Sermon Illustrations for Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 (2024)
Illustration
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22
The phrase “hoisted on his own petard” is one that is not used as often today and that’s a shame. It is a good statement. It comes from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Let’s examine this old phrase. The word “petard” is a word that, in medieval times referred to a bomb that would breach walls or blow in doors. The word “hoist” meant to be taken out or removed. Thus, someone who was hoisted by their own petard was taken out by the bomb that they set.
We see an example of someone being “hoisted on their own petard” in the book of Esther. Haman hated the Jews and especially Mordecai. He had devised a clever plan to get rid of Mordecai once and for all. Esther, however, stops his plan and reveals Haman treachery to the king. In chilling words, we read, of the servant telling the king, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!” So, they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided (7:9-10).
“Hoisted on his own petard” happened to Haman. May all of us learn the truth of what Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. What a man sows, that shall he reap” (Gal. 6:7).
Bill T.
* * *
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22
One needs to imagine this scene read out loud — as indeed the entire book of Esther was read to the community of faith every year on Purim. One would have heard it from infancy, so there would never be a time in memory when you hadn’t heard it. And with this scene it all turns. You’ve been booing Haman and cheering Mordecai, and now the tables are turned in dramatic fashion. “What this!” you might say to someone, even though they knew the story as well as you. “Here it comes!”
This is the joy that oppressed communities feel knowing that the oppressor’s days are numbered, that they will reap what they sow, and get what they deserve. And how it builds towards this moment. Haman thinks it’s a great honor to have dinner with the king and queen. As he tells his family, there’s no ceiling. He’s going up and up and up. And we know — and we don’t mind because he deserves it — there’s no floor, because he’s going down and down and down from that gallows he built for Mordecai, and he will never touch bottom.
Should we take joy in the horrific fate of others? Maybe not in real life, but I think that’s why we enjoy movies where the villain gets their comeuppance. This may not be a good example, but in the Die Hard films the hero is always maligned, and the bad guys always have a few moments where their fate becomes clear to them before they are engulfed in death.
Frank R.
* * *
James 5:13-20
Praying for one another is so powerful. Recently a man was killed by a hit-and-run driver who intentionally drove into a woman (the one he was trying to kill) and him in my apartment parking lot. The scene was horrible. The devastation palpable for days — as each of us had to walk into that parking lot several times a day. A small memorial with pictures, flowers, and candles was placed on the parking place where he was killed. That was something, as was our individual prayers.
More powerful, though, was the gathering of about forty people in the parking lot five days later to hold a prayer vigil. We held candles, we laid flowers in the memorial space, and we prayed — aloud and silently. The man’s wife and his mother were there. Neighbors and friends were there. Co-workers were there. Some who barely knew him were there. And we prayed. We asked God for peace in this grief. We asked God for comfort. We asked God for healing for the woman who was critically injured. Some of us also offered prayers for the driver. The prayers didn’t change the situation. They changed us and that is the miracle in this whole situation, perhaps the only hope and peace that will come.
Bonnie B.
* * *
James 5:13-20
The old Scottish proverb says that “Confession is good for the soul.” It is also good for your health and happiness, according to recent neurobiological research. It seems that spiritual activity stimulates the exercise of the brain’s left prefrontal cortex (Andrew Newberg et al, Why God Won’t Go Away). And it seems that people with an active left prefrontal cortex are not only happier but also have lower levels of cortisol (a hormone that depresses immune function) (Stephan Klein, The Science of Happiness, esp. pp.202-204,236). John Calvin offered reflections about confession which imply much the same. He wrote:
... men are relieved from their evils when they are loosed from the guilt of their iniquities. Let us then know that it is the only fit remedy for our diseases and other calamities, when we carefully examine ourselves, being solicitous to be reconciled to God, and to obtain the pardon of our sins. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XXII/2, p.357)
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 9:38-50
The things that cause sin must be avoided. One of the best illustrations of sin that I have ever read is in Frank E. Peretti’s The Oath. The story is about a town called Hyde River. In that town, people are brutally killed. While some believe it to be from natural causes, the book uncovers that there is a spiritual cause for it: sin. The depiction of sin in this story is amazing. The point of the story is clear. Sin is not a pet that can be controlled. It is a monster that will eventually devour a person.
Sin has to be avoided. It cannot be tolerated. It cannot be placated. Whatever causes sin has to go. Hand, foot, eye; whatever it is that might cause you to sin, get rid of it. Sin is deadly. John Piper once said, “I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a superior satisfaction in God.”
Bill T.
