, The Science of Happiness). It is thus troubling that American generosity seems to be in decline. A 2018 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported a drop in families making donations to charities fell from 66.2% in the previous year to 55.5%. Jesus’ call for a life of bearing the cross, denying ourselves for God’s sake speaks to these dynamics. Martin Luther advocated for a life of cross bearing, a lifestyle that is ultimately to our benefit:
It is the sole purpose of all suffering of Christians to promote our Christian life and to bear fruit for a fuller knowledge and a stronger confession of the Word, a more certain hope, and a wider expansion of the Kingdom of Christ. The world, to be sure, intends to do us harm, but... Whatever harm is done to Christians by the world, God turns back their anger and lets the harm redound to their advantage. (Luther’s Works, Vol.24, pp.196-197)
Martin Luther King, Jr. made a similar point regarding suffering for Jesus’ sake:
Recognizing the necessity of suffering, I have tried to make of it a virtue. If only to save myself from bitterness, I have attempted to see my personal ordeals as an opportunity to transform myself and heal the people involved in the tragic situation which now obtains. I have lived these last few years with the conviction that unearned suffering is redemptive. (A Testament of Hope, p.41)
A life of bearing the cross, of caring for others, is a lifestyle full of joy and meaning.
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 8:27-38
In the space of a couple of verses Peter moves from identifying Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, to being called Satan. It’s a swift change in characterization. Yet, Jesus knows his role, his anticipated need to sacrifice so we can understand the depth of the love of God. We like to hang on to our comfort. We like to know we are safe and protected from harm. We have a strong instinct for preservation.
Yet, Jesus is clear. If you would save your life, you need to lose it. If you would claim the inheritance of the kingdom of God, you must stand for that which God proclaims through Jesus: inclusion, mercy, justice, healing, hope, gratitude and love, no matter the personal sacrifice and cost. That’s a hard message. When we ask the popular question, “What would Jesus do? We sometimes forget that what Jesus did was stand in the face of the power structures of his day and proclaim the love and mercy of God. Are we doing the same?
Bonnie B.
Benjamin Franklin, a great admirer of wisdom, believed that access to wisdom was always open. In his view, “The doors of wisdom are never shut.” “Wisdom is not the product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it,” Albert Einstein once observed. A famed anonymous quotation put it this way: “Knowing is intelligence; knowing yourself is wisdom.” Martin Luther’s insights help us further grasp what is involved in such self-knowledge:
If you are wise you know your own ignorance; and you are ignorant if you know not yourself.
This sets the stage for appreciating the comments of well-known Anglican Evangelical J. I. Packer, who reminds us that the divine wisdom is a gift:
Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty, acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours.
Mark E.
* * *
Proverbs 1:20-33
How many books are there that reject the wisdom of God? Many are written by atheists -- some of whom may be brilliant scientists. Where did God reach out to us? It was in his holy word. God’s wisdom is found in our Bible.
Sitting next to me on a plane to Los Angeles was a fellow who mocked Christians for swallowing all the unbelievable stuff in the Bible. I asked him if he had ever read the Bible. He sneered at me for even suggesting it. But when I told him how I had become a Christian and a pastor by reading the Bible, he apologized for hurting my feelings. He looked puzzled and asked how I could believe all I read. I told him he would have to read some to find out. I gave him a list of verses to look up. He might find God mocking him.
I told him that I was convinced because when I asked God a question, I found the answer in the next verse I read. When it happened three times in a row, I felt it must be God. I read him the verse that promised, “ask and it shall be open to you, seek and you shall find.”
He said he might check it our when he got home. I told him to read with an open mind.
Some I know have already made up their mind as to what they will find. We can find what we want to find. Some deny global warming because they have already made up their minds to doubt it. We all have our doubts. If we have already made up our minds to doubt them, facts don’t help.
We need to ask the Lord to open our heart to his wisdom.
Bob O.
* * *
Song of Solomon 7:26--8:1
What is wisdom? How does one find it? Where does one look to encounter it? What does wisdom actually mean, anyway? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines wisdom as “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” The Song of Solomon claims, “She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well.” It’s curiously difficult to define wisdom, but we know it when we see it and encounter it.
The Greek word for wisdom is sophia, thus the use of a feminine pronoun. It does not mean that women have the corner on wisdom, rather that the language, unlike English, identifies sophia with a female article. When insight is needed, when deeper understanding is warranted, when skill in recognizing trends and impacts of actions are desired, then wisdom is sought. Where and when do you need to seek the wisdom of God today? How will you pause to her the voice of wisdom as she travels forth into the world? What will seeking wisdom change for you?
Bonnie B.
* * *
Song of Solomon 7:26--8:1
See the first quotes about wisdom at the outset of the Proverbs lesson. Martin Luther King, Jr. offers another sound insight about the source of wisdom: “Science gives man knowledge which is power. Religion gives us wisdom which is control.” We’ve got the power through our technology to do an awful lot of evil things, to destroy the earth. But it is only with wisdom, best obtained through faith, that we can control this power, to use it for good ends.
Reformed theologian Cornelius Plantinga nicely defines wisdom in a way harmonizing with these insights:
Wisdom in Scripture is, broadly speaking, the knowledge of God’s world and the knack of fitting oneself into it.
Mark E.
* * *
Psalm 19
This psalm testifies to how the creation sends us messages about God. One of the most eminent twentieth-century Archbishops of Canterbury William Temple helps us make this point:
Jesus [and so Wisdom] taught men to see the option of God in the regular and the normal... in the rising of the sun and the falling of the rain and the growth of the planet.