* * *
Mark 9:38-50
Jesus says clearly, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” This is a statement of unity, a statement which calls the followers of Jesus to be united in their following Jesus. Oh, what if it were really the case? You do know of course that unity and uniformity are not the same things. We don’t have to worship in the same way, interpret all scripture in the same way, have the same mission activities. Yet, we do need to love God, follow Jesus, and allow the Holy Spirit to empower us.
In the US there are countless denominations, and we often disagree about small things — and sometimes not so small things. Yet if we could just talk about our similarities, we would find them to be much more numerous and much more important in our lives of faith, than the things that are different. Coming together with peace, with hope, with the love of God anchoring us, becomes easier when we pray together, worship together, and strive to follow Jesus together. Oh, that it were only so.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 9:38-50
The initial incident in this passage is reminiscent of Joshua warning Moses that “unauthorized” people are prophesizing, and pleading with him to put a stop to it. We should be so lucky, Jesus (and Moses) both seem to suggest, to have more people than we know performing God’s work. A willingness to collaborate requires a measure of sacrifice as well as loss of control. I don’t doubt John and Joshua’s sincerity, but the audacious program to institute the kingdom of God here upon this earth is a monumental task which somehow or other God has entrusted to us, unworthy though we are.
It is especially important that we not discourage the little ones — and in this instance Jesus is not talking about children, though heaven forbid children come to harm in any way, but to the newbies, the struggling, the lost, who are finding Christ, but may not find Christians at all amenable to the experiment. This is a staggering warning, with consequences harsher than we can imagine, for all of us killjoys who go out of our way to tell new Christians the “truth” about the church.
Frank R.
* * *
Mark 9:38-50
Salt is essential to health of the body. Body cells need it to live and work. It combats chronic fatigue. Lack of salt can lead to cancer or compromise the cardiac system. John Calvin offered reflections on why Christians need to be salt for others and they themselves need salt (which John Wesley says is divine grace [Commentary On the Bible, p.430]). John Calvin nicely explained why the followers of Jesus need to be salt of the earth. He wrote:
When Christ calls the apostles the salt of the earth, he means, that it is their office to salt the earth: because men have nothing in them but what is tasteless, till they have been seasoned with the salt of heavenly doctrine. (Calvin’s Commentaries. Vol.XVI/1, p.270)
Famed Anglican evangelical John Stott took away a lot of our excuses for not being salt for others. He wrote:
God intends us to penetrate the world. Christian salt has no business to remain snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars; our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat, to stop it going bad. And when society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: Where is the salt?”
Mark E.
The phrase “hoisted on his own petard” is one that is not used as often today and that’s a shame. It is a good statement. It comes from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Let’s examine this old phrase. The word “petard” is a word that, in medieval times referred to a bomb that would breach walls or blow in doors. The word “hoist” meant to be taken out or removed. Thus, someone who was hoisted by their own petard was taken out by the bomb that they set.
We see an example of someone being “hoisted on their own petard” in the book of Esther. Haman hated the Jews and especially Mordecai. He had devised a clever plan to get rid of Mordecai once and for all. Esther, however, stops his plan and reveals Haman treachery to the king. In chilling words, we read, of the servant telling the king, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!” So, they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided (7:9-10).
“Hoisted on his own petard” happened to Haman. May all of us learn the truth of what Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. What a man sows, that shall he reap” (Gal. 6:7).
Bill T.
* * *
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22
One needs to imagine this scene read out loud — as indeed the entire book of Esther was read to the community of faith every year on Purim. One would have heard it from infancy, so there would never be a time in memory when you hadn’t heard it. And with this scene it all turns. You’ve been booing Haman and cheering Mordecai, and now the tables are turned in dramatic fashion. “What this!” you might say to someone, even though they knew the story as well as you. “Here it comes!”
This is the joy that oppressed communities feel knowing that the oppressor’s days are numbered, that they will reap what they sow, and get what they deserve. And how it builds towards this moment. Haman thinks it’s a great honor to have dinner with the king and queen. As he tells his family, there’s no ceiling. He’s going up and up and up. And we know — and we don’t mind because he deserves it — there’s no floor, because he’s going down and down and down from that gallows he built for Mordecai, and he will never touch bottom.
Should we take joy in the horrific fate of others? Maybe not in real life, but I think that’s why we enjoy movies where the villain gets their comeuppance. This may not be a good example, but in the Die Hard films the hero is always maligned, and the bad guys always have a few moments where their fate becomes clear to them before they are engulfed in death.
Frank R.
* * *
James 5:13-20
Praying for one another is so powerful. Recently a man was killed by a hit-and-run driver who intentionally drove into a woman (the one he was trying to kill) and him in my apartment parking lot. The scene was horrible. The devastation palpable for days — as each of us had to walk into that parking lot several times a day. A small memorial with pictures, flowers, and candles was placed on the parking place where he was killed. That was something, as was our individual prayers.
More powerful, though, was the gathering of about forty people in the parking lot five days later to hold a prayer vigil. We held candles, we laid flowers in the memorial space, and we prayed — aloud and silently. The man’s wife and his mother were there. Neighbors and friends were there. Co-workers were there. Some who barely knew him were there. And we prayed. We asked God for peace in this grief. We asked God for comfort. We asked God for healing for the woman who was critically injured. Some of us also offered prayers for the driver. The prayers didn’t change the situation. They changed us and that is the miracle in this whole situation, perhaps the only hope and peace that will come.
Bonnie B.
* * *
James 5:13-20
The old Scottish proverb says that “Confession is good for the soul.” It is also good for your health and happiness, according to recent neurobiological research. It seems that spiritual activity stimulates the exercise of the brain’s left prefrontal cortex (Andrew Newberg et al, Why God Won’t Go Away). And it seems that people with an active left prefrontal cortex are not only happier but also have lower levels of cortisol (a hormone that depresses immune function) (Stephan Klein, The Science of Happiness, esp. pp.202-204,236). John Calvin offered reflections about confession which imply much the same. He wrote:
... men are relieved from their evils when they are loosed from the guilt of their iniquities. Let us then know that it is the only fit remedy for our diseases and other calamities, when we carefully examine ourselves, being solicitous to be reconciled to God, and to obtain the pardon of our sins. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XXII/2, p.357)
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 9:38-50
The things that cause sin must be avoided. One of the best illustrations of sin that I have ever read is in Frank E. Peretti’s The Oath. The story is about a town called Hyde River. In that town, people are brutally killed. While some believe it to be from natural causes, the book uncovers that there is a spiritual cause for it: sin. The depiction of sin in this story is amazing. The point of the story is clear. Sin is not a pet that can be controlled. It is a monster that will eventually devour a person.
Sin has to be avoided. It cannot be tolerated. It cannot be placated. Whatever causes sin has to go. Hand, foot, eye; whatever it is that might cause you to sin, get rid of it. Sin is deadly. John Piper once said, “I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a superior satisfaction in God.”
Bill T.
* * *
Mark 9:38-50
Jesus says clearly, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” This is a statement of unity, a statement which calls the followers of Jesus to be united in their following Jesus. Oh, what if it were really the case? You do know of course that unity and uniformity are not the same things. We don’t have to worship in the same way, interpret all scripture in the same way, have the same mission activities. Yet, we do need to love God, follow Jesus, and allow the Holy Spirit to empower us.
In the US there are countless denominations, and we often disagree about small things — and sometimes not so small things. Yet if we could just talk about our similarities, we would find them to be much more numerous and much more important in our lives of faith, than the things that are different. Coming together with peace, with hope, with the love of God anchoring us, becomes easier when we pray together, worship together, and strive to follow Jesus together. Oh, that it were only so.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 9:38-50
The initial incident in this passage is reminiscent of Joshua warning Moses that “unauthorized” people are prophesizing, and pleading with him to put a stop to it. We should be so lucky, Jesus (and Moses) both seem to suggest, to have more people than we know performing God’s work. A willingness to collaborate requires a measure of sacrifice as well as loss of control. I don’t doubt John and Joshua’s sincerity, but the audacious program to institute the kingdom of God here upon this earth is a monumental task which somehow or other God has entrusted to us, unworthy though we are.
It is especially important that we not discourage the little ones — and in this instance Jesus is not talking about children, though heaven forbid children come to harm in any way, but to the newbies, the struggling, the lost, who are finding Christ, but may not find Christians at all amenable to the experiment. This is a staggering warning, with consequences harsher than we can imagine, for all of us killjoys who go out of our way to tell new Christians the “truth” about the church.
Frank R.
* * *
Mark 9:38-50
Salt is essential to health of the body. Body cells need it to live and work. It combats chronic fatigue. Lack of salt can lead to cancer or compromise the cardiac system. John Calvin offered reflections on why Christians need to be salt for others and they themselves need salt (which John Wesley says is divine grace [Commentary On the Bible, p.430]). John Calvin nicely explained why the followers of Jesus need to be salt of the earth. He wrote:
When Christ calls the apostles the salt of the earth, he means, that it is their office to salt the earth: because men have nothing in them but what is tasteless, till they have been seasoned with the salt of heavenly doctrine. (Calvin’s Commentaries. Vol.XVI/1, p.270)
Famed Anglican evangelical John Stott took away a lot of our excuses for not being salt for others. He wrote:
God intends us to penetrate the world. Christian salt has no business to remain snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars; our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat, to stop it going bad. And when society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: Where is the salt?”
Mark E.