Martin Luther elaborated on why we find God in the creation:
He [God] is a supernatural, inscrutable being Who exists at the same time in every little seed, whole and entire, and yet also in all above and outside all created things. (Luther’s Works, Vol.37, p.228)
He is Present “in manure or even in a cesspool... no less than in heaven.” (Ibid., Vol.33, p.45)
Little wonder, then, that Albert Einstein once observed that “the more I study science, the more I believe in God.”
Mark E.
* * *
James 3:1-12
Pianist Artur Rubenstein, a man fluent in eight languages, once told this story about himself. He noted that some years ago he was assailed by a stubborn case of hoarseness. The newspapers were full of terrifying reports about smoking and cancer, so he decided to consult a throat specialist. “I searched his face for a clue during the thirty-minute examination,” Rubenstein said, “but it was expressionless. He told me to come back the next day. I went home full of fears, and I didn't sleep that night.” The next day there was another long examination and again an ominous silence. “Tell me,” the pianist exclaimed. “I can stand the truth. I've lived a full, rich life. What's wrong with me?” The physician said, “You talk too much.”
Rubenstein, from what I’ve read, enjoyed telling that story about as much as he liked talking. It does, though, have a clear message. James urges his readers to watch how they use the muscle known as the tongue. The Scientific American writes about the tongue, “The soft patty of flesh we call the tongue is not just one muscle, it’s a conglomeration of eight separate muscles.” The article concludes that the tongue is not the strongest muscle in the body but based on its size compared to the strength it has, it can do some amazing things. James writes about this, too. The tongue can do incredible things and cause terrible damage. How do we use our tongues? Perhaps more simply put, are we talking too much about things that don’t matter?
Bill T.
* * *
James 3:1-12
James, the brother of Jesus, writes here and elsewhere in his letter how our words can do us permanent damage if we are not careful about what we say. In some ways this warning about our words is more true now than ever. We should be careful about what we type. There is now plagiarism software, for instance, which can be used to discover if a student is cheating. If you cheat it will be discovered.
As it turns out this sort of software can also have a positive use. In recent years it has become apparent to students of William Shakespeare that it was a common practice in his day for collaborators to work together to write a play. In the “Authorship Companion” to the New Oxford Shakespeare scholars use computer models to determine conclusively that Shakespeare had a hand in writing plays you probably never heard of, like Edward III, Arden of Haversack, Sir Thomas More, and The Spanish Tragedy. And in turn it seems likely that Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, George Peale, and others had a hand in this scene or that in some of Shakespeare’s plays.
When you say or write something, the truth will come out!
Frank R.
* * *
James 3:1-12
Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of our nation. He is often called “The First American” for his constant campaign for colonial unity. He was the first United States Ambassador to France. While in that country, Franklin was attending a dinner party when someone posed this question to the guests, “What condition of a man most deserves pity?” Franklin waited for all the other guests to answer before he offered this observation, “A lonesome man on a rainy day who does not know how to read.”
Application: Our lesson shares with us how important teachers and education are to the church community.
Ron L.
* * *
Mark 8:27-38
Attention to agendas bigger than yourself and to new projects leads to the brain’s exposure to feel-good chemicals (esp. dopamine and serotonin), which not only calm us in depression but also provide us with energy (Stephan Klein, The Science of Happiness). It is thus troubling that American generosity seems to be in decline. A 2018 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported a drop in families making donations to charities fell from 66.2% in the previous year to 55.5%. Jesus’ call for a life of bearing the cross, denying ourselves for God’s sake speaks to these dynamics. Martin Luther advocated for a life of cross bearing, a lifestyle that is ultimately to our benefit:
It is the sole purpose of all suffering of Christians to promote our Christian life and to bear fruit for a fuller knowledge and a stronger confession of the Word, a more certain hope, and a wider expansion of the Kingdom of Christ. The world, to be sure, intends to do us harm, but... Whatever harm is done to Christians by the world, God turns back their anger and lets the harm redound to their advantage. (Luther’s Works, Vol.24, pp.196-197)
Martin Luther King, Jr. made a similar point regarding suffering for Jesus’ sake:
Recognizing the necessity of suffering, I have tried to make of it a virtue. If only to save myself from bitterness, I have attempted to see my personal ordeals as an opportunity to transform myself and heal the people involved in the tragic situation which now obtains. I have lived these last few years with the conviction that unearned suffering is redemptive. (A Testament of Hope, p.41)
A life of bearing the cross, of caring for others, is a lifestyle full of joy and meaning.
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 8:27-38
In the space of a couple of verses Peter moves from identifying Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, to being called Satan. It’s a swift change in characterization. Yet, Jesus knows his role, his anticipated need to sacrifice so we can understand the depth of the love of God. We like to hang on to our comfort. We like to know we are safe and protected from harm. We have a strong instinct for preservation.
Yet, Jesus is clear. If you would save your life, you need to lose it. If you would claim the inheritance of the kingdom of God, you must stand for that which God proclaims through Jesus: inclusion, mercy, justice, healing, hope, gratitude and love, no matter the personal sacrifice and cost. That’s a hard message. When we ask the popular question, “What would Jesus do? We sometimes forget that what Jesus did was stand in the face of the power structures of his day and proclaim the love and mercy of God. Are we doing the same?
Bonnie B.
